Can I leave my PC on carpet?

[Guest]

Im building a new really good and expensive PC. I cannot risk breaking it at all otherwise I wont have a computer for the next 3-4 years...

Is it safe for my NZXT H440 case to rest on top of the carpet as I use my PC? If not what could I place on top of the carpet to rest my case on?

 

[Isokolon]

won't be good for the PSU but kinda depends on the carpet.
you could get a floor tile, for example made from marble, and but the case on there
I use one as a mouse pad, 2 or three should be fine for the whole case

 

[James Mason]

Bad idea, carpets build up static electricity, which will damage your hardware.

Get some wooden blocks or something to elevate it off the carpet, even old books should work.

 

[DiegoD]

With any machine that intakes air from the bottom, like your H440, it isn't the best to have it sitting on just carpet. The case can sink into the carpet restricting air. Just have the case sitting on something on the floor, a piece of cardboard, a wooden board, anything.

 

[ahnilated]

As someone that has had computers sitting on carpet for 20+ yrs, I can tell you that it is fine. Just make sure you aren't blocking any of the air flow that is needed.

 

[alexoiu]

Im building a new really good and expensive PC. I cannot risk breaking it at all otherwise I wont have a computer for the next 3-4 years...

Is it safe for my NZXT H440 case to rest on top of the carpet as I use my PC? If not what could I place on top of the carpet to rest my case on?

Definitely yes. If the power supply fan is oriented bottom side, you can put a book or similar under the case, for raising a bit the case. Otherwise, no issue.

 

[Isokolon]

As someone that has had computers sitting on carpet for 20+ yrs, I can tell you that it is fine. Just make sure you aren't blocking any of the air flow that is needed.

with a bottom-mounted PSU? really?
hard to imagine.
you gotta get superior front intake airflow for that to work

with older cases that are designed to soley take in air from the front it shouldn't be *that* much of an issue

 

[ahnilated]

As someone that has had computers sitting on carpet for 20+ yrs, I can tell you that it is fine. Just make sure you aren't blocking any of the air flow that is needed.

with a bottom-mounted PSU? really?
hard to imagine.
you gotta get superior front intake airflow for that to work

with older cases that are designed to soley take in air from the front it shouldn't be *that* much of an issue

Yes, all you have to do is make sure you have at least 1" of room as the PSU fan doesn't require that much air.

 

[DiegoD]

As someone that has had computers sitting on carpet for 20+ yrs, I can tell you that it is fine. Just make sure you aren't blocking any of the air flow that is needed.

with a bottom-mounted PSU? really?
hard to imagine.
you gotta get superior front intake airflow for that to work

with older cases that are designed to soley take in air from the front it shouldn't be *that* much of an issue

With older cases that do not intake from the bottom, there is no issue. Are you aware of how many office pc's are just sitting on carpet and have been for years? The only reason it is even an issue for him is because the intake is at the bottom.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Bad idea, carpets build up static electricity, which will damage your hardware.

Get some wooden blocks or something to elevate it off the carpet, even old books should work.

Static electricity has nothing to do with it. A computer just sitting on the floor isn't going to be building up any static, and the case is grounded anyway. The potential issues would be airflow, and maybe dust.

 

[10tacle]

I have all my PCs on top of my desk for a reason. While you can put a piece of wood on the carpet to elevate the PC a little, it's what you don't see that is a problem: dust being kicked up by people and even pets walking on your carpet next to the PC.

If you've ever had sunlight shine directly onto your sofa and you hit it, you'll see dust particles go flying in the air no matter how clean you are. Carpet is 10x worse in particle accumulation, and all that is being sucked into your PC unless you have good air filters.

Office carpet is not like home carpet. Office carpet is very thin more like an outdoor mat and does not trap dust and other things like deeper home carpet does (reason for that too: ease of maintenance). But if you are that short on desk space, put it on a flat board like an unused shelf board to get it off the carpet. I had one holdout PC that was set up just like that, and once I put it on the desk, the dust accumulation rate in the filters was cut by more than half.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

The static electricity phenomena happens between two insulators, not between a conductive case and an insulated carpet.

 

[ahnilated]

I have all my PCs on top of my desk for a reason. While you can put a piece of wood on the carpet to elevate the PC a little, it's what you don't see that is a problem: dust being kicked up by people and even pets walking on your carpet next to the PC.

If you've ever had sunlight shine directly onto your sofa and you hit it, you'll see dust particles go flying in the air no matter how clean you are. Carpet is 10x worse in particle accumulation, and all that is being sucked into your PC unless you have good air filters.

Office carpet is not like home carpet. Office carpet is very thin more like an outdoor mat and does not trap dust and other things like deeper home carpet does (reason for that too: ease of maintenance). But if you are that short on desk space, put it on a flat board like an unused shelf board to get it off the carpet. I had one holdout PC that was set up just like that, and once I put it on the desk, the dust accumulation rate in the filters was cut by more than half.

Well that is what they make compressed air for, cleaning out dust bunnies. I clean my computers about every 3 months but I like clean PC's and that is what an air compressor with a moisture catcher is for.

 

[10tacle]

Well that is what they make compressed air for, cleaning out dust bunnies. I clean my computers about every 3 months but I like clean PC's and that is what an air compressor with a moisture catcher is for.

I stopped buying cans of compressed air years ago. Big waste of money long term. I bought this and it has paid for itself many times over compared to buying compressed air in cans: https://www.amazon.com/ED500-DataVac-500-Watt-0-75-HP-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW

In any event, my point was that you will be cleaning a PC much more often if it's at ground level (carpet or hardwood for that matter) than if it is elevated to the desk. But if you like cleaning your PC more frequently (I only need to do it twice a year) and wasting money on cans of air, then go for it!