how often to you clean your heatsinks

[ebola]

just curious as to how often people clean these things. i usually do it when i change parts on the computer which doesnt happen often enough.

[rjiemamam]

i have a p1 200.. i just cleaned it the other day.. the dust was only a couple inches thick.. it still ran good..

i put some filters in intake holes on my new case.. so i dont think cleaning would be much of a problem.

[Ridenow]

On my computer I usually have the cover off, so I blow a little canned air at it whenever I can see dust in there.

[outhouse]

All PC's gather dust differently and you should inspect and clean the dust out on regular basis when yours has enough that it warrents a good cleaning. I live with a Molucan Cockatoo and the dust is bad in my house so every 2 weeks a have to give mine a good cleaning.

[Oni]

I cleaned mine just yesterday (which was a chore, because i had to take the hs off VERY gently, due to a damaged processor) and it was full of dust! I cleaned it out real good w/ some paper towels and a LOT of alcohol. Then again, my sister and my mother both smoke like chimineys, so it probably needed it. If your house dosn't have a lot of dust, or people who smoke, you should be fine. Just give it a look every now and then.

[Colin]

Fan filters. Enough said.

[krakerman]

i clean mine every once in a while. esp. the stupid blue orb i have. can anyone suggest something better than the blorb for vid cards and chipsets? blorb is ok, but i wonder how effective its cooling actually is. also, somehow i get dust gathering UNDER the heatsink, with some even getting near the core... now i know it gets in because those 4 black foam supports hold the heatsink up, but is that bad? i was worried it might ignite...

[outhouse]

krakerman (Jun 10, 2001 11:23 p.m.):
i clean mine every once in a while. esp. the stupid blue orb i have. can anyone suggest something better than the blorb for vid cards and chipsets? YA I DONT LIKE THE BORB EITHER I CUT DOWN SOME LARGE CPU HSF's WITH A HACKSAW AND USED JB WELD ON ONE AND SUPER GLUE ON 4 CORNERS WITH THERMAL COMPOUND IN THE MIDDLE. THEY WORK GREAT AND MUCH COOLER THEN THE BORB blorb is ok, but i wonder how effective its cooling actually is. also, somehow i get dust gathering UNDER the heatsink, with some even getting near the core... now i know it gets in because those 4 black foam supports hold the heatsink up, but is that bad? i was worried it might ignite...

[krakerman]

hmm nice idea ;-) might give that a whirl sometime (just need some spare time and someone with tools ;-) )

[Colin]

krakerman (Jun 10, 2001 11:23 p.m.):
. also, somehow i get dust gathering UNDER the heatsink, with some even getting near the core... now i know it gets in because those 4 black foam supports hold the heatsink up, but is that bad? i was worried it might ignite...

And people wonder why thermal compounds turn brown around the edges of the CPU die? LOL~!

[krakerman]

is there any way to prevent this from occuring? i have the fop38 heatsink if that matters. should i try just putting filters on fans etc?

[Colin]

Filter your intakes. Get a good vacuum and keep your home clean. If it were not for my computer, HiFi (records), radio gear and wife, I might be a slob. :d

[Hoot]

I have all of those and I'm still a slob, or to be more politically correct, I am "organizationaly challenged". ;D

Hoot

[Szech]

I'm too lazy. Why clean it when it'll just get dirty again? :P j/k. I do vacuum it occasionally when I open the case up to add something or take something out. But that's just because the sight of it is somewhat disturbing.

[KeyboardCowboy]

Colin (Jun 10, 2001 09:56 p.m.):
Fan filters. Enough said.

Word, i have em on all my intakes, best money i have ever spent

[p5]

but dont fan filters block a lot of the airflow???

or are you guys using aluminium mesh one's???


p5