All the electronic devices we use today give off heat. The way to dissipate it changes depending on the device, since for example almost no mobile needs fans for it. On computers, however, having a passively cooled device requires plenty of space and good ventilation. However, there is an unknown enemy of electronic devices: the cold.
When an electric current passes through a conductor , heat is given off. This is known as the Joule effect , where the kinetic energy of electrons colliding with each other is given off as heat. Thus, when a processor or a graphics card consumes more energy, more electrons circulate through them, and hence the temperature increases.
Condensation: the enemy of components
Thus, traditionally what we do is cool the devices to lower their temperature so that they can operate at the maximum frequency that their thermal design allows. The problem is that you have to be careful with very low temperatures in the devices. Excessive heat maintained over time can affect the durability of our devices, but excessive cold can be deadly for our devices.
condensation on a window
An example of a situation that can cause us problems is in winter. Imagine that you leave the laptop in the car , and during the night the temperature drops from 0ºC to, say -5ºC . The next morning, you put it inside the house where you have the heating thermostat set to 20ºC. You put it on the table, turn it on, and it suddenly stops working.
What happened here is easy to explain. In winter, when the dew point is exceeded, the ambient humidity condenses and turns into water droplets . This happens a lot in humid areas near the sea , and in winter that condensed water can freeze. Thus, when turning on the computer, the condensed water inside the device can move between the components. This can cause corrosion or it can directly short circuit, either because it is in a liquid state or because, when you turn on the computer, the heat makes it go from a solid state to a liquid state.
Beware of sudden changes in temperature
And even if there is no condensation, sudden temperature changes below 0°C can cause components or traces inside the boards to expand and contract, which can lead to breakage of motherboards and components. There are also capacitors that, when frozen, can explode.
This is why extreme overclockers who reach impossible frequencies in processors with liquid nitrogen use insulation and protection against water that generates condensation. Everything that liquid nitrogen touches freezes, including the surrounding air humidity.
Therefore, it is convenient that you be careful with sudden changes in temperature in your components. In cold areas, there are those who even leave the computer outside the house while the rest of the peripherals are inside in order to keep the computer cold while it is being used. The problem is that, in extremely cold areas, the computer may condense water in full operation, which is even more dangerous.