Cleaning a Heatsink

[dorimon81]

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]

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

 

[Cyberwiz01]

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]

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]

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]

ah, iz a good idea too :weird smiley:

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

 

[bk94si]

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.

 

[9mmCensor]

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]

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

 

[dorimon81]

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!!!

 

[9mmCensor]

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

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]

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.

 

[dorimon81]

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]

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

 

[dorimon81]

Why would you want to do that?

 

[Sharkman]

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]

ah, iz a good idea too :weird smiley:

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

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.

 

[dorimon81]

Ya my temps dropped about 6-7 degrees celcius.