[superstar]

Hi I'm one of the many who have a very expensive rig. I have a pc with some pretty rare parts inside and I keep my system on quite a lot. Most of the time it's on non stop for 2 or 3 days straight until the occasional power down. Anyways I just stumbled upon a thermal alarm that will beep if my system is at/over 110°F/43°C. That's supposedly the temperature that begins to ruin pc components like the unattended pc below.

[Example]



Here's the alarm:



Store:

http://www.frozencpu...2c133s492#blank

Price: $10.99

My question for you pros is...

Is this a gimmick or really a valid alarm that I could use to warn me of over heating?

Do computer parts really start melting/ruining at the temps I mentioned above?

Edited by superstar, 25 March 2008 - 11:29 PM.

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43C is very low. Most BIOS have an option to alarm you when things reach a certain temperature. Most components can handle up to 60-70C and still be fine. Graphics cards can typically get up to 100C or more without issues. I would have a look around your BIOS for alarm features. I can not tell you if that piece of equipment will work but IMO it's not worth $10. Also it will not be able to tell you that say, your CPU is too hot. It will only be able to tell you ambient temperatures.

Also, the length of time the computer is on shouldn't matter at all. It should always regulate itself around the same temperature. I have not turned my computer off for anything other than an upgrade in years. If after a few days of being on it is considerably hotter than it was the first day then you may have cooling issues.

Edited by Titan8990, 27 March 2008 - 12:10 PM.

[Titan8990]

43C is very low. Most BIOS have an option to alarm you when things reach a certain temperature. Most components can handle up to 60-70C and still be fine. Graphics cards can typically get up to 100C or more without issues. I would have a look around your BIOS for alarm features. I can not tell you if that piece of equipment will work but IMO it's not worth $10. Also it will not be able to tell you that say, your CPU is too hot. It will only be able to tell you ambient temperatures.

Also, the length of time the computer is on shouldn't matter at all. It should always regulate itself around the same temperature. I have not turned my computer off for anything other than an upgrade in years. If after a few days of being on it is considerably hotter than it was the first day then you may have cooling issues.

Edited by Titan8990, 27 March 2008 - 12:10 PM.

[superstar]

43C is very low. Most BIOS have an option to alarm you when things reach a certain temperature. Most components can handle up to 60-70C and still be fine. Graphics cards can typically get up to 100C or more without issues. I would have a look around your BIOS for alarm features. I can not tell you if that piece of equipment will work but IMO it's not worth $10. Also it will not be able to tell you that say, your CPU is too hot. It will only be able to tell you ambient temperatures.

Also, the length of time the computer is on shouldn't matter at all. It should always regulate itself around the same temperature. I have not turned my computer off for anything other than an upgrade in years. If after a few days of being on it is considerably hotter than it was the first day then you may have cooling issues.

I got the burnt component picture from a review for the alarm. The guy that reviewed it said his friend once left his pc on for weeks on end like most people do. & one night he went to bed when his major fan died and it gave way causing his parts to overheat. I can't remember what part that was that burnt in the picture but I think it had to do with the video card.

Here's the review:

http://www.2cpu.com/articles/67_1.html

It's not for specific hardware points like cpu monitoring. It's for ambuent case temperature. Your supposed to peel the adhesive off the alarm and place it inside the top of your case. Since hot air rises it has to be above not below.

I don't have a new pc that would have parts which would allow software monitoring so that's of no use to me. I'd still like to figure out if 110°F/43°C is a valid dangerous ambient case temperature point which would be useful with the alarm I posted. Or if it's just a gimmick.

Because like I said I don't have a new pc with parts that would allow software temperature detection. I've tried to use countless software to do that before but it's all incompatible with my pc parts. I'll buy this alarm if it is a valid tool. Do you think I should buy the alarm in my situation? I'm in a room that gets really hot during the summer. The ventilation in this room is quite poor... A good alarm would be nice but not if it's going to go off at anything. I don't think it would though because it's trying to catch the ambient case temp.

Edited by superstar, 27 March 2008 - 12:58 PM.

[Titan8990]

You forgot to put some of your post in quotes making it slightly confusing. Anyways, I'm sure the hardware works like it is supposed to, it is it's usefulness that is questionable.

[superstar]

You forgot to put some of your post in quotes making it slightly confusing. Anyways, I'm sure the hardware works like it is supposed to, it is it's usefulness that is questionable.

I don't understand the part about the quotes because I always quote other people. Well I don't know you didn't really object to the fact of it working in a system like mine or not. I don't have a motherboard or other parts that have built in temp detectors and such. I have a new but yet somewhat dated pc that is still worth a lot of money. So I need to protect it, and hey 110°F/43°C seems like really bad ambient case temperature to me.

Hmm anyone else have other opinions on this?