Tips to Keep Your Computer Cool

I recently found it needful to upgrade the ram memory in my 4 year old computer. I had purchased a game that just needed well more than the 512 megabytes the unit had already installed.

I ordered the memory chips from a well known online supplier and was quite pleased with the price and shipping I was offered. It seems that now is a good time to buy as the cost per megabyte on ram chips is quite low.

In due course the chips arrived and I prepared to install the new memory. First I had to pull plugs and disconnect this and that before removing the metal panel on the side of the machine and remove the old ram chips. The removal and installation of the chips was quickly accomplished and I was about to replace the metal cover when I noticed all the crud that had collected in this poor machine.

The fan grill on the power supply was caked with lint and dirt. Cleaning all that off revealed the fan blades underneath and they were just as dirty. Several long industrial Q-tips later had the grill and fan were looking much better. Having another look around I noticed the inlet slots for air ventilation were nearly closed off with lint and dirt as well. More scrubbing and removal of anything that would prevent or even slow down air circulation from getting into this computer case.

One more look around revealed yet another problem. The heat sink clipped onto the cpu was also incredibly filthy. This is a solid block of aluminum with machined groves cut into the surface and helped along in it's job with the addition of a cpu fan. Both fan and heat sink were coated with lint and dirt and dust bunnies.

The cpu is the major heat demon in your computer. It is critical that it be cooled. The manufacturer designed the computer so that this heat sink rests directly on top of the cpu. There is a heat conductive paste smeared on to the top of the cpu and this paste insures that there is as direct a path as possible for the heat to travel to the heat sink. The fan perched atop the heat sink is there to facilitate the movement of air down in those machined groves cut into the aluminum heat sink.

A careful removal of the fan and heat sink and a good clean up of both and I was finally ready to close the machine back up and reconnect everything. Once finished and with the machine repowered I realized there was a sound missing that I had grown used to hearing. The sound of a high speed fan was missing. The computer wasn't struggling to stay cool by trying to draw air through clogged vents and the suddenly quiet running machine was a real pleasure to use.

Try these tips on your own machine. I would suggest doing this job once every year. One word of caution would be to be certain to use a grounding strap. These are available from electronic stores and may well prevent a catastrophic loss of your computer through electro-static discharge from your body to the machines sensitive chips.