How to clean my pc

FrostedNipple · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:45

Basically i was just having a nice game of portal, then all of a sudden it closed bleeped up a message and then proceeded to shut me down. My psu fan is making a clicky noise due to dust, and im assuming every other fan in my case is dusted up as well. I cbb to get out the hoover, so are there any relatively cheap easier alternatives?

bennyboy2606 · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:46

Vacume Cleaner is the best way!

semi-pro waster · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:48

Compressed air in a can is an often used solution and shouldn't be too expensive. You can get it in photography shops as well as many PC retailers/office suppliers.

FrostedNipple · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:49

^^ ocuk do it? how well does it work?

crazyDAJT · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:49

semi-pro waster said:
Compressed air

out of works 10bar airline

milkinc13 · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:52

i use an old small brish for the fans & just work around the fins & the hoover

FrostedNipple · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:54

Yeah, just researched and found that this 'air' costs about a fiver to get to me. I'll think I'll just whack the hoover in there tomorrow and see if it works at making my fans sound smooth

semi-pro waster · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:54

crazyDAJT said:
out of works 10bar airline

Not bad if you can get it.

FrostedNipple, pretty well, a couple of blasts should clear most of the dust out and you don't need to get too close so that you breathe in the dust is the other benefit.

thegoonden · 2 Jun 2008 at 21:55

"air" in a can, usually isn't, it's loaded with butane (so someone here said, but it's some kind of propellant with a better compressability), and if you shake them or hold them at funny angles, they will belch it out. Most such things are solvents and will eat silicon in a flash, so be careful...a drop here and there wont penetrate before it evaporates, but a massive flood of the stuff might just turn your day bad. Best not to smoke too.

Speaking of smoking......if you do, and do it a lot round the PC, you may need to physically yank some of the dust bunnies out of the fans. A small brush to disturb dust is useful in all cases.

Finally, try not to emulate my brother and hoover the NB heatsink off!

death_looms · 2 Jun 2008 at 23:14

Ive heard that vacuuming can cause damaging amounts of static and destroy components... Diddn't stop me though, had the vacuum in, cleared out the CPU and GPU, 20C drop in temps for both......

Snakedoctor · 2 Jun 2008 at 23:19

Take it to a jet wash.

mmorpheus1 · 3 Jun 2008 at 00:06

Put it in the dish washer

grudas · 3 Jun 2008 at 00:11

mmorpheus1 said:
Put it in the dish washer

+1

sir-les-mp · 3 Jun 2008 at 01:36

a Small 1/2" brush and some anti static screen wipes do the trick here however if you can get commpressed air it's great for blasting clean the bearings of fans
also when finnished cleaning the fans a couple of drops of light machine oil in the fan bearings will also help quieting them down a bit and allow them to run smoother.

PhillyDee · 3 Jun 2008 at 02:29

pingwing · 3 Jun 2008 at 02:35

Toilet roll/tissues is pretty easy if you have nothing else to hand (the vacuum cleaner was broken hence the need to clean to start with...)

Urban Reflex · 3 Jun 2008 at 02:50

I just use a paint brush for removing dirt. Works wonders and you don't have to worry about lint / static / that really cold stuff from compressed air canisters.

Sasso · 3 Jun 2008 at 03:02

hoover or can of air it really good..... told my mate that and he grabbed his paintball gun tank which had 2000psi in it and let it rip.... lol dust clouds everywhere!!!!

DarkShadow · 3 Jun 2008 at 12:22

I usually use a rocket air blower for my DSLR. The only problem with that is dust goes everywhere :\

pmk24 · 3 Jun 2008 at 12:25

another tip is todo it outside .............