Thermally Resilient Gaming Spaces: An Interior-Design-Led Framework for Managing Heat Loads from High-Performance PCs

Abstract

Gaming rooms are typically planned around visual themes and equipment, with thermal performance treated as a later technical concern. A high-performance gaming PC converts nearly all of the electrical power it draws into heat that enters the room, regardless of how well the computer cools its own components. This review reframes gaming-room thermal comfort as an interior-design problem involving heat sources, air pathways, and people. It synthesizes literature on human thermal comfort, computer-room airflow, ventilation, building-envelope heat gain, and PC thermal management, and it identifies five gaps in the evidence for small residential and semicommercial gaming spaces. The paper proposes a Source–Pathway–Person (SPP) planning framework, a Heat Load Budget method, an eight-scenario design matrix, and a mixed-methods protocol for future field validation. The paper is a narrative review; no original survey or measurement data are reported. The central conclusion is that effective design begins by quantifying heat load and mapping airflow before cooling products are selected. Potential benefits extend to gamers, interior designers, furniture and HVAC suppliers, esports and gaming-cafe operators, and energy-conscious households.