Computer performance in a cold shop?

[jsheerin]

I'm working on finishing up a gantry router - my first cnc machine. I've got my z-axis moving under computer control on my dining room table, but soon it will end up in my unheated garage. A few days ago it was -4 degrees F in my garage. In the summer it will be about 90 degrees F. I'm not too worried about the summer - I can add fans as needed for cooling. But what about cold temperatures, specifically when I first turn on the computer when it's really cold. I did a little research and found people saying that the expansion of parts as they warm up can stress solder joints and ultimately cause things to fail. Another potential concern could be condensation. I'd rather avoid that if I can. What I was thinking about is sticking an incandescent light bulb inside my computer case and having the monitor mounted in the same case along with my stepper driver. I've used a baseboard thermostat before to switch a lightbulb on and off to make a little composite curing oven - they're only $15. In a small box like this, I would think I wouldn't have a lot of trouble maintaining a temperature around 70F.

Am I concerned about nothing here? Does anyone here have experience using a normal PC in an unheated shop?

[steve323]

You are right that condensation is bad. The processor (and probably all other components in the system) are spec'ed to operate across a range of at least 0C to 90C non-condensing. This is -32F to 194F, so you should be OK.

Steve

[pipertom]

My concern would be Human performance at -4 .
My shop gets down to about 40. And I thought that was cold.
How do work in that temp?

Cheers,
Tom

[steve323]

Originally Posted by steve323 You are right that condensation is bad. The processor (and probably all other components in the system) are spec'ed to operate across a range of at least 0C to 90C non-condensing. This is -32F to 194F, so you should be OK. Steve

Oops, 0C to 90C is 25F to 194F. A small heat lamp for the electronics is probably a good idea.

-4F is really cold. I agree with Tom. How do you work in that environment? Also, how do you keep the bearings and other mechanical parts on your router from freezing?

Steve

[LazyMan]

A few days ago it was -4 degrees F in my garage.

You gotta get some heat in there. I have had my "shop" around 40 F and at that temperature I am pretty sure my computer was quite happy. As others have mentioned, the condensation will cause problems. I have read reports on laptops in sub zero temps and their is a risk losing data because of the temps. Other problems occur such as dead pixels damaged batteries and shattered screens. I suspect a desktop will would have similar results.

I would definately not run a computer or my machine in sub zero temps.

[jsheerin]

Thanks guys. I am still building my router - I actually finished cutting up the pieces for my bench last night. I don't think I'd actually be outside very long in -4F temperatures, but it's conceivable I would try to get some parts running and go inside. I work out there at around 30F on a normal basis. Lots of layers, coat, hat and gloves do the trick. A dust mask keeps my face pretty warm too. I will give my thermostat and heater idea a try. As for bearings, I don't think that will be a problem but I'll set one out there tonight and see if they freeze up. Maybe heat in the garage will be a project for next winter.

[FandZ]

I'm an avid overclocker. Basically I take computer hardware and make it run way beyond the speeds the parts were sold to run at. PC performance wise, I'm generally 1 and half year ahead of whatever is the top of the line at the moment.

Anyways, you will not have any problems running your pc between 0 to -20. Sometimes we use liquid nitrogen to get really high overclocks on cpu's. You'd be surprised how much happier a CPU is at -100c. That said, some of the older AMD chips had a cold bug where they didn't like tempertures under -20c. Some motherboards (rare) also will have porblems booting around 0. If it is the motherboard you may have to hit the power button a couple of times until it boots. But 99% of the time you will not have that problem.

Condensation will not be a problem at all. For condensation to occur you need a colder item, like a glass of ice water, surrounded by warmer air so the cold glass can take the moisture from the energized air. So unless your cpu will somehow be continually colder than the freezing air, you'd make a 100 million bucks selling that trick to AMD and Intel, than condensation cannot occur.

Same thing during the summer. Your pc will always run hotter than the ambient temperature. So condensation will not happen either. One problem that can occur, is if you left your garage door open. Then your pc will get dew on it. In that scenario, the pc will be colder from the lower temperatures in the night and when the warmer air hits it after sunrise, then, condensation can occur. But if the door is closed and things heat up and cool down at the same time, no drafts, than dew/condensation cannot occur.

90f in the summer could be a problem. It will not kill your pc, maybe shorten it's life, but the hotter the pc components get, the more crashes you will have.

Solder melts at 80 to 90c. Again, you will not have a problem.

[Zygoat]

x2 on everything fandz said. i have been building computers for over a decade and do all the same stuff. cold is actually good for computers. (all major businesses keep there servers and computers in rooms with the a/c set to like 60*F)

[jsheerin]

Since we're evidently resurrecting this thread, I can ad that I've used said computer in my shop for about a year and two months now since I asked this question and have not had a problem other than the case fans sounding bad when I start it up at 20F. That and I had a monitor die, but I think that's unrelated to temp...

[Zygoat]

whoops. i looked at the date and saw 2009. i didn't realize it was the very beginning of 09. (came up in a search.)

[jsheerin]

Nothing wrong with that. It never hurts to add more information.

[FandZ]

Originally Posted by jsheerin Since we're evidently resurrecting this thread, I can ad that I've used said computer in my shop for about a year and two months now since I asked this question and have not had a problem other than the case fans sounding bad when I start it up at 20F. That and I had a monitor die, but I think that's unrelated to temp...

Ya know, I never thought about the monitor. Yea they don't like cold temps. You may do good wrapping it once you power it down and then pulling the blanket off when you turn it on. That way maybe it'll keep some warmth over night. I have an LCD that starts to act flaky around 40f.

Zygoat, I'm running a completely stock pc since I got into cnc's. Just can't seem to pull my self away from cnc's long enough to go into a bios to change anything. That's how life consuming cnc's can be. And the crazy thing is overclocking is what got me looking at cnc's in the first place.lol