How long will good cooling last?

[human1987]

I've got a intel-based PC I built 3years+ back.
Just normal cooling.

Casing is a CoolerMaster Centurion 1 I guess, with a fan on the front.
There is no fan on the back.
However the power supply does have a dual fan in it.

Things start to go haywire after 3years+ (which is now).
Where the graphics card (PowerColor 9800 PRO, changed 1year+ back) started to go bad. Motherboard seems unstable too.
Together, I changed to a lower-end P4 board with onboard graphics due to budget.
Everything is fine again but the performance is really bad, now I can't game and stuff.

The question is will good cooling prolong the life of my PC?
I do not have aircon in my room. I'm living in SG which the room temperature can get around 30 or more degree celcius during noon. My mum said that she can feel the PC exhaust heat when she step into my room. I guess it's really bad as I can feel the heat too. I do not trust the temperature shown on BIOS as even on a cold boot, temperature can show 60+ too.

I am wondering if I built another PC with good cooling, will it prolong the life of my PC even though the room is not airconditioned?

What are the recommended number of fans to be installed? (Front/Side/Back)
What about CPU stock cooling and other peripherals?

[jer888]

Number of fans and such will mostly depend on the parts and other things. There is not magic number of fans. Most will run fine with one exhaust fan and all stock cooling. It does seem kind of strange to me that there is no exhaust on your case though. If you did build a new computer, just be sure to get a case with good airflow. (P182 is excellent although there are cheaper options) make sure you install the CPU heat sink correctly and you will be fine.

[human1987]

Im afraid that with a higher watt PSU, more cables will obstruct the flow. What do you advice?

[newbuilder14]

That's where good cable management comes into play. My advice would be to install an exhaust fan in the rear of the case. That would provide for a nice flow of air from the front of the case to the back of the case.

[jer888]

Originally Posted by human1987 Im afraid that with a higher watt PSU, more cables will obstruct the flow. What do you advice?

well, with a case like the p182, you won't have any problems with cables. Every cable can be routed behind the motherboard tray or behind something. With a little time and patience, you can get rid of every cable

[human1987]

Thanks for showing such a useful link. By looking at the screenshots of P182, is the PSU located at the bottom (usually it's on the top)? If it is, it really helps in the ventilation as there's a fan on the top too.

Are the PSU of newer casings designed to be located at the bottom now?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by human1987 By looking at the screenshots of P182, is the PSU located at the bottom (usually it's on the top)?

Yes, it's installed on the bottom rear of the case.

Originally Posted by human1987 If it is, it really helps in the ventilation as there's a fan on the top too.

Actually, the PSU is sort of "walled off" from the rest of the components which should keep the heat generated by the PSU away from everything else. And with the 2 exhaust fans on the rear and top/rear of the case it should have very nice cooling capabilities. The one drawback with the power supply being on the bottom of the case is you have to get one with long power cords to reach all the components.

Originally Posted by human1987 Are the PSU of newer casings designed to be located at the bottom now?

Only a few cases are designed like this right now. The majority of the cases follow the old design with the power supply at the top.

Cricket

[jer888]

Originally Posted by Cricket the PSU is sort of "walled off" from the rest of the components which should keep the heat generated by the PSU away from everything else.

Exactly, and if you put the hard drives in the lower bay, you have sort of a windtunnel effect, with air coming through the front, past the hard drives, then into the psu and out the case. If you didnt see, between the psu area and lower hard drive bay is a fan

[human1987]

I was looking into some good and cheap casing.
I've seen P180 (not P182) selling at $200+SGD in SG.
I won't be even thinking of P182 now..