Surrounding air - extreme weather

javadude5545 · 02-01-2008, 12:26 PM

I did a search on the forum and found two other posts that are similar to mine. I just want to put my specifics here and see what feedback I get :)

I have two computers at my house that run 24x7 and are never turned off. They are headless machines that do not have a monitor hooked up to them, so its just the case and bare essentials.

I want to move them to an enclosure inside of my garage. While this enclosure does have 4 walls, its not insulated so it feels the full effects of the outside air. I live in MD and most of the time, the coldest it gets outside is in the teens, but thats not too often. Most of the time, its around 30 during the coldest part of the year. Im unsure if this "room" maintains any warmth at all.

I want to know if its ok to leave my computers in this room in a running state. My concern is that if they are running, and it gets to be 10 degrees outside, will that affect the computers or hard drives? I know that if I shut them down and bring them inside, I will have to wait in order to restart them, and Im ok with that.

What about the opposite... when its 100 degrees outside and probably 120 in the room.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

2pistolpacker · 02-02-2008, 10:57 AM

Hi javadude5545, the scenerio your talking about is possibly the harshest extreme for computer hardware. In the winter the extreme cold could possibly cause condensation on the warm parts, causing a problem. In the summer those opposite temps would also cause the power supply and cpu to overheat and possibly burn up. When the ambient air is 100F, there is no way to cool the parts inside the computer effectively. I would not do it. Mike

02-01-2008, 12:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
javadude5545 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1 OS: xp	Surrounding air - extreme weather I did a search on the forum and found two other posts that are similar to mine. I just want to put my specifics here and see what feedback I get :) I have two computers at my house that run 24x7 and are never turned off. They are headless machines that do not have a monitor hooked up to them, so its just the case and bare essentials. I want to move them to an enclosure inside of my garage. While this enclosure does have 4 walls, its not insulated so it feels the full effects of the outside air. I live in MD and most of the time, the coldest it gets outside is in the teens, but thats not too often. Most of the time, its around 30 during the coldest part of the year. Im unsure if this "room" maintains any warmth at all. I want to know if its ok to leave my computers in this room in a running state. My concern is that if they are running, and it gets to be 10 degrees outside, will that affect the computers or hard drives? I know that if I shut them down and bring them inside, I will have to wait in order to restart them, and Im ok with that. What about the opposite... when its 100 degrees outside and probably 120 in the room. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

02-02-2008, 10:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
2pistolpacker Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lenexa, Ks Posts: 1,038 OS: Win XP Pro My System	Re: Surrounding air - extreme weather Hi javadude5545, the scenerio your talking about is possibly the harshest extreme for computer hardware. In the winter the extreme cold could possibly cause condensation on the warm parts, causing a problem. In the summer those opposite temps would also cause the power supply and cpu to overheat and possibly burn up. When the ambient air is 100F, there is no way to cool the parts inside the computer effectively. I would not do it. Mike __________________ Speak kindly to me, beloved master. Revel in my unconditional love, and give me every minute that you can spare, for my time with you is short. --Your faithful dog