Spring Cleaning

[iftiq]

I've got some spare time and I'm thinking of cleaning my fairly old self built computer. It's managed to pick up a lot of dust and the intake/exhaust vents are essentially clogged full of dust and fur balls. I figure I should probably also crack open the case and try to dust inside as well.

Specifications:
CPU: Intel Core2Due E6600 (Conroe) running at stock speeds
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
RAM: 4Gb
MB: ASUS P5N32 SLi SE Deluxe
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4850, ATI Radeon HD 4650 (not Crossfired)
HD: Western Digital 2500KS
SSD: OCZ Core 60GB (fairly rubbish/stuttery first gen SSD)

I'm wondering whether it's worth completely rebuilding it- as in taking it all apart dusting off the individual components and then putting it all back together again? Or whether I should play it safe (and lazy) and just try to dust off the exposed bits as best I can? Wondering if anyone has any opinions either way?

I'm pretty sure the CPU heatsink/fan will be caked with dust as well, but I'm quite scared of removing this and then trying to reseat it- I know I'll probably have to reapply the thermal compound stuff as well if I do.

My main motivation for doing all this (apart from basic hygiene) is that I've noticed the computer has started to run a little warm. I used coretemp to watch temperatures while running Prime95. I have idle core temps of 65 C, but after 15 minutes of the Prime95 torture test these spike to 80-83 C, at which point I stopped the test. Coretemp indicates that 85 C is the Intel mandated maximum for my CPU.

I'd be curious to hear how others maintain/clean their PCs and what sort of temperature improvements this results in? Also if anyone has any tips or advice it would be much appreciated.

[Sputnik]

Easiest way is with compressed air and/or a vacuum cleaner but, Compressed air dislodges dust from almost everywhere.

[pooley]

I use a can of compressed air and a paint brush for my pc cleaning duties. Your cpu does sound to be on the hot side seeing it's @65 idle at stock and with the freezer 7 pro.
If it was me I would remove the cooler and give it a good clean, reapply with some good quality thermal paste and reseat it.

[Queelis]

Yup, and taking the GPU heatsinks helps a lot as well. I think I've dropped the temperatures by 20 degrees C after taking off GPU heatsink and cleaning it after 1.5 years of use. So absolutely worth it

[Rob @ Scan]

Those temps seem very high for stock speeds!

Compressed air is your friend with this. At scan we use a compressor, but cans of air will do the job!

I'd take your CPU HSF off the board and give it a good blast out. Same with your graphics cards.

(If you use a compressor make sure you stick a finger in your fans to stop them spinning as you could end up damaging the bearings)

Make sure you take out any fan filters and blast/wash them aswell.

You'll be surprised at the difference just a small amount of dust can make to CPU temps!!

[Rob @ Scan]

You'll find a few more tips and a few pics to see how bad things can get here:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-3xs-sys...xs-system.html

[iftiq]

Thanks for all the help guys. I took it all apart yesterday, cleaned out a mountain of dust from the heatsink and other bits as well as reseating the CPU heatsink. It's made a massive difference as I now I have idle temps of 35-40 C.

Thanks for all the advice.

[Rob @ Scan]

Result!

That's a sign of a job well done!

[iftiq]

Yeah, I'm amazed at how much of a difference it made. I had a moment of panic when I couldn't even get it to post after rebuilding it, but it was just that I'd connected the front panel USB connector backwards.

Also it seems that the dust was acting as a pretty good sound muffler, so now it sounds like a jet engine under my desk...still, I think I prefer it being loud and quick rather than hot and slow.