My dust bunnies are vanquished!

[starchild]

Did my case the other day and was shocked how much built up in the heatsink Used can of air,then vacuum with plastic attachment to get the leftovers runs 3deg. cooler now.Thats the last time I neglect my upkeep.I knew better too.

[mobilet68i]

Are you all doing this with your PC off? Just curious because mine is running rock solid for over 2 weeks now and I don't want to turn it off to clean it.

I see the dust building...can I just use compressed air and a vacuum while everything is still on?? I'm guessing it should still do the trick.

[billfuddled]

My advise: power the system down, unplug the power cord.

[mobilet68i]

Originally Posted by billfuddled

My advise: power the system down, unplug the power cord.

I took a gamble and blew compressed air through the sytem and fans while it was still running...actually seemed to work better because once you dislodge the dust bunnies, the fans naturually push them out of the system...

Idle diode temp dropped 6 degrees.

Damm those dust critters....going to vacuum the area around my case more frequently. What's even worse is that I have a Sharper Image Ionic Breeze in the same room as the PC which filters the air of dust, other crap....

Guess that's what happens when you live in NYC

[epicbard]

i clean out my pc every month... well bc i am a net freak

The worst I've seen is a pc so caked with dust that you could not even see the pcb

check out this bad boy



also Check out These Hall of Fame-ers

[Deer Slayer]

I did a puter that was that bad a while back. I took it out to the garage and blew it out with the door open with the air compressor. Talk about a humongous mess, I literally had to put a rag over my face and I put on safety glasses because it stung my eyes! It was black skuzz too, and smelled awful, I didn't even want it in my garage!

I always make sure the computer is plugged in, but I turn off the switch on the powersupply, or put it on a powerstrip and turn that off. That way it's grounded and less likely to get killed by static. Sometimes there's so much animal hair and stuff in there, the whole static idea is moot, it would have died a long time ago! Also vacuum cleaners are really bad with static, I don't like them anywhere near a puter. I've thought about making a special attachment for vacuums just for this purpose. It would have a ground wire and be made out of metal with a semi conductive plastic tip. A brush is another bad idea, but if you must use one, soak it in fabric softener and rinse it out. That will help with static, all it takes is one little snap, and it's dead! : :bigcry: :sad:

[hondaman_abx]

Originally Posted by epicbard

i clean out my pc every month... well bc i am a net freak

The worst I've seen is a pc so caked with dust that you could not even see the pcb

check out this bad boy



also Check out These Hall of Fame-ers

All I can say is OMG, I bet the computers at my work are like that.

[3 of 7]

Originally Posted by Deer Slayer

I did a puter that was that bad a while back. I took it out to the garage and blew it out with the door open with the air compressor. Talk about a humongous mess, I literally had to put a rag over my face and I put on safety glasses because it stung my eyes! It was black skuzz too, and smelled awful, I didn't even want it in my garage!

I always make sure the computer is plugged in, but I turn off the switch on the powersupply, or put it on a powerstrip and turn that off. That way it's grounded and less likely to get killed by static. Sometimes there's so much animal hair and stuff in there, the whole static idea is moot, it would have died a long time ago! Also vacuum cleaners are really bad with static, I don't like them anywhere near a puter. I've thought about making a special attachment for vacuums just for this purpose. It would have a ground wire and be made out of metal with a semi conductive plastic tip. A brush is another bad idea, but if you must use one, soak it in fabric softener and rinse it out. That will help with static, all it takes is one little snap, and it's dead! : :bigcry: :sad:

Just duct tape a cardboard tube to the hose.... or do what I do and use a 4 hp shop vac from 2 feet away!!!

[Drc Ok]

I did my dust bunnies a few days ago, and getting the dust out from between the fins of my zalman is a real pain, but worth it in the end. I use a q-tip and go around the fins individually so to minimise any chance of bending the fins.

[Deer Slayer]

Originally Posted by 3 of 7

Just duct tape a cardboard tube to the hose.... or do what I do and use a 4 hp shop vac from 2 feet away!!!

Even cardbaord can carry static, so it wouldn't be much better. I dunno, a vacuum cleaner is only for extreme messes. I'd rather do it in the garage if it's that bad. No point in risking that much money with a static generator like a vaccum. I have a 4.25 hp Rigid (home depot's house brand) shop vac, and it's all plastic. That thing generates so much static, styrofoam peanuts stick to the walls of it. I'd be scared to get it anywhere near a puter. :eek:

[3 of 7]

Originally Posted by Deer Slayer

Even cardbaord can carry static, so it wouldn't be much better. I dunno, a vacuum cleaner is only for extreme messes. I'd rather do it in the garage if it's that bad. No point in risking that much money with a static generator like a vaccum. I have a 4.25 hp Rigid (home depot's house brand) shop vac, and it's all plastic. That thing generates so much static, styrofoam peanuts stick to the walls of it. I'd be scared to get it anywhere near a puter. :eek:

I agree, it's probably not the best, but my compressor is stuck in my shed till I get my shop built...with it on blow you sure don't have to get close to the computers with it.

[hondaman_abx]

just rember that with the vacuum cleaner on blow you take the risk of blowing all of the loose dirt/dust, whatever is in the hose in the pc and it just defeats the purpose.

[Bofinn]

I don't think it's wise to spray compressed air (extremely cold) on the system while it is running...

[Darkfalz]

Blowing the compressed air onto the running fans kicks up the most dust, make sure to have a vacume cleaner nearby sucking everything in.

[Bofinn]

I know bunnies breed fast but this is rediculous!