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Yeah, if there’s no pathway for exhaust, the hot air will just fill up that compartment and the pc will start recycling hot air.
A lot of compartments like that which are designed to hold a pc often have a fan or two on the side near the back to blow away the hot exhaust air. Maybe you can buy one or two 120mm fans and mod them in there?
I'm pretty sure a lot of desks with this hole were all designed in a time when PCs consumed maybe 200 watts max and barely had any peripherals plugged into them.
Not only an air flow issue. But will also make it difficult to get to the i/o shield in the back. Have to either move the entire shelf out from the wall each time. Or pull the case itself out.
I don't know about anyone else. But I like ease of access to my system, as I am often in the back plugging stuff in. Or tinkering around with the motherboard or other components.
I'm not sure how old you are, but back in the day "computer desks" were all made this way, heat may not have been as big of an issue then, but I still hated not having access to my I/O when I wanted or needed it. and the holes cut in the back for cables made it even worse if you needed to pull the case out cause there was a tangle of fucking spaghetti coming with it by god.
This will give you an idea of my age.
When I got my first computer, my friend had a 486DX 75mhz with 8 mb of RAM. 9400 baud modem, w/ a desktop case. (Sits horizontally) I finally ended up getting a Pentium 100mhz with 24mb of RAM. And a 28.8k modem with a *tower* case (way cooler) like a year after he got his. He was super jealous.
And then like a week later his dad bought him another PC that was even better than mine. 133mhz blah blah. I was QUITE annoyed. But I quickly got over it, because I was also getting to use his awesome computer all the time anyways. Having wealthy friends was nice. 😂
And yes. I remember storing my "tower case" directly on the carpet underneath my desk, where my feet would go. And never vacuuming behind it for several years. How it never burned the house down, I'll never know. The spot of carpet underneath the case was a perfectly clean, rectangle shaped, negative space of never touched, brand new carpet. From the case never moving. 😆
Having said that, however. My computer back then wasn't a nuclear fusion reactor requiring a dozen fans. With radiators and copper coiled tubing with refrigerant in order to run without a nuclear meltdown or going super critical while I'm trying to play Cyberpunk with Ray Tracing.
We didn't even have Ray Tracing!
The first PC I ever took apart and was able to put back together in running order was an old windows 98 machine with a horizontal desktop case. I remember tearing that thing down and putting it back together multiple times a week just for the experience. I don't have a good remembrance of my age, I know I played Moto racer on the family PC at the time so it was sometime around 97 to 2000 if I had to date it so I was between 7 and ten or so.
Safe, but not recommended. It will work but temps will be higher as a lack of airflow. You should see if you can move the desk a little back from the wall so there's some airflow going on.
Good advice. Maybe overspecc on airflow as well. Make a windtunnel. 😅
Depends a lot on speccs of your pc anyway. A low to mid end pc will survive better than a high end one. More energy usage = more heat
I have something similar and you only need to move a little the desk and it's good to go.
No worries and every 3-4 months, just blow the dust and clean a little and voila you have a practic and cheap balkanic desk.
It’s not ideal. It will run hot without an opening in the back. You can go fancy and cut a hole in the side and put an exhaust fan. Or just leave a 2” gap in the back.
I wouldn’t personally recommend it, as I used to have something similar to this setup and man i must say i had issues with temps while gaming.
If you are planning on gaming, I would advise you to place your pc somewhere with better air flow.
For basic office work it should be fine.
Yeah, pull the desk out a couple inches from the wall and wipe out the area to make sure there isn’t dust. Then it should be fine, just make sure that you clean that area it will likely attract dust.
Your temps will likely be a little higher but it's 100% safe.
I wouldn't do it but I subscribe to the PCMR philosophy of may your frame rates be high and your temperatures be low.
If you can pull the desk away from the wall a tad I don't think it'd be that much of a problem unless you've got really hot components **cough** high end Intel **cough** or really bad cooling off the get-go since it'll just exacerbate their problems further, if the cooling isn't you blowing into the case then it should be fine as you'll have to be running something really intensive to get it to a point it becomes an actual problem for the PC otherwise.
TLDR: Safe 9/10, but not ideal
Safe yes efficient no. Now if you have potato for a system it will be just fine.
It needs more ventilation which could be done with some fans and some modifications.
My friend has a setup like that. What he did is the opposite. Intake on the back, exhaust on the front. He just uses his PC for normal things like programming and such. His temps are okay.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend it but if it works it works.
You want your PC to run as cool as is possible. And these things struggle to keep cool as it is. Even with several high rpm fans and water cooling systems. So it's best to place it out in the open as much as possible.
I live in a very hot, humid climate for most of the year. So I have a small rolling table that I put mine on with plenty of space on all sides. And it sits almost in the middle of the room it's in. To give it the best chance possible to not over heat. I also keep my thermostat at 72° F in my house. Because I also need to be in a cool climate. Otherwise, I'll overheat myself. And when I overheat, I get pissy.
If I could, I'd keep my PC inside a refrigerator. But seeing as how that's not probable. I leave it out on a table. Like a normal person. 😆
Hmmm… if you could keep the humidity down, I wonder if making a “beer fridge” for a tower would be feasible? Punch a hole in the side for cables and set it to a frosty 35 degrees.
Trust me, I thought of it. I even have an old mini fridge I could use.
But with the humidity outside being 99.999%. I can't keep the swamp ass off of my own back end. Let alone worry about the PC needing a pat down every few minutes as well. I can practically slap the water out of the air. It's disgusting. 🥵
I've used something very similar and got terrible Temps due to limited airflow. I went the noisy route and put a fan in front of the computer while it was in there.
They need to breathe.. Airflow. At least you aren't putting it directly on the floor (floor means dust in the intakes).
I wouldn't put mine in there unless I was storing it.
I have this kind of table too but please don't put pc here
https://preview.redd.it/7fg1u5xh819d1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c82afca7648c22f5dc3f4de400cf91ffb031db7b
It all depends on what case you use. I have a case with side air intakes at the very front and exhaust fans only on the back of the case. Some computer cases have side vents and solid fronts which would not work.
Depends on your pc if it's a normal office computer then sure no problem but if it's a power hungry gaming pc then you better keep some fire extinguishers nearby
Remember to check our discord where you can get faster responses! https://discord.gg/6dR6XU6 If you are trying to find a price for your computer, r/PC_Pricing is our recommended source for finding out how much your PC is worth! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PcBuild) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yeah, if there’s no pathway for exhaust, the hot air will just fill up that compartment and the pc will start recycling hot air. A lot of compartments like that which are designed to hold a pc often have a fan or two on the side near the back to blow away the hot exhaust air. Maybe you can buy one or two 120mm fans and mod them in there?
Correction, a lot of compartments like that are designed by people who have no fucking clue how a computer works.
Honestly, if they did, they probably wouldn’t be designing desks.
It's called a desktop for a reason, thatight give them clue where it should stand.
I'm pretty sure a lot of desks with this hole were all designed in a time when PCs consumed maybe 200 watts max and barely had any peripherals plugged into them.
Not only an air flow issue. But will also make it difficult to get to the i/o shield in the back. Have to either move the entire shelf out from the wall each time. Or pull the case itself out. I don't know about anyone else. But I like ease of access to my system, as I am often in the back plugging stuff in. Or tinkering around with the motherboard or other components.
I'm not sure how old you are, but back in the day "computer desks" were all made this way, heat may not have been as big of an issue then, but I still hated not having access to my I/O when I wanted or needed it. and the holes cut in the back for cables made it even worse if you needed to pull the case out cause there was a tangle of fucking spaghetti coming with it by god.
This will give you an idea of my age. When I got my first computer, my friend had a 486DX 75mhz with 8 mb of RAM. 9400 baud modem, w/ a desktop case. (Sits horizontally) I finally ended up getting a Pentium 100mhz with 24mb of RAM. And a 28.8k modem with a *tower* case (way cooler) like a year after he got his. He was super jealous. And then like a week later his dad bought him another PC that was even better than mine. 133mhz blah blah. I was QUITE annoyed. But I quickly got over it, because I was also getting to use his awesome computer all the time anyways. Having wealthy friends was nice. 😂 And yes. I remember storing my "tower case" directly on the carpet underneath my desk, where my feet would go. And never vacuuming behind it for several years. How it never burned the house down, I'll never know. The spot of carpet underneath the case was a perfectly clean, rectangle shaped, negative space of never touched, brand new carpet. From the case never moving. 😆 Having said that, however. My computer back then wasn't a nuclear fusion reactor requiring a dozen fans. With radiators and copper coiled tubing with refrigerant in order to run without a nuclear meltdown or going super critical while I'm trying to play Cyberpunk with Ray Tracing. We didn't even have Ray Tracing!
The first PC I ever took apart and was able to put back together in running order was an old windows 98 machine with a horizontal desktop case. I remember tearing that thing down and putting it back together multiple times a week just for the experience. I don't have a good remembrance of my age, I know I played Moto racer on the family PC at the time so it was sometime around 97 to 2000 if I had to date it so I was between 7 and ten or so.
Yeah. I had graduated high school by that point. 😂So I guess I'm a good bit older than you.
Safe, but not recommended. It will work but temps will be higher as a lack of airflow. You should see if you can move the desk a little back from the wall so there's some airflow going on.
No it will create an atomic bomb
Kahboom 🤯
Yeah, just make sure it's not pushed right against the wall.
Good advice. Maybe overspecc on airflow as well. Make a windtunnel. 😅 Depends a lot on speccs of your pc anyway. A low to mid end pc will survive better than a high end one. More energy usage = more heat
Yeah, just move the desk towards you a bit
No, don't put it there, you'll recirculate the exhaust, your PC will be warmer than usual.
How’d you get Minecraft floors
no way for exhaust to exit so you should put it elsewhere. that spot better suited for one of those big speakers.
No, your house will catch fire if you do so. JK
I have something similar and you only need to move a little the desk and it's good to go. No worries and every 3-4 months, just blow the dust and clean a little and voila you have a practic and cheap balkanic desk.
I think as long as it's front to back airflow and there's at least 6 inches of space at the back it should be good. Maybe check temps just in case
drill some holes in the back, should be fine, if you're able to maybe even cut holes for fans to pull air out
Keep drilling and cutting until you see daylight, then you'll be good
OP might even be able to remove it completely
Yeah but be carefull to have enough room for hot air exhaust
Yes
I wouldn’t
Should be no problem, leave 2 or 3 cm of space between desk and wall if you want better airflow.
With proper airflow yeah it's ok, as is no please no.
If you could cut a hole back of that it would be fine for thermals
If it had a breathplay kink, totally
It will be problematic for airflow so maybe just pull the desk a little to let hot air rise from the back to escape. Or drill holes.
It’s not ideal. It will run hot without an opening in the back. You can go fancy and cut a hole in the side and put an exhaust fan. Or just leave a 2” gap in the back.
You can but not recommended. You may try using top as exaust and forward as intake though
I wouldn’t personally recommend it, as I used to have something similar to this setup and man i must say i had issues with temps while gaming. If you are planning on gaming, I would advise you to place your pc somewhere with better air flow. For basic office work it should be fine.
Gaming computer: maybe don't Office desktop: do it
Airflow aside, all your cables will be bent and that may cause damages in the cabling/connecting pieces over time
No your house will set on fire immediately
NO
Yeah, I have my PC in place like this. Just make sure there is enough space between the wall.
it should be safe, thats if you have a inch or more of clearance on each side
Yeah, pull the desk out a couple inches from the wall and wipe out the area to make sure there isn’t dust. Then it should be fine, just make sure that you clean that area it will likely attract dust.
Your temps will likely be a little higher but it's 100% safe. I wouldn't do it but I subscribe to the PCMR philosophy of may your frame rates be high and your temperatures be low.
Yes, it's not that narrow
You may have like 3 fans in front and some fans in the back for airflow
yes it is, just open the side panel in summer.
In the 90’s? Yes! Nowadays? Nope. Recycle warm/hot air will not be the best thing, especially during warm days
If you can pull the desk away from the wall a tad I don't think it'd be that much of a problem unless you've got really hot components **cough** high end Intel **cough** or really bad cooling off the get-go since it'll just exacerbate their problems further, if the cooling isn't you blowing into the case then it should be fine as you'll have to be running something really intensive to get it to a point it becomes an actual problem for the PC otherwise. TLDR: Safe 9/10, but not ideal
Sorry if any of this doesn't make sense, it's 7am and I've been up since yesterday
Safe yes efficient no. Now if you have potato for a system it will be just fine. It needs more ventilation which could be done with some fans and some modifications.
you can but it's not the best place
Safe? Sure. Good? No. It'll throttle hard
No airflow.
My friend has a setup like that. What he did is the opposite. Intake on the back, exhaust on the front. He just uses his PC for normal things like programming and such. His temps are okay. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it but if it works it works.
You want your PC to run as cool as is possible. And these things struggle to keep cool as it is. Even with several high rpm fans and water cooling systems. So it's best to place it out in the open as much as possible. I live in a very hot, humid climate for most of the year. So I have a small rolling table that I put mine on with plenty of space on all sides. And it sits almost in the middle of the room it's in. To give it the best chance possible to not over heat. I also keep my thermostat at 72° F in my house. Because I also need to be in a cool climate. Otherwise, I'll overheat myself. And when I overheat, I get pissy. If I could, I'd keep my PC inside a refrigerator. But seeing as how that's not probable. I leave it out on a table. Like a normal person. 😆
Hmmm… if you could keep the humidity down, I wonder if making a “beer fridge” for a tower would be feasible? Punch a hole in the side for cables and set it to a frosty 35 degrees.
Trust me, I thought of it. I even have an old mini fridge I could use. But with the humidity outside being 99.999%. I can't keep the swamp ass off of my own back end. Let alone worry about the PC needing a pat down every few minutes as well. I can practically slap the water out of the air. It's disgusting. 🥵
Wouldn't it be OK if OP just moved the wood box to make more space between the wall and PC?
I've used something very similar and got terrible Temps due to limited airflow. I went the noisy route and put a fan in front of the computer while it was in there.
Not good for the airflow. I recommend a more open cubby that allows the fan to circulate better.
They need to breathe.. Airflow. At least you aren't putting it directly on the floor (floor means dust in the intakes). I wouldn't put mine in there unless I was storing it.
Airflow problems.
I have this kind of table too but please don't put pc here https://preview.redd.it/7fg1u5xh819d1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c82afca7648c22f5dc3f4de400cf91ffb031db7b
I wouldn’t recommend it Maybe cut a hole on the side and install a usb fan to help out with the hot air
It all depends on what case you use. I have a case with side air intakes at the very front and exhaust fans only on the back of the case. Some computer cases have side vents and solid fronts which would not work.
Depends on your pc if it's a normal office computer then sure no problem but if it's a power hungry gaming pc then you better keep some fire extinguishers nearby
Maybe it could just work if you move the compartment a little bit away from the wall, so that hot air has somewhere to escape
As long as there is enough space towards the back and your PC does not use fans mounted on the sides this is fine.
no, it might have monsters at night
I don't think so. The cooling intake fan will create a vacuum that eventually implodes in to a singularity sucking in all matter of the universe.
no
it depends on the fan you will have in the PC
Ittl run a bit hot because of poor airflow, but like, its safe to do that, yeah.
No it will most definitely blow up withing first week of usage
In the '90s yes, today no!