Should Your Computer Be on the Floor or Desk?
By Timothy Tibbetts |
Just for fun, today we are revisiting the age-old question of whether your computer should be on the floor or inside or on top of your desk.
The primary debate here, besides safety factors, is all about the dust and pets in your home. Dust and pet hair is the enemy of your computer's fans. Getting dust into the fans could cause overheating of some of the most expensive parts to replace including your video card (GPU) and processor (CPU). As with any computer hardware, moving parts are the most likely things to fail in your computer so you should give moving parts extra attention. What we're looking for is always to have airflow on all sides of your tower.
So, if you're looking for what we think is the best answer for most people; put your tower on top of your desk.
Now, let's look at the other factors when putting your PC on your desk isn't an option.
On the Floor
Keeping your PC on the floor is widely considered the worst place due to the amount of dust and pet hair that can get inside your tower, especially on any type of solid flooring. If you don't have a choice, you'll want to buy some compressed air and regularly blow out inside your computer. How often depends on how much dust is in your home. A rough estimate would be every six months.
If your computer fans are placed at least a few inches from the bottom, then having your tower on the floor is acceptable. If you have fans near the base of your tower, we'd place a piece of glass underneath. Because all towers have small plastic or rubber legs, placing your tower directly on a rug or carpet would allow your tower to sink into the carpet and not allow complete airflow.
In a Desk Drawer or Shelf
Many desks have a shelf or drawer that can hold a tower that gets it off the floor. We like this option if your tower is too large to be on your desk or if you have children or pets and you're afraid it could fall and injure them.
Keep in mind that in this situation, your tower is still usually only inches off of the floor so dust will still get in as well as gather on the shelf. If your desk has a door, remove it so that air can flow freely. Most desks have a hole cut behind a shelf or drawer to run wires and cable; if not, we'd at least drill a large hole in the back.
Other Tips & Tricks
Often overlooked for homeowners is having your ductwork cleaned. Some homes never have this done. Even new homes have sawdust, sheetrock dust, and other garbage in their ducts. Cleaning your ductwork can run at least $300 to have it done correctly.
Furnace air filters should be replaced every three months and with a good quality filter.
Don't forget you want to have airflow all around your PC. Keep this in mind when placing your desktop, especially if overclocked. We like to see at least a few inches around everything. Years back, when dual-core and quad-core processors were new heat was a huge factor. Today's computers run smoother, quieter, and cooler then ever before and you don't need as much space as you would have years ago. We've never had any problems keeping our computer on a desk shelf.
Another critical factor often left out in most guides is to monitor your fan speeds and temperatures. Because there are so many environment variables, guides like this are all spitballing because we don't have all your information.
Download HWMonitor and make a note of your fan speed and temperatures. By doing this, you can now move your computer anywhere you want and compare speeds and temperatures to see if your chosen location is acceptable.
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The primary debate here, besides safety factors, is all about the dust and pets in your home. Dust and pet hair is the enemy of your computer's fans. Getting dust into the fans could cause overheating of some of the most expensive parts to replace including your video card (GPU) and processor (CPU). As with any computer hardware, moving parts are the most likely things to fail in your computer so you should give moving parts extra attention. What we're looking for is always to have airflow on all sides of your tower.
So, if you're looking for what we think is the best answer for most people; put your tower on top of your desk.
Now, let's look at the other factors when putting your PC on your desk isn't an option.
On the Floor
Keeping your PC on the floor is widely considered the worst place due to the amount of dust and pet hair that can get inside your tower, especially on any type of solid flooring. If you don't have a choice, you'll want to buy some compressed air and regularly blow out inside your computer. How often depends on how much dust is in your home. A rough estimate would be every six months.
If your computer fans are placed at least a few inches from the bottom, then having your tower on the floor is acceptable. If you have fans near the base of your tower, we'd place a piece of glass underneath. Because all towers have small plastic or rubber legs, placing your tower directly on a rug or carpet would allow your tower to sink into the carpet and not allow complete airflow.
In a Desk Drawer or Shelf
Many desks have a shelf or drawer that can hold a tower that gets it off the floor. We like this option if your tower is too large to be on your desk or if you have children or pets and you're afraid it could fall and injure them.
Keep in mind that in this situation, your tower is still usually only inches off of the floor so dust will still get in as well as gather on the shelf. If your desk has a door, remove it so that air can flow freely. Most desks have a hole cut behind a shelf or drawer to run wires and cable; if not, we'd at least drill a large hole in the back.
Other Tips & Tricks
Often overlooked for homeowners is having your ductwork cleaned. Some homes never have this done. Even new homes have sawdust, sheetrock dust, and other garbage in their ducts. Cleaning your ductwork can run at least $300 to have it done correctly.
Furnace air filters should be replaced every three months and with a good quality filter.
Don't forget you want to have airflow all around your PC. Keep this in mind when placing your desktop, especially if overclocked. We like to see at least a few inches around everything. Years back, when dual-core and quad-core processors were new heat was a huge factor. Today's computers run smoother, quieter, and cooler then ever before and you don't need as much space as you would have years ago. We've never had any problems keeping our computer on a desk shelf.
Another critical factor often left out in most guides is to monitor your fan speeds and temperatures. Because there are so many environment variables, guides like this are all spitballing because we don't have all your information.
Download HWMonitor and make a note of your fan speed and temperatures. By doing this, you can now move your computer anywhere you want and compare speeds and temperatures to see if your chosen location is acceptable.
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