[kate0558]

I just bought a new desk with an enclosed place for the tower....

Stupidly, I didn't think much of it. That is ofcourse until i plugged it all in (also hooked up dual monitors at the same time) and put it in the desk and walked away for an hour. I come back and open the little desk door and i'm like "omg whats that smell"! yea the computer was overheating... I'm scared to even ask what damage that caused... but it was running fine once i unplugged it all and put outside of the desk.

Is there anyway I can cool off the enclosure that its in enough to be able to keep the computer in there. Maybe an external fan that will draw heat out and bring cool air in. I don't mind cutting a hole in the back of the desk to "install" an external fan. Right now the only way airs getting in is through the 2 small holes that the cords go in through.

On my system I installed a 1gb graphics card (which i'm now running dual monitors out of). And replaced the 300 watt power supply with a 700watt one. Haven't replaced the fans yet. Not sure what kind to get because the ones on there are still working... So simply putting in new ones exactly like the ones on there won't do me much good. I'd need better ones and other then throwing out over 100 bucks to install liquid cooling (which I can't afford to do right now) I don't know which fans are better then the rest.

Thanks for your help!

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Computer cabinets/desks are a bad idea for high-spec computers pushing out a fair amount of heat. You are preventing the cooling fans from doing a proper job. A 700 watt PSU alone will generate a fair amount of heat. By the time you've removed enough of the cabinet to make a difference, you might as well not have any cabinet at all. All you need is a plain, flat-topped office-type desk with nothing under it but space. Lay a shelf-board on the floor under the desk at one side and sit the PC on it. Not only will it have sufficient room to dissipate heat but all the cables and ports at the back will be easily accessible at all times. There's nothing more infuriating than having to drag the system case all the way out of a PC cabinet just to get at a single wire or port at the back.

Computer desks with a PC compartment may look neat and tidy but they are just not practical and will definitely promote overheating, frequent crashes, & a shorter life for the PC.

[phillipcorcoran]

Computer cabinets/desks are a bad idea for high-spec computers pushing out a fair amount of heat. You are preventing the cooling fans from doing a proper job. A 700 watt PSU alone will generate a fair amount of heat. By the time you've removed enough of the cabinet to make a difference, you might as well not have any cabinet at all. All you need is a plain, flat-topped office-type desk with nothing under it but space. Lay a shelf-board on the floor under the desk at one side and sit the PC on it. Not only will it have sufficient room to dissipate heat but all the cables and ports at the back will be easily accessible at all times. There's nothing more infuriating than having to drag the system case all the way out of a PC cabinet just to get at a single wire or port at the back.

Computer desks with a PC compartment may look neat and tidy but they are just not practical and will definitely promote overheating, frequent crashes, & a shorter life for the PC.