If a computer tower is kept clean of dust etc on the inside, it can be pretty warm in a room before there would be a heat issue. Main thing is to keep the inside of the tower dust free and make sure the tower is well ventilated and all its fans are working properly

Hmm I'm not sure how dust free it is inside.. right now the room is 80° I hope that is OK. He is best not taking the cover off as he has 10 thumbs on each hand. I never thought of the dust.
Thanks,
Dar

If the tower is hidden behind a door in a computer desk it's better to leave the door open or even take it off. If the tower is exposed.... as genes has mentioned.. keeping the inside of the tower free from dust will help keep it running cooler. Maybe a fan somewhere in the room might help to circulate some of the a/c?

Bob

The Circuit City near me cleans the inside for $20 or $25. which I thought was a very good price. They also do a diagnostic check.

His computer is ON a desk in the open.. There is 2 fans running in the room. He has no way to get it anywhere to be cleaned(no longer drives due to mental problems) I will be going there for a short visit soon so maybe I can get it to a shop then for a good cleaning.
Reminds me mine probably need to be cleaned soon too.
Dar

being up on top of a desk is better than down on the floor it will get less dust sucked in that way. I suggest picking up one of those little small fans that can sit on a desk and aim it at the back of the computer to keep air circulating around it. I get the Honeywell 9" fan at walmart it is the best brand I have found they last forever and are cheap and put out a good breeze, I have 2 of those running under my desk at all times because I have many computers down there plus one up on top of the desk and I keep the ceiling fan running too. Also a good thing to do is if there is an extra door slot on the front that is not filled open that door flap and tape it open that way the air can circulate through the computer better with that additional opening.
Heat and a build up of dust on the innards will kill a computer faster than anything.
One thing you can do is have someone change out the fan inside the pc for a much bigger more powerful fan that really helps and fans are pretty cheap. If you were to have it cleaned they could real easily change the fan too.

Clean is good. Open to room air on desktop is good. 80 degrees ambient should be no problem. You've got lots of latitude above that with no worry about longevity.

That $25.00 cleaning plus diagnostic check would be a good way to put everyone's mind at rest. That's about 1/2 a bag of groceries.

I'm iMac, now, but had PC a couple of years ago with free download that I could click on and it would tell me the internal temperatures of everything inside the box while it was running. I always liked that.

Sorry I can't recall name of it but surely someone else here can.

Perhaps Asolo was referring to the Asus probe which comes with all Asus motherboards. On factory builds if it is not included you can download it free from Asus. It notes temps, power consumption and fan speeds and can be useful.

Motherboard Monitor, linked below, is a generic program for temps and other things but PLEASE do not use it then get all excited if your temps are not what you hoped for. These types of programs are more of a nuisance than a help most of the time. If your computer runs without unexpected shutdowns it is probably cool enough.

Here is a link that might be useful: Motherboard monitor

We were running about 200 computers a few years ago when the air conditioning unit failed. The Temperature was in the high 80's for most of the afternoon and we had no hardware problems. The humans didn't hold up as well LOL.

Many modern motherboards have a temperature gauge located under the CPU socket. If the temperature gets too hot, the system will shut down to protect itself.

Due to a concern about my hard drive and the heat this past weekend, I came across a nifty tool that can tell you the temperature of your hard drive (among other things). I haven't had the time to fully explore it, but it may be worth checking out.

Let me add that the usual disclaimers apply!

Here is a link that might be useful: Speed Fan

It is my belief that air circulation is actually more important than the ambient temperature. In your example it appears circulation would not be an issue. Unless the system is quite dirty you should be fine.

DA

What damage occurs when it gets to hot, would it be the hard drive.

damage can occur in many areas from heat, for example the elements on the motherboard can be affected, some can start to leak or fail.

There are some real easy little fans you can install on your pc, some go into empty pci slots some attach to front panel where you have empty bay slots. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to install.

Plus you can get a neat Thermaltake mobile fan that sits on the desk and plug into a usb port, you can aim it right at the back of the pc and not have any extra power cords to deal with. I love this little fan.
Amazon.com: Thermaltake Mobile Fan II External USB Cooling Fan ...
most radio shack carries them.

Vantec Spectrum PCI Fan Card with Blue UV LED

Antec Cyclone Blower Case Fan for Any Expansion Slot

Evercool Pc Air Conditioner, Blue

HD's tend to not get all that hot compared to other components. For example, 130F is considered upper safe limit for most HD's -- not a place to stay. CPU and graphics cards typically run that temp or hotter considered as normal operating range.

As I type this, my iMac has been up and running continuously for about an hour in a room at 78F ambient. The HD is reading 96F. Graphics card 131F. CPU 108F. All three fans are running at the speeds they always do...no acceleration at all. I suspect if you installed a component-measuring device in your computer -- regardless of make -- you would likely see temps similar to these if everything was running OK.

You can google "computer heat" and other alternatives and see what others have to say about "normal".

Interesting thread.

I have noticed that most of the desks I see advertised have the PC shelf on the bottom. Right down there with all the dust and dog and cat hairs!

I have always had a PC desk with hutch. There is a place on the bottom for the PC, no door. I use that space for reference books, etc. I have always put the PC up on the top shelf.

Sue

A co-worker came up with an idea a few years ago and I use it myself.

My computer stand has an enclosed area for the tower with a lock on the door. (Good for keeping the young granchildren out. I just recently removed a toy from the VCR in the same room.) In the rear of the storage area was the typical hard board backing with perforated knockouts for allowing wires to run through.

Well my co-worker came up with the idea of using nylon screen in place of the hardboard. Just cut to size, minimumly tack in place, and create a passage way for wires. The screen allows for full air flow and the minimum tacking allows for removal to clean.

Do not use metal screen.

DA