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My computer runs about 25-27 °C, which is okay during Winter, because I keep the house at about 20 °C. I am a bit concerned that it might be too cold during the summer months and that condensation may form inside my computer, thus exposing components to water, essentially making clouds and rain in my computer.

There is no way I can afford to keep the AC any cooler, any ideas?

Doktoro Reichard
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TheXed
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    possible duplicate of [Is it dangerous to run a CPU in an extremely cold environment?](http://superuser.com/questions/506856/is-it-dangerous-to-run-a-cpu-in-an-extremely-cold-environment) – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 Jun 30 '14 at 20:39
  • http://superuser.com/search?q=humidity – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 Jun 30 '14 at 20:39
  • To be completely fair, I didn't understand your question. If your computer runs fine in Winter (where it's colder and as such the chances for water to condense in cold metal surfaces is higher), and no condensation generates, why would you be worried that the same would happen when it's warmer? – Doktoro Reichard Jun 30 '14 at 20:42
  • in the winter the ambient temperature is cooler on the outside of the case than on the inside, thus any condensation would form on the outside of the case and not the inside, during the summer the opposite would be true. – TheXed Jun 30 '14 at 20:45
  • But at the temperature range you described, there shouldn't be any condensation, in any case, unless you are living in a very humid environment. – Doktoro Reichard Jun 30 '14 at 20:48
  • @DoktoroReichard the current humidity is 85%, I would consider that "very humid" – TheXed Jun 30 '14 at 20:54
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    If the ambient room temperature is warmer in summer than winter, then your computer will not be able to maintain its winter "25-27 °C" temp range. Assuming that your PC has ordinary forced convection cooling (i.e. fan and heatsink), then the PC's temperatures will always be at least a few degrees ***more*** than ambient temperature. Your concerns are groundless. – sawdust Jul 01 '14 at 00:45

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There's no such thing as too cold when it comes to electronics.

Humidity (the amount of water in the air) can be a problem though. But note that if you have your computer case closed, cold alone will not cause condensation to appear. Condensation will only appear if the water in the air gets in a hot/cold situation. But with the case closed, there shouldn't be any water in the air in the first place. Secondly, you need a really high humidity for this to be a problem.

LPChip
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    Actually there is too cold. It's just -40(+) type of temperatures the tempwrtuates quoted by author are not a problem – Ramhound Jun 30 '14 at 20:55
  • "But with the case closed, there shouldn't be any water in the air in the first place." Can you explain what you mean by this? Are you implying the humidity level inside the case is much lower than in the ambient air? – mtone Jul 01 '14 at 00:14
  • I mean that if the humidity in general is high, and the computercase is open so the air can easily access the components in the case, it could theoretically form condensation if there's a big temperature difference because the CPU will become hot. – LPChip Jul 01 '14 at 07:31
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Around 25°C is a perfectly safe temperature for your computer to run at. Since the computer runs at a warmer temperature that the surrounding environment it is unlikely to attract condensation.

If humidity is a concern:

  • Try to avoid leaving the computer turned off for long periods at a time
  • Make sure the case is closed.

You could look into a dehumidifier but this is most likely unnecessary unless you are in a tropical climate and would cost to run. As mentioned above it is usually heat rather than lack of it which is a problem for electronics.

Mavus
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You state "computer" and not laptop, I believe anyone would assume this to be a desktop or tower PC. This is important because you may have some issues if you were to tote a portable item from a cool environment to a humid one.

That being said, a PC that resides in an environment will have that environments ambient temp and relative humidity when it is not operating. While powered, the internal environment of the PC would get warmer, not colder.

You state you have and AC and do not wish to run it colder; then don't. Half the function of the ac is to not only reduce the temp, but reduces humidity in the area it is operating in.

So for cooling any further to reduce condensation damage, it will not make a difference while the PC stays in the same environment.

Carl B
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