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Computer Room Hot?

Anonymous Coward writes "Here is a cool PC ventilation product I ran across. Like many faithful on here, I have multiple computers in a small room which really heat up the place. My office is a good eight degrees warmer than the rest of the house This product called R.A.C.H.A.L (Reduce Annoying Computer Heat And Loudness) vents computer exhaust into the wall, not the room. Might cut down on the electricity bills during those hot months.." Another approach: An anonymous reader writes "If your 'puter is getting to loud, you might want to consider some silent cooling. And the gang at OverclockersClub has just that. A three page review of the Zalman VGA Heatpipe Cooler. This thing is pretty nice looking, and with no power, no noise, what else could a guy ask for? Check out the review here. How come more companies don't do the "silent" thing?" Borked link fixed.

8 of 468 comments (clear)

  1. What about appliances and rack-mount? by Fastolfe · · Score: 4, Informative

    90% of my excessive volume and heat generation comes from various rack-mount appliances (like Cisco switches), not pee-cees. It doesn't look like these things are very friendly towards that type of environment.

    The basic concept might still be sound, though. Turn your rack into an enclosure, add some intake fans, and vent the entire rack's exhaust somewhere else. (I wonder what the exhaust temperature for an entire rack would reach?)

  2. Use the heat properly. by geekoid · · Score: 3, Informative

    In the new Emery building in downtown Portland, Or. there is no furnace. The entire building is heated with the waste heat from the computers and server rooms.
    It works well.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  3. Re:That's not gonna work. by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Informative
    Of course this isn't going to work. And in colder climes, if the air did circulate, you're going to get warm, moist room air being pushed past the vapor barrier and ruining the insulation. At this point, you don't have to worry about excess heat anymore - since your insulation's R value just dropped to zero.

    You WILL have to worry about mold and mildew, as well as condensation ruining the wall panels, or running along the framing before pooling somewhere and causing more damage.

    Stupid product that has less than zero value. Hope they have good product-liability insurance to cover all the health claims from asthmatics, etc.

  4. Re:How about monitors? by gordie · · Score: 5, Informative

    If the excess heat is all from your monitors, then invest in a KVM switch, so you only have one Keyboard, Video (Monitor) and Mouse. While KVM's were once very expensive and seldom seen out side of computer rooms or NOC's, the prices have dropped. Also you can take the money saved on multiple monitors and invest in that nice flat screen you've been drooling over, but could not cost justify! Currently I have one very good 19" monitor, rather then 4 cheaper ones and much more "room" in the room!

  5. Re:That's not gonna work. by hackstraw · · Score: 5, Informative

    On a side note, some supercomputing center in Minnesota, or somewhere like that where its really cold in the winter, pipes out their heat into the parking garage to help the cars start. Also, the Pittsburg Supercomputing Center's heat output is equivalent to 169 pounds of coal an hour!.

  6. Re:Desperate for silent machines by kmellis · · Score: 3, Informative
    I want to kill whomever started this retarted trend of making companies and organizations plural!
    This is standard British English usage. It is not a "trend". American English does not set the "world standard" for English, and neither does British English. And, contrary to assertions made on the East side of the pond, neither (in their current incarnations) has any convincing claims of priority. Some of our American usage is archaic from the British point of view, and vice-versa.
  7. Slashdot: Hidden Advertising for Nerds by Greedo · · Score: 5, Informative
    A quick search on the anonymous poster's email address eventually leads to this page which includes:
    BACKGROUND: We're starting up a new company, Computer Exhaust Systems, wh ...

    So instead of "Here is a cool PC ventilation product I ran across", he should really be saying "Here is a cool PC ventilation product that my company makes."

    Sure, it's kinda neat. But I hope /. got some ad revenue for this.

    --
    Tuus crepidae innexilis sunt.
    1. Re:Slashdot: Hidden Advertising for Nerds by Greedo · · Score: 3, Informative

      Hrmm ... my understanding was that the AC was the "buyer" of services from two freelancers: logo design and website design.

      That's what this page seems to suggest.

      --
      Tuus crepidae innexilis sunt.