Processor Types and Specifications - Upgrading and Repairing PCs - page 172

• Accepts an industry-standard ATX, SFX, or TFX power supply with integral exhaust
fan
• Uses a processor with an active heat sink designed for the processor
• Uses a side cover with an optimized side vent of 100mm wide by 150mm tall. The
recommended open area should be at least 60%.
• Provides a primary chassis rear exhaust fan of 92mm or larger.
Note
One of the major recommendations of the original Chassis Air Guide (CAG) Design Guide
wastheuseofaprocessorducttodeliverairdirectlytotheprocessorheatsink.Althoughthis
was an effective solution to processor cooling, a motherboard upgrade with a different loc-
ation for the processor than on the original motherboard would cause the processor duct to
be unable to provide effective processor cooling. For this reason, the Thermally Advantaged
Chassis (TAC) Design Guide, which replaces the CAG, no longer includes this recommend-
ation.
To learn more about using and making a processor duct, see “Processor Duct” and “Adding
a Processor Duct” in Chapter 3 of Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 19 th edition , available in
its entirety on the disc packaged with this topic.
Because a thermally advantaged chassis is much better at cooling for little extra cost, I
highly recommend that you look for these features on the next system you buy or build.
Processor Troubleshooting Techniques
Processorsarenormallyreliable.MostPCproblemsarewithotherdevices,butifyousus-
pect the processor, you can take some steps to troubleshoot it. The easiest thing to do is to
replace the microprocessor with a known-good spare. If the problem goes away, the ori-
ginal processor is defective. If the problem persists, the problem is likely elsewhere.
Table 3.27 provides a general troubleshooting checklist for processor-related PC prob-
lems.
Table 3.27 Troubleshooting Processor-Related Problems