it's 12 °C outside, yet my computer can keep my room warm. issue or not?

[Alski]

500W PC ~= a 500W heater. Really, theres nothing more complex to it. Good insulation will ensure that thermal energy stays inside the building and doesn't leave.

Monitor too is another source of heat. LED monitors can be as low as 30W, but you can still expect upwards 100+W from large CCFL monitors (Such as a U2711). Again, basically all of that energy ultimately ends up as heat energy.

Also mind the lights. 200W of lighting will again end up as 200W of heat.

So a computer at 500W, a monitor at 100W, and lighting of 200W is equivalent to an 800W heater.

Server rooms can get real hot because of this; lots of machines, not a lot of space.

What kind of person would use a 200w bulb in a room that size when a single 15-20W CFL gives more than enough light

[Ciwen]

One thing you have to think of when its about heating of a room. Aslong as the isolation of you walls are decent aslong with your windows aswell. Then the heat you and your body is giving away is well enough to warm the room up. The heat your body gives away is greater then the heat created by your PC.

Also if you live on an upper floor of a house or apartment you will gain loads of heat from the floor below you.

I myself aint even using any heat during the winter apart from what me and my electric components create. This is much due to the heat I gain from the neighbours below.

[Deleted]

I chuckled a bit about the darn cold = 12 Celcius part. Here in Finland, darn cold usually means something below -20 Celcius - and that's in the south-west.

But on topic, if your comp isn't overheating, there's no reason to worry. You probably just have good insulation, like people above me have already said.

Yeah this, here in Finland 12 Celsius is considered a T-shirt weather if it's not too windy or rainy.

[Ghâzh]

Constant energy conversions. Same for the light. Most of a light is directly converted into heat, the remaining light itself is converted into actual heat is hit hits objects in the room and absorbs that energy.

Pardon me I might be wrong, but, isn't part of that energy put into a, say, 500 watts system converted into the work that the computer performs. If all that went out as a heat it would be one lousy system wouldn't it?

Edit: Scrap all that above. Seems like 10 years of education haven't teached me a thing ^^

[Deleted]

@ Gamez
Lol, trying to be smart yet you fail at logics.
Focusing on something doesn't make you magically gain temperature.
And I don't know about you, but what kind of monitor do you have? One from 1990? Current 1920x1080 monitors produce like close to no heat.

Applying common logic makes you automatically think about the pc itself. If you have a room that is isolated well enough, and the pc keeps adding heat. Then the temperature will rise.

Im using a 1920x1080 monitor and if I put my hand on its back, its actually pretty hot (not HOT, but warm).

[Alski]

Pardon me I might be wrong, but, isn't part of that energy put into a, say, 500 watts system converted into the work that the computer performs. If all that went out as a heat it would be one lousy system wouldn't it?

You are correct in your assumption, a decent PSU will have <80+% conversion to work leaving the remaining >20% to be generated as heat

[Ghâzh]

You are correct in your assumption, a decent PSU will have <80+% conversion to work leaving the remaining >20% to be generated as heat

But I made a mistake assuming that all that energy would remain in the work. It is obviously not as all work becomes heat eventually.

[Deleted]

Had the same issue with my PC, even during winter at ~-5 degrees I didn't have to turn the heating as my computer was basicly running 24/7. What can I say, at least u save some money on heating ^^

[Deleted]

My room is also small, haven't turned the heating on in over a year.
For example, temperature outside = 9c, temperature inside my room after I have been out all day and my computer and lights are off is about 16c

My pc is overclocked uses about 300w max load, and my flatscreen uses about 50w, I also fold all day, it heats my room up nicely.
Also you can generate quite a lot of body heat in a heavy gaming session, thinking and playing hard can actually heat you up a lot.

[Deleted]

mine to! i got no heating in my room, but always the rest of the house is freezing cold but my room is always warm, i always guessed it was from having my pc on all the time and my tv, if i touch the back of my monitors they pretty hot aswell :P

[Chickensoup23]

Yeah this, here in Finland 12 Celsius is considered a T-shirt weather if it's not too windy or rainy.

Here in Canada, at 12 celcius it's bathing suit/beach/swim time. We get -35/-40 in Winter. There's always at day at least once a year where you're about to get out of the house to go to work and then you realize you can't open it because there's 8" of snow on the other side preventing it from opening.

[pootisbird]

issue? dude! you get not only a gaming system but a heater in your room during the cold seasons! i mean come on!
and btw i have heard many stories of ppl using their computers as heaters

[Incognito Noctix]

My old apartment (28 square meters) was heated solely by my computer during the last winter. It was about -10 to -20 degrees Celsius outside at the coldest points.

The apartment I had with my girlfriend before that was about 70 square meters, and was heated by my own and her computer. And.. other stuff *cough*

It's not a problem unless the computer is actually overheating.

[Deleted]

Here in Canada, at 12 celcius it's bathing suit/beach/swim time. We get -35/-40 in Winter. There's always at day at least once a year where you're about to get out of the house to go to work and then you realize you can't open it because there's 8" of snow on the other side preventing it from opening.

Well, I'm from the southernmost parts of Finland myself, but people northern up swim through the winter etc.

[Deleted]

Well being from Belgium myself.. I know how the weather sucks here atm.
But ye I heat up my room due to my computer and just my computer...
During games the CPU runs up to 70° (overclock ftw ) in wow, and my case gets nice and warm.

When I start up my computer aka entering the room when I get back from Uni its cold as hell, but when I go to bed in the evening its mostly too warm to even have 2 blankets, I see it as a win-win situation really

[Chickensoup23]

Well, I'm from the southernmost parts of Finland myself, but people northern up swim through the winter etc.

I feel ya ;D I need to go there/Norway/Sweden/northern countries. Looks amazing. Anyway back on topic...

[ragingsoul]

well, I know that my i7 920 OC@3.2Ghz with my crossfire HD5850 heats up my room (same dimensions) about 2 degrees every hour while playing. That's a pain in summer, through I don't know why you're worrying about that now that it's cooler.
yes, it's normal.
The other heat source btw is you.

[Deleted]

Well, I'm from the southernmost parts of Finland myself, but people northern up swim through the winter etc.

Yeah, we even have competitions for that ^^ Just like Sauna Championship! I live in the middle-ish of Finland and we do get 30-40 celsius days every winter.

[Jaerin]

As for which puts off more heat the computer does.

The human body on average only produces 116watts/hr of heat. So a PC and older monitor would be able to easily produce more than that.

[Deleted]

my pc can heat my room to in the winter, thats why I never turn my radiator on.... but you must remember its more expensive to heat with electricity ^^