Covering your PC with a towel when not in use?

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mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
20,380
15,073
136
I have my PC right of my desk, so the air inlets are on the left side facing the desk. To reduce dust flow into the case, I slid in some sponge that I received as packaging material. Temps in the PC haven't altered as a result.
 

GrumpyMan

Diamond Member
May 14, 2001
5,780
266
136
PC cases are designed to be closed, otherwise they can't cool properly with the intake and outtake fans running in unison. Save the towel for your wet dog if you have one. Just blow out the case every 6 months or so to get the dust out.
 

Elixer

Lifer
May 7, 2002
10,371
762
126
Odd, I thought for sure someone would have suggested the toga tower case by now...

OP, as was mentioned that PSU is very low-end and needs replacement ASAP.
So, you need a new PSU, and if you have cooling issues, get a case that has good air flow, however, you can get the best case in the world and it still might not help if you live in an area that is really hot. In that case, you need a AC unit.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
That picture hurt me in ways I can only show on a doll. I must be an elitist.

OP, I'd suggest a new case, personally. Just to give your PC components the home they deserve.

PC Master Race! :biggrin:


I agree with how painful it makes me feel today, but I remember when I was young and just getting the hang of these things. My first complete build (not counting the family Gateway I tore up) was equally as offensive looking back on things. My last build was more careful but still "meh." My most recent build is far better, and getting even better even 3 years into it thanks to some updates.
 

bystander36

Diamond Member
Apr 1, 2013
5,154
132
106
PC cases are designed to be closed, otherwise they can't cool properly with the intake and outtake fans running in unison. Save the towel for your wet dog if you have one. Just blow out the case every 6 months or so to get the dust out.

They may be designed to be closed, and have good air flow when they are, but that doesn't mean they are cooler when closed. I don't know any that are cooler when closed. My case, the Silverstone Raven rv02, which is pretty exceptionally cool and quiet is still cooler without the side on. I still leave it on, as the case is quieter and the difference in temps is very small.
 
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SOFTengCOMPelec

Platinum Member
May 9, 2013
2,417
75
91
Do i need to change for a full tower case like cooler master?

Ask yourself the following:

If you close it up (put the side cover(s) back on), does it work just great ?
Does temperature monitoring software give decent (not too hot) temperatures ?
Does it sound reasonably quiet and happy, fan wise ?
Do you ever get crashes, e.g. In games ?

The power supply looks like a cheap, low quality model. You would be better off, changing it to a quality power supply. It will cost more money, but is usually worth it in the longer term.

Cheap/low quality power supplies, are especially a bad idea, if you are into gaming with a graphics card. As these usually use lots of power, which a cheap/low quality power supply is not usually good at doing.

Covering your PC with a towel, could be dangerous, as if it turns on by mistake, it could cause a fire. Because the towel material may catch on fire, at a much lower temperature, than the metal of a real computer case.

Whatever you do, it is probably best to stop putting the towel on the computer. I've never heard of anyone doing that.
 

SPBHM

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2012
5,066
418
126
I've been using my PC with the worst possible coolers and the side of the case open since 2005, but I never really tried to cover it with anything... I do have to clean the dust at least once a year, but other that I never had any accidents or anything, closing the case increases the temperatures and fan speeds with my current setup
 

JDG1980

Golden Member
Jul 18, 2013
1,663
570
136
This is my pc

2vwtqvs.jpg

As others have pointed out, there are two problems here. First of all, is that case 20 years old? Its design is absurdly obsolete; it's going to be much louder and have much worse cooling performance than anything modern. That may be one reason why you're finding yourself having to leave the side panel off. Secondly, Huntkey power supplies are terrible; you're risking damage to your electronics, or even worse, the possibility of a fire.

If you want a decent modern design case that won't break the bank, try the Corsair Carbide 200R. $59.99 (plus shipping) at Newegg. This is going to make a huge difference in both ease of build and cooling performance from your existing ancient case.

Newegg has a 600W Corsair modular power supply for $69.99, with a $20 mail-in rebate to reduce the price to $49.99. Go much cheaper than this, and you're going to have a hard time finding anything in your wattage range that meets basic standards of performance or even safety.
 

BSim500

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2013
1,480
216
106
Some thought from that picture:-

- Buy a better case. 12-14cm case fans have been standard for years and push far more air through than 80mm at same decibel level. If you don't plan on multiple dGPU's then you wouldn't even need a regular ATX case let alone a full tower. There are plenty of cool, well ventilated Micro-ATX cases around that can take long VGA cards often with 12cm exhaust / 14cm intake fans. I recently helped a friend build one himself around a cheap Sharkoon MA-M1000. Compact, cool & quiet. Look at the size disparity between your PSU vs case fan. The PSU has to cool only the excess 20% wasted energy inside your PSU. The 80mm case fan looks like it has to single-handedly extract all the excess heat in your case from your CPU & GPU combined! :eek:

- Your PSU is barely 80% efficient (and not the most reliable brand anyway). A more modern Gold / Platinum rated one will be nearer 90% efficient which would virtually halve the amount of energy that's turned into heat inside the PSU, reducing case heat build-up. ie, with a 300w DC load, it'll be drawing 360w AC turning 60w into heat. A 90% efficient will be drawing 330w at the wall and turning only 30w into heat.

- That CPU fan looks like it would give me a headache. Isn't it loud?

- If you're thinking of changing VGA card a Maxwell (and possibly AMD's future equivalent) would generate 100w less heat for similar performance.

At the very least, get a new case with 120mm exhaust fans. Good luck.
 

jtbr26

Banned
Mar 16, 2015
26
0
0
Some thought from that picture:-

- Buy a better case. 12-14cm case fans have been standard for years and push far more air through than 80mm at same decibel level. If you don't plan on multiple dGPU's then you wouldn't even need a regular ATX case let alone a full tower. There are plenty of cool, well ventilated Micro-ATX cases around that can take long VGA cards often with 12cm exhaust / 14cm intake fans. I recently helped a friend build one himself around a cheap Sharkoon MA-M1000. Compact, cool & quiet. Look at the size disparity between your PSU vs case fan. The PSU has to cool only the excess 20% wasted energy inside your PSU. The 80mm case fan looks like it has to single-handedly extract all the excess heat in your case from your CPU & GPU combined! :eek:

- Your PSU is barely 80% efficient (and not the most reliable brand anyway). A more modern Gold / Platinum rated one will be nearer 90% efficient which would virtually halve the amount of energy that's turned into heat inside the PSU, reducing case heat build-up. ie, with a 300w DC load, it'll be drawing 360w AC turning 60w into heat. A 90% efficient will be drawing 330w at the wall and turning only 30w into heat.

- That CPU fan looks like it would give me a headache. Isn't it loud?

- If you're thinking of changing VGA card a Maxwell (and possibly AMD's future equivalent) would generate 100w less heat for similar performance.

At the very least, get a new case with 120mm exhaust fans. Good luck.

Can watercooling fit in my casing?
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
I've been using my PC with the worst possible coolers and the side of the case open since 2005, but I never really tried to cover it with anything... I do have to clean the dust at least once a year, but other that I never had any accidents or anything, closing the case increases the temperatures and fan speeds with my current setup

As you said, with bad coolers and a not great case, running the case closed can produce worse temperature and noise.

With a good case and good airflow patterns (good fans in a well-designed case, essentially), a closed case can actually perform better in both temperature and fan noise than one that is open. At the very least, there should be very minimal difference between the two when things are designed well.

Which, if you then take a "positive pressure"* approach, that is to say more fans providing intake as opposed to exhaust, you can drastically reduce dust buildup, so long as all intakes are filtered.

*sort of a misnomer, you aren't really changing ambient air pressure, these things aren't 100% sealed and the fans aren't THAT powerful. But the dust effect is real, because fewer exhausts than intakes means you generally force air out of any spots that air can leak out of, as opposed to allowing air to be drawn in through non-filtered locations.

Regardless, systems are best if you clean out dust anyway, but a well-maintained closed-case will be better at minimizing dust buildup over the long-term.
 

xthetenth

Golden Member
Oct 14, 2014
1,800
529
106
Can watercooling fit in my casing?

With a lot of dremel work and materials that would cost considerably more than a new case and PSU, possibly. You would still definitely want a real PSU because that would do nothing to fix the problem of that thing.
 

SOFTengCOMPelec

Platinum Member
May 9, 2013
2,417
75
91
Can watercooling fit in my casing?

Phew, you have 100% confirmed that you are NOT trying to TROLL us here!

I would suggest, fitting three water cooling systems, in that case. One for the cpu, one for the graphics card and the third is a spare, just in case.

With water cooling systems, the external towel is essential!
In case of leaks.