PC Cooling Issue

[DanoWeir]

Hey there, had a problem that's got me stuck, thought I'd shoot it
out
and see if anyone could help.

My girlfriend has a homebuilt PC, which she keeps in the 'comp cubby'
that came with her desk, i.e. a small area under the desk where your
tower is supposed to go. Unfortunately, this cubby gets absolutely
zero airflow, so despite the fans (one on power supply, one for case
itself and the fan on the heatsink), the computer is overheating and
often shutting off erratically.


Yes, I realize the simple solution is to store the tower elsewhere,
but she doesn't want to do that (girlfriend logic is perplexing).
SO,
I've been charged with solving this problem.


Simply: Is there any way to cool a comp that's in a tight spot, and
receives little airflow?


I did a quick search over at Newegg.com, and saw 'water cooling' and
'hard drive heatsinks', but I'm quickly moving out of my knowledge
zone, and don't want to waste money on something I don't need. If
you
can help at all, I'd appreciate it. Cheers!


Dano

 

[UCLAN]

Hey there, had a problem that's got me stuck, thought I'd shoot it out and
see if anyone could help.

My girlfriend has a homebuilt PC, which she keeps in the 'comp cubby' that
came with her desk, i.e. a small area under the desk where your tower is
supposed to go. Unfortunately, this cubby gets absolutely zero airflow, so
despite the fans (one on power supply, one for case itself and the fan on
the heatsink), the computer is overheating and often shutting off
erratically.

Yes, I realize the simple solution is to store the tower elsewhere, but she
doesn't want to do that (girlfriend logic is perplexing). SO, I've been
charged with solving this problem.

Simply: Is there any way to cool a comp that's in a tight spot, and
receives little airflow?

Simply cut a hole for a small exhaust fan in rear of the "comp cubby."

 

[UCLAN]

Indeed. A handy way to power such a fan would be to use a
leftover AC-DC power adapter, generally the best result
would be to undervolt the fan so one rated for about 5V to
7V DC and at least a couple hundred mA might be right
depending on the fan chosen.

I had a stereo cabinet with a 230vac fan running at 115vac. Same principle.