Cleaning a Heatsink

dorimon81

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Nov 23, 2003

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Dec 17, 2003

• #1

How would I go about cleaning the dust inside the fins of the heatsink? Could I just take the fan off and remove the dust or would I damage the HS if I did that. I also would like to know if cleaning the dust would improve cooling to the CPU.

 

David

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Feb 20, 2001

• Dec 17, 2003

• #2

Just use a vacuum hoover or something? Less dust will mean better airflow through the heatsink and should improve cooling/

 

Cyberwiz01

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Jul 3, 2003

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hunting wolverines

• Dec 17, 2003

• #3

I use a can of compressed air to blow the dust off the heatsink. And It can be done while the heatsink is still attached to the MB.

 

Jognt

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Aug 24, 2003

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• Dec 17, 2003

• #4

you can take it off, blow in it, to remove some, you can use wooden toothpicks to remove clouds of dust, you can give the HS a bath (not sure, but should be possible without damage, methinks)

after cleaning it, try to make some filters so dust wont pile up in your case

 

Tawcan

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Dec 17, 2002

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Vancouver, BC

• Dec 17, 2003

• #5

I just cleaned my HS yesterday. This is what I did:

1.) Take the fan off from the HS.

2.) Use compressed air to get the dust off from the fan and the HS.

3.) Use Q-tip to get rid of dust that the compressed air didn't remove.

 

Jognt

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• Dec 17, 2003

• #6

ah, iz a good idea too :weird smiley:

what did your temps improve by? (curious to know )

 

B

bk94si

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Jul 15, 2003

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Benton City, WA

• Dec 17, 2003

• #7

I have 3 dogs so I have to clean mine every couple of months. I can tell it needs cleaning because the temps climb a little. I usually blow it out when they have gone up 2-3 degrees. It drops back down after I clean it.

 

9

9mmCensor

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• Dec 17, 2003

• #8

Cleaning the dust off is definately going to help, because dirt and whatnot hampers thermal dissipation. I took the fan off my heatsink and put it in the dishwasher, and then let it dry to get it really clean.

 

stan03

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Mar 30, 2003

• Dec 17, 2003

• #9

how did you get the blades off? or did you put the whole fan including the motor into the dishwasher?

 

OP

dorimon81

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Nov 23, 2003

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Dec 17, 2003

• Thread Starter
• #10

Thanks guys. Cleaning the HSF REALLY made a HUGE difference.

Here were my previous temps in Degrees Celcius:

CPU:48C
Case: 36C

My new temps:

CPU: 43C
Case: 34C

Cleaning my HSF also lowered the noise level because the RPM's for the uncleaned HS were about 4800 RPM and the new RPM's with the cleaned HS is sitting arond 4500 RPM.

Anyways, thanks a lot people, it really helped and the tips are greatly appreciated!!!

 

9

9mmCensor

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• Dec 17, 2003

• #11

stan03 said:

how did you get the blades off? or did you put the whole fan including the motor into the dishwasher?

Click to expand...

JUst the heatsink, I took off the Fan. For the fan I just used my fingert and a cloth to clean the dust off.

 

Valk

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Oct 31, 2002

• Dec 17, 2003

• #12

that idea of using the dishwasher is a really good one. you would just have to let it air out really good before you put it back on. I used compressed air to get out all of the major crap from mine, then submerged it in a tupperware container with a water/alchohol solution and shook the *&^*& out of it. managed to get a lot of the crap out of it. then i put it into the oven @ 200 to evaporate the excess water left from simply air drying it on my counter. It might have made a difference of 2º as i have a powerufl fan, dust doesnt collect that badly, but for my own cosmetic pleasure, i am happier.

 

OP

dorimon81

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Nov 23, 2003

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Dec 17, 2003

• Thread Starter
• #13

I am very happy with the results I achieved. I never expected that cleaning the HS would drop my temps 6 degrees celcius.

 

Agent_Mull

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Oct 18, 2003

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Leawood, KS

• Dec 17, 2003

• #14

Can i buff the bottom of the heatsink w/ a buffing wheel and jewlers rouge?

 

OP

dorimon81

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Dec 17, 2003

• Thread Starter
• #15

Why would you want to do that?

 

Sharkman

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Nov 20, 2003

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California

• Dec 17, 2003

• #16

I would first lap the bottom of the HSF before buffing it. Heres a thread for an awsome kit from EASYPCKITS . I lapped mine with the kit to 2000 grit then hand buffed it. My 2500+ Barton is now running at 33c idle (not OC'ed) with AS5. I didn't have to use a lot of AS5 either. I rubbed the AS5 into he HSF then wiped it off and put a very thin layer on the cpu die. Its running like a champ

 

Tawcan

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Vancouver, BC

• Dec 17, 2003

• #17

Jognt said:

ah, iz a good idea too :weird smiley:

what did your temps improve by? (curious to know )

Click to expand...

It really depends how much dust is on your HS, fans, and case.

Usually when I clean my pc I clean the whole thing (intake fans, exhuast fans, video cards, etc).

One time there was a thick layer of dust on the HS and the temp dropped by something like 8 degrees I think.

 

OP

dorimon81

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Nov 23, 2003

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Dec 17, 2003

• Thread Starter
• #18

Ya my temps dropped about 6-7 degrees celcius.