Author Topic: Another Embarrassing PC Question  (Read 472 times)

Offline Banshee7

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 6368
Another Embarrassing PC Question
« on: May 11, 2024, 11:49:11 AM »
As you can tell from my Prebuilt PC thread, I am super inexperienced with PCs.  The one I used back in the day was my parents home desktop not designed for gaming.  The one I have now I bought secondhand (save it... I know I was stupid).  With that being said, what are the do's and don'ts of cleaning a PC?  I just opened my case for the first time in a loooong time to explore and identify parts just to familiarize myself.  As you can imagine, I was disgusted.  I live in a rural area surrounded by crops, and my dog sheds more than any dog should.  I gently wiped what I could down with a microfiber cloth and some dry Q-tips just trying to get the bulk of the dust out of there.  After about an hour, it's better but obviously not perfect.  So, hit me with your tips for keeping a PC clean!  How often do you clean? What do you use?

<S>

Josh
-=Most Wanted=-
"Masters of the Air" Scenario - JG27


||||||||

Offline Spikes

  • Aces High CM Staff
  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 15625
    • Twitch: Twitch Feed
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2024, 12:02:08 PM »
Canned air or if you have an air compressor, take it outside and use that. If it doesn't have a water seperator you just have to be a little careful, but for a quick blow out it's fine.
i7-12700k | Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X | 64GB G.Skill DDR4 | EVGA 1080ti FTW3 | H150i Capellix

FlyKommando.com

Offline Bizman

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 9535
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2024, 12:05:30 PM »
There's a couple of things to concern about when cleaning the inside of your case.

First, beware of static. An electrostatic shock can fry some delicate components so don't wipe any circuit boards. Canned air or even a leaf blower is safer.

Second, when using pressurized air you should not let the fans spin. There's two reasons: First, the fan may spin overspeed burning the bearings. Second, a fan spinning with external power is a wind turbine pushing electricity backwards into your system. Yes, building your own wind farm is that easy, just some fans in a windy place!

Thus, the safest way to clean your system is to block your fans, use compressed air to remove dust from the circuit boards and vacuum/wipe the dust from plain surfaces. Many modern cases also have a detachable filter both inside the front panel and under the air intake of the PSU in the bottom. Cleaning the filters regularly is a must in a hairy pet household. A wheeled cart to lift the case off the floor is also surprisingly efficent, even better if there's a mesh instead of a solid base under the PSU. Hint: They sell grille carts for flower pots!
Quote from: BaldEagl, applies to myself, too
I've got an older system by today's standards that still runs the game well by my standards.

Kotisivuni

Offline The Fugitive

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 17648
      • Fugi's Aces Help
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2024, 01:12:08 PM »
What Bizman said along with small detail type brushes. Nothing too stiff, and cheapo like these...

https://www.amazon.com/Single-Brushes-Stains-Varnishes-Acrylics/dp/B078XJZGNN

Great for brushing the crap off of fan blades even through the gratings. Brush it all down, then blow it out holding the fan blades so they dont spin up.

Offline AKIron

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 12139
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2024, 01:14:45 PM »
Compressed air is good but I have blown jumpers off the mother board before using too much air pressure so be advised.
Here we put salt on Margaritas, not sidewalks.

Offline Banshee7

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 6368
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2024, 01:32:05 PM »
This is very interesting to me because I was told by our tech guy at work not to use compressed air at all. Maybe I misheard or misunderstood.  :joystick:
-=Most Wanted=-
"Masters of the Air" Scenario - JG27


||||||||

Offline AKIron

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 12139
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2024, 01:39:44 PM »
Some say compressed air will force dust into the bearings race. I've used it for decades and not had trouble other than blowing off the jumpers.
Here we put salt on Margaritas, not sidewalks.

Offline Bizman

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 9535
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2024, 01:57:08 PM »
This is very interesting to me because I was told by our tech guy at work not to use compressed air at all. Maybe I misheard or misunderstood.  :joystick:
That sounds odd, compressed air has been the #1 cleaning method for at least four (4) decades. Back in the day I worked as a sales rep for office equipment and I learned to know quite a many tech guys of various levels, from the peer support coworker to the IT supervisors of towns and factories. They all used compressed air in some form, from cans to compressors. In one IT office they used an old modified fire extinguisher which they refilled at their nearby workshop when needed.

As said, the only thing to be cautious about is not to let the fans spin too much. Unplugging them is not a big task to do if the generator thing worries you. Regarding jumpers, all air cans I've seen are too weak to blow jumpers off. The cheapest ones are too weak to even remove dust.
Quote from: BaldEagl, applies to myself, too
I've got an older system by today's standards that still runs the game well by my standards.

Kotisivuni

Offline AKIron

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 12139
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2024, 02:11:51 PM »
Air cans are okay if you don't have a compressor. I like to get jiggy wit it.

(everyone should have a compressor though)
« Last Edit: May 11, 2024, 02:18:47 PM by AKIron »
Here we put salt on Margaritas, not sidewalks.

Offline Banshee7

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 6368
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2024, 02:19:51 PM »
Air cans are okay if you don't have a compressor. I like to get jiggy wit it.

(everyone should have a compressor though)

I've got a pancake compressor that hasn't been used in a couple of years  :rofl
-=Most Wanted=-
"Masters of the Air" Scenario - JG27


||||||||

Offline Spikes

  • Aces High CM Staff
  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 15625
    • Twitch: Twitch Feed
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2024, 02:22:25 PM »
That's all I use is a pancake. I've blown my case out for years this way without issue. Don't hold the nozzle 1" from the motherboard and you'll be fine.
i7-12700k | Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X | 64GB G.Skill DDR4 | EVGA 1080ti FTW3 | H150i Capellix

FlyKommando.com

Offline knorB

  • Nickel Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 672
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2024, 02:58:49 PM »
Skuzzy at one time said he used a leaf blower. If you do a search.

Offline Bizman

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 9535
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2024, 02:27:16 AM »
Skuzzy at one time said he used a leaf blower. If you do a search.
That's what I referred to in my first post here. In that post he also mentioned securing the fans with toothpicks to prevent them spinning.
Quote from: BaldEagl, applies to myself, too
I've got an older system by today's standards that still runs the game well by my standards.

Kotisivuni

Offline Drano

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 4090
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2024, 07:56:07 AM »
I noticed those cans of air started getting pricey for what they are. Like everything else in the world these days! I got a little plug-in blower just for this. It wasn't super cheap itself but had paid for itself already vs all the cans I'd have bought. It has several different sized nozzles that regulate how much pressure comes out. As others have said--don't let the fans spin.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

"Drano"
80th FS "Headhunters"

S.A.P.P.- Secret Association Of P-38 Pilots (Lightning In A Bottle)

FSO flying with the 412th Friday Night Volunteer Group

Offline Eagler

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 17660
Re: Another Embarrassing PC Question
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2024, 08:21:07 AM »
Putting the desktop up off the floor helps keep the crud out

Eagler
"Masters of the Air" Scenario - JG27


Intel Core i7-13700KF | GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Elite AX | 64GB G.Skill DDR5 | EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti FTW3 | Vive Pro | Warthog stick | TM1600 throttle | VKB Mk.V Rudder Pedals