Like the sun in Mario, it's trying to get you! Image made in Paint by me
IF you live in an area that is prone to becoming hell in the summer then that usually means the room you're playing in is becoming an oven! If the gaming room doesn't have good circulation or a way to properly expel heat then there could be serious damage to either the player or their hardware.
I propose a list of how to cool down the gaming experience!
Day time gaming / Night time gaming
Flip your gaming:
I'm usually a Day Time Gamer but with the recent heat I have been flipping over to turning on my gaming gear in the evening hours. The cooler temperatures make it easier on my gear hardware wise and it doesn't heat up the house as much!
Outline of PC and Monitor now moved to another room
Change Places:
If my current room gets too hot I'll Move my setup to a wider space so it can both help manage heat build up and change the scenery from the usual views! Maybe I'll try making another room in to the 'Summer Game Room' every year.
Fans on, Room door and window open
Circulate the room and clear all vents:
I keep an airflow moving through my gaming room at all times. I try and keep my door open at all times to help and sometimes I'll have to move furniture or shift my desk a bit to get better airflow. I also check the fan vents on my PC to see if it needs to be cleaned from dust or other clogging debris.
Power off / Power on
Turning Off:
If the heat gets to be too much I will turn everything off for an hour or two and I'll cool off by doing tasks around the house. By the time I am done, everything else will be at a much preferable temp.
Moving the bar to the lowest setting
Lower the settings:
I've found that reducing the graphics (Heresy!) on most of my games has helped my computer hardware deal with the heat. It's rough to look at but at least I know my gear will survive this summer.
I wrote the outline of this post on pen and paper during an afternoon when a heat advisory was in effect and brownouts were affecting the surrounding neighborhoods, so all of my tech was turned off. I figured someone would find this post informative or entertaining. Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading my methods to beat Gaming In The Heat!
All images seen here were masterfully created in Paint by me during a lull in the heat
If you have any tricks or tips on how to beat the heat during a gaming session please leave a comment, I would love to hear it!
