Question Which computers work best in an elevated ambient temperature ?

[DougSh]

With climate change we are facing restrictions on the minimum temperature allowed in air conditioned rooms.
So I want to choose a new desktop computer (office work, not gaming) that will work even if the room temperature gets fairly high.
I note that industrial machines by Premio Inc. have solid heat pipes rather than fans, but their machines are too expensive for me and are probably not available in Australia.
I'm happy to have the machine slow down when the temperature gets high, but I am hoping for normal operation comparable to an i7 processor. I am not into building my own. Can anyone recommend either an off the shelf system or the best components if I get a custom manufacture.
Are there settings (perhaps limiting the number of active threads) that can help?

 

[Ralston18]

I doubt that some minimal allowed temperature in an air-conditioned room will make much of a difference.

Most systems/components have a fairly high "max temperature" and any room configured to maintain that sort temperature is probably going to be very uncomfortable to work in.

What temperature ranges do you expect? PC, room, surroundings?

FYI:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pc-op... under 60 degrees C,it for a sustained period.

Overall, removing thermal energy requires someplace cooler to "dump" the energy.

Compared to the PC's temperatures, even some minimal temperature AC coolded room is "cooler".

Start with some actual temperature measurements. Quantify the problem(s) and proceed accordingly.

Other factors: multiple PC's, room size, air conditioning capacity (BTUs), air flows, windows, other equipment.

Look at the bigger picture.

 

[Misgar]

Standard desktop and laptop computers are designed to operate in ambient (room) temperatures up to +35° C (95° F). A powerful laptop or a small cramped PC could overheat above +35° C.

Server and industrial grade computers will often work at higher temperatures. As an example, the Dell Optiplex XE range works at +45° C (113° F) or +55° C (131° F) with an optional air ducting kit.

MIL SPEC systems are usually designed for +55° C ambients.

If you're going to operate above +40° C (104° F) in Australia, I'd recommend a computer with a large spacious case and a big air (Dark Rock Pro 4/Noctua NH-D15) or large AIO 240/360mm cooler, with plenty of spare capacity.

Small coolers may not have enough "headroom" to cool a really powerful CPU.

It's probably best to steer clear of the Intel i9-13900K and AMD 7950X, or similar CPUs. Stick to 95W THD CPUs and you should be OK.

This is what 8kW of liquid cooling looks like in a Wiwynn chassis.
https://www.servethehome.com/wiwynn-liquid-cooling-for-8kw-of-ai-accelerators-shown-oam-oai-ocp-ubb/

 

[geofelt]

Current processor and motherboard technology seeks to perform the best at high temperatures.
100c. for Intel, 95c(I think) for amd.
When the workload and cooling capability reaches those temperatures, the processor slows down a bit until the situation is resolved.
Bottom line..... do not worry about it.

Here is an interesting article on running a 13900K with less than top cooling:

Core i9-13900K Cooling Guide: Testing Intel's Flagship With Budget Air and Big AIOs

The Core i9-13900K can push even the most capable liquid coolers to their limits, but you don’t lose that much performance if you go with budget-priced air cooling.

www.tomshardware.com

This is all a moot point since normal office work hardly stresses the processor.
Once you have a ssd for your files, everything will be quick.
About the strongest processor for office work that I can recommend is a i3-13100 using the included stock cooler.

 

[Eximo]

Seek out Intel T class processors in pre-builts. They are very low power CPUs and are basically already ideal for staying as cool as possible. Bonus if you take the same T class processor and slap a massive heatsink/fan on it.

 

[Misgar]

Another concern when running a computer at elevated temperatures is the capability of the PSU to operate above +30C without de-rating.

Some of the more thorough reviewers place the UUT (unit under test) in a "hot box" and check performance at full load. Heat from the PSU raises the air temperature inside the box to well over 40C. This is a crude but effective alternative to a proper temperature-controlled climatic test chamber.

Less well specified PSUs start to reduce the maximum output power when air entering the PSU exceeds 30C. Better PSUs start limiting at 40C. Excellent PSUs do not start to de-rate until 50C, i.e. you can still pull full power at 50C inside the computer case.

Operating a computer in a room at 40C+ could result in air temperatures inside the case reaching 50C or higher. At this point poorly specified PSUs will probably de-rate to half power, shut down, or in a few instances, catch fire.

Only the best PSUs will be capable of supplying full power at ambient temperatures up to 50C.

If in any doubt about the temperature performance of a PSU, de-rate it to 50% at 50C, e.g. if the total load is 500W, buy a 1kW PSU.