Poor airflow for computer desks

[ahsia]

I have a few friends that have computer desks in which there is a compartment for the computer. But it is a closed door compartment. The problem is there is absolutely no airflow in there, so when I open the compartment, it is rather warm in their. They have complained that certain times, their machines will lockup, and they are forced to reboot. What can I do to improve the overall cooling of the computer. One machine is a Athlon 1GHz, and the other is a Duron 600. Neither are overclocked, but what the BIOS, system temp is usually higher than CPU temp, but never over 45C. What can I do?

 

[Budman]

Cut a hole in the back of the cabinet & add more case fans.

 

[Pikachu]

My mom has a roll top desk with the same compartment you mentioned. Fortunately, she runs a Celeron, so she could by without even having a HS/Fan, let alone ventilation around the outside of the case! 😀

But her desk has a cutout on the inside of that compartment, it's where your legs are, so you can't see it. There's also a 'speaker grill' type cloth over the hole for aesthetics. If I wanted to ventilate that area, I'd put a fan in the back of the compartment. It could draw air out the back or force it through that hole. Depends if you want air blowing on your legs or not 😉 Either way, it's an inexpensive project to cut a couple holes and add a fan or blower. Uh, the blower would be quieter if that's a concern (it would be for me!)

 

[AMDPwred]

Get the case out of that inclosed desk. Sit it to the side and add more case fans like Budman said.

 

[Pikachu]

I'd sure like to know why Desktop cases fell out of favor. Two of the last three cases I bought were the Enlight 7200 series. They take up zero desktop space when mounted under the monitor. The trick is to keep the desktop down at the keyboard height, and set the keyboard on top instead of a pull out tray. That puts the monitor at the exact ergonomically correct eye level too.

 

[ahsia]

This might be a stupid questions, but as for case fans, should I installed them to blow air out, or blow air in?

 

[erikiksaz]

well, some people may argue, but most have the intakes in the lower front and the outtakes near the rear behind the cpu.

ahh, i recently needed to buy a new computer desk. i had 2 types of choices:

1) large tabletop with no enclosed cabinet for the case
2) smaller tabletop with an enclosed cabinet

i run a 1.4 tbird with a gf3, guess which one i picked 😉

 

[Sugadaddy]

I have on of these desks. The front is open (no door), but there's only a small hole in the back... It looks good, but it's not convenient. All the cable go through that hole in the back, so taking the case out and putting it back in is a pain...

My plan is to take off the cabinet part, and buy a taller case that I can just put on the floor. Maybe cut a larger hole in the back too...