Tech Files
Beat the Heat in Your PC
What are the things you can count on in life? You already know about death and taxes, but here’s another certainty: if your computer is turned on, it’s generating heat. And if enough heat builds up inside that metal box, you can be certain of something else: your PC will be toast.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to keep your PC from overheating. The first and most obvious is the use of heat sinks and fans to disperse heat, moving it away from your system’s most delicate components. It’s important to make sure that your power supply and CPU fans are working, and not dead or inadvertently unplugged. If you hear unusual buzzing or whirring noises coming from your case, check on your fans.
As you’ve probably noticed, your case also has vents built in; as long as you keep those vents clear, they can do their job and keep the air flowing in and out. One way to ensure that your vents keep doing their job is to keep them clear of dust. Remove dust build-up using canned air, available at any computer store—but be careful not to shake the can first! Unlike with other canned products, you don’t want to “mix” the contents of a can of air. If you shake a can of air before spraying, the liquid propellant inside can come out along with the air, potentially damaging your system.
Another way to keep your vents working properly is to keep them clear of obstructions on the inside of the case. Don’t let loose, bulky cables bunch up near your air vents, where they can impede proper air flow. If you practice neat cable management—keeping cables neatly tied near their respective components—you shouldn’t have this problem.
Now, if your fans are working, and your air vents are ventilating, you’ve almost covered all your bases for controlling heat build-up. There’s one more item you should take into consideration, however: the slot covers on the back of your PC.
The humble slot cover is often overlooked as an important piece of PC hardware. After all, it’s tiny, has no electrical components or circuitry, and on a cheap case, it can slice your fingers into mincemeat if you aren’t careful! But your slot covers are nonetheless important to the overall health and well-being of your computer.
The main function that slot covers serve is to keep air moving correctly inside your PC’s case. As harmless as it may seem to leave the covers off of unused slots, doing this can actually contribute to heat build-up, as air escapes through the open slots. Because this air was meant to circulate around inside the case, its escape reduces the fan’s effectiveness.
Remember that your case was designed for optimal air flow around the main components. Leaving the cover off the case, or leaving gaps where the slot covers should be, changes the way air flows, potentially contributing to heat build-up.
Heat is a fact of life when you work with computers—but if you keep your fans running, your vents clear, and your case circulating air properly, you’ll help your system beat the heat and avoid downtime and fried components.