If i put a desk fan to my pc will it cool it down or just make it hotter?

[Carry Potter and the £20 gram]

Its baking hot in my room and my pc sounds like its about to explode. should i put an extra fan next to it?

[Spud the Spud]

Turn off your computer, unplug it, wait a few minutes, then ground yourself and open it up. Your case fans, and probably cpu and gpu fans, are probably clogged with dust and need cleaning.

Look up a video on how to do that, if you're uncertain. If you're dumb and fry your computer, I'm not responsible.

[Mr Blonde]

Or turn it off and do something else?

[Xautos]

opening the side or sides of the case could be super helpful for a computer case that has hard disk bays right between where the front case fans sit and the rest of the inner working. after a few minutes it will cool down, but you'll want to get computer case fans and a case fan power splitter if you have room for more.

if the hdd drive bay is in the way of the front case fans, you'll need a new case as gaming is demanding on the components and you'll want them cool. finding a case with very good airflow from fan to fan and direction is important to pushing cool air in and sucking warm air out.

[rats destroyer]

If the temperature of the room is lower than the temperature in the PC, it "might" help.

If the temperature of the room is higher than the temperature in the PC, don't.

[Kobs]

Originally posted by Wouselz:

You should put some ice cubes on the CPU and GPU... then they cool down even faster...:resmile:

^^^ sarcasm or do you want this poor kid's computer to short out?

It's time to invest in a window mounted air conditioning , small ones aren't that expensive and will cool a small room

[Electric Cupcake]

What people call baking hot is normal operating temp for a computer. 40-60 degrees celsius is pretty hellish, but perfectly ordinary for a pc. The outside ambient air temp doesn't matter so much as airflow. As long as the fans are positioned so the airflow moves the heat the PC is generating out of the case, it's fine.

[Azza ☠]

For your room, Window UV Tilting can block 99% UV light from the sun and reduce the heat by up to 87%. An Air Conditioner built into the wall is also extremely good at reducing temp.

However, with a normal fan, you will need to create a room draft, from one open window to another open window with the fan pushing fresh air across the room and out the other. Otherwise you are pretty much just cycling around the same hot air, which over long periods of time a fan will just generate more heat upon, rather than actually cooling it down. The only cooling effect you actually get is from the feeling of it's movement.

You should get a can of compressed air, spraying short and quick bursts, multiple directions, upon the PC fans and heat sinks. Do this while one side of the case is open. Any dust will bunny up and just leap out. Do NOT use long bursts of pressure, as that will force the dust in deeper. By using just quick short bursts and directions, it's loosens and removes it instead. Doesn't take long at all. Wipe the remain dust with a lint-free paper towel or cloth. Only vacuum outside of the PC case, around the area (carpet) afterwards.

If you have a high-end fan, such as a Dyson Pure, which has duel filtering, it can greatly reduce the dust in the room. With a Roomba or regularly vacuuming as well, your dust levels drop even more to almost zero. This can be however quite expensive, but great for those with pets, hay fever and/or dust allergies. Then as a side-effect, keep your PC quite dust-free and therefore running easier on their fans.

PC cases and it's fan layout is also important. Consider that hot air rises. You want cool air intake at the front (optional: bottom) and outtake at the rear (optional: top). Ensure there's enough room behind the PC case for the exhaust hot air to escape, else it will hot pocket and recycle into the graphics card exhaust. Wiring in the case itself should be tidy (cable tied behind if possible) to ensure the airflow can freely travel across the motherboard and out the back without hot pocketing in the case itself as well.

[Der Wirbelsturm]

I’m no expert, but consider that leaving your PC open with a fan blowing in might allow a lot more dust to find its way into the computer, which could be a hazard.

[Mr Blonde]

Get a chest freezer for pc room and drop that sucker in.

[Xautos]

Originally posted by KadillacGage:

I’m no expert, but consider that leaving your PC open with a fan blowing in might allow a lot more dust to find its way into the computer, which could be a hazard. :trafficcone:

That is unlikely, dust building happens slowly over a few weeks for it to be noticable to effect performance. if anything blowing a fan with cool air into the components with the side off can be helpful in removing warm air that builds up around the various components, but you want that fan just far enough away to be helpful but no so close the warm air is pushed back through the fan to warm it all up.

as for dust actually getting between connective elements? that is also unlikely, as the components are properly seated, there is no room for dust to get into and build up, not for a very long time at least.

[Spawn of Totoro]

As other have said, cleaning out the PC is the better idea.

Pointing a fan at an inanimate object in a hot room, will only push the already hot air at it, causing no real effect, either way.

People get cooler from a fan due to the evaporation process on your skin, due to the moving air helping the sweat evaporate faster. Then fan doesn't really do anything other then move the air.

Cleaning the PC/CPU/GPU fans will allow for better airflow.

After that would come cooling down the temperature in the room some how, with an AC unit being a good option, though the power required will cost in the long run and, depending on the wiring in your room/house, it may mean choosing between running the the PC or AC unit.

Originally posted by Hugsie Muffinball:

What people call baking hot is normal operating temp for a computer. 40-60 degrees celsius is pretty hellish, but perfectly ordinary for a pc. The outside ambient air temp doesn't matter so much as airflow. As long as the fans are positioned so the airflow moves the heat the PC is generating out of the case, it's fine.

True, but we don't know the temperatures the OP is getting. Would be nice if they could state as such.

[Electric Cupcake]

Originally posted by Plaid:

Originally posted by KadillacGage:

I’m no expert, but consider that leaving your PC open with a fan blowing in might allow a lot more dust to find its way into the computer, which could be a hazard. :trafficcone:

Or drill a large hole in the side of the case and point the fan in there. Maybe put some tape around the edges so there's no leakage. (okay that's a bit extreme)

dust more often. The case will already be open so if he keeps a duster can handy, he can give it a quick spray and get back to whatever

An aquarium would work better than a freezer.
https://eleccelerator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DSC04128e.jpg
https://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

[Birds]

It's almost definitely going to help.

There's no way the air in the room is hotter than the CPU, as you would likely die if it was. Thus, airflow will cause thermal equilibrium and at least a smidgen of cooling.

Might loosen up the dust a bit, too.

['G]

try geting a heat extractor and a cooling pad...i have a cooling pad,2 desk fans and a heat extractor

[Mötley]

the desk fan can be of use if you have hot air at the backside (PSU) it will produce wind so the hot air dont stands still