Does opening the case void the warranty?

[fr34ky]

Its kinda dumb becuase if it overheats and fry's then the companie would have to replace it.They would probaly say you were playing to hardcore of game and that voided oyur Warranty.LOL

 

[Harper]

Its kinda dumb becuase if it overheats and fry's then the companie would have to replace it.They would probaly say you were playing to hardcore of game and that voided oyur Warranty.LOL

It's clearly manufacturer's fault there provided that you are not trying to do any thing out of the ordinary with your PC.

DUMB QUESTION to SexyJames :- At any time where you trying to over clock your CPU or VIDEO card?

 

[SexyJames]

Thanks for all the replies.

To Alex: It's an Athlon processor. I don't think that's getting too hot. The part that was overheating was the graphics card, which is a GeForce 6200 Turbocache.

To Harper: Thanks for some more info on how the warranty works.

To fr34ky: Good point.

To Harper for the second time: No, I've never overclocked anything.

 

[HAVOC]

Opening up a Brand Name Computer's CASE doesn't void it's warranty. It's your PC you can do whatever you want.

If you install after market or some component that did not come with the OEM system, it in most cases will VOID the warranty for certain things.

I say certain because, there are many situations to take into consideration. Like, if you install and AFTER MARKET HS & FAN on a cpu, then for some reason the CPU craps the bed, don't expect to be covered under warranty from OEM builder, but you should be under warranty from INTEL/AMD.

If you simply add a case fan, and you're CPU craps the bed... You wil be covered under warranty...

 

[SexyJames]

Well, at least I feel a bit more relieved now. I just wish I knew more about hardware, because I would like to install a new fan but firstly wouldn't know how to, and secondly don't really want to risk doing any damage... would it cost much to get somewhere like PC World to install it for me?

I've been playing on Oblivion again and unless I set it on bad graphics it starts rising to over 70C, and thats when artifacts start appearing. It may not be the best card ever but it can handle more than what I have it set as at the moment, in terms of FPS but just can't handle the temperature. My Mum has just bought a new computer for herself and its similar to mine but slightly better *envy* because it has a dual core processor and its the 6200 SE Turbocache. Later I'm going to check the temperature of that because it has the same case as well (they're Compaqs) so I can see if my computer is faulty or if the case just offers poor ventilation.

Edit: I checked the other PC and when it first started up it was at 38C, then it slowly climbed up to about 47/48C and stayed there. This computer is stuffed down the side of a table, with a stack of paper covering one side of the tower and a paper shredder covering the over side, and the back pressed right up as near to the wall as it will go. So as you can imagine, the ventilation is not brilliant. Mine has nothing near it but levels off at about 62C. This would suggest something is wrong somewhere, as they are very similar PCs. Think I should ask PC World about it?

 

[Harper]

Well, at least I feel a bit more relieved now. I just wish I knew more about hardware, because I would like to install a new fan but firstly wouldn't know how to, and secondly don't really want to risk doing any damage... would it cost much to get somewhere like PC World to install it for me?

More money that it's worth. Provided that you know how to use a screw driver, then you are 75% there on know how to install a fan.

Does you case have any 80mm or 120mm vents in the rear?

I've been playing on Oblivion again and unless I set it on bad graphics it starts rising to over 70C, and thats when artifacts start appearing. It may not be the best card ever but it can handle more than what I have it set as at the moment, in terms of FPS but just can't handle the temperature. My Mum has just bought a new computer for herself and its similar to mine but slightly better *envy* because it has a dual core processor and its the 6200 SE Turbocache. Later I'm going to check the temperature of that because it has the same case as well (they're Compaqs) so I can see if my computer is faulty or if the case just offers poor ventilation.

Edit: I checked the other PC and when it first started up it was at 38C, then it slowly climbed up to about 47/48C and stayed there. This computer is stuffed down the side of a table, with a stack of paper covering one side of the tower and a paper shredder covering the over side, and the back pressed right up as near to the wall as it will go. So as you can imagine, the ventilation is not brilliant. Mine has nothing near it but levels off at about 62C. This would suggest something is wrong somewhere, as they are very similar PCs. Think I should ask PC World about it?

I might be worth your while. Not sure if they will cover this under warranty one not. But it's worth a try.

 

[SexyJames]

The back of my case has 2 vents, one I presume is for the fan and the other is just a normal vent I think. Does it cost much for a decent fan? And do you have to change any other components to fit one? If not then I might think about it, although it would probably be a good idea to ring PC World first and see what they say.

 

[Harper]

Comtact your computer store for it. However Most computer stores have a min. Labor fee.

If you came down to my computer store and asked me to install a fan (and that was it) I would charge the min. AU$30 labour fee. Even though the job is a no brainer to install. However when you think about it, in total (clearing space on work desk, opening up pc, screwing in fan, closing pc, testing to see if it works,) it's about 15 minutes work.

 

[SexyJames]

It would be good to do it myself, yes. Do you have to power the fan from the computer itself or can you power it seperately? Because might the load become too much if I have an extra fan? I don't know much about this stuff at all

 

[Harper]

It would be good to do it myself, yes. Do you have to power the fan from the computer itself or can you power it seperately? Because might the load become too much if I have an extra fan? I don't know much about this stuff at all

You can get one of the following.
Most commonly, you will get a fan with a 3 pin collection that will connect directly to your motherboard. Now make sure that you are getting a fan with at least 3 wirers connected to it. The 3rd wire is there to send a signal back to your motherboard informing the RPMs of the fan. And then your motherboard should adjust the speed depending on the temp of your computer.

Otherwise, there is fans with a molex connection with can plug around on the same power cables as your hard drive or CD Rom. Do not get these ones as they will blow a lot of air, but make a lot of noise.