Building your gaming PC at home has never been easier than today.
However, whether you choose to build it yourself or buy a commercial unit, space could turn out to be your biggest challenge.
For some reason, you could be compelled to put it directly on the carpet.
But, Is It OK to Put Your Gaming PC Directly On the Carpet?
It depends on the kind of carpet – all carpets aren’t the same. Carpets can be split into two broad groups: residential and commercial carpets. Residential carpets are installed in homes and tend to be very plush, fluffy, and soft very much like your fur coat.
While superb on feet, they interfere with airflow and are the worst kind of carpet you could put under your gaming PC because they reduce ventilation.
Commercial carpets, on another hand, are what you’d find in some commercial establishments. They are somewhat akin to the green turf you’d buy for your gazebo. They are designed to simply cover the floor, so the fluffiness is kept to a minimum. You may put your PC on this kind of carpet but there are many other factors to consider.
Generally, carpets collect dust and debris depending on the activities in the room and your maintenance plans.
The power of the fan on your gaming PC may escalate the dust problem by actively blowing it off the carpet into the machine.
The location of the vents can be a factor to consider as well. If your PC has vents on the sides, you have less to worry about.
If the vents are underneath, you probably shouldn’t put it on any kind of carpet.
Three Reasons Why Your PC Can Be Placed On Carpet
Here’s why you shouldn’t put your gaming PC on a carpet – generally:
1. Carpets Block Airflow
Most PCs come with tiny feet that raise them slightly off the surface. Part of the airflow that cools the machine occurs underneath.
Part of the PC system is a powerful fan tasked with blowing hot air off the processor and cold air into the system to keep the temperatures low.
The class of fans found on gaming PCs is one of a kind – stock units running at 70 percent of RPM or more.
If your gaming monster billows 50 °C of radiation during gameplay, you need to set your CPU fan at about 50 of the total RPM but some systems will demand the entire 100 percent!
The problem is that a powerful fan and a fluffy carpet can’t work together in harmony.
If you place the machine on a thick plush carpet, it will block part of the airflow that should be getting into the system.
This is regrettable most of the time, in fact, your computer may overheat almost immediately and ruin your expensive CPU.
Secondly, the loose fibers ‘uprooted’ off the carpet by the fan will be blown into the machine and accumulate there over a certain period.
If you don’t inspect and clean your machine often, the debris will form a layer on the innards, rendering the machine energy-inefficient or stick between moving parts and ruin them in the long run.
Solutions
Don’t use a fluffy carpet – maybe you should consider going for something with fewer fibers. Also, avoid wall-to-wall carpets. Installing the machine on a short carpet permits it to access enough airflow beneath.
Better yet, you can choose to do away with the carpet altogether and put the machine on your bare floor. Unless the floor is moist or dusty, you have nothing to worry about.
Also, why not place some rolling stands on the carpet before placing the PC?
Rolling stands serve two roles – they raise the PC slightly higher than its legs could permit. Secondly, they ease movement by allowing you to change the position of the machine with a simple push.
2. The Issue with Static Charges
Another reason why you should think hard before placing your computer on the carpet is the static charges it generates.
As you walk on the carpet going about your day-to-day activities, you create static charges that may end up on nearby devices.
Static charges may be harmless until they find a way into your gaming PC.
Those that end up in the machine may create an electric current – if they leak into one of the delicate parts of the motherboard, you can kiss your machine goodbye!
It may not seem as much of a risk at first but once it strikes, you have no way back.
3. The Dust Problem
Forget about the fabric debris breaking off the carpet, there’s a much bigger problem – the dust particles accumulating on the carpet!
Dirty feet carry dirt and fine particles from other rooms and outside.
All these may end up on the carpet if you don’t adopt a shoe-free culture while indoors.
Depending on the texture of the carpet, it can take a mere week for it to need a thorough cleaning.
Things could get worse if you don’t clean your carpet often enough.
If you have lots of other devices installed close to the PC – say, a few monitors, UPC unit, and hard drive rack – chances are you won’t keep up with the rapid buildup of dust because of the high levels of static charges in the room.
Solutions
The solution to dusty carpet is a shoe-free home. Go for rugs with dirt-repelling piles.
Create a detailed vacuuming schedule.
Take your carpet outside once in a while. More importantly, wash it properly and dry it at least once every two months.
It Is OK to Leave It On the Carpet for an Hour
It isn’t all that risky to put your gaming PC on the carpet for a few minutes so that you can fix a few things where they should be.
You can rest assured this won’t kill your machine.
But the longer the PC is deprived of ample airflow – whether it’s a result of the carpet or other obstacles placed on the floor close to it – the higher the risk of overheating and ruining the processor.
Conclusion
But, is it OK to put your gaming PC directly on the carpet?
It depends on the kind of carpet – all carpets aren’t the same.
Carpets can be split into two broad groups: residential and commercial carpets.
Residential carpets are installed in homes and tend to be very plush, fluffy, and soft very much like your fur coat.
While superb on feet, they interfere with airflow and are the worst kind of carpet you could put under your gaming PC because they reduce ventilation.
Commercial carpets, on another hand, are what you’d find in some commercial establishments.