Now that it's summer my PSU has started to get really hot. Even with the chassis lid off it still overheats. It runs but you know any part of your PC shouldn't be hotter than you can stand by putting your hand on it. Any suggestions on how I could cool it down.
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PSU overheating
- Thread starter matrixzen
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2003
You could add a stronger exhaust fan, but that would void the warranty and be a little dangerous [depending on how you go about it]. Other than that, all I can come up with is getting a newer power supply (based on reviews that say it runs cool).
- Thread Starter
- #3
Are you serious when you said the W word. WA****** . That's the last thing on my mind. I'll probably do it up with some extra fans I guess. I was considering a Antec Power Supply. Maybe I could just cut a blow hold on the PSU and install a extra fan I have laying around. Thanks for the advice.
N
nerdlogic
Guest
It sounds like the fan is starting to go out. You should be able to replace it wothout any problems. I did it with a friend's old PSU. It used bare leads so I just cut the wires and stripped them so I could use bare leads from a better fan that was working and just twist the wires together and cover with electrical tape. 
BTW, that was my first time ever going inside a PSU. It's not complicated to replace the fan. Just be careful not to touch anything else. The capacitors can still be holding a charge.
BTW, that was my first time ever going inside a PSU. It's not complicated to replace the fan. Just be careful not to touch anything else. The capacitors can still be holding a charge.
- Thread Starter
- #5
Actually I do that alot. I salvage old hs/f off of my old 486's and Pentium's and put them on my new rig. I am just to cheap to buy the so called qualified or made to be used on hs/f's. I have actually only ever bought 1 hs/f. You can do some awesome stuff playing around with old hs'f. I am going to do that on my old GeForce 256 becuase the hs/f combo is sh*t.
I suppose you could mount your PSu externally to keep it cooler.
Honestly, I think that unless you're finding that your PSU is causing instability, I wouldn't really worry about it. Most PSUs can run perfectly fine in a fairly hot environment.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your room temperature?
Honestly, I think that unless you're finding that your PSU is causing instability, I wouldn't really worry about it. Most PSUs can run perfectly fine in a fairly hot environment.
If you don't mind me asking, what is your room temperature?
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2003
- Location
- Memphis
WEll do what the old OCers use to do OPEN the side panel and COOL it off with a BOX FAN.............
LiquidVision said:
I suppose you could do this, but it's hardly practical for long-term use.
If it's 85°F where you are, I wouldn't worry about your PSU overheating or anything.
As for cooling the rest of your computer... do you happen to have an AC unit?
- Thread Starter
- #10
AC meaning Air Cooling unit. I have a few fans in my case but what is the use if they just throw around hot air. If you meant Air Conditioning unit no I do not have one. I only got standard power supply fans. I guess I could throw some around in me case to cool more..
Yeah, I meant air conditioning unit. Sorry about that.
It's pretty hard to keep a computer reasonably cool with high ambient temperatures. You could add a few more fans, but then you'll have to deal with more noise. You could purchase a new heatsink, but that could be costly for the little gain it would bring you. I guess you're just going to have to live with the high temps for now at least, unless you try something a little extreme.
It's pretty hard to keep a computer reasonably cool with high ambient temperatures. You could add a few more fans, but then you'll have to deal with more noise. You could purchase a new heatsink, but that could be costly for the little gain it would bring you. I guess you're just going to have to live with the high temps for now at least, unless you try something a little extreme.
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2003
Yea, these summer California temperatures are killer if you don't have AC... we're in the same boat man. Today is not so bad, I got 80F/26C outside temperature and 78F/26C room temperature, thanks radio shack. Also, bad insulation on an old house doesn't help.
I still feel you should work on that power supply. I know in my system, the power supply used to be the hottest piece of hardware until I replaced it. Now my hard drive is the warmest.
Well, whatever you decide to do, just remember, it's only going to get hotter. The 100F days are yet to come.
.I still feel you should work on that power supply. I know in my system, the power supply used to be the hottest piece of hardware until I replaced it. Now my hard drive is the warmest.
Well, whatever you decide to do, just remember, it's only going to get hotter. The 100F days are yet to come
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- Joined
- Jun 30, 2002
- Location
- Boise, ID, USA
if your case is big enough, you could take the cooling coils and freon pump out of an old fridge and put them into the case to cool it
If it's an older psu, and there's no warrantee to be concerned about, try cleaning out the dust. If it's been around a year or more, there's probably a wool blanket of dust in there, just holding in the heat, and blocking airflow.
If it's a newer psu, try using a vacuum against the grill on the back. Hold the fan blades from spinning while doing it though, the high speed would be very bad for it's bearings. You can use a dry paint brush to clean off the fan blades too.
If you need a better/stronger vacuum, there's probably a killer one at the local car wash
The psu should be vacuumed outside the case because it causes static buildup....
If it's a newer psu, try using a vacuum against the grill on the back. Hold the fan blades from spinning while doing it though, the high speed would be very bad for it's bearings. You can use a dry paint brush to clean off the fan blades too.
If you need a better/stronger vacuum, there's probably a killer one at the local car wash
The psu should be vacuumed outside the case because it causes static buildup....
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- Thread Starter
- #16
I just aired everything out. All my fans and everything else is dustfree in my case. I did that a few days ago and I know it's my cheap cooling that's causing the overheating. I guess I am just going to have to invest in some good cooling options.
This is my hs/f.
Dragon Orb 3
It looked good and looked like it would cool really nice when I seen it but now I know that it aint good for sh*t. I guess I am going to have to invest in a cooler master.
This is my hs/f.
Dragon Orb 3
It looked good and looked like it would cool really nice when I seen it but now I know that it aint good for sh*t. I guess I am going to have to invest in a cooler master.
