is it bad to leave the side panel off of your computer case

C

ckfordy

banned
can it ruin it or is it ok cause i have left mine off and everything has gone downhill.

its a dell 4700 and i used to play battlefield 2 with the lowest resloution and everything on high except the AA thing i think that is what it is called. but it dont play battlefield 2 in high settings anymore. do you think that could be the problem or something else. my videocard is an ati radeon x300 se do you think i should go to the website and update the drivers on it or what should i do. i proabaly have left the side panel off of the computer case for a few months maybe more

any help would be appreciated thanks
 
Hairy_Lee

Hairy_Lee

VIP Member
your system might be getting clogged up with dirt and your cpu is getting too hot to run at full speed.

try cleaning out your heatsink on your cpu and videocard.
 
C

ckfordy

banned
Hairy_Lee said:
your system might be getting clogged up with dirt and your cpu is getting too hot to run at full speed.

try cleaning out your heatsink on your cpu and videocard.
Click to expand...

thanks

anything else i should do
 
4

4W4K3

VIP Member
AMD64 said:
you do wont that loosen some stuff up in the computers
Click to expand...

lol, just dont put it up RIGHT next to the hardware. i blast it out for a few secs and it's never damaged it.
 
P

p8ntballsnyper

New Member
The only bad thing about leaving your computer side open is dust and airflow. The dust is the biggest part. Dust and dirt particles clog up your system and cause it to overheat. Bad airflow can also be a result of leaving your case open. Air needs to be pulled in and pushed out to keep you computer cool. With the side off the airflow might be messed up, either not getting enough air in or not keeping the cool air in. Most people I've talked to recommend that you leave your side on because it is less maintanace, but it isn't too rare to hear about people expecially overclockers leaving off their side panel and running a house fan into it. So the conclusion is side off = high maintanace, side on = not as high of maintanace.
 
skidude

skidude

Active Member
I would say it wouldnt harm it. It would give it some extra cooling, but, as previously mentioned, it will get full of dust and other junk.
 
Geoff

Geoff

VIP Member
MatrixEVO said:
Clean it out with a can of compressed air, that's what I do. Why did you take the side panel off anyway?
Click to expand...

if your cleaning the entire inside of the computer, using a vacuum cleaner on reverse will work more efficiently. But if your cleaning a small area, the cans are best.
 
C

ckfordy

banned
MatrixEVO said:
Clean it out with a can of compressed air, that's what I do. Why did you take the side panel off anyway?
Click to expand...

i was looking at the powersupply to see if i could get a new videocard or not and i cant cause of the powersupply its only 305 watts and i didnt put the side panel back on and i forgot about it.

by the way does anyone know of a powersupply that will work with a dell 4700 for about 50-80 dollars

thanks for all the help
 
Rambo

Rambo

New Member
Surely if you keep your system's side panel off, it would run hotter... Think about it... The fans (if any) won't be doing anything because there would be no air to ventilate, and it would only cause the PC temperature to be the same as air temperature in the same room, which I presume is kept nice and warm most of the time.

Also, the cool air made by fans would just escape out of the case instead of staying in it.
 
Hairy_Lee

Hairy_Lee

VIP Member
it doesn't work like that. air doesn't get cooler cos ur blowing it with a fan, you only percieve it to be cooler because your skin is very slightly moist and it causes convection.

i think that with the case side off it wouldn't make a big deal to temps unless your system was very poorly ventilated
 
C

ckfordy

banned
Rambo said:
Surely if you keep your system's side panel off, it would run hotter... Think about it... The fans (if any) won't be doing anything because there would be no air to ventilate, and it would only cause the PC temperature to be the same as air temperature in the same room, which I presume is kept nice and warm most of the time.

Also, the cool air made by fans would just escape out of the case instead of staying in it.
Click to expand...

actually its kept cold in in my room. right now its 53 degrees outside and i have a fan going right now and its cold in here. and we keep the house at 60-68 in the winter so its usually not warm but it is nice
 
krimson_king

krimson_king

New Member
i always thought it would be a cool idea to get a mini fridge and make like a custom seal to run all the wires out so you could have climate control for your pc. then again, youd probably have a lot of trouble with condensation
 
C

ckfordy

banned
krimson_king said:
i always thought it would be a cool idea to get a mini fridge and make like a custom seal to run all the wires out so you could have climate control for your pc. then again, youd probably have a lot of trouble with condensation
Click to expand...

ya that would be cool but the condensation would be a big problem
 
randruff

randruff

New Member
What form factor is your computer? ATX? Micro ATX? You should be able to get a power supply from newegg for the right form factor to replace your current psu. For $80 you can probably pull a 480-500W psu. You just have to make sure the psu matches form factors with your computer.
 
Rick G

Rick G

New Member
Dell psu's are proprietary and you have to get another Dell psu, the connectors are different than aftermarket psu's.
The dirt issue isn't that much of a big deal. which is better, big opening with no suction or smaller openings with fans sucking in air without any filters. With filters the dirt issue will be much less.
Put the side back on and install a filter pad next to the fan intake.
 
C

ckfordy

banned
randruff said:
What form factor is your computer? ATX? Micro ATX? You should be able to get a power supply from newegg for the right form factor to replace your current psu. For $80 you can probably pull a 480-500W psu. You just have to make sure the psu matches form factors with your computer.
Click to expand...

im pretty sure it is an ATX
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top