Friendly Reminder to Clean Out Your Computer (w/ Pic!)

[Ryuzaki]

So I've been noticing that one of the fans on my computer has been running faster and louder lately and my computer has become a bit more sluggish and less responsive.

I knew that this meant there was a heat problem.

I have temperature sensors all over the place, and I've noticed that the ambient temp, CPU A, and my main hard drive sensor were all running really hot, along with the RPM's on my back fan running a good 100-200 over what I've got set as my baseline.

I always vacuum the front of the computer where air gets pushed in and out. The entire front and back surfaces are covered in little dots so air flows really well. I make sure the front is clear every time I vacuum, but like a lazy bastard I never messed with the back.

So late last night, I opened up my computer and face-palmed so hard I broke my neck. Not only at this point did I realize every single "dot" on the back surface of the computer was clogged (no air coming in), but my back fan was just circulating hot air. And then look at all this dust:

I vacuumed as much as I could out, then air-duster'd the rest out, then vacuumed the new loose dust again. Immediately my temperatures started dropping. This morning, temps are as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit lower in some areas.

Computer is running like a champ again. No amount of heat sinks can help if air isn't flowing across them. Clean out your computers! If any of you find a snake or a mouse, shame on you for being worse than me.

 

[emp]

WTF? What time are we talking about here?

And where does that computer stand? IN the middle of a sawmill?

::emp::

 

[DeltaNine]

Haha shit dude thats a lot of skin!

 

[Murk]

Holy sh-t dude, throw that bad boy in the tub and run the shower!!

 

[stackcash]

MMMmmmmm..... @Ryuzaki skin.

 

[Ryuzaki]

@ you guys

That's dog and cat dander, I suspect, plus your typical dust. That's probably... two or three years worth. Maybe a bit longer. Desktop is on the ground under the desk, where the critters like to lay and mess around. I'm surprised there's not a boatload of hair in there, honestly.

 

[SheIsaBlogger]

Wow that's gross haha... Post an updated pic so that this isn't your legacy?

 

[Maxime]

Vacuum? Get cleaning air cans you don't want all that static electricity from the vacuum

 

[Stellar]

Haha, wow I thought my rig got dusty, but damn, you've taken it to a new level. You might consider getting some hepafilters to put around the house if you have a lot of pets. I've got 2 dogs/2 cats so I've got hepafilters in almost every room of the house.

Let that dust and pet dander get sucked into the hepafilter instead of your PC/lungs