hat
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2006
- Messages
- 21,731 (3.43/day)
- Location
- Ohio
System Name | Starlifter :: Dragonfly |
---|---|
Processor | i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400 |
Motherboard | ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus |
Cooling | Cryorig M9 :: Stock |
Memory | 4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400 |
Video Card(s) | PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630 |
Storage | Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5 |
Display(s) | Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p |
Case | Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower |
Audio Device(s) | Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None |
Power Supply | FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550 |
Software | Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly |
Benchmark Scores | >9000 |
Speaking strictly from the heat generation standpoint, aren't computers very inefficient? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't heat the result of wasted electricity? For example, a 90% efficient power supply draws 100w from the wall. 90w goes to the components, and the other 10w is lost as heat due to inefficiencies. I imagine components work in much the same way. As the current flows, most of it is actually used to power the components... some of it is lost as heat, because we don't have 100% efficient systems.
Therefore, using computers to generate heat is a bad idea. It's inefficient. Using a heater designed specifically to throw off heat is more efficient than loading a computer to throw off heat. Heaters are cheap compared to computers, and the energy they use is actually being used to heat the room. That said, if you have a computer generating a lot of heat anyway, finding a way to use the heat output wouldn't be such a horrible idea. I used to have heaters like this at one apartment I lived at. It was basically a big radiator that ran along the length of the wall. The fins were electrically heated and dumped heat into the room. Perhaps it would be possible to use some heatpipes to connect something like that to your heatsink base, using the heater as a heatsink. I imagine such a project would be costly and inconvenient, however, even if it did work.
Therefore, using computers to generate heat is a bad idea. It's inefficient. Using a heater designed specifically to throw off heat is more efficient than loading a computer to throw off heat. Heaters are cheap compared to computers, and the energy they use is actually being used to heat the room. That said, if you have a computer generating a lot of heat anyway, finding a way to use the heat output wouldn't be such a horrible idea. I used to have heaters like this at one apartment I lived at. It was basically a big radiator that ran along the length of the wall. The fins were electrically heated and dumped heat into the room. Perhaps it would be possible to use some heatpipes to connect something like that to your heatsink base, using the heater as a heatsink. I imagine such a project would be costly and inconvenient, however, even if it did work.