The importance of keeping your pc dust free

[Wobbel]

Yesterday i decided it was time to do a av scan, what i usually do if i won't use my pc for a while, so i started my av, switched off the monitor and left it.
Went out for a while with my gf, when i returned, 1½ hour later, i thought, let's see if everything is ok, switched on the monitor, nothing, black screen.
I thought wtf......, maybe my av cleaned something it wasn't supposed to clean, so i reset my pc, started in safe mode, totally distorted screen, letters missing, strange symbols, going black, coming up again, i managed to get into my restore points, and did a rollback.
Same results, f***d up screen, deleted my video drivers, restarted, yes!!, looking good, for about 1 minute...., after that same distorted weird screen.
Came to the conclusion my video card was gone, waisted, thought, well, buy a new one.
Today i decided to give it one last change, took out my videocard, and took off the cooler, there was like 1 ounce of dust in there, so i cleaned it, put on new heatsink compound, re-assembled the whole thing, and it's working again !!

So, good tip, clean out your pc & cards on a regular basis, might safe you some money

[berks]

the last time i cleaned mine i was amazed at how much dust was inside the tower! Now i don't even have my side panel on and I try to clean it every so often!

[greffov]

the less fans, the better

[berks]

damn i have six fans!

[technobeast]

And most important, got to remember to clean the PSU from time to time. It needs good cooling and gathers lots of dust from the inside of the PC at the same time. Losing your PSU may lose your whole PC.
As for the cleaning part I tend to leave my PC open all the time as berks. This is not good because to gets dustier quickly. But is good for the temperatures inside the PC. And having a hot summer as here (40 degrees Celsius) makes this part needed.
And some lubricating oil on the fans from time to time too - quiet work is important.

[Mr_Penguin]

Any tips on exactly "how" to remove the dust ? Can you use a vacuum cleaner hose & brush attachment ? (someone told me that wasn't good, as it built up static electricity ... but I'm not sure if this guy really knew what he was talking about)

Thanks everyone

[technobeast]

A brush with natural hair (soft) will do the job. Remove each part one by one and clean it thoroughly. I haven't had problems with static electricity and vacuum cleaners so far but it deserves a warning - it may ruin your fans if you direct the brush of the cleaner directly over the fan, so it actually spins faster (sometimes) than it's meant to be or incorrect. And thus I've seen several fans that sound strange after being dusted. Only a soft brush will do the job imho

Good luck

[the hunter]

What I do is use a vacum cleaner, without touching any of the parts with the nozzel. Use some compressed air designed for electronics, and the vacum will suck all of the dust up. Note it must be a vacum with a filter system, as if it doesnt, a lot of the dust will just be blown out the exhaust.

[berks]

I usually take mine outside with a can of compressed air and blow everything I can out of the tower, fans, and PSU. She usually runs a little cooler and quiter.

[renegadeandy]

It also couldve been the metal connectors on the card some may have popped out - causing the card to be tempremental.

[Mokbol]

Same results, f***d up screen, deleted my video drivers, restarted, yes!!, looking good, for about 1 minute...., after that same distorted weird screen.
Came to the conclusion my video card was gone, waisted, thought, well, buy a new one.
Today i decided to give it one last change, took out my videocard, and took off the cooler, there was like 1 ounce of dust in there, so i cleaned it, put on new heatsink compound, re-assembled the whole thing, and it's working again !!