Dust removal

[Cawboy99]

Hey... apparently my dorm room is pretty dusty because when i opened my case to put in my 9800 pro there was a bunch of dust on my audiocard and all over... i bought a mesh filter thing for the intake fans but how do i get rid of the dust first?

 

[ITPaladin]

Antistatic vaccum or the usual can o' air from computer store / electronics store, .

 

[Cawboy99]

so i shoudl get one of those cans of air? the only thing i dont get about that is where am i expecting the dust to go? to different parts of my case? i want that crap out!!! or is it even harmful? i cant imagine it being good for the computer...

 

[akira34]

Use your brains when blowing out the case. Unless you've never used air to move things (which it sounds like you haven't done) you'd know that you can direct where things go with a bit of intelligence. Have the side of the case open when you're blowing the crap around so that it has a place to go.

Also, read the lable on the can of air so that you don't do something stupid with it.

If you don't even know how to clean the dust out of your computer, you shouldn't be touching the thing. Even my 7 year old nephew could figure that one out.

 

[0roo0roo]

can o air + vacumn of course. don't let plastic hose touch anything.. zaaapp!

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: Cawboy99
so i shoudl get one of those cans of air? the only thing i dont get about that is where am i expecting the dust to go? to different parts of my case? i want that crap out!!! or is it even harmful? i cant imagine it being good for the computer...

Go from top to bottom and try to get as much dust as possible to settle on the bottom of the case. Once that's done sort of "sweep" it out of the case with a few blasts of air. Try not to be too anal, you're never going to get it completley clean.

 

[Cawboy99]

haha ok eat a dick

 

[SneakyStuff]

I myself use an industrial strength air compressor , a simple solution is a can of compressed air. The key things to clean are the PSU fan, the exhaust fan, the CPU heatsink/fan combo, and your video card fan. The rest comes off pretty easily, those areas I mentioned tho can require you to use a lint free cloth to clean, and really get in there.

 

[ITPaladin]

You seem to give good inappropriate demands to people.

How about acting out with your mouth what you told them to do, then force air through your lungs into your computer.

That's what the can of air they sell in computer stores does.

 

[HardWarrior]

In all honesty, Akira's response was kind of harsh. Not everyone is a natural at this stuff.

 

[Cawboy99]

haha ok? that almost made sense i guess... dont even know who that was too... if you saw my case you would realize there are wat too many thing interfering with what would be a normal air flow caused by blowing air... amazing how i can build several computer and yet i apparently dont know as much as a 7 year old? right... this is supposed to help people, not ridicule them, asshole... were comments liike that neccessary? because i think the quesiton could have been answered in a non ashsolish way fairly easily... the fact that you went out of your way to be a dickhead really says a lot about you... anyways... to those who offered help without being a beautiful being, thanks... mush easier wasnt it? nice work

 

[PunkRocKEVin]

Originally posted by: akira34

...Also, read the lable on the can of air so that you don't do something stupid with it....

thats all you had to say, buddy...
it might be a simplistic question, but everyone else who replied had something valuable to say...


PS: here's an idea Cawboy99 - get one of the compressed air cans mentioned above, blow the hell
outta your case so the dust is flyin' all over the place, then pick up your tower and walk it out in the hallway 'till the dust settles. then clean and vaccuum your disgustingly dusty room haha.

 

[Wex]

I would agree with Punkrockkevin, exceptt have a vaccum next to the case while you are blowing all the dust out and suck up all the dust thats flying everywhere.

 

[ApacheChief]

Wow, all this talk about static electricity worries me :X

I normally just use a can-o-air and have my vacuum right there to catch the dust while it's standing midair.

 

[BBond]

I got tired of paying for canned air so I bought a small air compressor that came with a nozzle for air dusting. It has an oilless motor so it's loud but the nozzle doesn't freeze like those little straws that come with canned air. It has a six foot hose so the compressor is nowhere near the computer. The compressor cost me about $29.99, less than a half dozen cans of air.

I wear an anti-static wrist strap and keep the hose form my portable vacuum near the case to pick up some of the dust while I'm blowing out the air. I run a HEPA air filter too.

You'll never get all the dust out but you'll get most of it. I also have a small anti-static battery operated vacuum I picked up at Radio Shack with a brush attachment to clean my PCI cards and video card. It works very well. I try to clean it up about once a month so the dust doesn't get out of hand. Your 9800 fan and RAM sinks will pick up a LOT of dust so concentrate on the bottom of the card.

Sooner or later the only way to get your machine really clean is to disassemble it and clean it all out. You'll be amazed at the amount of dust that gathers in a CPU HS and stays there even after you air dust it. I do this about once a year.

Just be careful about getting too close to, or touching any components with a vacuum unless it's anti-static. I also have filters on my three intake fans and they help keep the dust out. You'll notice a big difference in temps if you take a little time and care to keep your machine clean.

 

[lordbob99]

Originally posted by: PunkRocKEVin
get one of the compressed air cans mentioned above, blow the hell outta your case so the dust is flyin' all over the place, then pick up your tower and walk it out in the hallway 'till the dust settles. then clean and vaccuum your disgustingly dusty room haha.

Doesn't it seem like it'd make more sense to move the computer outside to blow the hell out of it so you don't have to be breathing the dust into your lungs immediately after? You can bring your computer back into your room and not have to wait for the dust to settle that way too.