The cover is currently on/off my computer

Is yours on or off?

[dvduval]

I just about always have the cover off my computer. I don't why. It would be easy to put it back on, but I guess I'll probably want to do something to it before long, and if something goes wrong, it will be that much easier to look inside. Am I the only one that has this compulsion to leave the cover off?

[phidentity]

Always off. I can't be bothered to put it back on... I know it'll need to come off again within a few weeks!

Jon

[fish_eye]

Taking the cover off my laptop is far too scary...

[j4mes]

Off. I figure it'll just end up like that anyway, so why bother putting it back on? Plus it keeps the internals nice 'n' cool :)

[duckhunter]

Off because I didn't want to power down after that last installed component worked properly. This has led to a very important side benefit. Keeping the dust blown off the board and the empty slots (if you have any :o) will extend the life of the motherboard more often than not.

[encyclo]

But are you guys so hardcore that you like your machine running 24/7/365, so you don't even switch it off when you change components?!

I keep my case firmly closed, otherwise the cat would risk getting electrocuted - which would not be good!

[Shannon Moore]

All cases are on -- my computers collect enough dust and cat fur (3 indoor-only cats) with the cases on; I'd hate to see what they'd collect with the cases off.

Once a year or so, I have to take each computer case outside and blast it with compressed air to rid it of the accumulated dust and cat fur. It doesn't help that most of our computer cases are stored at floor level where the carpet (haven't upgraded to tile or laminant flooring) kicks up plenty of fibers and dust.

I vacuum when I can and we keep the computer rooms closed when we're not in them, but things are still far too dusty to let the computers go topless.

[moishe]

Well for the first time in a long time, I have a case for my PC, but of course the side panel is off....

[vkaryl]

On for my downstairs "main" machine. The others upstairs (5 or 6) are in various stages of "down", so cases are off.

Laptops get left alone.... I know a guy who tweaks his a lot, but I'm not going there - yet.

[mincklerstraat]

Depends on your case and how your components and fans are laid out, but a lot of cases will actually run cooler with the door on. The airflow is channelled through the case, instead of just sort of getting blown around willy-nilly. [silentpcreview.com...] is an excellent resource if your into this kind of thing, which you should be if you spend as much time on a computer as a typical web person will. A Zalman cooler on your cpu and a big fan in your case rotating slowly can work wonders for the psyche.

[dvduval]

Great, so when my wife complains, I can just point her to this thread. :)

btw, I have 3 cats and they never see to be too interested in looking inside the case, and there are not many cathairs either. Even thought the case is open, I do keep it clean.

[Essex_boy]

Having paid £1100 ($2000) for my mach ine theres no way Ill be doing anything that aint proper like with the user ports or removing the cover.

To darn pricey to muck up, tried installing a drice one couldnt do that right.

[ska_demon]

[home.centurytel.net...]
Ska

[duckhunter]

All that and no keyboard?

[Essex_boy]

OOOOh they get a hort when taken short theyll know all about it!

[Robert Charlton]

Mine's off right now. Had a noisy cooling fan that sounded like it was about to go.

I took the cover off, blew out the dust, and closed it... a few times, actually... and each time the noise came back. So I took it off and left it off and ordered a new fan, and now everything has quieted down.

If I put the cover back on without replacing the fan I know it will get noisy again.

PS: silentpcreview.com is apparently a ShockWave site and was fairly aggressive in trying to install components I didn't want before I closed the browser window.

[Wi11]

Mine is on. The day after I'd taken it off I would probably spill a large beer over it, knowing my current luck with hardware.

[krieves]

Mine is always on. To keep the dust and dog hair from accumulating, once a year or so I take my PC out in the backyard, take the cover off and give the whole PC a good blast with the garden hose. ;)

[Shannon Moore]

Garden hose -- you're kidding or far gutsier than I will ever be. Compressed air works just fine, just check the wind direction before you do it or you will be coughing up the yuckiest assortment of filth imaginable for days -- I know, I've been there.

[Leosghost]

Just one thing with the compressed air ...easy on the pressure ..no more than one and a half bars ( about 20psi )..any more and you can seriously damage your cooling fans by spinning them faster than their set maximum speeds ..or even worse depending on how the airstream hits them you can spin them in reverse ( later on they may wobble and or stop or slow down without you being aware ) ....That can mean replace :( whatever they were supposed to be cooling ( like your processor!) ..or memory ..or taking forever to run something that prefers a cool processor ..
Or the "box" making weird noises like you have a miniature digeridoo band in their when you start up ( until the fan spins into balance )...
Or the fan ( the only moving part normaly unless you've "tuned" your box ) touching the nap ( blown into it's way ) and rubbing it or even wearing away a piece ...

Did I say I learned this the hard way ..

[Shannon Moore]

Just one thing with the compressed air ...easy on the pressure ..

Did I say I learned this the hard way ..

Unfortunately, Leosghost, I recently learned that too. My video card's fan was already making some foreboding sounds, but after I blasted it with compressed air -- revving it like it was a miniature 747 engine -- I pretty much signed its death certificate.

I tried to replace the fan but ordered the wrong type for my card, and ended up just using it as an excuse to upgrade the video card. :)

Anyway, that's definitely an Excellent caveat to my compressed air advice...

[shigamoto]

I have it on so that I don't have to hear the immense fan noise :)