Cooling

[Martint]

Well, It's almost summer, so its gonna get pretty hot in my room .

My AC is kinda...dead?

I just bought another case fan to cool things off (I got 1 Cpu, 1 Case, 1 PS fan).

I always took out my side panel thinking it will make my system a little cooler, now I was thinking if this is a ogood idea? Would my PC get too dusty? or the heat from the outside will get into my PC?

Should I put back the side panel?

[xxkbxx]

I'd monitor your temps to see if it made any difference. It shouldn't get too dusty, if so just grab a can of spray every now and then to clean it out

[TheTerrorist_75]

I have been running my PC with the side cover, back cover and front panel off for 4 years. I have a 120mm and a 80mm fan hanging off bungee cords stretched along the open side. The 120mm fan is set to the lower left and blows cold air at the cards. The 80mm is situated near the middle and aimed to the lower right of the CPU and directly at the north bridge. It does get dusty but I blow it out with compressed air every couple of months. My AMD 2400+ stays at a steady 39C after warming up. I have had indoors temperatures of 90F plus. The most my CPU jumped to was 45C which was due to dust and residue from my cigarettes building up in the heatsink. I remove the heatsink every year and clean it with hot soapy water then reapply the thermal paste.

[Pete_C]

Well, It's almost summer, so its gonna get pretty hot in my room .

My AC is kinda...dead?

I just bought another case fan to cool things off (I got 1 Cpu, 1 Case, 1 PS fan).

I always took out my side panel thinking it will make my system a little cooler, now I was thinking if this is a ogood idea? Would my PC get too dusty? or the heat from the outside will get into my PC?

Should I put back the side panel?

Most cases/ fan combinations are designed for airflow of in at the front and out at the back . The case sides are necessary to proper airflow to ensure proper circulation.

That said, if you do choose to remove the panel, it is adviseable that you aim some fans to direct air in there so that you do not get the "Pickup truck bed effect" where you wind up with a vortex of air swirling around inside the enclosure and preventing exchange of air with the outside.

Dust is not so much an issue; the air contains the same amount of dust, but the possiblitiy of larger things (dust bunnies, cats, big bugs ) getting blown in and causing problems does increase when you leave the case open. So take precautions.

Compared to the cost of operation (electricity) the cost of buying a window air conditioner is negligeable. You will probably spend more on electricity than you do on a 5000BTU window unit to cool one room in a month or two.