Dust and Upgrading?

[Dr_Hoads]

Hi All,

I am going to be upgrading my current system (CPU and RAM). I have some compressed air to clean it out, but there is so much dust I doubt I can get it all. When I first installed the original parts, it was obviously very clean. What is the danger of having particles of dust in a RAM or CPU socket? The "pins" (not that they are pins anymore, but I do not know what to call them.. "Pads/contacts"?) are so small it seems like one mote of dust could cause some sort of data corruption, etc. Same goes for RAM, although it seems that the contacts are large enough there to not be as sensitive? I luckily have dust filters on my case, so it is reasonably clean inside, but the dust is just so pervasive that I am concerned about how to do this upgrade?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[richaron]

If you're asking for upgrade advice people really need to know what you are upgrading from. In some cases it's better just to buy a new motherboard.

As far as cleaning is concerned, I would dust with the CPU/RAM in situ. Even if there is dust, you only need one good point of contact (one point, on one side of each pin) for it to be "normal". In RAM slots for example the connections are sprung, a good wiggle in & out should displace any dust from the point of connection.

I wouldn't choose to be shooting dust all over an open CPU seat, but I'd still be surprised if it causes problems.

 

[Harvey]

Hi All,

I am going to be upgrading my current system (CPU and RAM). I have some compressed air to clean it out, but there is so much dust I doubt I can get it all.

Accumulated dust can work its way into contacts, and it may include particulate that can short contacts or, believe it or not, act like a semiconductor junction between them, either of which can cause major failures, and it impares air flow, which can cause overheating.

The fact that you "doubt you can get it all" should be enough to tell you that you should probably buy another can (or better yet, a three pack) of compressed air, take the machine outside, and blow it all out. If it's really bad, use a vacuum cleaner set to blow air, or take it to your local gas station or mechanic, and borrow their air hose.

Dont forget to blow out the PSU through both the external and internal fan openings. Stick the little extension tube between the fan blades, into the PSU chassis so the fan doesn't turn and otherwise get in the way of the air blast.

Preventive maintainance is always cheaper and less agrivating than repair. Do it regularly, and you won't have to deal with as much accumulated dust as you to have, now.

 

[Dr_Hoads]

Thanks Harvey,

I do perform regular cleanings, (2x a year inside and once a month for my filters) but I wanted to know if I should go to more extreme measures before a CPU upgrade to be safe. Sounds like it is a good idea to make sure I have every last mote out of there!! Thanks!

 

[Harvey]

YW.

Cliffs -- It's it's low cost, low work preventive maintainance.

 

[Leyawiin]

One of the best little gadgets I've ever bought. Much better than canned air.

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-E...4345756&sr=8-2

Only caveat is to block the fans when blowing in their directions (with a pencil or something similar). Has so much power they would probably spin too fast.

 

[Dr_Hoads]

One of the best little gadgets I've ever bought. Much better than canned air.

Dang!! Sold!! Pretty sure this will assuage my fears of dust!! LMAO

You just prevented me from ever buying another can of compressed air. Thanks!

 

[bononos]

I don't like to use compressed air too often in dusty cases because it will push the dirt even more deeply into slots and crevices and the little bit of moisture it carries will pack the dust into hard layers. I had to scrape my mb with a toothpick after years of hard-layer dust accumulation. Filters+positive air pressure and vacuum cleaning is the way to go.

 

[michaelrw]

One of the best little gadgets I've ever bought. Much better than canned air.

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-E...4345756&sr=8-2

Only caveat is to block the fans when blowing in their directions (with a pencil or something similar). Has so much power they would probably spin too fast.

does that thing have enough power to get ALL of the dust, or just the top layer? Usually the top layer is pretty free to move about, but the bottom layer(s) are normally pretty well stuck in-place, almost like a film...

 

[Coup27]

One of the best little gadgets I've ever bought. Much better than canned air.

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-E...4345756&sr=8-2

Only caveat is to block the fans when blowing in their directions (with a pencil or something similar). Has so much power they would probably spin too fast.

That thing looks amazing. With it being called a "vac" I thought it would be suction but it's like a mini air compressor. There are a few youtube videos of it and it definately looks powerful.

I'm going to see if I can get one or something similar in the UK. ATM I either use cans (ugh) or haul a rig into work and use the workshop compressor, which is amazing but a PITA everytime beacause of the transport.

 

[Coup27]

I've watched a few clips on youtube of that and it looks amazing. Same old story though:

£1 = $1.60

Price from Amazon.com = £34/$54
Price from Amazon.co.uk = £82/$130

I love the UK.

 

[Schmide]

I've been using a household vac for 20+ years without incident. Am i the only one?

 

[gevorg]

I've been using a household vac for 20+ years without incident. Am i the only one?

same here, I hate blowing dust all over the room

 

[Leyawiin]

does that thing have enough power to get ALL of the dust, or just the top layer? Usually the top layer is pretty free to move about, but the bottom layer(s) are normally pretty well stuck in-place, almost like a film...

Had it two years and my PC is very clean. I use it about every two months and it takes just a couple minutes (just like the videos). It is much, much stronger than canned air. Yes, there is a tiny bit of residual left on the fan blades and such, but unless you use a brush and damp cloth (and remove the fans to clean them) that's always going to happen. Its still does a great job - better than anything else I've tried.

Compressed air in the US had a "bitterant" added to it a few years ago to prevent idiots from huffing it to get high. Even if I used it outdoors I would still get that awful stuff in my nose and mouth. This duster solved that problem. As far as blowing dust all over the room goes, I take the PC out to the patio.

 

[raildogg]

I've been using a household vac for 20+ years without incident. Am i the only one?

The inside of my case gets dusty after a while. I've just used wet cotton swabs in the past along with wet paper towels to clean inside the case. I've never considered using the vacuum cleaner since the components are very delicate.

Would you recommend using the wand to suck the air out? Is there a better way?

Thanks.

 

[KingFatty]

I like to put the vacuum wand very close to the components but not touching them. Locate it near the area with the dust, but you'll see that the vacuum doesn't remove any dust, it just sits there, sucking.

Then, use compressed air can to dislodge the dust and blast the dust away, and the vacuum will suck up the dusty air. Keeps the room clean, and prevents the clumps of dust from resettling to another location inside your computer.

Just move the vacuum wand accordingly when you dust different areas of the computer.

 

[billyb0b]

Wow... i watched some of the video reviews on that mini electric duster and am impressed.... buying one now

 

[Icecold]

Wow... i watched some of the video reviews on that mini electric duster and am impressed.... buying one now

I just bought one too. I wonder how many of these have sold because of being mentioned on Anandtech? From what I can tell should be great, seems very powerful based on videos, solid construction, made in USA, etc. but will find out in a week or so when I get it. Anybody have somewhere to get it at a cheaper price than the $54 I just paid on Amazon?

 

[raildogg]

So today I bought compressed air cans for the first time to clean my computer with. The can did a good job at cleaning the CPU heatsink and the case fan along with the front bezel area. A slight concern I had was that after using the can for about a few minutes, it got really cold and the air became more liquid. In fact, the liquid substance got sprayed on the power supply cables but it did evaporate. I know that liquids and electronics don't mix so hopefully it wasn't too bad.

 

[KingFatty]

Yeah the canned air develops more power the warmer it is, and loses power as it gets cold.

As a fun experiment (regardless of whether its warm or cold), you can turn the can upside-down and spray the liquid into a styrofoam cup and watch the liquid boil on its own and get super cold.

Has anyone done the math to see how many cans of compressed air you'd have to use before breaking even on the cost of the vacuum?

 

[KyrosKrane]

Has anyone done the math to see how many cans of compressed air you'd have to use before breaking even on the cost of the vacuum?

Depends on your cost of canned air and the vaccuum. I buy bottles of canned air for about $4 each, depending whether they're on sale or not. Assuming the vacuum duster costs $54 from Amazon, that's about 14 cans of air to break even. For me, each can lasts 2-3 months, so it's probably not worth it. If you buy your canned air at $10 each and use up a can per month, then you'd break even in under six months, so this is probably worth it. (Totally ignoring the cost of electricity to run the vacuum, mind you.)

 

[coffeejunkee]

I've been using a household vac for 20+ years without incident. Am i the only one?

No.

 

[JoeyP]

I use my garage air compressor set to 100 psi. Work the air in different directions and angles, and "burst" the air to dislodge dust. Even hit the open screw holes and joints on the power supply and optical drives.

You'd be amazed at how much dust you can get out this way.

 

[Arkaign]

Sounds like it would probably be overkill in this case, but I used denatured alcohol to clean a laptop that someone had never cleaned, was covered first in a thick layer of dust, and then a 2 liter bottle of soda burst in their bag, soaking it in soda, after which they couldn't turn it on. They gave it to me, I completely disassembled it, soaked/washed the mobo in denatured alcohol, and after reassembly it works great. That was in 2006, and the damned thing still works, lol.

 

[KingFatty]

Sounds like it would probably be overkill in this case, but I used denatured alcohol to clean a laptop that someone had never cleaned, was covered first in a thick layer of dust, and then a 2 liter bottle of soda burst in their bag, soaking it in soda, after which they couldn't turn it on. They gave it to me, I completely disassembled it, soaked/washed the mobo in denatured alcohol, and after reassembly it works great. That was in 2006, and the damned thing still works, lol.

I bet its display just "pops" out at you.