Looking after your 3XS System

[Ben @ Scan]

Working in 3XS Systems Support for the past 5 years I have seen some horrors and the reason for this is often down to the fact that customers are oblivious to the goings on inside their PC systen.

I wanted to outline this for any customers and in general any PC user who may be reading this thread.

Every PC has intake fans that pull air in to cool internal components,the more powerful the PC the bigger and faster the system the more fans are needed and therefore more air is drawn in to cool everything down,even Water Cooled Systems have fans that cool the radiators down.

Drawing cool air in is good for the system but it has its draw back, air contains dust and fluff particles that are statically charged and these are pulled inside the system and over a time if not maintained can cause component failure and even in extreme cases a fire inside the case ! Even fan filters cannot completely eliminate the dust getting into the system.

Remember these points and look after your system and it will reward you by lasting longer

1. Your 3XS System is your responsibility to look after
2. Systems need servicing and maintaining in order to look after them,after all you have your car serviced and your boiler etc so why should your PC be different
3. Cleaning of a system that is returned to Scan is a chargeable service so If you want the system cleaned by us when it is returned for repair/upgrade we can give you a price for this service we are not saying if its dusty or dirty inside we wont work on it, if it is what we consider to be excessively dusty inside we will advise of a cleaning charge prior to working on the system

I will get some pictures uploaded showing some of these warranty voided components and systems next week to give you an idea...of what to look for and just how bad the inside of a system can get when it is not looked after

Watch this space

[dips]

Hi Ben,

How do we maintain watercooled systems such as the Black Widow Extreme system. Can the customer maintain this especially with the water top up. How often does this have to be done. When I bought my system in December, Philip said that it does not require a top up for at least 18 mths. I have the part number for the water being in used in my system. Can we have a video of this if possible or step by step instructions.

Regards

Dips

[jim]

There is a video in this sticky thread: http://forums.hexus.net/scan-3xs-sys...an-di-hui.html

It's not the same model, but may be helpful to you.

[Ben @ Scan]

The video is a suitable guide as it gives customers an idea of what to do with regarding to topping the reservoir up, 3XS systems, not all reservoirs are the same but the principle of topping the water up is

In the first year we will collect the system and top up and flush it for them here free of charge providing the customer keeps all the packaging.

In the second year we can also do this but charge carriage and any water used.

Outside 2 years we will charge carriage, Water used and Labour

Hope this helps answer your questions

[dips]

Hi Ben,

How easy is it if I decided that I want to top up the system myself and into the coming years.

Regards

Dips

[Ben @ Scan]

Hi Dips

The reservoir on your system will also pull forward like the triad one and is easily topped up, on some systems you have to remove the DVDRW drive to do this so this may be the case on yours if he drive is above the reservoir

Regards

Ben

[Lee H]

If you want to see the extreme end of what systems can look like inside when they've gathered a bit of dust and are not regularly cleaned, I would recommend checking the slide show out here

[GheeTsar]

If you want to see the extreme end of what systems can look like inside when they've gathered a bit of dust and are not regularly cleaned, I would recommend checking the slide show out here

Taken from that link:

[abs_rio]

I was just wondering what is the best way to clean your pc (air-cooled).

Some people use a vacuum cleaner whereas others use compressed air.

What does the 3XS team recommend?

[leepen@scan]

We use an air compressor @ Scan to clean machines but I have always stripped my machine to clean it, it's a labour of love.

Compressed air and an anti-static brush have always been my favourite way of cleaning a machine out at home. Air filters should be hand washed and if you want to go all out, I strip my case once a year entirely and wipe it down with a damp cloth just to remove the dust that won't move freely.

All the best

[Lee H]

Here are a few images which have been taken of some of the cleaning tasks that we have been doing while fixing and updating a few 3XS systems ;

CPU COOLERS

Here are a few before and after shots of some of the CPU coolers we have seen here.








After a good cleaning with the air compressor

GRAPHICS CARDS









MISC IMAGES

[Ben @ Scan]

Thanks for sorting the picture uploads for us Lee , these are some classic examples of systems we have had back in repairs some less than 6 months old

[Lee H]

Here are a few more images I've been asked to upload

These are from a system which was built in November and the system was experiencing stability issues and crashing all the time...

[WN|PREDATOR]

Lol, o dear are people really that bad?!
You can't believe some things till you see them. Hummmmm i wonder why his system had stability probs, and i wonder why my 3xs system lasted 4 years with no probs?!
Can't wait for my new 3xs system and im going to keep it so clean.
Was that a filter Lee that had the dust in the front of the fortress case, is it that easy to clean?

[Ben @ Scan]

Hi

The Filter on the Front of the Fortress Case just slides out so there is no excuse for not keeping it cleaned

Also tobacco and smoking around a system can void components, nicotine can damage motherboards and the manufacturers can void the warranty as it is classed as neglect


Regards

Ben

[Neil Porter]

Was about to post a query about cleaning the intake fan grills when I saw this - the removable front fan filter is a great idea (now beautifully clean!), but how should I clean the top fan's filter? The filter can be withdrawn forwards a bit, but then is constrained by a vertical metal support which is part of the case. After the clever arrangement on the front fan, this seems a bit of a design fault.....

Is it possible to drop the top fan unit to gain access (without removing a load of other components), or is blowing it out from below with a can of compressed air or similar the only (rather messy) way to clean this mesh?

Above notwithstanding, I must admit the fan filters do a good job, as not much dust has accumulated inside the case.

Neil