jlee@pnet01.cts.com (James Lee) (11/28/90)
Macintosh and IBMs both have fans to keep their system cool, and so does the
Amiga 2000 and 3000 (when you get one, I think)... Will my Amiga 500 last if
I left the power on? I left it on for days before and it didn't seem to get
hot, but will leaving it on for a week ruin the circuitry? I've also heard
that some chips have cooling circuitry that keeps it cool... Does the Amiga
have that? If so, does it work well enough to allow my Amiga to stay on?
UUCP: {hplabs!hp-sdd ucsd nosc}!crash!pnet01!jlee
ARPA: crash!pnet01!jlee@nosc.mil
INET: jlee@pnet01.cts.comphoenix@ms.uky.edu (R'ykandar Korra'ti) (11/29/90)
In article <5917@crash.cts.com> jlee@pnet01.cts.com (James Lee) writes: >Will my Amiga 500 last if >I left the power on? I haven't had any problems leaving my Amiga (lorbit.UUCP, a.k.a. uunet.uu.net!ukma!lorbit) on for really extended periods of time - like the last four or five months or so. (I also run a BBS as well as UUCP site. So far, though, users can only read news - not post. I'm working on software for it, and - yes, dambit - I'll make sure only non-goofballs have write access). I _have_ had a hardware failure, but that was static (first time I've ever been bitten in 13 years of playing with computers!) that hit while the system was off! Of course, I have a separate power supply (XT type) and that _does_ have a fan. But the A500 has done fine without one by itself. Oh, if your house gets unusually hot - we have air conditioning - you might have a problem in the summer. - R'ykandar. -- R'ykandar Korra'ti | Editor, LOW ORBIT Science and Fiction "I hate you, you timepiece from Hades." - Plucky Duck phoenix@ms.uky.edu | editor@lorbit.UUCP | ukma!lorbit!editor
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (11/30/90)
In article <5917@crash.cts.com> jlee@pnet01.cts.com (James Lee) writes: >Macintosh and IBMs both have fans to keep their system cool, and so does the >Amiga 2000 and 3000 (when you get one, I think)... Will my Amiga 500 last if >I left the power on? No problem. The A500 is designed to be cooled by convection. When air inside the machine is heated, that air rises and leaves the case, bringing in cooler air from under the machine to replace that which leaves. This technique work only for smaller machines, and assumes that you aren't going to restrict the air flow for your A500. Nonstandard internal expansion boards may cause the system to overheat. With the larger machines, you not only have to cool the basic system, but account for any expansion goodies that might be inside, and also the additional heating that an internal power supply will cause. >UUCP: {hplabs!hp-sdd ucsd nosc}!crash!pnet01!jlee -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy ONLY 230 MILES TO GO
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (12/05/90)
In article <ggk.660033150@tirith.UUCP> ggk@tirith.UUCP (Gregory Kritsch) writes: >daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >>No problem. The A500 is designed to be cooled by convection. When air inside >I have to ask how the A500 box/motherboard was designed this way, >because I remember reading a story about Apple designing the motherboard >for one of their computers to be convection cooled. [...] >Another neat bit mentioned was they tried using a low-heat half height >drive, with no success. However, the added heat from a full-height was >sufficient to drive the convection currents to cool the thing. >So I'm curious to know if there is a similarly humourous story on A500 >design, or to know if Commodore "did it right" with some "scientific >process" (for lack of a better term). I don't the process offhand, but I imagine to our mechanical guys, it's "old hat" by now. They basically design the casework such that the air flows over the areas than need cooling. This isn't any different for a machine with a fan in it; they spent a considerable amount of time making sure that the fan in the A3000 would draw air over the expansion cards, rather than leaking around them. There are differences between the C= machines and all Apples. The Apple IIs had internal power supplies and expansion slots; such a machine should have a fan. The Macs have several problems. They're tall and skinny, for one thing, where what you really want is some flat and wide so that you can maximize the case area that can contain the holes, the top and bottom of the case. This kind of Mac also had a built in monitor and supply, so it's bound to get hot beyond the needs of its motherboard. C= has been building this kind of computer since the VIC-20, and they're good at it. > Gregory Kritsch | University of Waterloo -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy ONLY 50 MILES TO GO
terry@csd.uwo.ca (Terry Cudney) (12/11/90)
In article <16300@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: > ...they spent a considerable amount of time making sure that the fan >in the A3000 would draw air over the expansion cards, rather than leaking >around them. C= <--> Apple comparisons deleted for brevity. > ...what you really want is some flat and wide so that you can maximize the >case area that can contain the holes, the top and bottom of the case. > ... C= has been building this kind of >computer since the VIC-20, and they're good at it. > >Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" > {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy > ONLY 50 MILES TO GO Dave, Does this mean that a tower configuration of the A3000 is out of the question? or not a good idea? --terry /* terry@chaplin.csd.uwo.ca * Terry Cudney Amistosa MicroWare 9 Durham Street, LONDON, Ontario, N5Y 2H9 */ -- --terry /* terry@chaplin.csd.uwo.ca * Terry Cudney Amistosa MicroWare 9 Durham Street, LONDON, Ontario, N5Y 2H9 */
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (12/12/90)
In article <1910@ria.ccs.uwo.ca> terry@csd.uwo.ca (Terry Cudney) writes: >In article <16300@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >> ...what you really want is some flat and wide so that you can maximize the >>case area that can contain the holes, the top and bottom of the case. >> ... C= has been building this kind of >>computer since the VIC-20, and they're good at it. >Dave, > Does this mean that a tower configuration of the A3000 is out of the >question? or not a good idea? It means that a tower machine should not be cooled by convection. The excerpt above was in regard to why the A500 has no fan but other systems do. If you want convection cooling, you have to work around the physics of convection -- basically, that hot air rises. If you have a fan, you can force air to move in the directions you choose, not just "up". > * Terry Cudney Amistosa MicroWare 9 Durham Street, LONDON, Ontario, N5Y 2H9 -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy "I can't drive 55" -Sammy Hagar
ggk@tirith.UUCP (Gregory Kritsch) (12/01/20)
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >No problem. The A500 is designed to be cooled by convection. When air inside I have to ask how the A500 box/motherboard was designed this way, because I remember reading a story about Apple designing the motherboard for one of their computers to be convection cooled. The article appeared in Byte a long time ago, and mentioned that it was an almost random drilling of holes and covering holes with tape that eventually got it to work. Another neat bit mentioned was they tried using a low-heat half height drive, with no success. However, the added heat from a full-height was sufficient to drive the convection currents to cool the thing. So I'm curious to know if there is a similarly humourous story on A500 design, or to know if Commodore "did it right" with some "scientific process" (for lack of a better term). >Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" > {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy > ONLY 230 MILES TO GO -- Gregory Kritsch | University of Waterloo Fido: 1:221/208.11110 [1:163/109.30] | 1A Computer Engineering OCUG: ggk@tirith.ocug.on.ca |---------------------------- UUCP: ggk@tirith.UUCP | The University doesn't get ...!watmath!xenitec!tirith!ggk | a chance to censor me!