CPU Fins full of Dust bunnies within a Year of Lockdown.

[RAGNES7]

Sorry you have to see this. But ive been trying to take out my CPU cooler (Stock Wraith Prism) and clean with thoroughly but since covid is around, i cant take to a Shop to get it cleaned not do i have the right tools or space to do it.

 

How can i clean this at home, i know this is seriously bad, especially when i have my PC running 7-10 hours a day at minimum everyday. And the summer has just started and i hit max fan speeds all the time.

[Tech87]

Order yourself a can of compressed air, and clean it best you can.

[AndreiArgeanu]

It depends on how much time you have. The quickest way would be to just get a can of compressed air, or if you have one, use an air compressor and take your pc outside and basically blow out as much dust as you can and also using a brush cleaning up some of the heavier dust that didn't get removed.  I would suggest removing the cooler, and removing the fan and then blowing air through the fins, and of course replacing the thermal paste.

 

If you want to clean your system more comprehensively then I would suggest removing the GPU, fans and CPU cooler and cleaning those with plenty of compressed air and a brush. Ideally you probably should remove the PSU as well. The motherboard with the cpu can stay mounted in the case since you can clean them well and fairly easily without the need to remove them. 

[RAGNES7]

I live in asia, its funny im gonna say this but.

 

I cant convince myself to buy a Can of Air for $16.

 

I do have acess to an industrial Compressor but thats out of my Reach atm cuz of Lockdowns and Buissness are closed.

[SupaKomputa]

For that kind of dust, you need to dismantle it.

You don't need special tools, probably only a screwdriver.

The heatsink is relatively easy to unplug, once you got that thing off, follow this video:

 

[SupaKomputa]

2 minutes ago, RAGNES7 said:

I cant convince myself to buy a Can of Air for $16.

A waste of money, that will not get rid of it completely, for that kind of dust, water and soap is the best solution.

Brush up the fans, spray some wd40 to clean up the motor cavity.

[RAGNES7]

3 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

A waste of money, that will not get rid of it completely, for that kind of dust, water and soap is the best solution.

Brush up the fans, spray some wd40 to clean up the motor cavity.

Imma give my Motherboard a warm bubble bath UwU

[Freakwise]

4 minutes ago, RAGNES7 said:

Imma give my Motherboard a warm bubble bath UwU

You just need to clean the cooler, just take the heatsink

[RAGNES7]

I just realised i need to buy thermal paste first, what paste do u guys sugest?

[RAGNES7]

1 minute ago, Liam danu said:

You just need to clean the cooler, just take the heatsink

Well, actually this Dust is probably also in in the GPU. Its a powercolor RX 580 and its a really fat GPU, wont know how bad that is until i open that, but im guessing its less than the CPU since the GPU is not always blowing air

[Demonic Donut]

For paste, whatever reputable brand you can get for a good price. Arctic mx-4 is usually fairly inexpensive. They will all be within a degree or 3 of each other.

 

I've personally used Noctua NH-1 and repasted with NH-2 after cleaning.

 

I agree that taking things apart and washing is probably best, especially if the dust is greasy at all from pets or smoking etc. You can easily remove the fan assembly from the aluminum block on the 3600 cooler, I'm not sure if it's harder on the Prism. Wash well and dry thoroughly with paper towels etc. Clean the contact point on the IHS and cooler  with rubbing alcohol right before applying paste and installing.

 

Use your judgement on the GPU, don't take it apart if you aren't comfortable with it. You can damage the chip more easily because it doesn't have an IHS. That said, it isn't that difficult to do. Just don't drop anything etc and you should be fine. Watch a teardown video of your card if available. Or at least one similar so you have an idea what your doing. Pay attention to where screws go, sometimes they are different. You also might need special drivers like torx or others. *Edit* You can usually remove the shroud and fans for cleaning without needing to remove the cooler, so you won't need to repaste it or really risk any damage. If it's not that dirty, you won't need to wash it.

 

Oh, and I don't recommend any oil on your fans, especially WD-40 (it contains fish oil, and really isn't a great choice for anything) as they will attract dirt. If you have a fan with a failed bearing, you can try it. But it's not going to help as general maintenance.

[RAGNES7]

54 minutes ago, Demonic Donut said:

For paste, whatever reputable brand you can get for a good price. Arctic mx-4 is usually fairly inexpensive. They will all be within a degree or 3 of each other.

 

I've personally used Noctua NH-1 and repasted with NH-2 after cleaning.

 

I agree that taking things apart and washing is probably best, especially if the dust is greasy at all from pets or smoking etc. You can easily remove the fan assembly from the aluminum block on the 3600 cooler, I'm not sure if it's harder on the Prism. Wash well and dry thoroughly with paper towels etc. Clean the contact point on the IHS and cooler  with rubbing alcohol right before applying paste and installing.

 

Use your judgement on the GPU, don't take it apart if you aren't comfortable with it. You can damage the chip more easily because it doesn't have an IHS. That said, it isn't that difficult to do. Just don't drop anything etc and you should be fine. Watch a teardown video of your card if available. Or at least one similar so you have an idea what your doing. Pay attention to where screws go, sometimes they are different. You also might need special drivers like torx or others. *Edit* You can usually remove the shroud and fans for cleaning without needing to remove the cooler, so you won't need to repaste it or really risk any damage. If it's not that dirty, you won't need to wash it.

 

Oh, and I don't recommend any oil on your fans, especially WD-40 (it contains fish oil, and really isn't a great choice for anything) as they will attract dirt. If you have a fan with a failed bearing, you can try it. But it's not going to help as general maintenance.

I live in a region where the Summer temperatures goes above 40°C and winter goes into -10.

I know it sounds like im asking about Engine oil, but Thermal paste also have a Thermal range indication like SAE grades for oils?

 

Rn im looking to buy Coolmaster's MasterGel regular.

 

I will wash the The heat sink fins with Soap and water and u guys sugested. And just use a cloth to Wipe off the Fan blades. 

 

As for the GPU, i have removed and Cleaned the Fans before, I can Postpose the GPU full cleaning for later when i can take it to the Industrial Compressor, and just Blow air into the fins.

[SupaKomputa]

2 hours ago, RAGNES7 said:

Imma give my Motherboard a warm bubble bath UwU

aha... not the motherboard you silly. but some people do this as a matter of fact.

2 hours ago, RAGNES7 said:

probably also in in the GPU

GPU is a little bit tricky, just brush it as clean as you can.

2 hours ago, Demonic Donut said:

I don't recommend any oil on your fans, especially WD-40

Well it worked for me, at least as a cleaning agent. I add some oil afterwards. Old fans good as new.

1 hour ago, RAGNES7 said:

Thermal paste also have a Thermal range indication like SAE grades for oils?

Yeah probably, i don't know,  as long as its made for pc, you don't have to worry about it.

[Demonic Donut]

7 hours ago, RAGNES7 said:

I live in a region where the Summer temperatures goes above 40°C and winter goes into -10.

I know it sounds like im asking about Engine oil, but Thermal paste also have a Thermal range indication like SAE grades for oils?

 

Rn im looking to buy Coolmaster's MasterGel regular.

 

I will wash the The heat sink fins with Soap and water and u guys sugested. And just use a cloth to Wipe off the Fan blades. 

 

As for the GPU, i have removed and Cleaned the Fans before, I can Postpose the GPU full cleaning for later when i can take it to the Industrial Compressor, and just Blow air into the fins.

You don't want to bring most pastes before freezing, as they will freeze and crack. But as long as the ambient temps in the room stay above freezing, you should be fine. You can use something like Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut for sub zero though.