Built-in Dehumidifier on a motherboard?

[Gabis1207]

I'm picking out parts for a computer that I'm going to be giving my brother for his 18th birthday within the next few days, and while comparing motherboards, I came across this little "feature" of a particular ASRock board (see attached image).

Cue question:

Does a running PC act as sort of a make-shift dehumidifier, is this some sort of desperate marketing ploy, or did ASRock somehow add a micro-dehumidifier to their board? (I think that would be kinda silly, putting a water-condenser that close to highly liqui-sensitive equipment, but hey... I'm sure someone might think it's a good idea... )?

Here's the actual board on NewEgg

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

It's mostly a marketing gimmick... Basically, the de-humidification is the system turning on, letting the components get hot, this way condensation can not form on them what so ever, it actively lowers the moisture level of the components compared to ambient...

But, no, it's not a true dehumidifier, as nothing on the board gets colder than ambient room temperature.

 

[Gabis1207]

It's mostly a marketing gimmick... Basically, the de-humidification is the system turning on, letting the components get hot, this way condensation can not form on them what so ever, it actively lowers the moisture level of the components compared to ambient...

But, no, it's not a true dehumidifier, as nothing on the board gets colder than ambient room temperature.

Wouldn't that sorta defeat the purpose of hybernate/shutdown (save power while not in use)?

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Yes and no, it cycles the power on and off at preset intervals, or has a small sensor on the motherboard to detect if there is moisture buildup in the PCB, thus turning the system on to a low-power state, just enough to get components and the board to warm up, then back to sleep it goes. It's mostly to keep your PCB from absorbing moisture, because it is a permeable component.

But, as I said, it's more of a marketing gimmick, there's a purpose, but not really a highly needed purpose.

 

[Gabis1207]

Yes and no, it cycles the power on and off at preset intervals, or has a small sensor on the motherboard to detect if there is moisture buildup in the PCB, thus turning the system on to a low-power state, just enough to get components and the board to warm up, then back to sleep it goes. It's mostly to keep your PCB from absorbing moisture, because it is a permeable component.

But, as I said, it's more of a marketing gimmick, there's a purpose, but not really a highly needed purpose.

Huh.. you learn something new every day.

 

[Yami]

I have the ASRock Z87 Extreme4, and it has this feature. I've never bothered to turn it on.