Why Do New Computers Produce Less Heat?

[adalect]

I have posted an earlier thread at https://forum.videohelp.com/topic368839.htm asking about how to reduce heat. Now that I have changed the power supply unit with an older spare one I found in the garage, I find the same heat is being spit out of the box fan. Most of this heat is from the Geforce 5500 FX and the old hard drives in the box.

I am considering buying another box. I have heard that most new computers produce less heat, but how is this so? Aren't they more powerful, and eat more energy and generate more heat as a result?

[johns0]

Technology equals smaller die size in the cpu allowing for less power consumption.

[redwudz]

Making a PC more energy efficient involves several different areas. The newer CPUs, like some of the 45nm chip structures, are quite a bit more efficient than older CPUs that used larger features. But with the addition of more cores and higher speeds, they may still run fairly hot. But they are doing a lot more work for the power used

The Northbridge chip is also a big heat producer. It handles the peripherals, hard drives and such, on the PC, and sometimes the video, if you have on-board video.

Power supplies have also improved. Some switching PSs have efficiencies above 80%. What is left over is dissipated as heat.

RAM still runs fairly warm. That may change, but they are generally being pushed near their limits, and that creates more heat.

Some of the newer SATA hard drives are a bit more efficient, but still run warm, but most times cooler than their PATA equivalents. But there are OS programs to help slow them down when they don't need to run full speed and that saves energy.

GPUs (Video cards) seem to be one of the biggest heat producers in modern PCs. That may take a bit longer before they are much more efficient, especially if you want good video performance, such as in gaming.

CPU coolers now commonly using heat pipe technology which is much more efficient for drawing heat away from the CPU core.

And smart fan technology can help ramp up fan speeds when needed and idle them down for power savings and quieter running when the PC is under a light load.

Still, the average PC in my house uses about 120 - 140 Watts. If you run them 24/7, it will increase your electric bill as same as a 120W light bulb.

[bevills1]

FYI the link in first post doesn't work. Is heat within specs, and why do you want to reduce it if it's within specs? I'd not be concerned about it if it's not higher than specs show.

[redwudz]

The link should have been: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic368839.html#1973661

[adalect]

Is heat within specs, and why do you want to reduce it if it's within specs?

The heat is increasing over the months from the hard drives. They weren't like that when they were new. They contribute a significant amount of heat now.

The link should have been: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic368839.html#1973661

Thanks for that. I didn't know about the broken link until just now when I checked.


Thanks for the others for their explanations.