# is it bad to leave the side panel off of your computer case



## ckfordy

can it ruin it or is it ok cause i have left mine off and everything has gone downhill.

its a dell 4700 and i used to play battlefield 2 with the lowest resloution and everything on high except the AA thing i think that is what it is called. but it dont play battlefield 2 in high settings anymore. do you think that could be the problem or something else.  my videocard is an ati radeon x300 se do you think i should go to the website and update the drivers on it or what should i do.  i proabaly have left the side panel off of the computer case for a few months maybe more

any help would be appreciated thanks


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## Hairy_Lee

your system might be getting clogged up with dirt and your cpu is getting too hot to run at full speed.

try cleaning out your heatsink on your cpu and videocard.


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## ckfordy

Hairy_Lee said:
			
		

> your system might be getting clogged up with dirt and your cpu is getting too hot to run at full speed.
> 
> try cleaning out your heatsink on your cpu and videocard.



thanks

anything else i should do


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## 4W4K3

i blow mine out with a leaf blower once every 3 months.


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## ckfordy

4W4K3 said:
			
		

> i blow mine out with a leaf blower once every 3 months.




you do wont that loosen some stuff up in the computers


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## 4W4K3

AMD64 said:
			
		

> you do wont that loosen some stuff up in the computers



lol, just dont put it up RIGHT next to the hardware. i blast it out for a few secs and it's never damaged it.


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## p8ntballsnyper

The only bad thing about leaving your computer side open is dust and airflow.  The dust is the biggest part.  Dust and dirt particles clog up your system and cause it to overheat.  Bad airflow can also be a result of leaving your case open.  Air needs to be pulled in and pushed out to keep you computer cool.  With the side off the airflow might be messed up, either not getting enough air in or not keeping the cool air in.  Most people I've talked to recommend that you leave your side on because it is less maintanace, but it isn't too rare to hear about people expecially overclockers leaving off their side panel and running a house fan into it.  So the conclusion is side off = high maintanace, side on = not as high of maintanace.


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## ckfordy

k thanks ill clean it up and put the cover back on and see if that helps


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## skidude

I would say it wouldnt harm it. It would give it some extra cooling, but, as previously mentioned, it will get full of dust and other junk.


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## MatrixEVO

Clean it out with a can of compressed air, that's what I do. Why did you take the side panel off anyway?


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## Geoff

MatrixEVO said:
			
		

> Clean it out with a can of compressed air, that's what I do. Why did you take the side panel off anyway?



if your cleaning the entire inside of the computer, using a vacuum cleaner on reverse will work more efficiently.  But if your cleaning a small area, the cans are best.


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## ckfordy

MatrixEVO said:
			
		

> Clean it out with a can of compressed air, that's what I do. Why did you take the side panel off anyway?



i was looking at the powersupply to see if i could get a new videocard or not and i cant cause of the powersupply its only 305 watts and i didnt put the side panel back on and i forgot about it.

by the way does anyone know of a powersupply that will work with a dell 4700 for about 50-80 dollars

thanks for all the help


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## Rambo

Surely if you keep your system's side panel off, it would run hotter... Think about it... The fans (if any) won't be doing anything because there would be no air to ventilate, and it would only cause the PC temperature to be the same as air temperature in the same room, which I presume is kept nice and warm most of the time.

Also, the cool air made by fans would just escape out of the case instead of staying in it.


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## Hairy_Lee

it doesn't work like that. air doesn't get cooler cos ur blowing it with a fan, you only percieve it to be cooler because your skin is very slightly moist and it causes convection.

i think that with the case side off it wouldn't make a big deal to temps unless your system was very poorly ventilated


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## ckfordy

Rambo said:
			
		

> Surely if you keep your system's side panel off, it would run hotter... Think about it... The fans (if any) won't be doing anything because there would be no air to ventilate, and it would only cause the PC temperature to be the same as air temperature in the same room, which I presume is kept nice and warm most of the time.
> 
> Also, the cool air made by fans would just escape out of the case instead of staying in it.



actually its kept cold in in my room.  right now its 53 degrees outside and i have a fan going right now and its cold in here.  and we keep the house at 60-68 in the winter so its usually not warm but it is nice


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## krimson_king

i always thought it would be a cool idea to get a mini fridge and make like a custom seal to run all the wires out so you could have climate control for your pc.  then again, youd probably have a lot of trouble with condensation


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## ckfordy

krimson_king said:
			
		

> i always thought it would be a cool idea to get a mini fridge and make like a custom seal to run all the wires out so you could have climate control for your pc.  then again, youd probably have a lot of trouble with condensation



ya that would be cool but the condensation would be a big problem


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## randruff

What form factor is your computer? ATX? Micro ATX? You should be able to get a power supply from newegg for the right form factor to replace your current psu. For $80 you can probably pull a 480-500W psu. You just have to make sure the psu matches form factors with your computer.


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## Rick G

Dell psu's are proprietary and you have to get another Dell psu, the connectors are different than aftermarket psu's.
The dirt issue isn't that much of a big deal. which is better, big opening with no suction or smaller openings with fans sucking in air without any filters. With filters the dirt issue will be much less.
Put the side back on and install a filter pad next to the fan intake.


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## ckfordy

randruff said:
			
		

> What form factor is your computer? ATX? Micro ATX? You should be able to get a power supply from newegg for the right form factor to replace your current psu. For $80 you can probably pull a 480-500W psu. You just have to make sure the psu matches form factors with your computer.



im pretty sure it is an ATX


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## Rick G

Yes it is ATX but the PSU from Dell has different connectors that make them propriatary,


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## Vav00m

4W4K3 said:
			
		

> i blow mine out with a leaf blower once every 3 months.


THAT IS PURE GENIUS!!!!

My computer has windows and fans galore, but months drag on and my dust bunnies are building armies..  A leaf blower, who woulda thought..


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## OS Dragon

If you damage the computer, you might end up having to pay for new part in the short run.


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## robina_80

yeah bad idea laeving side panel open my case had louds of dirt in it i couldnt believe how much crap it had i was amazed


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## Osyris

Be careful with compressed air though. If you don't follow the directions on the can (yes there should be directions) it could shoot liquid onto what ever it is that you are trying to clean, and liquid + computer = BAD NEWS (yes, I am speaking from experiance.....)


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## 4W4K3

i thik if you hold it upside down or too close to what you are spraying then moisture will form and shoot liquid.


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## Holiday

> it could shoot liquid onto what ever it is that you are trying to clean



Note: this liquid is very cold! it can give you a very small case of frostbite if you squirt it on your skin.

there is a very cool trick you can do with this liquid though, hold the can upside-down and squirt the liquid on some paper, the paper will become transparent just like when you get paper wet with water, but with water it will take for ever to dry and when it eventually does dry the paper will have water damage, not good, but with the duster\dust-off it will dry in a few seconds and unlike water it will not leave any evidence of ever being wet, great for looking in unopened envelopes


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## super_xero

i just blow lol i huff and puff and blow the dirt away


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## Verve

I just used my tube-vac and blew all the dust out of my computer with it on reverse. BAD idea to do it INSIDE THE HOUSE *cough, cough*


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## 4W4K3

lol i take my PC out to the garage and open the door, sometimes to the driveway.


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## Verve

it was my parents old one too, so it hadn't been opened in like 5 years lol


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## pcguy2006

*On a similar note!*

On the overheating note - do you guys think that the systems here are going to run too hot? Anyone have any experience with these things?

www.multilinkcomputers.com

I am thinking to possibly buy the MX-57 or the MX-48 today so your responses would be appreciated


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## ckfordy

pcguy2006 said:
			
		

> On the overheating note - do you guys think that the systems here are going to run too hot? Anyone have any experience with these things?
> 
> www.multilinkcomputers.com
> 
> I am thinking to possibly buy the MX-57 or the MX-48 today so your responses would be appreciated




those systems wont run to hot if you have enough cooling in them and they are small and compact so heat should not be a problem


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## TheFnpope06

well i just use compressed air to clean mine...5 fans are enough to cool mine


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