[{FH}spankeem]

Hey guys, I decided I would take the cover off my computer to allow airflow through which had a great positive effect in that the fan was no longer running like it was going to blow up.  The bad news.......even though the inside was dusty as shit, some magic piece of dust flew in and as I was caning it on Crash there was a god almighty flash from inside the box and the thing shut down.  Couldnt get it to restart so I unplugged it all and tried to "sniff" around for the cause.  Some dirty looking little square thing on the motherboard had burnt out.

So at present I cant play the game.  I didnt bother to take the opportunity to consider upgrading the mother board as my I'm having issues with my laptop and as well and am between pay cycles.  So I have ordered a replacement motherboard of the same type from Italy of all feckin places.

Now what I want to know is:

A.  Is it safe to run the fan so its sounds like its an aircraft trying to take off, or
B.  Is there a safe way to leave the cover off when playing and not have the thing spark up?

How do you guys deal with this issue?

I have never had any warnings that the computer was about to overheat and die, but just didnt know if running it with the fan screaming (over exagerate a bit) all the time.

[{FH}Striker]

Spank, I live in a high hot desert area where the temps will run very high in the summer.
So quite often i will run my pc open on one side, while running and gunning in the games.
I use a a 8 inch fan blowing directly into the open side to maintain lower temps inside.YOU MUST KEEP ALL FAN BLADES CLEAN at all times.
I am sure you know all this listed below.
UNPLUG, disconnect any and all power cords, devices that are connected to computer prior to cleaning.
Granted anytime you run with the side open there are added risks and you must stay on top of cleaning and blowing the increase accumulation of dust and dirt out...(canned AIR is recommended and a long reach paint brush).
If you have any furry pets...(cats) Hair can be a big problem... I have 5 cats.
Cleaning is the key here.
I have been doing this for years , knock on wood without any problems.
You can always add another fan as and additional option.
I would suggest replacing any suspect fans....(cheap insurance).

[{FH}spankeem]

thanks for your feedback Roy.  It wasn't too dusty to be honest and perhaps it wasn't even dust but some random thing that occurred.

I might look at some tight as metal or nylon mesh for the side

[{FH}zMan]

You can check to see if it is getting to hot by looking in the bios