Recommended way to clean dust from CPU & GPU fans?

Hey,

I couldn't find a relevant thread elsewhere in the forum, so since I have a P150EM I thought I'd ask here: I've noticed that my temperatures have gone up a bit on average lately, and I tried blowing the fans which helped a bit, but I think there's still lots of it. Is there a recommended way to clean off the dust? (i.e. use compressed air etc)

 

Forget compressed air. It's tricky not to get air condensate rendering dry dust wet black goo that'll never go away. Use the smallest industrial air blower (leaf blower) you can find while making sure the fans' fins are fixed by a screwdriver or something of the sort. It's what I've been using since 2001.

 

Anytype of blower like NeoCzar mentioned will work. Compressed air is your best bet though, thats what it was designed for. Just don't turn it upside down or sideways or it will shoot out the liquid inside of it which is not good. Just keep the can upright.

Along with cleaning the fans make sure you get the vents too as dust blocking those will affect air flow.

 

have never used compressed air thus far always took out the fans and heatsinks themselves and disassembled the fan casings in order to properly clean everything up

 

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Does that involve repasting anything or is it a matter of unscrewing and screwing it back?

 

well it depends! the cpu heatsink would definitely involve repasting, whereas the gpu heatsink is divided into two parts: one for the gpu core and one for the vRAM and rest of the card. most times, one can just take out the latter and thus make enough space to clean out both gpu heatsink parts, but sometimes a repaste is in order here as well.

as for the fans / fan casings: no repasting involved here, just need to take out the respective screws, disassemble the fan casing, disconnect the actual fan from the casing and then u can clean them both up very nicely. i even go so far as to wash the fans with warm water and dry them using a hair dryer just have to make sure theyre completely dry before u put them back into the casings, of course

 

I don't generally recommend compressed air either; it's sort of the poor-man's way of cleaning out the system. They're also liable to force liquid into your system too, as Hutsady outlined. Then again, disassembling for a cleaning can void your warranty, depending on who you buy from. An air compressor (you can get small cheap ones) is a little more ideal for blowing out the vent(s). Just remember that some of that dust is going to be forced further into the system.

+1 jaybee.

 

Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac 500-Watt 0.75-HP Electric Duster 120-Volt - Amazon.com


Good mini air compressor for cleaning out computers, dunno if posting this link breaks any rules?

 

I have that and am really impressed with it. Its kinda pricy compared to a can of compressed air but if you have multiple computers and like to clean them often its worth it IMO.

 

Yeah, the way I think about it though like you said, I have multiple computers so it saves me from buying multiple cans of compressed air. In the end of it all, you save money IMO.

 

Absolutely. It's akin to purchasing disposable razors or buying a solid electric razor. Best method is still to disassemble it (if you can do so without damaging it and without negating your warranty), but these little air compressors are great.