For the last few weeks I’ve been listening to my laptop fan whir away, running full speed, hopelessly trying to keep the critical components cool, and failing.
Then the other day when my wireless router pooped out on me from overheating, I realized it was time to take action.
If your computer sounds like a jet engine, you should probably keep reading.
Let’s face it, it’s been freaking HOT here in Hawaii lately. Hot and MUGGY. And our electronics HATE it.
So I wanna give you some quick advice on how to keep your electronics happy (and alive) in the hot summer heat.
First, let’s start with computers and laptops. Basically, there are several components in these devices that heat up and, over time, if not taken care of, they burn out. No bueno.
The CPU, the graphics processor (GPU), the hard drives, memory and other chips all run hot. And when it’s 90 degrees outside, it’s not like the fans are exactly supplying them with crisp cool air. No, instead they run full blast sucking in hot, sticky (and in Puna – SALTY) air that gums up the fans and does little to cool the components. In fact, the fans running full blast are probably EXPEDITING your computer’s demise by blowing that humid salty air all over the inside of your computer. Again, not good.
You see, computers have an “overheat” temperature – that is, a point at which they’ll shut down to protect themselves from being damaged by the extreme heat. The overheat temperature for a typical Intel processor runs in the 100’C range (over 200 degrees Fahrenheit!) The problem is, if your processor is running at say, 85 or 90’C all the time, it won’t shut itself down, but it WILL slowly burn itself out. And all the while, the fan is running full blast sucking in all that yucky air slowly destroying everything else in the computer in the process.
So what can you do?
First, if you’re running a laptop in a hot climate (average temps over 75’F) then I STRONGLY recommend using a laptop cooling stand. This $30-50 investment may add years of life to your laptop. Here’s why. The fans on a laptop cooling stand will help dissipate the hot air AROUND your laptop, enabling the laptop fan itself to draw in cooler air. This means the internal fan works less, draws in less humid salty air, and the laptop runs cooler. If you can drop the average temp your laptop is running at by even 10’C, your laptop is going to me MUCH happier.
Next, there are several services I recommend from time to time. First, clean out, or replace old fans – they’re usually pretty cheap. They tend to get gummed up and work less and less efficiently over time, so everything runs hotter and hotter. Second, and this is something you may not want to take on yourself, replace the thermal compound between your CPU and the heatsink that is meant to dissipate heat away from the CPU. See the image below.
Basically, there is this special goop that goes between your CPU and heatsink that tends to ooze out the sides over time, while simultaneously becoming less effective. The result is that the fan is running full blast trying to cool the CPU, but the CPU CAN’T send it’s excess heat up into the heatsink to be drawn away. So the fan runs faster and faster, collecting more and more gunk on its blades and in its bearings, pulling in more salty humid air, the CPU gets hotter and hotter, and eventually you’re calling me because your computer won’t turn on. Goop is a few bucks, a CPU may be a few hundred. I recommend each of these services every couple of years depending on climate and use.
The last two pieces of advice I have are as follows: don’t stack hot electronics (including stereo equipment, hard drives, modems, routers, etc.) – give them as much air to breath as possible. And second; ALWAYS keep your electronics covered or enclosed when not in use. This will keep that salty humid air away from them as much as possible. Obviously, you need to remove any coverings when the electronics are running, but when they’re off, throw a towel or sarong or whatever you have laying around over them to protect them. I once heard someone say parking your car in a garage doubles its lifespan. In a salty humid environment, I think the same can probably be said about electronics being covered with cloth or enclosed in a cabinet.
Alright, that’s it for today. I hope this has been helpful and I welcome your feedback. I’ve put a few links below for your reference.
I hope you’re well! Enjoy the heat!
– Aloha,
Ethan
Here is a temperature utility that will tell you how hot your computer is running – this one is malware free and safe to install but be careful playing around with it – I recommend just viewing the temps if you don’t want to mess anything up. You’ll need to click on the blue Speedfan 4.51 link in the 2nd paragraph under Download here:
http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
Some examples of laptop cooling stands:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=laptop+cooling+stand
CPU thermal compound:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=thermal+compound&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Athermal+compound