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Any horror stories from not properly ventilating a MAME cabinet

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emb:

I'm debating whether or not to put a fan in my cab. I currently have air vents cut out of the top and bottom of my cabinet.

Dazz:

I have normal CPU cooler and case fans on the PC in my cab.  Small air vents in the cabinet.  The cabinet sits in my garage where temps during the summer hit 115f degrees...  I've had no issues in 5 years.  Of course the PC has been upgraded a couple times in 5 years, but still no issues.

saint:

I'd be interested in hearing other opinions, but in the 10+ years I've been in this hobby I've never heard of an overheating issue whether a cabinet was vented or no not. They're typically very open inside. That said, a good fan is cheap insurance. Dunno.

boardjunkie:

I think its a good idea.....for both MAME machines and dedicated arcade games as well. Electronics that need to be forced air cooled don't like heat buildup. HDDs will last longer if kept cool, and monitors will have a better lifespan as well.

If it were me I'd keep the PC in its case (to keep its forced air cooling), run some flexable "dryer vent" style tube from the exhaust fan(s) to the upper cab vent. Adding a fan to blow out warm air from the monitor would be a good idea.

Adding fans to a Tempest was almost mandatory to keep the monitor's deflection amps from blowing up.....

leapinlew:


--- Quote from: boardjunkie on June 28, 2011, 09:09:31 am ---If it were me I'd keep the PC in its case (to keep its forced air cooling), run some flexable "dryer vent" style tube from the exhaust fan(s) to the upper cab vent. Adding a fan to blow out warm air from the monitor would be a good idea...

--- End quote ---

Is that really necessary? A dryer vent exhaust?! That sounds like overkill to me. In all my years, I haven't had an issue with overheating in a full size cabinet. I just don't see the need for an exhaust fan. A few openings at the top allow the heat to escape. If you wanted to put a fan anywhere, I'd put one in low, but I don't use any on my full size cabinets.

If you wanted to add fans, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. I just don't think it helps.

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