News hardware Heat wave: 5 tips to avoid overheating your PC
Published on 08/14/2022 at 17:25
The summer was hot, and it continues to be so… The month of August is not over and the heat is likely to start once more. You are not the only ones to fear the heat, your PC too. Whether it’s a tower or a laptop, your electronic products are not designed to withstand such conditions.
Summary
- What are the risks for your PC?
- 5 tips to save for your PC
- Avoid opening a lot of software, or greedy software
- Clean up your PC
- Place your PC in a good place
- Use your PC a little less
- One last tip for laptops
What are the risks for your PC?
Whether it’s your computer, tablet or smartphone, all high-tech devices produce heat. And for good reason, the equipment they carry, especially the processors, tends to heat up quickly.
The devices are designed to withstand fairly precise temperatures, but with global warming, I’m not going to tell you that temperatures are likely to be even higher in the future.
Electronic components can undergo thermal expansion, which will damage your equipment. To tell you, even Nintendo has communicated a ticket regarding the use of their Nintendo Switch console during these periods of high heat.
The Nippon giant tweeted the following message on their official page:
Playing the Nintendo Switch in a hot place can increase the temperature of the console. Please use the machine where the temperature is between 5-35℃. In addition, if the air inlets and outlets are clogged, this can cause the console to heat up.
Using the Nintendo Switch in a hot location may cause the temperature of the console to rise. Please use it in the place of 5-35 degrees Celsius.
Also, if the intake or exhaust vents are blocked, the temperature of the main unit may rise. Make sure there is good ventilation around the air intake and exhaust ports. https://t.co/bgS883YDWX pic.twitter.com/0c86fcgxnV
— Nintendo Support (@nintendo_cs) July 11, 2022
You may even notice that your smartphone heats up a little more when you turn it on in the sun, it’s completely normal, but don’t abuse its resistance.
5 tips to save for your PC
Avoid opening a lot of software, or greedy software
This may seem obvious, but it is always good to remember it. When you open software or games on your PC, vYour processor will start to heat up with the bewildering number of calculations it is performing.
The same goes for your graphics card, which can rise to very high temperatures, especially when you launch a very greedy game, like Red Dead Redemption II or Marvel Spiderman.
To know the status of your machine, do not hesitate to consult your Windows task manager to see which applications are taking the most energy.
Clean up your PC
And yes, even if you have the most airy case in the world, and a fan combo spinning at top speed, you also have to think regarding cleaning it!
Dust accumulation will clog your PC’s fans and therefore prevent them from spinning properly. The fans used to ventilate your PC components, if your case is filled with dust, and with high heat, your PC may take a hit.
The best way to carry out such a maneuver is to open its case and use an aerosol dust remover, and a small brush with soft bristles.
Place your PC in a good place
If you have placed your case in a piece of furniture, be careful. Failure to let the PC “breathe” can lead to overheating. And if on top of that the rear fan blows directly once morest a wall, it’s even worse.
If you are in a small room, such as a bedroom, avoid stalling your PC in a corner of the room. The more airy your space, the better.
Use your PC a little less
It’s silly said like that, especially if you use your PC for work. But your electronic equipment is not going to be an exception to this case.
After a long period of use, between 5 and 6 hours, your PC will start to blow a little more on hot days.
If you usually leave your computer on all day, or even in standby, try to turn it off as much as possible during the day. An accident happened so quickly.
One last tip for laptops
We also think of you, laptop users! Even if the majority of the previous tips are applicable to your case, there is one that will only concern you.
If you tend to leave your charger plugged into your PC all day, very bad idea. Your battery will accumulate the heating of the load, the ambient heat and your use.
It’s even worse on PC gamers since the battery melts like snow in the sun as soon as a greedy game is launched, thus encouraging you to leave your charger plugged in.
Small bonus, we advise you to get a ventilated laptop support, so you only have to connect the support to a USB port so that fans turn just below your machine.
