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When should I clean my PC?

danixdlolz
By danixdlolz
in Troubleshooting
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Go to solution Solved by BroProStudios,

Hey there, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when deciding when to clean your case. 1: does your case have filters? If it does great, dust should not as easily build up in your system, you can clean them every so often, maybe once a month. 2. Your living environment. Dust is a fact of life unless you live in a sterilized room and where a haz mat suit all the time, which is probably unlikely. If you like to keep your room clean vacuum it every week then you will have less dust in your room meaning your system will not pull in as much dust. Also smoking can be a big factor if you smoke around your PC this can cause parts to become very dusty so keep that in mind.

 

I like to clean my pc every month as it keeps it looking like it was just out the box. Having a couple of Air Dusters around is also a good idea. Also if your PC does not have dust filters you can buy some magnetic dust filters witch you can attach on to your case for only a couple of pound of ebay. Cleaning your PC every month can be a little over kill if you don't mind a little dust build up. Dust also likes to build up in areas such as fans and rads.

 

Good luck    

Posted

So I've had this PC since January and I've started to notice some dust building up on the fan blades. It's not a lot tho, but it left me with a doubt. How often should I clean my PC? I already know how to do so, I'm just not sure how often I should do it. My build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($235.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($118.20 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($60.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($17.07 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro OEM (64-bit)  ($99.99)
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($7.98 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($7.98 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer H226HQLbid 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($149.99)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Creative Labs Creative Fatal1ty Headset  ($24.95 @ Amazon)
Other: LED Strips ($21.45)
Other: Steelseries Qck Gaming Mouse Pad (Black) ($9.53)
Other: Reference GTX 760 ($220.00)
Total: $1379.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-06 19:48 EDT-0400

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your build has nothing to do with a clean PC, if its running hotter than usual, clean it, and if there is so much dust you can see it with a glance, clean is, as dust might make shirtcuts in the electronics. This happened to me, my mobo would not post, and after i cleaned it it worked again (my first PC, an acer aspire, about 10Y ago xD)

Planning on trying StarCitizen (Highly recommended)? STAR-NR5P-CJFR is my referal link 

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How often your system should be cleaned depends on its operating environment.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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your build has nothing to do with a clean PC, if its running hotter than usual, clean it, and if there is so much dust you can see it with a glance, clean is, as dust might make shirtcuts in the electronics. This happened to me, my mobo would not post, and after i cleaned it it worked again (my first PC, an acer aspire, about 10Y ago xD)

Do I have to wait until it is that dusty to clean it?

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your build has nothing to do with a clean PC, if its running hotter than usual, clean it, and if there is so much dust you can see it with a glance, clean is, as dust might make shirtcuts in the electronics. This happened to me, my mobo would not post, and after i cleaned it it worked again (my first PC, an acer aspire, about 10Y ago xD)

Dust does not cause short circuits... it insulates!

 

You should clean your pc when you see a lot of dust in it, if can't breathe after you did a full lung blow into your pc (from 1m distance or so) then it's time to clean it :)

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How often your system should be cleaned depends on its operating environment.

It's sitting on top of my desk, and I clean my room from dust every week.

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It's sitting on top of my desk, and I clean my room from dust every week.

Then make it a habit to clean it around the same time.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Dust does not cause short circuits... it insulates!

 

You should clean your pc when you see a lot of dust in it, if can't breathe after you did a full lung blow into your pc (from 1m distance or so) then it's time to clean it :)

Depends on the dust really, if you have metalic particles or carbon particles it may cause short circuits, my room is full of metal shavings, and the dust is full of them too.

Planning on trying StarCitizen (Highly recommended)? STAR-NR5P-CJFR is my referal link 

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Then make it a habit to clean it around the same time.

Every week? Isn't that a little overkill?

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Every week? Isn't that a little overkill?

If you're going to clean your room every week from dust, might as well make it a habit to give your PC a cleaning. I mean, I don't know what else to say - clean it when you feel like it? When you see dirt? When it's overheating?

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Every week? Isn't that a little overkill?

Maybe he lives in a dusty environment

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Maybe he lives in a dusty environment

I consider my room quite clean

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It's not really a difficult thing, just buy some compressed air and when you can see a bit of dust build-up give it a blast. 

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It's not really a difficult thing, just buy some compressed air and when you can see a bit of dust build-up give it a blast. 

"I already know how to do so, I'm just not sure how often I should do it."

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"I already know how to do so, I'm just not sure how often I should do it."

If you read it properly i told you when to do it. "when you can see a bit of dust build-up give it a blast" smartass 

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If you read it properly i told you when to do it. "when you can see a bit of dust build-up give it a blast" smartass 

Well, offensive words were not necessary

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Well, offensive words were not necessary

You really shouldn't get offended that easy, just don't be a smartass when somebody is trying to help. 

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You really shouldn't get offended that easy, just don't be a smartass when somebody is trying to help. 

I didn't say I was offended by it, I just said the word itself it's offensive, and I wasn't trying to be a "smartass", I was just clarifying what I wrote.

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Does your case not have dust filters? I have virtually no dust in my PC and i've not cleaned the inside of the case since i got it. All you have to do then is just clean the filters every couple of weeks.

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro | PSU: Enermax Revolution87+ 850W | Motherboard: MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC | GPU 1: MSI R9 290X Lightning | CPU: Intel Core i7 4790k | SSD: Samsung SM951 128GB M.2 | HDDs: 2x 3TB WD Black (RAID1) | CPU Cooler: Silverstone Heligon HE01 | RAM: 4 x 4GB Team Group 1600Mhz

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Does your case not have dust filters? I have virtually no dust in my PC and i've not cleaned the inside of the case since i got it. All you have to do then is just clean the filters every couple of weeks.

Yes it has

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Is ur room dark and at a warm temperature constantly? Then that might be the problem because dust likes to build up in that kind of place.

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Is ur room dark and at a warm temperature constantly? Then that might be the problem because dust likes to build up in that kind of place.

Yep, but I don't think darkness has anything to do with it.

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Heh. Tough topic this, but I'd say it depends on how much you still love your PC and your spare time. I got this computer under a week ago and have been cleaning it daily. I can see how in the future I'll only end up cleaning it say monthly or every 2 months and replacing thermal goop every 3+ months or whenever thermals start skyrocketing. I of course cant stand looking at dust build up on my fans and filters, so they're gone nearly right after accumulating. Hope this helped!

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Try to do it every 3 months at least. 

Even if your room is clean, there is always dust in the air. Your airflow in the case will pick some of it up and it will get stuck. To some degree it will be easier to clean if you catch it early. Cleaning your filters in your weekly cleaning run would be great.

 

So far for the best case scenario. Worst case? Just leave it be until you see measurable rises in temps. I know people that don't clean their PCs for up to 3 years and they are fine.

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