Computer

Are high summer temperatures harmful to your PC?

Climate change is affecting the planet with each passing day and as we are seeing the saying “time is crazy” is true. The problem is that when summer arrives in certain parts of the country we see the thermometer mark 50º C in the sun and almost 45º C in the shadetherefore, this not only affects us, but also our pcbut how does it affect them? high summer temperatures?

When we have a PC we want several things: good performance, low price, low noise and low temperature. Some of these points are exclusive due to the market and others due to thermodynamics, especially as we say in the summer. Are there important changes in your PC between the cold winter phase and the extreme heat of the season that we are going to face? Yes, and many.

High summer temperatures affect the health of your PC

This time the answer is obvious, but we are going to investigate it much more. A PC is tied to temperature just as transistors are tied to performance, in fact the second most limiting factor in the performance of any PC is the temperature of key components.

pc-onfire-burning-hot

With high temperatures our PC begins to degrade its transistors faster, it is not something to worry about since we are talking about the atomic level, of atoms that move from the bridges and gates of each transistor to areas where they oxidize or obstruct the passage of current, usually at the junction between masks inside the die.

The temperature has a triggering factor in the voltage, it is not physically a problem by itself, but the extra millivolts needed by any electronic component at a higher temperature produce what is described and therefore shorten its useful life.

This depends on the frequency and voltage and much less than we think in the node to which the silicon chip is manufactured, but it does have an influence except that we as users will not see it as a problem unless we get out of the processor temperatures Tjmaxwhere everything will speed up much faster.

The lack of environmental humidity and the density of the air

Greater heat in the environment unequivocally implies a lower air density, which is good for our PC, but also a lack of environmental humidity that does not help certain parts.

A less dense air implies that the fans will move it more easily and with less noise as the gas on which we depend does not contain as many water particles, ergo the clash of the blades, the edges and the air vortices that are created will be acoustically quieter. speaking.

pc-burning

The counterpart comes from the relative humidity, since it not only implies that the temperature is higher and the sensation is drier when lowering it, but it also dries out any thermal material that our PC has. From thermal pastes, TIM, thermal pads, to electrical protection solutions such as certain fluxes or sealants in coils to prevent Coil Whine.

The high temperature and low humidity dry out the materials, allowing a worse thermal transfer or preventing their correct operation, so it is convenient to check them and see if they are really lubricated or dry and if it is necessary to change them.

Everything said so far is magnified in a laptop, no matter how good and optimized its cooling system is by simple ventilation and internal space for thermal dissipation. Here it would be advisable to consider a cleaning and lubrication routine for the key parts every 6 monthsfor example, as long as we do not lose the guarantee by opening it of course.

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