I have a problem with one machine that i am happy to throw out and see what recommendations are made for resolving it. It overheats to often, and with the recent increase in temperature, the cycle has started again.
The machine is a dual xeon processors setup, with a dvd rom as well as some 6 or 7 hard drives. The case is a Lien Li case, which has excellent soundproof features as it is built using Aluminium or Stainless steel, but because of that it struggles to get ride of the heat generated by the components, it currently is running four fans as well.
So anyone have any bright ideas for keeping the temperature down at a sensible level to stop it from keep shutting off, hopefully something that does not need a degree in engineering to apply / install.
Turn it off, go to Carnegie’s, drink three or four pints of Guinness, have a curry and go home. Your computer will be nice and cool. This is what I do and it really works. The best thing of all is that you can’t really remember why an overheating computer was a problem in the first place.
Add small (6-7") external table fan blowing on the unit to help the unit’s own fans exchange heat better.
If it’s in a confined area like under a desk, it could be heating up the area and not have good airflow. Consider moving it out of the confined area, e.g., to the desktop.
Add aircon to the room it’s in.
Open up the unit and use compressed air to clean key areas.
(Sorry, you’ve probably already thought of these, but that’s all I’ve got for ya.)
I thank you for all the replies, both serious and the more light hearted ones, will look at trying a fan before going to some of the others, not sure how much of an effect it will have though.
taking the case off may help some but equally may alter the airflow patterns closer to the boards, thus making the problem worse. you’re best off reducing room temp (think chilly 15 degree server farms here) and keeping all airways clear. make sure no ribbon cable paths block airways too… accidenal rerouting of them as you add new drives can be a source of problems directly, as well as simply having the drives add more thermal mass and heat input to the machine…
If you aren’t running a webserver or virtual machines or whatever that places a LOT of CPU demand I think a dual xeon setup is overkill… I sure hope you don’t use this for browsing the web right? I can think of the cheapest (like semprons) that will use less power and generate almost no heat.
Sounds like he is running a webserver/file server of some kind. Dual xeons with 6-7 hdds.
Get some water cooling for your CPU and better fans for the rest. Make sure you have fans sucking from the front and blowing in the back and install as many fans as possible if sound isn’t an issue. If it is then water cool the whole thing.
If you’re computer is shutting down because it is too hot, should look at some upgraded heatsinks. The Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme looks to be the current king of air cooling. The stock Intel heatsinks can’t even compare to these. They are big, so do some planning to make sure they would fit on your current mobo.
As mentioned above, wire/cable management is important. Tuck any extra wires away behind the mobo tray to create a clear channel for the air to pass through the case.
What is the exact case model? Sounds like a monster rig.
Guys, thanks for all the suggestions. Will have a look at water cooling, but must admit the thought of electrics and water in the same box is not one that greatly appeals due to obvious potential effects. How easy are these to actually install though, or is it a job for a professional as so to speak.
Yeah, the machine is both a file server and application server, we had to take mail and web off it as it casued it to basically collapse almost everyday, will aslo check to see if extra fans can be added, if not then look at putting in larger fans if possible.
Whilst i would love to air con the room 24 hours a day, i dont think the landlord would be to happy with me if i did.
Data centers is a good but somewhat expensive solution for a small company like ours.
What gets me is that the case can handle up to 18 hdd’s, and if running that lot, the damn thing would spend almost all of its time shutdown.
You could outsource the web part to a professional provider and split application and file server into two more standard machines. Might be cheaper and more reliable in the end!
