Dust - it's not cool, kids!

[Todor]

I've been asking a lot of people around lately about what measures they take to protect their computer - surge protectors, modems, firewalls but actually there's a bigger risk from something much much more obvious - dust.

You see, dust gets in all the nooks and crannies it can find inside your computer and tries to mess things up for you. It could cause all sorts of troubles overheating being a prime example. It could lead to chip death or even fires which, I presume you know, wouldn't be very healthy for your computer or you. Here's an example or two:



As far as CPU Air heatsinks go the almighty Noctua NH-D14 is about as good as you can get - no noise and stunning cooling ability. After just a week's worth of 24/7 usage, however you can see deposits of dust forming on the top of the fans' propellers - this can cause the fans to make more noise, spin at a slower speed and cause heat through friction.



Check out the outline of the fan's spokes on the heatsink!

So what can you do in order to keep your PC running happy, quick and quiet? For starters any holes on your case which have no fans on them and are not necessary for air to circulate properly inside the case and cool components should be blocked - anything from masking tape to noise insulation should do the trick. In true, awesome tradition "Here's one I prepared earlier!"



As you can see I've left only one intake fan on my side panel and blocked both other holes, one for a 200mm and the other for an extra 120 off. Notice the weird meshy pattern infront of the fan? Well that isn't just the black metal mesh of the case, that's an air filter. Air filters do one very simple thing - filter air. They trap dust particles with varying sizes depending on how dense the mesh on it is. They're vital for any intake fans on your case, exhausts are fine without them. If you don't wish to do the earlier and cover the holes entirely just use a fan filter instead - they sure work brilliantly if you've selected the right one. How to choose? Well it's always a mix between airflow and filtering ability so you really have to decide what you'd rather do - clean your case more often but have it as cool and quiet as possible or a more "Put on and leave it" sort of solution.

Did I say put on and leave it? Well my bad, you still better clean your fan filters because blockage may occur which would be quite bad for the airflow, here's an example:



So what am I trying to say? Well it's simple, really - Take care of your computer so it can take care of you.

[Ness]

My computer once stopped working, so I got pissed off and kicked it.
Apparently it got the dust out and it started working

[Marting_Riggs]

I have the mac pro there is a program costs 10$ i think and it runs the computer at weird settings and keeps changing them and directs the fans to blow the dust one way then the other until it is blown outside the case (the side panel should be taken off )

I have not needed to touch the inside of my computer to remove or touch dust


P.S dont turn this into a mac/pc fanboy topic just stating because the program is coming for Windows soon 2 i will see if i can find my cd for it

[Mr.Joker]

I monthly clean my lovely laptop.

[TheRock]

Best thing to do is, take a towel and clean the PC while it's turned off, carefully.
When I clean it, I also clean the case, and re-connect cables.. as well, clean monitors with special cooling.

[Wash]

I monthly clean my lovely laptop.

I clean my lovely laptop monthly.*

[Ziad]

yeah Dust is a big problem for the boxes but for the laptops manufacturers created a way to keep the dust out you only gotta clean the fan and for me i never cleaned the fan

[Driggz]

My computer once stopped working, so I got pissed off and kicked it.
Apparently it got the dust out and it started working

Haha!

But yea just buy a small canister of Co2 and youll be dust free.

[dannyzuko]

I would clean it out, but 1.) I don't know how to disconnect the chords inside the comp. 2.) I don't want to mess anything up (since I have to share this computer with my family) and 3.) My computer is working fine at the moment! (:

[Todor]

Post some high res pics up and I can tell you what to do, matey. Too many people are frightened by the idea of breaking their PC whereas it's actually quite simple to work with.

[Driggz]

I would clean it out, but 1.) I don't know how to disconnect the chords inside the comp. 2.) I don't want to mess anything up (since I have to share this computer with my family) and 3.) My computer is working fine at the moment! (:

Its kind of hard to mess anything up. Its like plugging in cords in the wall. The cords that go from the power supply to the hard drive and motherboard are easy to keep track of. But I used to get a small felt tip pen and just mark numbers, in case I got lost

[Leon.]

CLEAN YOUR DUST! You don't want to end up like Leon, who had a fried CPU and an inch of dust on the heatsink under the fan...

Dust not only acts as an insulator, but it can stop up your fans and make that problem even worse. I've been through three fans so far due to neglect. I would have saved more on compressed air than that shit.