how do i clean the Thermal Right SK 7 from and dust that has accumalted over time?

[ssgohan434]

how do i clean the Thermal Right SK 7 from and dust that has accumalted over time?

my heatsink is gathering dust now as it churns along crunching for SETI everyday. my temps are getting higher. my overclocks are getting lower. what should i use to clean the dust bunnies that are in between the fins? a Q tip?

 

[RadRacer]

compressed air is probably going to be the easiest way

 

[bafbrian]

compressed air is probably going to be the easiest way

I was gonna say put it under some water, but you can't agree with a can or compressed air.

 

[InThrees]

Actually, if it's tacky dust, compressed air won't finish the job. It's a good start, but it won't completely clean it.

What I have to do is remove the HSF from the assembly, take the fan off, and then squirt it down with 409 degreaser... Then run it under water. The temp difference between before and after is phenomenal if it's been a while.

If your computer area is relatively dust-free and you're not a smoker / no else is, then you probably won't have to go to this extreme.

Also, be sure to wipe the blades and grills of all intake / exhaust fans in teh case, and blow air through the P/S.

 

[bafbrian]

Hmmmm, I guess water would work, I got some 409 somewhere around here, I will try that is a little while.

 

[InThrees]

Just make sure you clean and properly reapply thermal grease. I know that should go without saying, but...

 

[ssgohan434]

what do u mean by blow air thru the power supply?

 

[nerdlogic]

what do u mean by blow air thru the power supply?

Take a can of compressed air and stick the nozzle in one of the vents to blow the dust out of there. You want to make sure you do a thorough job, though, so you may have to use more than one vent or void your warranty and open it up, then blow all the dust out. But it would be better to just use the vents.

 

[DAGO]

For a thorough cleaning when the Sink is really coated with alot of crud, try using a pipe cleaner to scrub off the build up...
With a little 409, pipecleaners and a good rinse, you'll end up clean as a whistle...
Handy for Sinks such as yours that have fairly narrow openings between the fins and are difficult to clean otherwise...

Sometimes soap and water just don't hack it...

 

[seeker]

And if you are a smoker (GASP!) I squirt some charcoal lighter fluid on and use dish soap and water after that. (our 2 comps are in the kitchen area too so we get some extra gunk from cooking)

my .02

 

[ssgohan434]

how about Simple Green all purpose cleaner or some Windex (has ammonia D) instead of the 409? is ammonia D bad for copper heatsink?

 

[/\\/3|2o]

I have no clue if its bad for it.

What i do with my SK7 is just throw it under some water. Put it under some vinegar and salt to really get it clean also.

While im taking about heatsinks getting dirty, lemie tell ya a quick story. In chemistry we were going to do this little gold penny lab which makes pennys gold. Well i asked my teacher if I could bring in my heatsink to make it gold tipped and she let me. Sooo the next day i brought it in and sterted the lab. Well, diddnt turn out too well because i diddnt get the zinc to stick properly to the heatsink, and the acid was boiling and splashing all the mixture onto the blades. So at the end i had one DIRTY heatsink. It is liek blackish copper now. Not gold at all.

Well i used vinegar and salt and scrubbed it down and it got some of it off.

 

[ssgohan434]

hey , we did that gold penny thing just last week in my high school chem class. My teach also made some silver ones. (just the zinc) anyways he discovered that after the zinc gets on u should wash the copper with just water and then toast it on a bunsen burner (it gives better results that way)

 

[InThrees]

I did an electroplating science project in high school... I think I still have the Silver Cyanide in the garage, too. =P

SILVER PLATED HEATSINK, WH0000! BLING!

Hahaha, hell no.

Anyway, simple green = fine.

 

[/\\/3|2o]

the problem i had in the lab was getting the zinc on the HS in the first place. I wish i found a flat dish so i sould get it evenly on the bottom. Oh well, thats what science is all about.

 

[penquissciguy]

I was gonna say put it under some water, but you can't agree with a can of compressed air.

Or, for the "more power" approach, use an air chuck attached to an air compressor. Not much dirt sticks when you're hitting your heatsink/fan/psu with a thin stream of air at 80-120 psi. Make sure you're not using an air compressor that self-oils the air for using with a tool, etc. That would be a Bad Thing (TM).

I know it's overkill, but my father-in-law has a 5HP compressor with a 40 gallon tank wired up permanently in his wood shop. I never have to buy those little cans of air again .

On another note, I am a chemistry and physics teacher at a local high school. I have a recipe for depositing silver on glass, but I don't know if it would work on copper. Probably not. Anyway, I would think the electroplating route would be more effective.

Ken

 

[Amorphus]

you're a teacher? WHOA!




and you can afford the stuff in your sig... sounds a bit... fishy, no?

 

[penquissciguy]

you're a teacher? WHOA!




and you can afford the stuff in your sig... sounds a bit... fishy, no?

It's the accumulated wealth of 2+ years of parts buying. I don't have a ton of other hobbies, so this is where all the "fun money" goes. It's not the hottest, fastest system out there, but it gets the job done.

Ken

 

[sandman001]

may I ask why you are running it at 17x100?

 

[ssgohan434]

may I ask why you are running it at 17x100?

im not running it but he is running it that becuz he is on SDRAM memory and it is maxed out. so his only choice of overclocking is increasing the multiplier