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Original article:
Just how big of a problem is computer dust?
The computer below was clean as new
a year and a half ago. No additional cooling fans, just a power supply fan (drawing air
out) and a CPU fan. The owner of this system has a very clean house, it's just easy to
forget about that computer tower under the desk.
I have read so many news group posts
and website cooling projects that talk about or show systems with 4,5,8, and even one with
10 fans. Rarely a mention about dust, or just dismiss it as not a big deal.
Well, it can be a very big deal if you don't stay on top of it with regular cleaning.
Nowadays, personal computers are
being used in different ways than years ago. Hardly anyone 10 yrs ago used a personal computer
as a home voice/fax answering system. Now it is becoming more common to leave
a computer running 24/7 to handle voice/mail/fax. It's the 24/7 that quadruples the
dust problem. Then take over clocking into account, throw in a bunch of extra fans most
sucking air out and you can multiply the dust problem even more.
Some of you are probably laughing,
saying, "I never own a computer more than a year anyway". Well, I think that is
about to change, the speed of the systems being sold today are so comfortable for the
normal end user that it is going to be real hard getting them to replace a P2-400. There
was a very noticeable gain going from a P-133 to a P2-300. For the average user (not
gamer) the noticeable gain is much less going from 300 to 400 and will be even less
noticeable going from 400 to 500. I see people hanging on to their P2-300's and 450's for at
least 3-4 years. Who knows, only time will tell... Remember Billy saying, "Why
would anyone need more than 640k of memory?"
The pictures do most of the talking.
Having problems connecting to the Internet? Check the modem jacks.
People wonder why their floppy, CD-ROM, and tape drives quit working.
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by: Larry Mingus
Published: November 4, 1998
