During summer, your PC feels the heat just as much as you do. When the ambient temperature is high, your fans and coolers work harder to make sure your components don't overheat. Even a properly ventilated PC can run hotter and noisier than usual, and in some cases, the higher room temperature is enough to cause thermal throttling during extended gaming sessions. I experienced this firsthand while playing the Battlefield 6 open beta, where I saw my CPU temperature creep past 85C.

I almost forgot how much the environment outside the case can affect what's happening inside it. It doesn't matter if you have a high-end AIO or a beefy GPU cooler; if the air going inside the case is warm, your cooling solution will work harder than usual. If crucial components like your CPU and GPU run at higher temperatures, it can impact their peak performance under load due to lower boost clocks. That's why I highly recommend making these minor adjustments to make sure your experience remains the same during peak summer heat.

Cleaning dust buildup

A simple maintenance step that improves airflow

Dust accumulation on the filters, air intake vents, and radiators can affect your PC's cooling efficiency by restricting airflow and trapping heat inside the case. This can be a problem, especially during summer, when the ambient temperature is higher than usual. I've had my PCs and laptops run warmer than they should multiple times over the past decade, mainly because I didn't clean them for several months. This is one of the main reasons why I now always spend time cleaning my PC before summer.

I start by removing and washing the dust filters, then wiping the dusty fan blades with a damp cloth and using compressed air to blow dust and debris out of heatsinks and radiators. This makes sure my fans have no trouble moving air freely, which helps lower my CPU and GPU temperatures by a couple of degrees under load during summer. It takes less than an hour and costs almost nothing, but it can make a noticeable difference in how your PC behaves when your room temperature is slightly higher.

Optimizing airflow inside my case

Making sure my fans push and pull air in all the right places

If your case fans aren't configured correctly, you can end up with negative air pressure instead of the slight positive air pressure most PC enthusiasts recommend. If your case maintains negative air pressure, it will pull in unfiltered air through every gap, which can lead to faster dust accumulation and less predictable airflow. As a result, your CPU and GPU may run hotter than they should because warm air isn't being directed out of the case efficiently.

I didn't realize my case was maintaining negative air pressure until someone on Reddit pointed it out. Until this point, I had three intake fans at the front, a 360mm radiator at the top, and an exhaust fan at the back. I quickly bought three more airflow fans and installed them at the bottom to restore positive air pressure inside the case. This gave fresh air a direct path to my GPU and helped lower its peak temperatures by a few degrees. More importantly, dust buildup is far less of an issue, and I don't have to clean my PC nearly as often.

Repasting my CPU

A fresh layer of premium thermal paste for better heat transfer

Most people apply thermal paste while building their PCs and don't think about repasting it for years. The thing is, the thermal paste that's typically included or pre-applied on CPU coolers is often mediocre at best. Over time, it can dry out and lose its ability to transfer heat efficiently from the CPU to the cooler's heatsink. This can lead to higher CPU temperatures under load, which becomes a bigger problem when the summer heat sets in and the cooler needs to work against the higher ambient temperature.

That's exactly why I decided to replace the thermal paste on my CPU with the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, one of the best thermal pastes you can buy, before this summer. Sure, it took some time and patience to carefully remove the cooler, wipe off the old paste with rubbing alcohol, and apply the fresh paste, but the results were worth it. My CPU temperatures dropped by about 5C while gaming, which was enough to maintain peak clock speeds while gaming. You don't have to repaste every summer; once every two or three years is enough unless you're dealing with overheating issues.

Undervolting my CPU and GPU

Lowering the voltage means reduced heat and power draw

If you don't want to take apart your CPU cooler or spend money on thermal paste or fans, undervolting is an effective way to lower your CPU and GPU temperatures during summer. By slightly reducing the voltage supplied to your CPU and GPU, you're basically lowering their power draw and limiting the heat they produce while barely losing performance across most workloads. In fact, your CPU and GPU may maintain their peak clock speeds for longer due to slightly lower operating temperatures.

This summer, I undervolted my 5800X3D by 30mV, which helped it stay below 80C while playing the Battlefield 6 open beta. Without the undervolt, the CPU was hovering around 83-85C, with its clock speeds dropping by about 100 MHz. Not only did my CPU run slightly cooler, but it also helped my GPU push more frames in CPU-bound scenarios. I also undervolted my RTX 4090 using MSI Afterburner, which lowered its temperature by 2-3C without a performance hit. The temperature reduction may not seem like much, but it's often all you need to offset higher ambient temperatures.

Summer doesn't have to be a problem for your PC

Making changes proactively is the best way to keep your PC running cool and stable during the hotter months of the year. Even something simple like cleaning your PC can make a noticeable difference when ambient temperatures are higher. Combine that with undervolting, airflow optimization, and repasting, you'll have a PC that not only runs cooler but also quieter, even when outside heat sets in. Sure, it takes some time and patience to make these changes, but the payoff is a system that doesn't throttle due to increased heat.