Running computer in outside summer heat/humidity?

[jimmered]

I'll be working outside this summer near Dallas, TX. I'll have access to electricity, wifi, and be protected from rain/direct sun (in a pavilion). I'll have a lot of downtime.

My computer is a i5-3950 with crossfired 7950. I was going to leave case open and place large box fan next to it for lots of airflow.

I know this is a bad idea if I care about long term reliability of my computer, but for the sake of this discussion, I only need it to last the summer. Will the computer run full throttle in the TX temp/humidity?

 

[mnewsham]

Well assuming some kid doesnt run over and drop some water in it, i suppose it would be okay... not really advisable, just so many things could go wrong, wind could blow in a conductive particulate that could short something, easier to get moisture inside, etc.


just seems like a bad idea to me 😛

 

[jaedaliu]

is it going to be wet where you're at? water can get in.

or really dry? static and sand can blow in.

in between? dust buildup will eventually be an issue.

You should keep the case closed with intake filters. Maybe a different case or water cooling if you want to spend more money on it.

 

[mfenn]

If the ambient air temperature starts climbing above 100 F, it won't really matter how much air you can blow over the heatsinks. The delta T between the heatsink and air won't be enough to pull heat off of the CPU.

 

[FeuerFrei]

I work in East Texas myself. Indoors on a summer day, the office can reach 95° - no ac. We have a couple Dell Dimensions - 5 to 8 years old - that endured such temp extremes without ill effect so far. No special cooling arrangements for them. Of course they're mostly idling when doing basic office productivity tasks in MS Office. Most strenuous activity would be streaming web video.

That said, we recently got a 3rd pc set up with a new monitor and the monitor's specs give an Operating Temp limit of 95°F and max humidity of 80%. So we'll probably be pushing the manufacturer's recommended ranges this coming summer.

IMO your Crossfire graphics might get overly toasty, but otherwise your equipment could survive.

 

[TheKub]

Just about every bar\restaurant with outdoor seating here in Florida has flatscreen TV's that they leave outside and running all year long. I would imagine the only concern is whether the system can run "full throttle" and cool effectively enough at 90-100+ degrees. I would say if you had the system set to down throttle when\if it over heats it should be fine.

 

[Chapbass]

I work in East Texas myself. Indoors on a summer day, the office can reach 95° - no ac. We have a couple Dell Dimensions - 5 to 8 years old - that endured such temp extremes without ill effect so far. No special cooling arrangements for them. Of course they're mostly idling when doing basic office productivity tasks in MS Office. Most strenuous activity would be streaming web video.

That said, we recently got a 3rd pc set up with a new monitor and the monitor's specs give an Operating Temp limit of 95°F and max humidity of 80%. So we'll probably be pushing the manufacturer's recommended ranges this coming summer.

IMO your Crossfire graphics might get overly toasty, but otherwise your equipment could survive.

Bolded. How about pulling one of those 7950's out, and closing the case? A single 7950 should be just fine for everything...yeah, you'll have to turn the settings down, but at least you wont toast the machine 😛.

 

[mindless1]

What if you set an air conditioner next to it instead of a fan? 😎

Another option is raise the delta T between the heatsink and ambient, put peltiers on anything you can... but then you also need more case airflow or a water cooling setup.

It really depends on how it runs now. Check current temperatures then add same difference as the hottest day there vs the present ambient temp. For example if it'll be 20C warmer there and your CPU is at 40C right now, it'll get by at 60C there.