Post by Oliver on May 20, 2014 20:48:55 GMT
As summer is upon us, I thought it appropriate to start a thread to discuss ways to keep our beloved VGX-XL systems cool.
As heat can seriously affect computers and shorten the life span, let's brainstorm some ideas to keep our precious systems nice and cool. Let's try to think outside the box
Some ways are extreme, others are just simple changes, please join in the thread with your own thoughts and ideas.
1. Simply move your VAIO somewhere cooler, this may not always be possible though.
2. Increase ventilation, make sure you have plenty of space in front, behind and above your vaio. Just something as simple as opening a window close to the VAIO or pointing a room fan at your system can make a different too. A little more extreme, but if possible, drilling ventilation holes in your furniture could help.
3. Go topless, if its really hot you could always remove the top from your VAIO
4. Clean your VAIO, dust can act like a blanket over all your VAIOs inners, it can also reduce the speed of the fans and cause extra noise. Be cautious not to damage anything though, I use some compressed air but a vacuum can do a pretty good job too. A little tip is to hold the fans so not to let them spin too fast and damage them. If your unsure it is probably worth searching on-line for further details on the best ways to clean a PC.
5. Renew or upgrade your fans, more info here... www.vgx-xl.com/hardware-upgrades/cooling-acoustics
6. Renew/Change your thermal paste. I use Arctic MX-4 thermal paste and it advertises "8 year durability" I don't know how long the original VAX-XL thermal paste should last, but as our systems are now 7+ years old, some new thermal paste could help. Some people would argue it doesn't make any different and I've heard of people using all kinds of wacky stuff as thermal paste. I'm just throwing out ideas, make your own mind up. If you do decide to upgrade the paste it might be worth upgrading your CPU at the same time?
7. Install a temperature program, I use CoreTemp, but I think they are better programs, it wont make your VAIO cooler, but it will let you know when your system is reaching it's upper limits so you can turn it off to cool down a little.
As always, follow any advice with caution and common sense, I will not take responsibility if something goes wrong.
Lets us know if you have suffered from heat issues, if you have any further ideas or if you have tried any of the ideas in this thread.
Oliver
As heat can seriously affect computers and shorten the life span, let's brainstorm some ideas to keep our precious systems nice and cool. Let's try to think outside the box
Some ways are extreme, others are just simple changes, please join in the thread with your own thoughts and ideas.
1. Simply move your VAIO somewhere cooler, this may not always be possible though.
2. Increase ventilation, make sure you have plenty of space in front, behind and above your vaio. Just something as simple as opening a window close to the VAIO or pointing a room fan at your system can make a different too. A little more extreme, but if possible, drilling ventilation holes in your furniture could help.
3. Go topless, if its really hot you could always remove the top from your VAIO
4. Clean your VAIO, dust can act like a blanket over all your VAIOs inners, it can also reduce the speed of the fans and cause extra noise. Be cautious not to damage anything though, I use some compressed air but a vacuum can do a pretty good job too. A little tip is to hold the fans so not to let them spin too fast and damage them. If your unsure it is probably worth searching on-line for further details on the best ways to clean a PC.
5. Renew or upgrade your fans, more info here... www.vgx-xl.com/hardware-upgrades/cooling-acoustics
6. Renew/Change your thermal paste. I use Arctic MX-4 thermal paste and it advertises "8 year durability" I don't know how long the original VAX-XL thermal paste should last, but as our systems are now 7+ years old, some new thermal paste could help. Some people would argue it doesn't make any different and I've heard of people using all kinds of wacky stuff as thermal paste. I'm just throwing out ideas, make your own mind up. If you do decide to upgrade the paste it might be worth upgrading your CPU at the same time?
7. Install a temperature program, I use CoreTemp, but I think they are better programs, it wont make your VAIO cooler, but it will let you know when your system is reaching it's upper limits so you can turn it off to cool down a little.
As always, follow any advice with caution and common sense, I will not take responsibility if something goes wrong.
Lets us know if you have suffered from heat issues, if you have any further ideas or if you have tried any of the ideas in this thread.
Oliver
