Wow, now underestimate cleaning your heatsink and changing the thermal paste

[StinkyPinky]

My PC has been running crazy hot recently. I did a Prime 95 run and it was well over the 90s, almost pushing the thermal limit of the CPU. I know the heatsink was installed ok because the temps used to be fine.

So I opened it up and popped off the fan and the heatsink was coated with a thick layer of dust. You could not even see the grill. I removed the dust and then removed the heatsink and reapplied some fresh thermal paste and it's 30c cooler. Now it is mid 60's after 30 minutes of Prime95.

I probably shouldn't wait 2.5 years between cleans next time

 

[tulx]

I probably shouldn't wait 2.5 years between cleans next time

Nope - you most definitely should not.

Cleaning the PC should be the 1st thing on your list if you notice noise/temperature or even performance (due to throttling caused by overheating) issues. It's best to make yourself a habit of it - make, say the 1st Sunday of the month, the "PC cleaning day", where you de-dust the case fans, CPU heatsink and maybe remove the video card and clean it with compressed air. You components will work better and live longer.

 

[steve wilson]

once a month is a bit much... once a year works fine for me.

 

[NTMBK]

once a month is a bit much... once a year works fine for me.

More like once a computer for me, lol

 

[inf64]

Once every couple of months works good for me. Always a lot of dust in there, I hate cleaning the ah heck.

 

[soccerballtux]

changing thermal paste not necessary IMO. Even when cracked and dry, cleaning the fan off was all I needed.

 

[BigChickenJim]

I'm a once-a-monther, but I also have five intake fans (4x 120mm and 1x 200mm), four of which have only the dust filters I rigged from old window screens. Also, I'm compulsive.

I'd say that three to four cleanings a year will do for most comps.

 

[tulx]

I'd say that three to four cleanings a year will do for most comps.

Not if you have a cat and a girlfried with long hair, I can tell you that! Plus, the cases in both my systems (see signature) have three intake fans at the bottom, so that makes cleaning even more important.

 

[Arkaign]

I think a ton of this has to do with how cases are designed. There has been a trend towards very 'open' case designs.

I had a case, I think it was just a midrange Antec case, that had a front 120mm and a rear 120mm and that was it for openings, so I set up a push/pull system and put unscented fabric softeners over the intake grille before screwing it down. Lol I didn't have anything else to work with. Anyway, I opened the PC up after a year and it was sparkling inside. Temps were really good as well. My new CM Storm is also pretty clean, but my HTPC case is one with tons of little holes everywhere, and it gets much dirtier inside.

 

[JBT]

Mine I do every 4-5 months. My wife's needs to be every 2-3 months. She has a PSU that makes a weird noise when the fan kickson. When it starts coming on I know there is dust build up.

I've pulled the sucker apart and can't find what makes the noise. It sounds like something hitting a fan blade but I don't see anything I should really grab a new PSU for her as she doesn't need anything big... I'm just cheap.

 

[Arkaign]

Maybe the bearings going on the fan. Some of them aren't packed that well to begin with. Take the PSU apart, replace the fan, good to go I've done it hundreds of times.

 

[KingFatty]

Also think about changing household environment near the computer to reduce the generation of dust causing things - maybe there is something driving dust/fur/hair toward the computer case that vacuums it up, and you could re-position the computer to avoid some of that.

 

[Arkaign]

Also think about changing household environment near the computer to reduce the generation of dust causing things - maybe there is something driving dust/fur/hair toward the computer case that vacuums it up, and you could re-position the computer to avoid some of that.

Excellent point.

I'd add to that : if you have a ton of crap building up in your PC, well you just know that you have a ton of crap floating around in your air. I have a place with hardwood floors, and dust was epidemic (cat + gf + baby) .. so I got one of these :

http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-5025...a+air+purifier

Major improvement!

 

[JBT]

Maybe the bearings going on the fan. Some of them aren't packed that well to begin with. Take the PSU apart, replace the fan, good to go I've done it hundreds of times.

Its wired directly to the PCB, I don't have the tools to do the job, other wise I would.

 

[Arkaign]

Its wired directly to the PCB, I don't have the tools to do the job, other wise I would.

Ah, don't worry about it

Splice! You just need to cut and strip the wires to an appropriate level, then wrap them together tightly (there are some excellent guides on splicing by hand), and seal carefully with electrical tape. It's quite easy.

http://youtu.be/U3vFonfilvk

IOW, all you will need are scissors, some patience, and some electrical tape. Fans take very little current so as long as you get good stable contact from your splice points you're good to go, and of course make sure you wrap them securely.

 

[Arkaign]

Splicing guide : http://www.instructables.com/id/4-Ways-to-Connect-a-Wire-Without-Soldering/

The electrical tape method is far and away good enough for the confines of a power supply

 

[JBT]

Ha alright, I may just try it. I only have about 15,000 fans to experiment with in the ole computer stuff closet.

 

[Dribble]

Have dust filters on all the fans pulling air into the machine, wipe the dust off the filters every month or two (which takes about 2 minutes) and after 3 years it's still pretty clean on the inside.

I think sometimes people forget things like that in their quest to get a roaring gale going though the case, but actually things that are hard to clean like gpu's and psu's will be cooler with a little less airflow but a lot less dust after a few months.

 

[soccerballtux]

I think a ton of this has to do with how cases are designed. There has been a trend towards very 'open' case designs.

I had a case, I think it was just a midrange Antec case, that had a front 120mm and a rear 120mm and that was it for openings, so I set up a push/pull system and put unscented fabric softeners over the intake grille before screwing it down. Lol I didn't have anything else to work with. Anyway, I opened the PC up after a year and it was sparkling inside. Temps were really good as well. My new CM Storm is also pretty clean, but my HTPC case is one with tons of little holes everywhere, and it gets much dirtier inside.

fab softs....what a genius idea

 

[aigomorla]

powerder coat dust is style!!!!

:ROFL:

 

[waldoh]

I put my computer on a skateboard to raise it off the floor and also gave it a bit of mobility lol.

This was my previous setup (under the fan). This was 3+ years without a cleaning. Never again.

 

[aigomorla]

lol did the fan even spin?

 

[ehume]

We have two African Grey parrots. I have to vacuum the front filters once a week, open the case and blow it out once a month.

One thing I have learned: in a dusty environment, best to have all fans filtered and all the filters easily accessible.

Now, ask me about the fact that I'm breathing the same air and the same dust my rig is filtering . . . D:

 

[djsb]

Reminds me of a few years ago when I found that my old (10 year old) computer wouldn't start. As it happened, a few years earlier we had a kerosene space heater in the house which liked to malfunction and start spewing black smoke, and it was usually operated by a pair of people whose thought processes went: "Well if it's not wafting directly towards me, what do I care about plumes of black soot?"

The heat sink on my video card was a solid block. Solid as in a mixture of black dust and soot filled in all the gaps between the fins. Had to resort to a wooden skewer (the kind you use for grilling veggies) to push the stuff out. Pretty vile. Only way it could have been worse is if it were soot from cigarettes.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I probably shouldn't wait 2.5 years between cleans next time

Nauh, two and a half years is fine