How do you clean and maintain your pc?

Soldato
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17 Jul 2008
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jsut take the side off and blow into it hard with your eyes shut, use a tooth pick or cotton bud to move stuff stuck to the heat sync...

dont waste money or crappy gadgets
 
Soldato
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I'm glad someone has brought this topic up. Does anyone have any reason not to use a hoover nozzle inside a desktop PC for cleaning? And is there anything to be weary of when opening it up?


Apparently they can generate a static charge. I use a small paint brush and a can of compressed air same as admoo ;)
 
Soldato
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Every month or so - open it up - spray with compressed air :p

Although since running out of air (about a year ago) I've not been doing it - I bet it's really dirty in there now :p
 
Associate
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when i use a hoover i use it more as a collector. I use a brush or can of air then hold the hoover close so that the dust goes to the hoover rather than falling straight back into the case
 
Associate
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The fear of a static discharge from a hoover is almost the same with anything that moves air at a fast rate. How do you think electric charge is built up in the atmosphere, it's air moving over land (obviously there are other factors). Anything with air moving over a surface will eventually build up a charge of electricity, it just depends on the rate you are doing it and how long.

I usually get a hoover, stick a sock on the end just in case I do suck up something important (It will just get caught in the sock) and hoover away. I have never had problems and generally do this once every 2 months or so.

And obviously. Don't let the hoover contact the components. Keep it 1-2 inches away so it isn't sucking too hard. If dust isn't being move use a paint brush to loosen it first then clean up excess dust with the hoover.

/Johnathan
 
Associate
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Must have cleaned 10,000 computers using compressed air in one form or another and never sufferred a static discharge. First I've ever heard that it can do this (although I get the theory)!

At work we use a £50 - 120lb air compressor that we got from screwfix. We blow the dust out of around 10 PC's and 10 laptops a week with this and never suffered an issues in addition to anything that was there to being with. We also maintain data projectors using the same compressor (although we remove lamps and protect sensors).

I actually checked the theory behind static build up in PC's with our manufacturing department (who have just delivered 54000 PC's to schools in the last 8 weeks - so not small). They said PC's rarely have a static build up that needs to discharge and if they do and they discharge, it's normally major and its down to a fault on the PC to begin with. For information - they also say that intermittent power issues normally relate to electrical timing problems rather than static related (as many people do think).

Slightly off subject...sorry...

To kill the problem with a hoover (or vacuum cleaner should I say, as hoover is a brand), surely you simply need to ensure its discharged before use by touching it against an earth? Or even better, earth it while using it? Might be wrong here...but just an idea.
 
Caporegime
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8 Nov 2008
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Blowing dust off components with compressed air even with just the usual cans and not a compressor, can cause a static discharge or so I've read. Generally speaking though I don' let dust build up as I clean once a week inside the case with air. Every 2 weeks I use a very soft spec savers cloth to clean the dust from each fan blade. As I have 10 case fans it's time consuming. Once a month I remove the video cards and clean the fans on them.

The outside I clean on a daily basis. My room is facing the sun. Dust buildup is very obvious even on the stand the PC sits on, so cleaning is a must. I wipe the case with a soft micro fibre cloth and I use an ostrich feather brush for the corners that are hard to get to :D

Your cleaning schedule is an example to us all. :) Mind you, with a rig like you have I can see why you clean it so regularly. Very nice indeed.

I usually give mine a very light clean every month or so and around three to four times a year a much heavier duty clean with canned air and brushes.

@nlr - Thanks for the pic of that £30 cleaner, been looking for one of those for ages. I find the canned air only so good.
 
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Soldato
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Your cleaning schedule is an example to use all. :) Mind you, with a rig like you have I can see why you clean it so regularly. Very nice indeed.

I usually give mine a very light clean every month or so and around three to four times a year a much heavier duty clean with canned air and brushes.

@nlr - Thanks for the pic of that £30 cleaner, been looking for one of those for ages. I find the canned air only so good.


Thanks mate for the complement :) I just finished a clean actually. Those akasa apaches amaze me. Almost no dust buildup at all. Was going to replace them with some Phobya nano-g jobs with the removable blades but wont bother now. I guess part of the reason I have so little dust is due to my cleaning regime. The other parts is I have positive airflow in my case so generally dont get much dust in there in the first place. Usual spots are back plate of gpu's, and some dust on bottom intake fan blades and as the 800D is black it attracks dust on the bottom shelf regularly.
 

nlr

nlr

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OP
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It looks like they've gone up in price.

Google "Datavac Electric Duster ED-500" and click the forth starting with mr
 
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