Thread: Hot Hot Hot
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Old 07-07-2010, 09:53 PM
  #63  
lab fairy
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: High Entropy Zone
Posts: 1,247
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Wow, Texans are really silent on this one. We're always hot. My mother tells me I live in Hell (she lives in the mountains of VA and hates the heat) and I remind her I rarely have to shovel snow. I'm not sure which is worse.

Hydration is key. Water, water, more water. Keep it in the fridge to make it more enjoyable but it really doesn't make a lot of difference. Electrolytes (like in Gatorade and Pedialyte) are important if you've been out and experienced heatstroke. But most important is WATER (at least 128 ounces a day) and the best part is it is cheap. You should be going to the bathroom a lot. If you aren't you are not getting enough to cool your system.

To cool your house, check to make sure all non-in-use electrical devices are unplugged. Not only do they "vampire" electricity even when they are turned off (like battery chargers, most TV's with remotes, etc.) but they can really heat up rooms. My son complained about the temperature in a bedroom he lived in before he moved away to college. I never paid attention to what he actually had going on in that room (he had a refrigerator plugged in, two computers always on, a TV, DVD player, game console, you get the idea) and ignored his griping since he didn't listen to my solution. My electric bill and the temperature of that room dropped significantly after he left ($80/mo and 15 degrees). He should learn to listen to his Momma once in a while.

For your poor computer, diagnosing ailments without knowing what the computer actually is really isn't all that helpful to you but here goes. Air flow will probably be beneficial. Make sure nothing is resting against it (on it, etc). If you have a tower, you might want to take off the case/cover. Check to make sure the fan or fans are working. Sometimes one will fail and cause overheating. I've replaced my share of those. Fortunately, that's fairly easy to do. If you have a laptop, you might want to place it on one of those cooling racks you use for baking. Most people don't realize that the airflow beneath the computer is beneficial.
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