Are heaters on the motherboard necessary?

[Strida]

Just wondering what you guys think about the heating pads people put on their motherboards to help keep condensation off. Also, where can you buy them and how much are they generally? I like the idea since I would be able to let my system run without my being home with no worries.

 

[jinu117]

McMaster.com do carry kapton heater... that's about the only place that will carry single qty... -_-; I am looking to source in larger qty outside of country right now to reduce price. What you are looking for is about 4-5w. For units that really don't cool too low, it is not something to worry about much... but if you have consistant -45 to -55c range during operation, it becomes almost necessity on LGA775 setups. (BTW, don't get shell shocked at pricing you see there... in US, quotes I got for 100 made makes me realize there isn't that much margin mcmaster is putting in for that -_-). Basically need volume (as they do have die cost associated) as well as some cheap labour somewhere to make it go down on pricing.

 

[Dell_Axim]

You could use some resistors as heaters. Or you can do a good job of insulation and not have to worry about it.

 

[Electron Chaser]

I don't use any heaters with my system and it has been running for months but if you don't you had better plan on going the extra mile using insulation.

 

[Overbrazil]

i think you dont need heaters, if you insulate well your motherboard.

 

[metloaf]

I was wondering about this myself because there seems to be a shortage of 775 kits. I tested my Vapochill XE2 the other day and the only thing that I would need in the $110 kit is the heater pad for the mobo. I am seriously considering putting my system together without it. I figure I can just follow some of the insulation guides and go from there.

 

[metloaf]

I decided not to go with a heater unit as well but now I'm wondering as to how much of the mobo I will have to insulate. I know about the socket area but I was more concerned about the rest of the board. I am willing to coat the entire board with dielectric grease if it needs to happen.