DooMguy here, lets chat shall we ? This take is going to be about PC maintenance. (not OS maintenance and things like de-fragmentation) Just pure hardware.
First of all I just want to say that PC maintenance should not be taken lightly. It should be treated as a highly efficient military operation
PC maintenance is a breach and clear operation, Where all hostiles will be eliminated, there can be no survivors. If dust is allowed to build up it can and will damage components eventually. When dust clings to fans and heat sinks it creates a very obvious problem. Take a look at this PC
It's definitely seen some better days eh ? If you let your PC get to this point you have been overrun and you have failed your mission to protect you PC. At the end of the day Computers are machines and all machines need maintenance at some point.
Remember where there's dust there's danger. This section will go through some of the methods people use to keep their PCs dust free and clean
First of all we start with the humble hover
Many people have used hovers to clean out their PCs and it does work, it really can be effective.
The pros of hovers is that their fairly cheap, easy to come by and can easily deal with thick wads of dust
However hovers are known to come with a risk of a static shock, as you know that can put a PC out for good. For the most part hovers lack precision, the majority of hoovers won't come with any nozzle attachment so trying to maneuver with a hoover can be difficult, especially in a tight case
All in all I'd give hovers a 5-4/10. They can be used to clean out you PC if you don't have anything else. I'd only use them to clean the outside and inside of a case with the MB removed
Next is the Chemical weapon from hell, the so-called dust eating/dissolving spray. I've heard of this anti-dust weapon on a few forums but I've never actually seen it or a pace to buy it. It's probably a very niche product but since I can't find it I don't know much about it. Other then the bad smell it can leave behind according to the posts
Even so I still wouldn't recommend it
Next on the front line is the compressed air duster
These cans are quite a nice product. They direct a precise flow of air so they've good for cleaning fans. They're favored by quite a few people. The can clean most components very quickly
The only thing is that they do have shelf life, if you rely on them you'll have to keep buying them. They have be known to damage components (it depends on what chemicals are inside) They aren't effective at the end of their life. As the gas dies down so does the power
Overall I'd give them a 7-8/10 for their effectiveness but I wouldn't recommend them.
Next we'll delve into the side arm you'll want to have
The anti-static brush
These brushes are dirt cheap, it's easy to find a pack of them but the only thing is they're just too slow. If you tried to clean an ATX PC with this you'll be there all week. It's a good little auxiliary to deal with stubborn dust but it's not all that necessary either. So it's more or less a optional add on to your arsenal.
Save the best till last as they say. What I would recommend is the electric air duster. These compact machines have all of the benefits of compressed air duster but fewer draw backs, time to see it in action
This is the one I've got. I picked it up refurbish for £30. You can kinda use this picture as a reference for it's size. That's an MATX case, it's far bigger then the compressed air can but unlike them it can't really lose any power it doesn't have shelf life and it has more then enough power to do the job. It's one of those things that can pay for itself if you use it often enough.
Take a look at this CPU fan and heatsink, doesn't look good right > And those fine particles that cling to the inside of the fan. Some would use qtips/cotton buds to get rid of them but just a few seconds with the electric air duster and . . . it's gone.
It's as good as new. The MB also had all the dust blasted away and if you still need more evidence. Take a look at the before and after of the case.
Once again it only took a few seconds.
Much better, and if you're thinking there's not that much dust that's the whole point, this should be done regularly.
The cleaning technique is simple. When you're doing the fans all you have to is put your thumb/finger on the fan to stop it from spinning. For everything else just fire at will and the dust won't stand a chance.
(Since that's my old case I wanted to clean it up so I could sell it)
In summary the electric duster is affordable, dependable and in the long term reliable. I'm sure that people will start looking to these miniature blowers for their long term solution to maintenance. I remember when I first saw them on amazon I knew I wanted to get one but I was a bit busy at the time and when I was ready to order a few days later they were sold out. (I had to play the waiting game to get one)
The only thing is you might want to take the PC outside into a shed or something (if it's possible) I reckon it could clear a ATX case in a few minutes
So there you have it folks, That's what I recommend, and if not you can always try out the alternatives, but from what I've seen and heard. The electric duster will be a solid 9/10 for me. If you're wondering why I used fallout music it's because "Dust & Danger" is my favorite Fallout 4 track an since this take was about getting rid of dust I just kept with the fallout trend
A few closing notes
There are alternatives to the compucleaner both of them are more expensive, that's the xpower and datavac (the data vac is intended to be heavy duty so expower & compucleaner are the sensible options if you're looking to buy)
You might also be thinking "i'll just get dust-proof mesh and I'll be fine" or something along those line. But the mesh isn't really dust proof. The dust would just get stuck in there. Eventually you'd have to dust the mesh otherwise you risk losing airflow
And last but not least when you're working on the inside of your PC use anti-static. The gear isn't expensive and you only have to buy it once
I use a mat connected to mains at home. that plus gloves.
Also one important thing is your cable management, I've done mine now (compare it to the picture in the previous take if you want)
A good way to fight dust is to prevent it from accumulating in the first place, if your cables are in the way of the fans then they'll eventually start to collect dust that will end up elsewhere inside the case
DooMguy out
I'm inviting @Cosytoasty (especially coasty toasty) @Mistnigqa808 @Jager66 @Anno_Domini @Pat8707 (I can only mention 5, I'll get the rest here eventually. We can now be the IT guys. Pat gets a special mention due to fallout 4) also can one of you guys mention that tdesil guy ? He works in IT, you must've seen him. I just can't remember his username
P.S. I was pretty tired while writing this (I hope I didn't make any massive mistakes)
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