What do you do if you suspect that your computer is undergoing a heat stroke? Basically, behave as you would when faced with an overheated car engine.
Switch off the machine and let it cool. You may even open the side panel and gently fan the interior of the case. However, under no circumstances should you imitate a friend of mine, who has been known to treat his heat-distressed car engine with a splash of cold beer.
In the good old days, you did not need to lose any sleep over your computer` s temperature. Things were made to move at a leisurely pace. The danger of a PC breaking sweat lurked only in the machines that had been tampered with in order to force them to run faster.
With the increasing speeds of computers, heat has become an issue.
Imagine what it would do to your mental prowess if you were forced to solve a complex math problem while running at full speed - inside a sauna. After several hours of that, you would forgive yourself for not knowing how much is one plus one.
We are less forgiving towards our computers, though sprinting in a sauna is precisely what they sometimes have to put up.
Most computers today have three fans: one inside the power supply, one inside the case, and one on the central processing unit (CPU). Some high-end graphic cards need to work so hard that they require a cooler of their own.
When the chip gets hot, electrical impulses tend not to arrive on schedule.
The visible manifestations are more or less random lock-ups and failures on the part of the machine, and exasperation and frustration of the part of the user. If the problem is not recognised and dealt with promptly, the whole thing could end up in a big crash (and we are not talking here about the danger of the user smashing the computer).
With so much depending on it, your cooling system deserves a bit of pampering.
This is exactly what it gets with W-Force Super Panel.
W-Force Super Panel takes the guesswork out of the whole keeping-your-computer-cool business. Slip the W-Force Super Panel into a 5.25-inch bay on your computer case, and monitor your CPU, hard disk drive and system temperatures on a liquid crystal display.
W-Force also lets you adjust the CPU speed. For example, you may lower it whenever you give mundane tasks to your computer. That should go a long way in prolonging the CPU`s life span.
W-Force deals with another by-product of technological progress. You have probably heard it. For, along with the extra power offered by modern cooling solutions, comes the noise. If a noisy fan grates your nerves, simply turn the knob on the W-Force Super Panel and adjust the sound to the bearable level.
As a bonus, W-Force Super Panel has three extra ports, two USB and one FireWire. That makes life easier for all of us who still have to squeeze into the corner and crouch uncomfortably every time we want to plug in the USB cable and download photos from digital camera.
Besides keeping your eyes glued to W-Force display, what else can you do to ensure that your PC keeps its cool even in most demanding situations?
If possible, keep it in a cool place, and never in direct sunlight. Make sure that the case is not smack against the wall or other obstruction (some airflow around it is essential).
For spring cleaning, take the case cover off, grab blow drier (on cool setting) in one hand and vacuum cleaner in the other, then alternatively disperse and suck away the dust from inside the computer.
Before you put the cover back on, make sure that ribbon cables and other gear inside the case are not blocking ventilation holes.
With the cover still off, start the computer and check that the fans are working smoothly.
Above all, always pay attention to any unusual noises that come out of your computer. They may signal heat distress. Don`t be the kind of person who ignores such cries for help by turning down the knob on W-Force Super Panel!
And even if you are a kind of person who would do a thing like that, W-Force will sound an alarm as soon as goings-on inside your PC get too heated. In such a case, take the steps laid out at the beginning of this story.
W-Force Super Panel is now available from Frontier Electronics. To order, visit http://www.frontier-electronics.co.za.
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