I've been working long night shifts, usually finishing in about 3-5 hours, which leaves me with quite a bit of downtime. To keep myself entertained, I've been using Parsec to connect to my home PC and game a bit while I'm at work, and my job has no issue with this. However, my roommate is concerned about leaving my computer on when I'm out and thinks it might catch fire. I never really thought it was a big worry since it seems rare, but I want to know what steps I can take to minimize any fire risk. I've heard that Wake on WAN might be risky because it involves port forwarding, and although I have a Corsair TX750M power supply which is generally well-regarded, it is 6 years old. My idle temperatures are around 35-40°C for the motherboard, 40-45°C for the CPU, and 50-55°C for the GPU. Should I be worried about this, or is the risk low enough to continue gaming remotely?
3 Answers
Honestly, I've had my computer running non-stop for years and never faced a fire hazard. If computers caught fire that easily, there wouldn't be any data centers left standing! You're likely way safer than you think.
As long as you're keeping dust out of the hardware, you shouldn't face any issues. Modern PCs have built-in safety features that shut everything down before things get too hot. So, you're probably in good shape.
You have a solid power supply with your Corsair TX750M. As long as it’s not near anything flammable—like curtains or carpets—and is on a stable surface like a metal shelf, you’re likely better off than worrying about fire risks. Worst case scenario would be a minor short circuit, but it shouldn't start a fire.
Plus, you can always use a surge protector to be extra safe!
Exactly! Just avoid clutter around the PC and you should be fine.