How do you clean your PC?

[HaD3k]

I've just finished cleaning my 4+ year old rig and I want to now what are some cheaper alternatives to compressed air. That gets expensive quick. I tried ghetto rigging my house vacuum for the job but it doesn't quite have the required suction to pick up all the dust. What do some of you guys use to clean your rigs and keep it dust free? I know I can use dust filters but beyond that what is good? I'm gonna be building a new rig later this year so I'm trying to get a head start on cleaning tools. Thanks.

[stocius]

Filters are the way to go.

[Frisch]

I could have said......

Give it a turn in your washing machine once a week. Dry it in your tumbler. (DON'T LISTEN TO A TURTLE)

But in a serious mood, i will second the filters, as the way to go.

[HaD3k]

How about after your rig is already dusty?

[WrigleyVillain]

Blowing it out with canned air is really the most efficient way, but yeah those things are expensive. Taking it apart first works even better of course.

[adamsleath]

i use a make up brush :p:
honestly ive had mine for years in an open case, and i have very little dust (ie almost zero)

one filter on the hdd fan, and that's it. i occasionaly brush out the filter and the fan blades which seem to attract most of the dust.

a very fine dust will enter a closed case even with filters i have found, but that's over a long period...2+ years, but filters are the way to go.

[road-runner]

I got a small air compressor from my local Home Depot...

[jspace]

Air compressor, most def. Make it so you can change the attachments and you can use it for lots of stuff. Impact wrenches are fun, along with nail guns. So are those sandblasting jobbies. Of course it beats a bicycle pump for blowing stuff up too.

[ZOMGVTEK]

Air compressor...

[Ghost742]

120psi of aircompressor goodness will clean any case, thats what i use.

[[XC] gomeler]

I was my boards in the kitchen sink along with video cards and processors :up: Just dry them out and they work just fine.

[Ghost742]

i hope thats a joke lol, i mean my cellphone has been washed like 5 times and still works but a computer?

[NickS]

I've just finished cleaning my 4+ year old rig and I want to now what are some cheaper alternatives to compressed air. That gets expensive quick. I tried ghetto rigging my house vacuum for the job but it doesn't quite have the required suction to pick up all the dust. What do some of you guys use to clean your rigs and keep it dust free? I know I can use dust filters but beyond that what is good? I'm gonna be building a new rig later this year so I'm trying to get a head start on cleaning tools. Thanks.

I bring my computers outside, take both panels off and use the leafblower dude. No joke at all. Works amazing.

[[XC] gomeler]

i hope thats a joke lol, i mean my cellphone has been washed like 5 times and still works but a computer?

No, it wasn't a joke. I wash everything but PSUs after some serious benching as I usually have grease and crap caked on the boards. A tooth brush, some soap, and a gentle hand, good as new :cool:

[twilyth]

If you're going to use an air compressor - make sure to bleed out any condesation. But I don't think you should be cleaning at - with maybe a couple exceptions.

There's nothing wrong with dust bunnies. In my old apartment I had some that were so big they would scare small children. I had them trained to hunt c0(ckroaches. It was a warm, secure feeling going to sleep at night knowing that there were hundreds of them under my bed ready to spring into action at the first sight of trouble.

Dust bunnies in a computer case are a mark of wisdom and maturity, like a streak of gray in your hair or half-rim reading glasses over which you give people that knowing, authoritative look. They say to others 'this case had been around for a while and has seen many motherboards come and go'. If you clean it out, it will look brand new and everyone will think you're a noob. I mean seriously, if you go over to a professor's house do you expect to see piles of old books and dusty journals all about or a tidy, spotless home with clean new books on recessed shelves. Who are you going to take more seriously?

And stop whining about the cost of compressed air. Every warehouse store sells it in 3-packs or by the case and it's only about $3 a can. The only things you need to use it for are the cpu fan/hs and sometimes the other mobo hs's. So unless you need to clean an entire datacenter, one can should last you years for one computer. The problem is that everybody likes to play with the stuff, but shooting it at the cat and seeing how long you can keep a piece of paper in the air doesn't count as a valid use - ok?
http://www.jillpyle.ca/blog/dustbunny.jpg

[Zytek_Fan]

Air compressor FTW.

[HaD3k]

Any decent air compressors out there sub $50?

[Zytek_Fan]

Any decent air compressors out there sub $50?

Look at Sears or Home Depot during a sale.
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, there's a place called Fasteners Inc that has really good deals usually.

[Ghost742]

harborfreight has nice deals.

[HaD3k]

Thank you for all of the help. I think I may go with this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=96068

[Zytek_Fan]

Thank you for all of the help. I think I may go with this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=96068

If you get an air compressor, I'd recommend spending a little bit and getting something that can do a variety of tasks easily.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916613000P
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916728000P

edit: This one looks nice
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00916639000P

[jimmsch]

I usually put it in the dishwasher. Make sure you turn it off first though!