First, thanks Ian and Tom for your suggestions - always appreciated. There are a lot more questions I have,
( not specifically aimed at you guys, but have at her if you want ) - any and all info from anyone is always
welcome.

I did download Mobo Monitor and it does the trick in that it displays 3 different temps in the tray, and all
seem to run at or under 30*C. Unfortunately, I don't know which is which, or how often they're updated, but I
suppose since they all run relatively low my concerns have been almost(?) eradicated. I have also put a
regular old thermometer inside the desk cabinet, and it climbs steadily until about 35*C, so additional
venting doesn't appear(?) necessary, but the other concerns listed below may change that.

As I have inquired about AMD processor temps on this list before, and learned they can run fairly hot, that
was not really one of my concerns - I was more curious about safe operating temps for the other components.
Specifically, if I burn a cd, I suspect the temp inside the case to rise dramatically. If so, how will that
affect components that already run warm - power supply, pci cards, agp, etc.? When is it too warm for a hard
drive? Can the plastic circuit boards distort from excessive heat without actually being exposed to flame? I
guess what I need to know is...what are the signs that it's just getting too darned warm in there and fire
becomes a real possible issue?

Are thermal shutdowns an indicator that just the processor is too hot, or the overall temp in the case is too
hot? Do manufactures offer safe operating temp specs for particular components, and do you suppose similar
components have similar specs? I know I'm asking quite a few questions, but I have wondered about these issues
ever since I first saw pc desks with enclosed cpu spaces, and now I have to deal with them ( since the wife
insists the cpu should be where the desk manufacturer decided - whipped - lol.)

Anyway, all thoughts and experiences welcomed and appreciated...

Al Thompson
--------------

Ian wrote:
(snipped for brevity)

> Al, why don't you download Motherboard Monitor and install it into your PC?
>
> Of course, a lot of later boards have their own thermal shutdown, which is a
> great idea.
>
> Re your 1Ghz Athlon, I think you'll find it's ok up to 90-100c, but I like
> to err way on the conservative side.

Tom wrote:
(also snipped for brevity)

> I will add that my office
> furniture supplier installs fans into the cabinets, mounted near the top on
> the faux wood rear panels as exhaust, and they cut intake openings into the
> bottom edges.

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