<p>I am pretty sure I want to bring my custom built dektop to school with me, but I am unsure about the space/heat issues in a college dorm. I am a computer science major, and while I can always get by with just a laptop, my desktop is fairly important to me. I can always work with a cramped space, but I am concerned about heat buildup. I'm looking for others who have done this and to see what their experiences were.</p>
<p>Here are my relevant specs:
- Normal (Tower) case (should fit under desk)
- Dual ATI HD6850 (I think they generate a lot of heat)
- Three monitors (which I only need to bring one of)</p>
<p>P.S. I am not looking for advice on how bringing this will ruin my life, tank my grades, etc. I am not a big gamer.</p>
<p>I had my desktop in the dorms and it was fine. I didn’t leave it running 24/7 like I normally would to countdown on heat but that wasn’t a big deal. I only had 1 monitor at the time though. I upgraded o 2 once I left the dorms. Mine didn’t have 2 GPUs though so yours will certainly be a bit hotter. Mine only had a state-of-the art GeForce 6800 at the time. Haha. Oh how far we’ve come.</p>
<p>OP, I’m planning on bring my desktop and laptop with me to the dorms this fall also. Albeit, I only have ONE 6870 running in my tower and not two. Oh, Boneh3ad, mentioning your state of the art 6800 brings back memories for me also, it was my first graphics card :sniffles:</p>
<p>Alright, I guess I will have to turn it off. If I can’t fit three monitors in there, I’ll probably disconnect the other GPU if I think it is still too hot. Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>6800, now that was a card. I just got rid of my 9800GTX. I was sad to see that go.</p>
<p>My 8800GTX fried a couple months ago. I bought it when they had just come out and it was still running most new games like a champ even at 4 years old. Had to replace it with a non-top-of-the-line card though. No money.</p>
<p>Well if you can you should try to get it off the floor and leave it on top of the desk, air will be able to flow much better without it being under a desk on a carpet. I also have a custom desktop that I’m debating on bringing, but I’m waiting until I see my actual dorm before I drag it all the way out there and realize there’s no room for it or if I even want it there after I get settled in.</p>
<p>Bringing a desktop is not a problem as long as you bring a laptop also.</p>
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<p>I did 4 years of engineering on a desktop alone and did just fine. A laptop is convenient for somethings but certainly not necessary. Most people don’t even utilize them they way they should anyway.</p>
<p>I plan to have a laptop too. My fallback is to leave the desktop at home and SSH in if need be.</p>
<p>curious: why are you bringing the desktop if you’re not a gamer? (I’m also an incoming cs freshmen, making the same decision, though for me it is for gaming)</p>
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<p>I do play the occasional game, but my desktop is just really important to me. I often run different web services off of it, use it for most of my programming, and just prefer to use it over a laptop whenever possible. Plus I’ve poured a lot of time and money into it over the years.</p>