How often should i clean my GAMING PC

Here is a video showing how to clean a case. Two cautions, though.

One, if you have a fan on the side panel of your case, don't just yank the side panel and fan cable off like the guy in the video did. Tip the panel enough to see where the fan cable goes, then reach inside and carefully unplug it, noting where and how it is plugged in. That will avoid possible damage to the cable and the motherboard and will let you see where to plug the cable back in when you are done.

Two, there is good chance the CPU cooler fins are choked with dust. You may need to remove the fan on the cooler to do a good job of cleaning them out. Remove the fan only; do NOT remove the cooler. The cooler has a thermal paste between it and the CPU and, if you remove the cooler, the paste will need replacing to avoid destroying the CPU from overheating after you replace the cooler. It will be much easier for you to just to leave the cooler in place.

I suggest using a cotton cloth instead of paper towels. Paper towels will shred on sharp edges and will make more work for you to clean up. Wooden toothpicks are useful for dislodging dust from tight places, such as between the fins of the CPU cooler. They can also be poked through a grill to keep fans from spinning. A thin piece of cardboard, such as a business card, also works well between fins; just don't use plastic.

Again, do not disassemble your graphics card, including the fans for the same reason you do not want to remove your CPU cooler. It will be easier if you can remove the card (after removing the PSU cables, remove the two screws on the bracket on the left end and release the latch on the right end of the socket on the motherboard socket) but, if you have to force it to get it out, just leave it in place. Spray air between the fan blades (without spinning the fans) to blow out as much dust as possible in the heat sink fins. If using canned air and the card is still in the computer, bend the straw to keep the can upright to avoid spraying liquid which could damage components. A partially filled can is easier to use here. You can also spray air through openings in the sides of the card.

If the computer is really dirty, you can figure on spending an hour or more getting it clean again. It isn't difficult but it is tedious and time consuming (I have seen cases so filthy, it would take all day to clean). Once you get it clean (it doesn't have to be brand new clean, btw), the more often you clean it, the easier and faster it will be to clean. How often to clean it will depend on where you live. I live in a dusty desert. I vacuum off the outside of my case and dust filters once a week (do not use a vacuum on the inside!), then blow out the inside of the case and back blow the filters once a month. It takes me less than minute to vacuum the outside and ten minutes or less to blow out the case as long as I do it often enough.

Now that is an interesting thing that there is not an app to set off a small alarm for letting one know if the temps are getting close to having a damaging effect to say the CPU or GPU.

Now I know my Ivy bridge build the fan control device I have set in the front panel will set of a very loud beeping sound when the fan speeds are getting too high or at least higher than I set the fan speed in the BIOS.

Talking of the BIOS there are settings for fan speeds which will also alarm when they get too high and I am guessing that is because the device they are trying to cool is getting to hot - I stand to be corrected of course. The BIOS on that machine is EUFI and while I think it is good it is very convoluted to me as semi literate user but I am also thinking anyone who is very confident in using it may know of a way to use other settings to monitor and alarm the user to high temps when they occur - again I stand to be be corrected.

Some Google searches came up with suggestions of including a BAT file in the registry to also monitor and set an alarm off in the event of temps getting too high. To me that sounds like to someone who is conversant with writing files like that it would be a simple thing to somehow hook it into the temp sensing circuit and then to one of those piezo electric devices for an alarm system.

But I am just thinking out loud here and maybe these ideas are wishful thinking.

Now the cleaning of GPU's unless they are really quite complicate build devices are for me at least not hard to do and I think that a change of compound is not such a bad thing anyway.
For the fin cleaning on coolers of any sort including laptops I use those craft chenille strips - very cheap and so easy to use see pic for what I mean. Fans I find those cotton buds are really useful to get into crevices with.

ICIT2LOL said:

Now that is an interesting thing that there is not an app to set off a small alarm for letting one know if the temps are getting close to having a damaging effect to say the CPU or GPU...

Actually, there are several. This one is popular.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

Actually, there are several. This one is popular.

Hmm I did see that one Jeannie didn't realise it actually set off an audible alarm and if ti does I am just wondering what device the alarm is sounded through?

ICIT2LOL said:

Hmm I did see that one Jeannie didn't realise it actually set off an audible alarm and if ti does I am just wondering what device the alarm is sounded through?

It does have an alarm. I'm guessing the alarm will sound through the speakers. You would set the alarm to sound off at a certain temperature, then, if the temperature continues to rise to the next setting, shut the computer down.

Hi,
Thought there was already built in safety features
Premature shutdowns and bsod's :)

Their is built in throttling when the temp go way to high.
I would prefer to know what the temps are before it throttles.
Just use Real Temp and minimize to the Taskbar and it will show the high temp.


Jack

I don't game so, I rarely get my CPU very hot (and never even close to too hot), I just use Core Temp (use the U.S. Mirror) to monitor my CPU temperatures. Core Temp has over heat protection but I don't think it has an alarm.