Thanks for the safety lesson Michael Cooper . I recently got an old PC tower from a friend from 2006, its very dusty. My best friend said just use a house vacuum, but now I know the reasons to avoid that.
The most important thing you forgot to mention is that when you touch the inside of your computer you may discharge a static shock to vital internal components (such as CPU and RAM) and damage them. If you must touch the inside of your machine, discharge any static by tapping your finger to the computer's metal case before unplugging it.
Good tips. I got the gist of "spray canned air at the fans" but didn't know you could damage them by doing it improperly and making them spin too fast. It pays to be careful when handling someone else's computer.
A Wooden Spoon I don't have anything so I just ask the little elves next door to magically clean my cpu :P P.S don't ask fairies because they left a lot of pixie dust
Thanks for your reply. By compressed air, I was just referring to the 'air duster cans' like the ones you were using in the video. I cleaned the workstation on the weekend and was amazed at how much dust there was in the CPU heatsink / fan. WOW. Cheers again for the video :)
Great video. My computer has developed an odor...probably due to dust-buildup and the burning of said dust. Time for a good cleaning tomorrow! Thanks again.
You can use an air compressor to blow out the dust from your computer. Air compressors can have some water vapor build up in them. Let the air blow away from the computer for a few seconds to get the vapor out before aiming it at the computer. Remember to not let the fans spin. A air compressor especially can get the fans going too fast which can make the fans louder in the long run and may cause them to stop working.
***** no it is 100% shitty cable management . Not to mention the pc looks to be 5+ years old. I have never seen a computer that dirty other than the one in my garage that's been there for years. NEVER LET YOUR PC GET THIS BAD! that's our neglect on his part seeing as how most of the dust was exterior.
While you are cleaning you can find out which fan is making the noise and replace it. Leave the case open and turn on the computer. If you can't tell just by listening which one is making the noise you can use a pen to stop each fan until you find the noisy one. If the fans center is exposed you can gently place your finger on it to stop the fan.
@fbvrc I just got a Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac. It is a dust blower that work better that the canned air and is cheaper in the long run. To clean the video card with canned air or a dust blower like I mentioned you need to make sure the fan in the cooler doesn't spin. You can hold it still while you aim the air into the openings of the cooler. The card will have at least 2 openings. One of the intake and one for exhaust. Go back an forth blowing into the openings until dust stops coming out.
i used my leaf blower, WORKED LIKE A CHARM DUST CAME OUT LIKE CRAZYYYYY, and my leaf blower is strong as fuk now my computer is quiet and newer than ever
Thanks for sharing such a helpful video. Really appreciated! I'm going to give this a shot today. I've read that after cleaning the inside of the tower with compressed air, you should let the computer sit for a day, in-case of any moisture that was in the compressed air. Do you think that's necessary?
Of course, just blowing the dust won't work if there are smokers in the house. All of the fan blades and everything else will be coated with a layer of grime that acts like glue for the dust.
I use my dads old barbers hair dryer set onto cold with an attachment to increase air pressure. Since it was designed to be used by a barber its really powerful. Saves a lot on buying compressed air cans.
I plan on cleaning my PC today. I've looked inside and for 2 years a truckload of dust has built up... I hope these compressed air cans don't cost too much. btw I live in Bulgaria, not a prospering country like America where such things costs almoast like nothing.
I always grab a sixer of dust off and beer when I clean my computer. Just remember the beer is to make the process less boring not for cleaning and the other way around for the dust off. Come on kids!
great video. I should really clean my computer but I'm worried I might damage something. I know next to nothing about computers so I'm thinking I might take it somewhere and let a "pro" deal with it.
Don't hold the spray. Use very quick short continuous bursts. This will drastically increase your use time and is a lot better for cleaning the pc as you don't lose out on pressure so dramatically
I have a custom computer and I would just like to say if you have some extra money buy, you should cool you system using a closed water loop. Pretty cheap now-a-days and it really helps with dust problem along with aesthetics and cooling. Also if you really wanted all your components at their best I would just recommend taking out each part and cleaning them individually.( if you know enough about computers to put it back together)
oktny The fans are meant to spin a a few thousand RPMs. Spinning them with fast moving air can get them up to several thousand RPMs and wear them out quickly.
Some great tips here! I'm planning on building a gaming computer soon and I had no idea that it was necessary to clean it like this. Thanks for the tips!
You're such a lifesaver, hopefully this works because I have a desktop that is making the fan little bit noisy and I want it quiet and I am planning to have my mom to clean the dust.
If you use an air compressor to blow out the computer the air can have moisture in it. On the compressor there is a way to drain any water that may be in the tank. As long as this is done there won't be enough water in the air to cause a problem. You really should get a blower that is designed to clean electronics like the DataVac.
Static electricity isn't a concern when touching the fans because they are plastic. As long as you occasionally touch a metal part of the case you are discharging any static electricity from your body.
Got my DataVac a few years ago and it was one of the best purchases I ever made. I always felt wasteful with those cans of air and it probably made me hold back at least a little when cleaning. Now I'm blowing dust over to some other sucker's place without a care in the world!
I only used a little bit of each can because they tend to freeze up and not put out much air. After they warm up they work again. I've since switched to a Datavac ED500 electric blower.
Using short burst of canned air will make it last a little longer before the can freezes up but not long enough to clean the whole case. That is why we used so many cans, but they still had air in them and worked again after they thawed. Since the price of canned air went up I started using a Datavac ED500 to clean computers.
Thanks man, I'll try this. I'm worried about little clumps of dust and if I can reach them, also my PC has sat idle for like 2 months since moving. First time cleaning and Kinda not looking forward but hopefully afterwards I'll feel better and I can't do it outside but, I hope I can clean it up, with this 4 pack, and hope I don't have to use it all. I got 5star compressed air.
You can get a replacement fan for around $10. Measure the fan you removed and you'll know the size to order/buy. What you want to measure, in mm, is the length or width across, not diagonally.
I had added a sound card not long after I got my computer in 1993. That was pretty easy. I was doing tech support for several companies at a outsource companies. I learned a lot about the software side and eventually felt confident enough to upgrade my hard drive from a 80MB to a 1GB drive. In those days you had to know how to use a program called fdisk to partition the drive. Then the format command and then starting a DOS and Windows install. I pretty much just learned as I went.
Wow this video is very informative. Thanks. Built my first PC almost exactly 3 months ago. I don't want to mess it up by not cleaning it regularly. At the moment, there is a fair bit of dust on the outside of the case where the fans are, but not too much. I don't feel it needs cleaning just yet, do when would be an appropriate time to clean it? I feel like every six months is an awfully long time. How often does everyone clean theirs?
You want to use something that doesn't put our water vapor like a compressor can, or static electricity like a vacuum or leaf blower can. An electric blower like the DataVac ED-500 mentioned in the notes is best. Just make sure you hold the fans in place as you clean.
The air from the cans can get the fans spinning many times their normal speed. I have personally spun a fan too fast with a can of compressed air and it did make it much louder the next time I ran the system.
@TheMoosa90 Cleaning the computer as shown here may help. The CPU fan and PSU fan may be running at full speed trying to cool down. If you have dust built up on the PSU or CPU heatsink this can make it difficult for the fans to do their job. If the dust is clear and the temperatures lower one or both fans may be able to spin slower.
I can say that it was very easy and I used only one can of 'Fast Blast Duster.' Just don't tilt the can sideways while you use it. It was funny seeing clouds of smoke puff out of my machine. Also, my desktop computer runs so much quieter now. Before, it was chugging and making tons of noise. Highly recommended doing this at least once a year.
lol yeah, same here. I looked in earlier and ._. fuck. That is A LOT of dust. I'm surprised it still runs. Every time I play BF3 my computer gets very loud
when i cleaned my computer last night, instead of just dusting while all of the components were still mounted inside, i actually took each component out of the computer, i took out the graphics card, the hard drives, the ram, the dvd drive, the power supply and i cleaned them individually. it took me 2 hours cause i took my time. i was surprised how dirty the ram was. I looked at everything several times over and wiped it down with care. next time i will actually pull out the motherboard and clean the entire case inside as well. I noticed a great difference in temps after cleaning; my cpu now runs idle at 70 degrees F where as before it ran at 90 degrees. I did not need 6 cans of duster to do all of this but my computer was nowhere as dusty as this computer was i only needed 1 & a half. I did all of this cause my graphics card manufacturer EVGA says you should clean your computer every 30 days, i will try to make this a practice but i am also going to buy an air compressor because canned duster isn't cheap.
The CPU will turn the computer off if it gets too hot, a video card overheating with either turn the computer off or restart the computer. Freezing is most likely a driver problem or RAM. Try install the latest drivers for the video card. If you have the RAM overclocked try setting it to default speeds. Try removing half of the RAM sticks and see if the freezing stops. Then take out that RAM and put in the other sticks. This will let you figure out which stick is causing the freezes.
I greatly suggest adding an annotation at the beginning telling people to neturalize (grounding) their hands before touching anything inside the computer. I am sure you know of the dangers of electrostatic charge to components, but a lot of people who watch this people probably do not and are going willy-nilly in their computer with their hands charged up.
I guess the spinning blades is no problem for the fan itself, but you will produce voltage through induction. so if the fan is connected to the motherboard, it won't be happy about that.
I just clean my desktop PC with an electric leaf blower outdoors. It gets the power supply and all fans very clean. You can watch me do this on my videos. I've done this for years many many times with no damage, and I saved $20 each time NOT buying compressed air. Also using a leaf blower, or vacuum or electric air blower will clean your pc better than the compressed air cans.
@killerportero No do not use anything but canned air. Hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers, etc. all produce static electricity which can damage electronic components like the ones in a computer. A 6 pack of compressed air is $5 at Walmart. Look for it in the computer peripherals section.
@sardo97 Once again. Do not use a leaf blower or vacuum cleaner. They put out static electricity which can kill your electronics. In addition, a leaf blower will spin the fans much faster than they are intended to and can damage them.
I never thought of using isopropyl alcohol for cleaning my fanblades, Thanks HPCBDVD! I agree you shouldn't dust it with a gas station compressor. you should invest in a small air compressor, you can use them forever and push a LOT of air very fast. Usually find them on sale for $50-$100 at a hardware store and it will save you money in the first few years. There is no risk of water or static with small air compressors and have any type of nozzle you could possibly need for cleaning a computer.
Dude, have you ever heard about compressed air from a compressor? You can ask someone working on a garrage to give you the air-gun pistol to blow the components. It remains as new, you don't wreck anything. What you do is very expensive and time-consumer. For a more efficient cleaning, I dismount the coolers and radiator, clean them with a brush, oil the bearing with fine mechanism oil, replace the thermal grease etc. It costs less than you just did (I have a 50 liters tank- 8 Bar pressure).
@jpenny01 It may just be a misunderstanding about what a molex connect is. I'm talking about a rectangular 4 pin plug that can power hard drives, optical drives and fans. A few older motherboard models had a spot for a molex connector on the motherboard to power specialized hardware. Is this what you are referring to?
I had my computer for about 4-5 years, and now I am just deciding to clean it. Once I took the case off, it looked like a mossy mammoth inside, I am surprised it didn't catch on fire.
It varies from model to model. Google Dell support, go to the first link, click Home or Business, click Driver and Downloads. Then enter your computer's service tag number and you'll find a link for the manual which will tell you how to get into the case.
I've never cleaned a computer myself and I have some questions as I am about to clean mine. Using an compressed air while chips and other stuff is inside the computer wont just damage them blowing some dust around them? There is really no chance of damaging anything while you are blowing air inside of everything? I mean, I always thought you had to remove the componets from inside and then clean up. I'm sorry if I sound stupid but I just have no idea.
Is this alcohol like the one used in hospitals and dispensaries ? I mean is it the same alcohol that used for medical uses and killing germs ? or there is a different kind for cleaning like this one ?
+Diligent502 Isopropyl alcohol is the alcohol you're thinking of. The compound consists of a Propyl, or 3 carbon group (C3H5) with an OH on the second carbon. The compound is bactericidal and used in hand sanitizers. It was once even used as an anesthetic until it's neurotoxic qualities were discovered.
It will only speed up games if there is enough dust to be making the CPU or video card overheat to the point where they are automatically slowed down. It can make them quieter because without the dust the fans won't need to spin as fast to cool the CPU and video card.
It is better practice using air-blower to clean computers. I am using air-blower for over 3 years and do not try to stop any of the system fans while cleaning inside the computer. I would let them be as it is. I have never experienced any failure. I insist that nothing will happen to the fans or components inside because of high pressure air stream. Somebody think that processor fan would create electricity while using air-blower and the fans' ball-bearing would malfunction or unusable. These are all only myths. I do agree that you don't have to dismantle and re-assemble everything for the purpose of cleaning the computer for the connectors might sometimes fail. This has happened to me while repeating the 40 pin IDE connector to the hdd and I had to buy a new connector.
@casecar No those fans would be removed to clean then put back. I'm running a thermaltake V3 now. My case is well lit so dust stands out. Monthly I open it and do a simple wipe down.
When we made this video you could get a 6 pack of compressed air for $4. I recently switched to a Datavac ED500 for dust removal which works very well. To be fair we didn't use all of the 5 cans of air shown in this video. We just switched to a new can when the cans froze up. They still had plenty of air in them and after defrosting would work again.
I've had my recent computer for a lil over 10 months(planning on cleaning it first time next month). The only real dust is in the cooling fan and power supply. Wondering how some people's units get so damn dusty lol.
Unfortunately that case has very poor cable management options. That combined with a massive amount of hardware in the computer, well you see the results. I will soon be moving the contents of that computer to a newer case with excellent cable management options along with a modular power supply to cut down on the number of cables.
Hi I like this video, especially your tips concerning clean up my pc. A product I also found useful for speed up your computer was Skyarza Faster PC Star find it on google if you want - via YTPak(.com)
+Divine Pc Master Race On a practical level, gets rid of cables from air flow paths, leading to better temps. Also removes surface area for dust to build up on, so you get a less dusty rig. More than that, its looks a heap better without a ton of cables running everywhere, especially important if you have a case window. Also a matter of pride, you just built an awesome computer, you put some good workmanship into it. Although admittedly your cable management options are limited in that case, no space behind the mobo tray to run cables.
What's a superior alternative to canned compressed air? Something with more power that I can buy? A specialized computer cleaning pressurized air brush or something?
I clean all the components with a soft toothbrush and 96% alcohol, works very good and Im able to get to the tricky spots without any difficulty, also the brush sends loads of dust clouds into the air so keep you vacuum cleaner on while doing it. Its alot cheaper and practical than buying those Dust remover sprays....
is there any kind of safely sucking air out instead of blowing it in? i dont want to take my whole components apart and dont want the dust spreading out in the system. also compressed air is not the cheapest thing... can you possibly ground a vacuum effectively to do that?
@DragonSniper7 I know the direction say to use it in short burst but that only goes so far before it freezes up. Did you see all the dust and cat hair?
Using a standard vacuum blasts the computer with static electricity. A blower intended for use on electronics or canned air are the only safe ways to blow dust out of a computer.
A high end PC for the time.. But the cable management is terrifying
This guy's voice makes me feel sad inside
KING Meir lol HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
KING Meir
Are you kidding? This man should have an entertainment show on saturday nights.
TheAntiChr1st heh, such a mellow voice, he reminds me of bob ross
bahahahaha why? hahahahaha
TheDeftonesmusic idk man, it's just something about him. keeps me up at night..
wow and i thought my computer was dusty
You used that much compressed air for one PC chassis? That is crazy!!
Nigel when a can gets cold let it warm up untill it is completely empty.
Thanks for the safety lesson Michael Cooper . I recently got an old PC tower from a friend from 2006, its very dusty. My best friend said just use a house vacuum, but now I know the reasons to avoid that.
Well I have used vaccum cleaner to clean my PC and it worked.
You can use a vacuum if you don't touch any circuit boards (never had any damage). I remove the fans and clean them with a cloth.
just get a datavac
thanks for sharing but i recommended for Skyarza faster pc star to clean your pc.thanks
The most important thing you forgot to mention is that when you touch the inside of your computer you may discharge a static shock to vital internal components (such as CPU and RAM) and damage them. If you must touch the inside of your machine, discharge any static by tapping your finger to the computer's metal case before unplugging it.
Et tu crois qu'il fait comment pour ouvrir sa case ?
Ya I love how he forgot the most important part. I touch the ground on my PSU.
up you go !!
Or wear an anti static brace ☺
Good tips. I got the gist of "spray canned air at the fans" but didn't know you could damage them by doing it improperly and making them spin too fast. It pays to be careful when handling someone else's computer.
What airflow? With that fuckimg rat's nest, ain't NO air coming in.
Seeing your rig reminds me of a good old days of pc gaming. Oh 4 years of nostalgia.
You missed a spot.
Didn't have compressed air.... (Or the money to buy it....) So I just used my bike pump!
+1 for the mental image
John Iruna Actually, the bike pump I used is a foot one. So, no need to use any hands.
You can use a vacuum if you don't touch any circuit boards (never had any damage). I remove the fans and clean them with a cloth.
A Wooden Spoon I don't have anything so I just ask the little elves next door to magically clean my cpu :P
P.S don't ask fairies because they left a lot of pixie dust
same thing with me.. only thing, I used my penis pump
Thanks for your reply. By compressed air, I was just referring to the 'air duster cans' like the ones you were using in the video. I cleaned the workstation on the weekend and was amazed at how much dust there was in the CPU heatsink / fan. WOW. Cheers again for the video :)
Great video. My computer has developed an odor...probably due to dust-buildup and the burning of said dust. Time for a good cleaning tomorrow! Thanks again.
An odor? Jesus, are you sure there aren't dead bugs and feces in it?
DEADMAU5
This goes into more detail than other videos on this topic. Excellent.
You can use an air compressor to blow out the dust from your computer. Air compressors can have some water vapor build up in them. Let the air blow away from the computer for a few seconds to get the vapor out before aiming it at the computer. Remember to not let the fans spin. A air compressor especially can get the fans going too fast which can make the fans louder in the long run and may cause them to stop working.
Shit, almost got sick when i saw the cable management.
haha..me too...mine are almost all hidden..
***** no it is 100% shitty cable management . Not to mention the pc looks to be 5+ years old. I have never seen a computer that dirty other than the one in my garage that's been there for years. NEVER LET YOUR PC GET THIS BAD! that's our neglect on his part seeing as how most of the dust was exterior.
While you are cleaning you can find out which fan is making the noise and replace it. Leave the case open and turn on the computer. If you can't tell just by listening which one is making the noise you can use a pen to stop each fan until you find the noisy one. If the fans center is exposed you can gently place your finger on it to stop the fan.
He said about cool air going in the front, in his case I don't think any kind of air is getting in his PC with that kind of cable management!
@fbvrc I just got a Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac. It is a dust blower that work better that the canned air and is cheaper in the long run. To clean the video card with canned air or a dust blower like I mentioned you need to make sure the fan in the cooler doesn't spin. You can hold it still while you aim the air into the openings of the cooler. The card will have at least 2 openings. One of the intake and one for exhaust. Go back an forth blowing into the openings until dust stops coming out.
3:08 blowing the dust back inside :D
SHAMIL ABAKAROV EXACTLY! that's what I thought!
I was thinking the same thing 😂
Lmao thanks 😂🤣
used a compressor and air gun for well over 10 years and never had a problem,use a moisture trap if concerned about water
entire carpets and tails of dust on the pc you just cleaned , hilarious and yet really informative.
i used my leaf blower, WORKED LIKE A CHARM DUST CAME OUT LIKE CRAZYYYYY, and my leaf blower is strong as fuk now my computer is quiet and newer than ever
Thanks for sharing such a helpful video. Really appreciated! I'm going to give this a shot today.
I've read that after cleaning the inside of the tower with compressed air, you should let the computer sit for a day, in-case of any moisture that was in the compressed air. Do you think that's necessary?
Of course, just blowing the dust won't work if there are smokers in the house. All of the fan blades and everything else will be coated with a layer of grime that acts like glue for the dust.
+1
lurkerrekrul really??? daaaayum... i gotta stop smoking when i game then :S
I use my dads old barbers hair dryer set onto cold with an attachment to increase air pressure. Since it was designed to be used by a barber its really powerful.
Saves a lot on buying compressed air cans.
I plan on cleaning my PC today. I've looked inside and for 2 years a truckload of dust has built up... I hope these compressed air cans don't cost too much. btw I live in Bulgaria, not a prospering country like America where such things costs almoast like nothing.
That reminds me that I have to clean my PC too... Lol! Haven't cleaned it for almost 4 years xD
Mitko Kostadinov DAFUQ? you lazy bastards?!!
Can't really believe you guys, don't clean your pc every week!
I treat em like my wee princesses!
Senpai is a pervert още един хд
+MartyTheGamer Bulgarian as well... are we the only fucking people wanting to clean their PC :P??
Jarred Frost sorry, but my cars are my princesses
I always grab a sixer of dust off and beer when I clean my computer. Just remember the beer is to make the process less boring not for cleaning and the other way around for the dust off. Come on kids!
great video. I should really clean my computer but I'm worried I might damage something. I know next to nothing about computers so I'm thinking I might take it somewhere and let a "pro" deal with it.
Check if your vacuum cleaner has a blow function(most newer ones have)
You can also use fine brush.
Don't hold the spray. Use very quick short continuous bursts. This will drastically increase your use time and is a lot better for cleaning the pc as you don't lose out on pressure so dramatically
I have a custom computer and I would just like to say if you have some extra money buy, you should cool you system using a closed water loop. Pretty cheap now-a-days and it really helps with dust problem along with aesthetics and cooling. Also if you really wanted all your components at their best I would just recommend taking out each part and cleaning them individually.( if you know enough about computers to put it back together)
Inside of that case lookin' like Medusa..
Really nice video, easy to understand and flows smoothely
guys..whatever u do..............DO NOT SPIN THOSE FANS!
Oh no.....
They have to and will spin no magtter wat. Ik cleans them and when air flows trough them they spin it will bring no harm to them.
Mats Jensen That's bullshit. Computer fans spin all the time, why would they get damaged from a little cleaning?
oktny The fans are meant to spin a a few thousand RPMs. Spinning them with fast moving air can get them up to several thousand RPMs and wear them out quickly.
Michael Cooper I know that, but a few bursts of compressed air won't hurt them *that* much. Lubing the fan's bearings always helps, too.
Some great tips here! I'm planning on building a gaming computer soon and I had no idea that it was necessary to clean it like this. Thanks for the tips!
You're such a lifesaver, hopefully this works because I have a desktop that is making the fan little bit noisy and I want it quiet and I am planning to have my mom to clean the dust.
If you use an air compressor to blow out the computer the air can have moisture in it. On the compressor there is a way to drain any water that may be in the tank. As long as this is done there won't be enough water in the air to cause a problem. You really should get a blower that is designed to clean electronics like the DataVac.
Thank you for making this video, it helped me to fix my PC which was overheating and restarting constantly :)
Static electricity isn't a concern when touching the fans because they are plastic. As long as you occasionally touch a metal part of the case you are discharging any static electricity from your body.
Got my DataVac a few years ago and it was one of the best purchases I ever made. I always felt wasteful with those cans of air and it probably made me hold back at least a little when cleaning. Now I'm blowing dust over to some other sucker's place without a care in the world!
+1 because the youtube app doesn't let me just upvote your comment
I only used a little bit of each can because they tend to freeze up and not put out much air. After they warm up they work again. I've since switched to a Datavac ED500 electric blower.
Using short burst of canned air will make it last a little longer before the can freezes up but not long enough to clean the whole case. That is why we used so many cans, but they still had air in them and worked again after they thawed. Since the price of canned air went up I started using a Datavac ED500 to clean computers.
Great vid. Better than many others on UA-cam.
Thanks man, I'll try this. I'm worried about little clumps of dust and if I can reach them, also my PC has sat idle for like 2 months since moving. First time cleaning and Kinda not looking forward but hopefully afterwards I'll feel better and I can't do it outside but, I hope I can clean it up, with this 4 pack, and hope I don't have to use it all. I got 5star compressed air.
You can get a replacement fan for around $10. Measure the fan you removed and you'll know the size to order/buy. What you want to measure, in mm, is the length or width across, not diagonally.
Man,cable managment is good as my grandmas Nokia
I had added a sound card not long after I got my computer in 1993. That was pretty easy. I was doing tech support for several companies at a outsource companies. I learned a lot about the software side and eventually felt confident enough to upgrade my hard drive from a 80MB to a 1GB drive. In those days you had to know how to use a program called fdisk to partition the drive. Then the format command and then starting a DOS and Windows install. I pretty much just learned as I went.
I like how this guy said when you have it as clean as you wanted not as clean as possible.So I gave a thumps up
Wow this video is very informative. Thanks.
Built my first PC almost exactly 3 months ago. I don't want to mess it up by not cleaning it regularly. At the moment, there is a fair bit of dust on the outside of the case where the fans are, but not too much. I don't feel it needs cleaning just yet, do when would be an appropriate time to clean it? I feel like every six months is an awfully long time. How often does everyone clean theirs?
You want to use something that doesn't put our water vapor like a compressor can, or static electricity like a vacuum or leaf blower can. An electric blower like the DataVac ED-500 mentioned in the notes is best. Just make sure you hold the fans in place as you clean.
The air from the cans can get the fans spinning many times their normal speed. I have personally spun a fan too fast with a can of compressed air and it did make it much louder the next time I ran the system.
Oh and thanks for the tutorial man. I'm subscribing to you because I wanna start to build my own PCs instead of buying pre-built ones from people.
@TheMoosa90 Cleaning the computer as shown here may help. The CPU fan and PSU fan may be running at full speed trying to cool down. If you have dust built up on the PSU or CPU heatsink this can make it difficult for the fans to do their job. If the dust is clear and the temperatures lower one or both fans may be able to spin slower.
Haven't cleaned mine in 4 years :0 Gonna clean it tomorrow lol.
I can say that it was very easy and I used only one can of 'Fast Blast Duster.' Just don't tilt the can sideways while you use it. It was funny seeing clouds of smoke puff out of my machine.
Also, my desktop computer runs so much quieter now. Before, it was chugging and making tons of noise. Highly recommended doing this at least once a year.
lol yeah, same here. I looked in earlier and ._. fuck. That is A LOT of dust. I'm surprised it still runs. Every time I play BF3 my computer gets very loud
cleaning it tonight people from three years ago
What did you use?
It might increase the dust. Any opening in a computer case can allow air and dust to be sucked in by the cooling fans.
compresses air is so expensive here, like 15 bucks a can.
when i cleaned my computer last night, instead of just dusting while all of the components were still mounted inside, i actually took each component out of the computer, i took out the graphics card, the hard drives, the ram, the dvd drive, the power supply and i cleaned them individually. it took me 2 hours cause i took my time. i was surprised how dirty the ram was. I looked at everything several times over and wiped it down with care. next time i will actually pull out the motherboard and clean the entire case inside as well. I noticed a great difference in temps after cleaning; my cpu now runs idle at 70 degrees F where as before it ran at 90 degrees. I did not need 6 cans of duster to do all of this but my computer was nowhere as dusty as this computer was i only needed 1 & a half. I did all of this cause my graphics card manufacturer EVGA says you should clean your computer every 30 days, i will try to make this a practice but i am also going to buy an air compressor because canned duster isn't cheap.
thats a crappy graphics card if a lil dust can blow it up...
MrDisgruntledGamer1 *facepalm*
The CPU will turn the computer off if it gets too hot, a video card overheating with either turn the computer off or restart the computer. Freezing is most likely a driver problem or RAM. Try install the latest drivers for the video card. If you have the RAM overclocked try setting it to default speeds. Try removing half of the RAM sticks and see if the freezing stops. Then take out that RAM and put in the other sticks. This will let you figure out which stick is causing the freezes.
I greatly suggest adding an annotation at the beginning telling people to neturalize (grounding) their hands before touching anything inside the computer. I am sure you know of the dangers of electrostatic charge to components, but a lot of people who watch this people probably do not and are going willy-nilly in their computer with their hands charged up.
I always do. It's ok to use paper tower + a little water it evaporate quickly after you wipe with it, you can't go wrong with it
Dust on the motherboard isn't a problem. The dust on the fans and in the CPU and video card heatsinks are what you need to get clean.
Probably the best tutorial so far.
Can I use a hair dryer (with heat off) to clean the computer?
no 1 responded? i wana know too my laptop is dusty....
***** Yes you can, but it is to ineffective and will just blow dust further into the laptop. Get your local tech guy to clean it out for you.
I guess the spinning blades is no problem for the fan itself, but you will produce voltage through induction. so if the fan is connected to the motherboard, it won't be happy about that.
I just clean my desktop PC with an electric leaf blower outdoors. It gets the power supply and all fans very clean. You can watch me do this on my videos. I've done this for years many many times with no damage, and I saved $20 each time NOT buying compressed air. Also using a leaf blower, or vacuum or electric air blower will clean your pc better than the compressed air cans.
You can use a vacuum if you don't touch any circuit boards (never had any damage). I remove the fans and clean them with a cloth.
@killerportero No do not use anything but canned air. Hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers, etc. all produce static electricity which can damage electronic components like the ones in a computer. A 6 pack of compressed air is $5 at Walmart. Look for it in the computer peripherals section.
no man its the best thing to use when cleaning a computer. I always open up my computer and blow all the dust off ! looks brand new after cleaning :)
@sardo97 Once again. Do not use a leaf blower or vacuum cleaner. They put out static electricity which can kill your electronics. In addition, a leaf blower will spin the fans much faster than they are intended to and can damage them.
I never thought of using isopropyl alcohol for cleaning my fanblades, Thanks HPCBDVD! I agree you shouldn't dust it with a gas station compressor. you should invest in a small air compressor, you can use them forever and push a LOT of air very fast. Usually find them on sale for $50-$100 at a hardware store and it will save you money in the first few years. There is no risk of water or static with small air compressors and have any type of nozzle you could possibly need for cleaning a computer.
Dude, have you ever heard about compressed air from a compressor? You can ask someone working on a garrage to give you the air-gun pistol to blow the components. It remains as new, you don't wreck anything. What you do is very expensive and time-consumer. For a more efficient cleaning, I dismount the coolers and radiator, clean them with a brush, oil the bearing with fine mechanism oil, replace the thermal grease etc. It costs less than you just did (I have a 50 liters tank- 8 Bar pressure).
@jpenny01 It may just be a misunderstanding about what a molex connect is. I'm talking about a rectangular 4 pin plug that can power hard drives, optical drives and fans. A few older motherboard models had a spot for a molex connector on the motherboard to power specialized hardware. Is this what you are referring to?
I had my computer for about 4-5 years, and now I am just deciding to clean it. Once I took the case off, it looked like a mossy mammoth inside, I am surprised it didn't catch on fire.
It varies from model to model. Google Dell support, go to the first link, click Home or Business, click Driver and Downloads. Then enter your computer's service tag number and you'll find a link for the manual which will tell you how to get into the case.
do you use your computer as a hamster cage? Nice video tho
I've never cleaned a computer myself and I have some questions as I am about to clean mine.
Using an compressed air while chips and other stuff is inside the computer wont just damage them blowing some dust around them? There is really no chance of damaging anything while you are blowing air inside of everything? I mean, I always thought you had to remove the componets from inside and then clean up. I'm sorry if I sound stupid but I just have no idea.
This was a huge help, thank you!
I have a quick question. Should I ground the PC first? To avoid static shock.
Is this alcohol like the one used in hospitals and dispensaries ?
I mean is it the same alcohol that used for medical uses and killing germs ? or there is a different kind for cleaning like this one ?
***** Thanks.
+Diligent502 Isopropyl alcohol is the alcohol you're thinking of. The compound consists of a Propyl, or 3 carbon group (C3H5) with an OH on the second carbon. The compound is bactericidal and used in hand sanitizers. It was once even used as an anesthetic until it's neurotoxic qualities were discovered.
It will only speed up games if there is enough dust to be making the CPU or video card overheat to the point where they are automatically slowed down. It can make them quieter because without the dust the fans won't need to spin as fast to cool the CPU and video card.
It is better practice using air-blower to clean computers. I am using air-blower for over 3 years and do not try to stop any of the system fans while cleaning inside the computer. I would let them be as it is. I have never experienced any failure. I insist that nothing will happen to the fans or components inside because of high pressure air stream. Somebody think that processor fan would create electricity while using air-blower and the fans' ball-bearing would malfunction or unusable. These are all only myths.
I do agree that you don't have to dismantle and re-assemble everything for the purpose of cleaning the computer for the connectors might sometimes fail. This has happened to me while repeating the 40 pin IDE connector to the hdd and I had to buy a new connector.
@casecar No those fans would be removed to clean then put back. I'm running a thermaltake V3 now. My case is well lit so dust stands out. Monthly I open it and do a simple wipe down.
For sli and crossfire you only need one crossfire bridge for two cards. Two bridges for two cards can decrease performance
We're in the process of making the 2013 build your own computer videos. It is keeping us very busy.
This is the best how to video i've seen :)
When we made this video you could get a 6 pack of compressed air for $4. I recently switched to a Datavac ED500 for dust removal which works very well. To be fair we didn't use all of the 5 cans of air shown in this video. We just switched to a new can when the cans froze up. They still had plenty of air in them and after defrosting would work again.
I've had my recent computer for a lil over 10 months(planning on cleaning it first time next month). The only real dust is in the cooling fan and power supply. Wondering how some people's units get so damn dusty lol.
you should get a cpu cooler that blows the way your case fans do. really improves airflow
Omg fix those cables 0-0
Unfortunately that case has very poor cable management options. That combined with a massive amount of hardware in the computer, well you see the results. I will soon be moving the contents of that computer to a newer case with excellent cable management options along with a modular power supply to cut down on the number of cables.
+Michael Cooper What if i just use a vacuum?
Hi I like this video, especially your tips concerning clean up my pc. A product I also found useful for speed up your computer was Skyarza Faster PC Star find it on google if you want
- via YTPak(.com)
+Divine Pc Master Race On a practical level, gets rid of cables from air flow paths, leading to better temps. Also removes surface area for dust to build up on, so you get a less dusty rig.
More than that, its looks a heap better without a ton of cables running everywhere, especially important if you have a case window. Also a matter of pride, you just built an awesome computer, you put some good workmanship into it.
Although admittedly your cable management options are limited in that case, no space behind the mobo tray to run cables.
+BlackhawkX02 A vacuum will build up static that could kill components in a computer.
What's a superior alternative to canned compressed air? Something with more power that I can buy? A specialized computer cleaning pressurized air brush or something?
They make little hand pumps that work great. It only has 1 burst of air. But each time u squeeze it's a fresh burst. No power no batteries no static!
I clean all the components with a soft toothbrush and 96% alcohol, works very good and Im able to get to the tricky spots without any difficulty, also the brush sends loads of dust clouds into the air so keep you vacuum cleaner on while doing it. Its alot cheaper and practical than buying those Dust remover sprays....
why wouldn't you wipe most of the dust off first then use the air? your just spraying more dust around inside the case.
is there any kind of safely sucking air out instead of blowing it in? i dont want to take my whole components apart and dont want the dust spreading out in the system. also compressed air is not the cheapest thing... can you possibly ground a vacuum effectively to do that?
2:33
Isn't it dangerous to wear a ring due to static?
@DragonSniper7 I know the direction say to use it in short burst but that only goes so far before it freezes up. Did you see all the dust and cat hair?
Would it make it ok then if I use a compressor I would blow the air from a little further away?
Using a standard vacuum blasts the computer with static electricity. A blower intended for use on electronics or canned air are the only safe ways to blow dust out of a computer.
Hello! would you know any supplies to clean my computer inside and out that is cheap and easy to use? thanks in advanced!
Did a cat live inside your computer or something?
hahahahahahaha....
probably went inside because there where rats running around in it.
Do you live next to a beach? Because that is a hell load of dust! There's always dust in the beach
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