At what temperature can a Desktop PC be damaged by cold

[dxkj]

Im wondering if anything in the capacitors, cpu, motherboard, cd rom can be damaged by temperatures 0F and higher

 

[Mo0o]

the real danger is condensation

 

[Saint Nick]

i left my HP out in my car overnight, it was below freezing. i brought it in the next day and turned it on with no problems.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
the real danger is condensation

good point


How long should I let it be in a room temperature building before i try turning it on

 

[dquan97]

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: Mo0o
the real danger is condensation

good point


How long should I let it be in a room temperature building before i try turning it on

probably as long as you want, depending on how you define "room temperature". A reasonable room temp would be about 70F, so you can turn the computer on anytime at this temp.

 

[drinkmorejava]

it probably would be fine down to ungodly cold temperatures. Just make sure you let it warm up slowly first if it was really cold. But yes, condensation would prob be your biggest problem, and then it freezing and screwing things up. I don't know how much cold can affect the substrate on your HDs though.

Call up your HD manufacturer and you?re probably set. I know I?ve had mine out overnight in ~0F.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I woke up one morning and my PC was at 13c. Don't think cold really matters much.... it's the condensation like Moo said

 

[dxkj]

13 C is like 55.4 F so not quite equivalent to 0F But thanks


yeah I will let it sit inside for a few hours to warm up and let condensation evaporate or whatever....

thanks guys

 

[cirthix]

electrolitic caps lose their efectiveness at around -40c iirc. aside from condensation and corrosion problems that occur from wet electornics, there isnt really a minimum storage temp. oh, and normal thermal paste doesnt work too well at subzero temps either, you gotta use ceramique.

 

[SNPELY]

We have a computer in a shed with no ac/heat that has been running 24/7 for the last couple years and it routinely dips down to -10F in the wintertime.

 

[Shadowknight]

Those vapochill units cool the CPU to at least -30...