Computer heater
 

I usually run my computer all the time and it acts as a pretty good heater when im not using it :) Is it better to turn it off and run the central air or to keep it runnin? It is in my bedroom so i go and close the door and it gets up to 75+ degrees F in a few hours from 60, plus it being in the basement and 40 degrees outside. What do you guys think?

It's probably cheaper to use your computer -- as you're only heating one room rather than running your central system ;)

cept maybe when i open the door.. and all the heat dissipates lol
well does a computer acctually put out 100% heat of the power it uses to process? lol

Aye? The computer doesn't "intend" to put off any heat, its a consequence of inefficiency.

I say just do the math. How much does your computer use to run? How much would you be paying to use your central heating. The central air could be better if it is more efficient. As 88HF says, the heat put off by a computer is just it being inefficient. From the power supply to the RAM to the CPU, they all do a somewhat bad job of using the power to crunch the numbers.

If you are using your computer to upload torrents or something like that though... then the story could change a bit. I keep mine running most of the time, but mine only uses 25 watts when the screen is shut. I definitely don't get any heat from it.

Heat and Processing
 

If you're looking to generate excess heat and benefit Gene Research at the same time, you could run the Stanford Gene Folding Project.

LSS, it's a distributed computing effort (like SETI @ home), whereby you can set the program to use any percentage of the processor's availability, which for me is always 100%. It's a passive program, meaning it will give priority to other processes first, so you don't generally perceive a drop in performance. I've been running this on laptops and desktops for a few years now without a problem. Desktops seem to handle the heat better, of course.

RH77

Not 100% - but a percentage of it ;) You just have to look at how much energy is consumed by your computer -- and how much is consumed by central heating ;)

Efficiency doesn't matter too much here - it's total consumption. Think of an 80% efficient engine that consumes 5 gallons of fuel per hour. Now compare that two a smaller engine that's 40% efficient, but only consumes 2 gallons of fuel per hour :p

I Fold!!!! Puter room stays very warm indeed. :)

Q6600 @ 3.6 ghz
E6600 @ 3.36 ghz.
E6400 @ 3.28 ghz
XPM @ 2.4 ghz
Lappy @ 1.7 ghz

All run 24/7, 100% cpu load. Four air cooled. One water cooled.

Then through in the fish tanks I have running in the room. It gets very warm. :)

Srry, torrents arent safe nemore... :(

but yes.. for all that time my computer is on.. i prob be doin that.. and warm up my room faster :)

PC Lineup (not so cool, or HOT)
 

I have 3 PCs in the basement -- old recycled models for folding:

2 @ 1 GHz
1 P-III @ 450 MHz
(stays cool downstairs for the "antiques")
4 Laptops in the house:
One -- had to give up folding (backup in case one goes down, for the road) ~1.4 Celeron :thumbdown:
- The Wife's Dual-Core Dell with T7200 @ 2.00 GHz (intermittent folding, powerhouse otherwise).
-"The Highwayman" 1.7GHz (this one is used 99% of personal use, always folding 24/7, 100% unless on batt) -- HP Pav dv1331se -- great screen and DVD replay. it's pretty beat-up from the miles and heat. :o Separate from the folding, it's on it's 4th board, power input and power supply (AC adapter). May be the last HP I buy. It's holding on, tho...
-Dual-Core HP 2.4-ish? for the Work-provided one (can't get folding to work well on the company PC).

It's a weak lineup, but it's better than nothing, right???

I take-in old computers and put them to work.

That's cool (literally) with the water-cooled unit! I put my $$$ into laptops for road power.

I'm torn what to do next month -- company stipend for personal computer use ($1200). A desktop would get lots of power, and I could built it myself. Problem is, the lifestyle around the house is laptops on Wireless (printing, backup, everything). I like to play Flight-Sim, and the 1.7 can't handle FSX, so I'm running the old 2004. I'm still looking for a way to do a dumb terminal from the laptop (screen, keyboard, touchpad) and hide a box behind the couch or something. But, that gets me nothing on the road -- but laptop power is 'spensive. Meh, we'll see.

RH77