question for computer gurus [View All]

[Barad Simith]

I have too many components to fit into a case, and am short on (out of) funds.

So I have a plastic tub (the type used for storage) on my desk, and in the tub, resting on a few layers of bubble wrap, is my motherboard, power supply, 2 hard drives, CD drive, zip drive and floppy drive. When I'm finished using it, I turn it off and replace the plastic lid. Everything seems to be running just fine.

Is this a bad idea?

Can the plastic from the tub and/or the bubble wrap cause static electricity that can damage anything?

Is the power supply's fan designed to only cool the power supply, or is it designed to cool the rest of the components?

Are the components liable to stay cooler, due to the open-air effect? Or hotter, due to the fact that the power supply's fan is facing upward, and not in the direction of any of the components?

Thanks for any help you can give me. If this is a colossal mistake, I want to remedy it; but otherwise, I love my plastic tub o' computer parts.