Best way to clean PC

[Getback]

Some darn clever stuff here.

[OOZ662]

 

What? Have you never sat around and toyed with an electric motor before? Hook two of them up to each other and spin one, the other will start spinning at a slower rate.

[BaldEagl]

I use a vacume cleaner for regular cleaning and I set it over each fan and let them spin.  It's never hurt one.  Every once in a while I'll pull the fans and clean them with Q-tips but I smoke so they might be a little worse than for a non-smoker.  The best way to clean your video card is to take the cover off to get to the fan and the heatsink intake.

[Chalenge]

I have more than a few systems so I have them on a rotating maintenance schedule. Every three months I disassemble a computer down to removing any component that has a fan such as video cards and by removing the fan from heat sinks or the case. The case I use has filters for the case fans that draw outside air and those I clean with a brush. The inside of the case is blown out with an air compressor.

My top gaming system uses phase changing coolers for the CPU and GPUs and water cooling for the memory and HDs so there is no air movement through that case except at the PSUs which are filtered (brushed off).

[Bizman]

I use compressed non-flammable canned air for getting the dust loose and, depending on the location and weather, let either the wind blow the dust away or use a vacuum cleaner. In the latter case, I don't put the nozzle near circuit boards to avoid static electric shocks. If the fans are heavily covered with dust on the cooler side, I unscrew them apart from the cooler and either blow or brush the dust away. There's usually a sticker on the other side of the fan, under which you can find the bearing, sometimes covered with a rubber plug. Just one drop of sewing machine oil (motor oil will do) will lengthen the fan's life. WD40 or similar products won't do, they are too thin and will clean all lubricant out, making things worse. Taking the video card out for maintenance is a good idea, the fins get easily clogged and there's not much room around the fan. Taking the fan apart for cleaning and lubricating from a vidcard is IMHO even more important than in other parts of the computer, having seen too many of them burned after the fan has finally stopped making that grinding noise... While at it, why not clean the card's contactors with a rubber. Same can be done to memory sticks.

[ebfd11]

I think it was stated earlier that the best thing to do is once every 6 months break down your rig and give it a thourough cleaning and at least once a month use the canned air or a vacume  that has an anti static cord attached to it. Myself I usually break it down to the core parts including the video cards and clean everything out. The results of doing this, it runs cooler and all the components last much longer.

Bizman if I were you I would use a drop of mineral oil instead of motor oil, it is cleaner and does not attract dirt as easily, just my two cents.

[Bizman]

Bizman if I were you I would use a drop of mineral oil instead of motor oil, it is cleaner and does not attract dirt as easily, just my two cents.

I guess the sewing machine oil I mentioned first is mineral oil. At occasions I have been forced to improvise, since those small plastic bottles tend to leak, why I don't carry oil in my PC-doctor's bag. I haven't found a good small leak proof one yet. The main thing is, the oil has to be thick enough. Not vaseline, though...

Once I fried a videocard fan with spray lock oil. It appeared to be too thin. First all the squeaking noise was gone, but at the end of the day the bearings started to howl and grind. My luck was, the card was a cheap one and could be replaced with a used old card.

AFAIK all oils attract more or less dirt, they are somewhat stickier than e.g. water. That's why there's the sticker and plug covering the bearings from outside dust. Actually, there are three main tasks for any lubricating oil to do: To reduce friction, transfer heat and clean. Stickiness keeps the oil where the friction and wear is hardest. (Source: Exxon lubrication sales personnel manual)

[Bino]

...
Bizman if I were you I would use a drop of mineral oil instead of motor oil, it is cleaner and does not attract dirt as easily, just my two cents.
...

Or, you could go totally old-school and use the light, thin oil that in days or yore was used in ships' mechanical chronometers because it was so resistant to evaporation: whale oil!   

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I use dynamite personally.

[Krusty]

I prefer dust-buster with narrow attachment nozzle to blasting the dust around. This way it's contained. It's also quite effective for PCs, I've found. Cleaned many a clogged heatsink/fan with a 'buster.

[ebfd11]

When I put in new MB and processor today I pulled my vid cards apart and I was shocked to see I didnt have dust bunnies... I had dust greyhaounds...LOL. all I can say to anyone.. rip your rig apart every once in a while and see whats lurking.

LawnDart

[Thorns]

Give the dirty computer to your wife and build a new one! 

[Skuzzy]

I used to use a leaf blower.  I would use duct tape to tape the fans in place, as well as any loose plugs/wiring.

A while back, I made a washable intake filtration system for my computer and it has stayed spotless on the inside since then.  It is easy to tell when it needs to be cleaned.

[Krusty]

I used to use a leaf blower.  I would use duct tape to tape the fans in place, as well as any loose plugs/wiring.

A while back, I made a washable intake filtration system for my computer and it has stayed spotless on the inside since then.  It is easy to tell when it needs to be cleaned.

Sometimes it's hard to tell when you're joking, and when you're being honest.... 

[Skuzzy]

I was not joking.