why dust is your enemy

[pilotman2004]

So I was doing a general checkup on my friends computer that I built, and decided to check the temp its been running at. I recently assimilated it to fold for me, so I wanted to see what kind of load temps it was running. He has an A64 3200+ (socket 754) with a ThermalTake Venus 12 HSF. So, I open up the Abit EQ to see what its doing, and did not believe my eyes. 82 degrees celcius?!? Holy crap! Turned up the fan till it was as loud as a hoover, still around 80. Hmm... somethings definitely not right. Remembering the article on the [H] front page about dust build up, I check the HSF for dust. Upon discovering a dryer lint trap above his CPU, I decided to shut down his comp and clean it a bit. After finally busting out the canned air and blasting away, I got it cleaned out. And the results? 52 degrees celcius at load! Moral of the story - my friend is a lazy bastard who needs to dust his computer more often, and you guys should too!

So here it is:


Gah! Dust everywhere!

First attack with the stickyness that is duct tape :

So a lot of dust came off, but there was still a crap load there. Need more firepower!

The solution:


Moving in for the kill:


Ahhhh... much better!


So, dust trap @ 82°C = bad.
Clean HSF @ 52°C = good.

I would have to say that a 30°C drop in load temps is worth keeping your computer clean, wouldn't you?

 

[dariob]

Its even worse if you smoke. One time I had to blow out this client's (chainsmoker) PC with an industrial strength air compressor because it was so bad.

 

[pilotman2004]

Thats freakin gross, I'm glad I just have to battle dust bunnies.

 

[Parabellum]

Air filters on some cases really helps reducing dust. I think all modern cases should come with some.

Regarding your test, I knew that dust had some bad effects but was not expecting that much

Para

 

[Dominat0r]

OMG wow thats alot of caked on dust.....looks like you smoke in your house huh? That dust looks like its the smokey type =)

I never let me stuff go more then 2-3 months without a hit from the canned air. Nice to keep it all clean and looking pretty.

 

[pilotman2004]

looks like you smoke in your house huh?

Actually, no. It is my friends computer that I built (he's my suitemate), and he doesn't smoke. Thats just built up dust. You would think that having a side window would motivate him to clean it more, but I guess not...

Nice to keep it all clean and looking pretty.

I agree, I clean my computer so often its rediculous.

 

[Dominat0r]

Actually, no. It is my friends computer that I built (he's my suitemate), and he doesn't smoke. Thats just built up dust. You would think that having a side window would motivate him to clean it more, but I guess not...


I agree, I clean my computer so often its rediculous.

haha...sure he is puffing the cheebah and blowing into his machine to test his ariflow =) JK....If that were my friend, i would take away his machine till he learns to take care of his PC. =) mauahah

 

[poundofflour]

that is an obscene amount of dust. it appears as though air filters are definitely worth investing in...

 

[Dominat0r]

that is an obscene amount of dust. it appears as though air filters are definitely worth investing in...

Honestly.....Air filters in my eyes do more bad then good. I mean it helps ALOT keeping dust out, but it restricts the fan from reaching its top airflow. Not only that, but since its restrictive, it will in turn, make the fan louder. Also, since he let his CPU get that dusty, what you think his Filters will look? hehehe

I think he should just have a can of air duct taped to his hand. Just keep some air handy and blow it out every few weeks and your will not need filters.

 

[pilotman2004]

I think a filter on the front intake (Antec Super Lanboy) would definitely help his dust problems. With the big 120mm fan up front, the restriction from a filter wouldn't hurt that bad. Of course, canned air works well too...

 

[ozziegn]

it never ceases to amaze me at how lazy some people can be. especially when it comes to regular cleaning of their PCs when dusting is the issue.

heck, I use an air compressor on my SFF system once a month and I always get a good amount of dust out of it it so you can imagine how much dust must come from someone's system who's only done it once or twice since they bought the darn thing. and thats if they have in fact done it at all.

for example, I had to work on a buddy of mine's machine once. the outside of it was so freakin' nasty cuz it had dog hair all over the top and on the back. so I knew I had to clean that sh*t up because there was no way in hell I was going to bring that trash in my house.

so I fired up my compressor and I opened the side of his case. I couldnt believe how much dust and dog hair that was in that thing. it was so bad that you could barely see the fins on the CPU's cooler and you could barely tell what color the mobo was. I mean it was that bad...

I just dont know how some people can live like filthy pigs. I by no means am the cleanest person on earth but at least I always try to take care of what I do own and I try to keep my belongings as clean as possible.

 

[ozziegn]

Honestly.....Air filters in my eyes do more bad then good.

yup, air filters are a waste of money because they do restrict the flow which is what actually cools our systems. duh....

I say screw using air filters and just make it a regular habbit of blowing out your system.

 

[wtiger]

Actually i find that porous airfilters seem to be the best. It keeps out the relatively big stuff (lint type stuff, animal hair and the like) so that the stuff that does get through doesn't block up the fins of heatsink's unless you let it collect for and obscene ammount of time w/o cleaning. I only ned to clean out my case every couple months with that type of filtering and my computer is in a very dusty area. Granted I usually clean it more often, but I've let it go 3-4 months like this with nothing more than a couple degrees of difference in proc temp to let me know I'd been being lazy.

 

[Top Nurse]

Actually that doesn't look too bad as I have seen worse. What I find amazing is that computers seem to tolerate a LOT of heat before you start getting errors, assuming you are not OC the hell out of it in the first place. I think PC makers take all this into account when they set the clock speeds they will offer JQP. Since it seems to take about 1-2 years to get this bad the manufacturers warranty is no longer in effect and JQP is then encouraged to invest in another new PC. One heck of a marketing plan, huh?

I live close to the beach and we tend to get a lot of very fine silica sand EVERYWHERE in the house. So I just keep a bottle of canned air hanging around and just start blasting anytime I notice a little dust building up on the video card. Fan filters are dubious and the only ones that work well are too restrictive. That HEPA filter takes more juice than my SLI rig does

 

[pilotman2004]

What I find amazing is that computers seem to tolerate a LOT of heat before you start getting errors, assuming you are not OC the hell out of it in the first place.

What I found amazing was how stable his computer was, even at those temps. That is definitely a testament to the design of the processor. I would have thought that it would have started locking up well before then. I like AMD. (before you flame-mongerers jump: I'm not saying anything bad about ANY other processor!)

 

[ballistic]

haha...sure he is puffing the cheebah and blowing into his machine to test his ariflow =) JK....

Uhhhh... I have NEVER done that...

 

[Top Nurse]

What I found amazing was how stable his computer was, even at those temps. That is definitely a testament to the design of the processor. I would have thought that it would have started locking up well before then. I like AMD. (before you flame-mongerers jump: I'm not saying anything bad about ANY other processor!)

Well....Intel SUCKS Intel SUCKS Intel SUCKS

I had an extreme case of temp overheat while doing a project for my brother and I'm really glad we used an AMD or the Intel wouild have been toast! Try putting a PC in an enclosed small space and turning on the juice. After about 15 minutes the CPU temps are getting near to 180*F. We got the temps down to 150-160*F which is where it has been running for the last 2 years without a hiccup

 

[Peach]

Well....Intel SUCKS Intel SUCKS Intel SUCKS

I had an extreme case of temp overheat while doing a project for my brother and I'm really glad we used an AMD or the Intel wouild have been toast! Try putting a PC in an enclosed small space and turning on the juice. After about 15 minutes the CPU temps are getting near to 180*F. We got the temps down to 150-160*F which is where it has been running for the last 2 years without a hiccup

Actually, the Intel chip would not be toast, the AMD would probably have a better chance of "toasting" than the Intel, I know Intel CPUs have thermal throttling on them to prevent toasting, I am unsure if AMDs do this.

 

[killernoodle]

Ugh... you n00bs never learn.

Nearly all motherboards nowadays have sensors that detect a chip overheating and cut the power. I dont think I have heard of any chip frying from heat since the days of the old athlons.

 

[Peach]

I only said that because of the videos on tomshardware when they just tank the heatsinks off the processor, and the P4 rig just turns off while the Athlon XP rig goes down in a blaze of glory, literally.

 

[nylint]

Worked on more than one computer that died from smoking.
You can't blow out TAR with canned air.

 

[N H O]

the air filter in my sonata works fairly good and my case temps is 28C

 

[Runner]

No, its not my PC

Yes, it was dead. Dust isn't my enemy, dust is my entertainer, until I have to clean it. Funniest part about it is that the fan wasn't obstructed at all by that mess, it still spun.

 

[influx]

Whats the highest temperature you've gotten to without killing your cpu?

I hit 82c on my laptop while working with a big photoshop file.

 

[NightRaven]

Yeah, I get a ton of dust buildup where I live. If I don't clear out the dust every month or so, I can actually notice my temps steadily rise several degrees as my heatsink gets clogged.

 

[[Tripod]MajorPayne]

O my to the guy with the dust cakes on the HS. Forget canned air. You're going to need an air compressor for that. Or, better yet, burn it all and never let that user touch a computer again. Unless it was one of your relatives or good friends. Then, perhaps you should gently explain the merits of periodic cleaning.

 

[_Korruption_]

http://members.shaw.ca/salvo/95sm.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/salvo/96sm.jpg

LOL!

 

[Dominat0r]

Wow man, i cant belive how many PC geeks out there that dont keep they puters dust free. You guys making me cry with the amount of dust I have been seeing here.

 

[pilotman2004]

Yes, it was dead. Dust isn't my enemy, dust is my entertainer, until I have to clean it. Funniest part about it is that the fan wasn't obstructed at all by that mess, it still spun.

The scariest part of that picture is the fact that the dust built up on a heatsink like that in the first place. The fins on my friends Venus 12 are so close together one bit of dust is going to clog it. That think had gigantic aluminum fins, and it STILL was caked! He didn't happen to empty his vacuum bags into his computer, did he?

 

[Spare-Flair]

I use pantyhose filters

This way, I only have to put a vacuum hose or a dustbuster to the parts that are filtered to clean it out. If I had to open the case and blow it all out with a compressor every now and then, it'd be a serious headache because of my setup, but I'd need to stick pens in all my fans including PSU and vidcard because they are so low friction that a compressor would blow them to high RPMs which is not good for the motors.

In fact, my case is completely sealed off from air intake except for where it's filtered. I employed a liberal amount of electrical tape to almost every gap where air could potentially leak through.