The PC becomes sluggish when placed in a vertical orientation?
The PC becomes sluggish when placed in a vertical orientation?
I experienced an unusual problem after replacing my HDD (possibly even before, which I blamed on the failing drive). My system runs on an SSD while another SSD or the old HDD is connected elsewhere. When the PC is placed upright, it often starts lagging and the cursor frequently displays a loading animation (15 fps in mc compared to my usual 150-200 with identical settings). Rotating the PC resolves the issue, but this solution isn’t long-lasting—I have no idea what might be causing it. I suspect touching wires could be involved, though I’m unsure which ones or how. The PCIe slots appear fine; I tested them and didn’t notice any damage. Reconnecting some wiring didn’t help either. What exactly is the problem? Are there other changes that occur when rotating the PC? Could it be a subtle wiring issue? Please share more details and a photo if possible.
Is liquid cooling present?
Monitor temperatures regularly.
Inspect HDD during vertical operation.
No liquid cooling was used. Temperatures were checked and were consistently high, around 70-100 degrees across all cores. When the CPU was rotated vertically, the readings stayed steady at about 100. I thought this meant the core temperature couldn't go above 100, but it did. The issue only appeared after replacing the thermal paste, which resolved it until the HDD was swapped. The HDD performed well in all situations.
I checked and it seems the CPU was unstable. Two of the screw-like fasteners securing it to the motherboard were damaged, causing them to loosen and shift when I rotated the PC. They stayed in place when turned horizontally. One screw had a plastic piece left from manufacturing that didn’t fit properly, while the other was crushed against the sides.
It looks like I’ll need to replace the CPU cooler eventually. The current one is still loose—though it’s not my original 30-40° model but a 40-60° desktop CPU. It should work for now, just checking the temperature occasionally should suffice.
Issue resolved, thanks!