How often do you clean your Rig?

[kellymac35]

About every six month I tear my computer down and give it a good cleaning. I spent about 4 hours yesterday, Removed both video cards,Cooling tower and all 5 fans. Got about 3 degree drop in processor temps when idle.

 

[z3r010]

I just wait until they fill with dust then buy a new one

 

[Kari]

I just wait until they fill with dust then buy a new one

If I were a rich man,
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I were a wealthy man.
I wouldn't have to clean my PC.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
If I were a biddy biddy rich,
Yidle-diddle-didle-didle man.
​

 

[Dinesh]

cant open my laptop...

 

[mickey megabyte]

i'm very lazy - i've got an easy-open case with a scrubbable dust filter, but generally i don't bother.

i only clean if i open my case for whatever reason, and notice a lot of ghost turds on the fan blades etc.

my favourite tool is an old toothbrush.

 

[badman5]

Once every year.

 

[Tews]

The cleaning lady takes care of that, when she remembers to come in that is....

 

[smarteyeball]

I give the outside of both the side and front intakes a wipe every couple of days. The fan blades themselves get a once over each month.

The complete tear down process? Overdue. But I believe that procrastination plays a large part there

 

[garysgold]

I generally blow the dust out 2-3 times a year. Don't break it down unless I'm changing something anyway.

 

[pparks1]

I'd say on my older PC's, they get a shot of compressed air maybe once per year. On my newer boxes, I've been using Antec cases with the air filter screens and I take those out and dust em off about every 3 months. I just changed a power supply in one of my Antec Sonata II cases that had been running for about 14 months, I kid you not, the thing looked like brand new inside.

 

[Everlong]

I have dust guards over my intake fans, so it's just a matter of sliding them out every 6 months or so and wiping them down then I'm good to go for another 6 months.

 

[Muad Dib]

About once every 3 months except in the winter. Whenever I wash the car I take it outside and hose it off. It is just too cold in the wintertime.

 

[mickey megabyte]

About once every 3 months except in the winter. Whenever I wash the car I take it outside and hose it off. It is just too cold in the wintertime.

you can stick it in the washing machine in the winter. just be careful on the brand of soap powder you use.

 

[Antman]

you can stick it in the washing machine in the winter. just be careful on the brand of soap powder you use.

I clean my keyboard(s) in the dishwasher. Really.

 

[pparks1]

I clean my keyboard(s) in the dishwasher. Really.

I remember hearing Leo Laporte saying that he did the same thing. He kept 2 keyboards at home, would run 1 through dishwasher and give it a few weeks to completely dry out and just flip flop back and forth between them.

 

[mikinho]

About twice a month I'll vacuum and . Living in Houston and not being a fan of AC my house stays a little warm. If I don't keep the computers clean they will get hotter than I like.

cant open my laptop...

What laptop? If your warranty has expired it is definitely worth opening them up and cleaning. The dust will build up and eventually kill the fan. I learned the hard way with a Dell years ago, the fan gave out and the system would die several times a day when the CPU reached 98C.

 

[Muad Dib]

Seriously now. About every 3 months.

One thing I do that I encourage to others is, if their desktop arrangement places the computer tower on the floor, to get a "stand" of some kind to raise it off the floor 4-6 inches. This will minimize the amount of floor level "dust bunnies" that get sucked up by the intake fans/vents.

A nice "antique" wood packing box 9"w x 24"l x 6"h works very well for me personally (watch for them at yard-sales/flea-markets).

 

[Frostbite]

Air Filters on the front of the case say once a month. Use compressed air inside say every three months.

 

[petrossa]

Being a warm dark place i tend to clean it as soon as i see the cockroaches running around it.

 

[mickey megabyte]

doesn't your custom cooling system suck the cockroaches away?