Overheating

[richlevy]

Actually it just crashed again while I was playing a new game I bought. For now, keeping the case off resolves the issue. I will also be replacing the 80mm case fan with a 92mm I ordered from Amazon. On the bright side Clod gets a commission on the $10 I spent.

So a 92mm fan is 12mm larger than an 80mm fan. But about 1/3 of the diameter of the fan is the hub which does not move any air. So the extra 12mm is a much larger percentage increase than 92/80.

Looking at Antec fans specs here, the 80mm can move 34 cubic feet of air/min and the 92mm moves 38 CFM, mostly becuase the max rpm is lower. I'm hoping that makes a difference.

[tw]

Originally Posted by richlevy

Actually it just crashed again while I was playing a new game I bought. For now, keeping the case off resolves the issue. I will also be replacing the 80mm case fan with a 92mm I ordered from Amazon.

That fan will not solve anything; is a classic example of 'curing symptoms'. A computer must work just fine in a standard room with no chassis fan. One chassis fan - more than sufficient for any properly assembled comptuer - is installed so that the computer will also work in a room above 100 degrees.

The numbers: How many more CFMs does the 90 mm have compared to the 80 mm? 38 CFM into a thermal equation reports about a 2 degree temperature reduction. Your CPU in a 70 degree room must be so cool that when room temperatures increases 30 degrees, the CPU is still in a perfectly ideal temperature. If 2 degrees cooler solves anything, the actual problem remains unsolved.

Use heat (ie a hairdryer) to find the defective part. Heat is a diagnostic tool to locate hardware problems. Any part heated to hairdyer temperatures must work 100% normally.

Why do some install a 120 mm fan? To maintain the same airflow with less noise. Larger fans with the same CFM (more than sufficient for any computer) is a technique for reducing noise.