# General computer maintenance



## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Oog. 

That thing must have been running hot.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Ya, I just re-painted our computer room and took the cabinet off the pc when putting the room back together. It wasn't pretty. I clean our furnace and HRV filters twice a year and am thinking I should add the pc to my list.


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## getrex (Sep 14, 2016)

Depending on where you live you may need to do this every few months. You can also try putting dust filters over the case intake areas. Some newer cases come with these.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

I sure hope you grounded yourself before you pulled out that card.

Look up ESD


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## supers05 (May 23, 2015)

ddawg16 said:


> I sure hope you grounded yourself before you pulled out that card.
> 
> Look up ESD


Yes, i was only wearing my anti-esd strap. (technically you don't need to be "grounded" just bonded to the case. I also have an anti-esd pad for removed components.) 

If you noticed how I'm holding the card, that's the only way I touch PCBs. This isn't the first computer I've built and won't be the last, but thanks for the help. It'll help someone in the future. I haven't ever bought a pre-built desktop. 

My old case had filters. They were too much of a pain to clean. They needed to be on the outside of the case. I've just resorted to cleaning on a regular basis. I have been busy. I've also kept it in a higher pressure area, trying to keep the dust out. It isn't perfect as it's not a sealed room, (like I've made for customers) and my hvac system doesn't always run. (making the fan to run all the time is just too expensive around here.) This computer does consume enough power to heat the room several degrees above the rest of the house if the main when the furnace is off, and it's running hard. 

PS. Anyone have a cheap water block for the sapphire HD6970. They are getting hard to find these days. I'm trying to get rid of the 2 leaf blowers.... Lol. 

Cheers!


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## getrex (Sep 14, 2016)

How were you cleaning it?


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## supers05 (May 23, 2015)

getrex said:


> How were you cleaning it?


Compressed nitrogen, toothpick. It wasn't needed this time but I like to use isopropanol, 99%, on cotton swabs. 

Cheers!


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

supers05 said:


> Compressed nitrogen, toothpick. It wasn't needed this time but I like to use isopropanol, 99%, on cotton swabs.
> 
> Cheers!


You're doing it right.

I don't have an anti-static strap any more....I just leave the case plugged in (but off) and grab the case with one hand. 

But then again, where I live, static electricity is a rare event.


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## user_12345a (Nov 23, 2014)

i hate video cards with fans; the heat sinks always get plugged and they put a $1 fan on a $250 video card. the fan fails and the card overheats after a couple of years.

only those who are really into gaming should get high-power cards that need active cooling.


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## supers05 (May 23, 2015)

user_12345a said:


> i hate video cards with fans; the heat sinks always get plugged and they put a $1 fan on a $250 video card. the fan fails and the card overheats after a couple of years.
> 
> only those who are really into gaming should get high-power cards that need active cooling.


And i have 2 of them..... There's an built in alarm on most. For the high end ones like mine, they won't let the PC start when the fan fails. Some have 2 or 3, as psuto-redundancy. They still require all fans during full load but won't melt down if one fails. I don't like the air flow patterns of them though. ($250 is cheap.....) 

There's decent cards with passive cooling but they take up a lot of space. They still need to be cleaned just as often. 

Most OEMs have programs to help to monitor temps and speeds. I like to use speedfan. It's Universal. It's how I saw that the heat sink was seriously plugged. (the rpm and temp were elevated at the same load and fan settings, because it wasn't moving enough air.)

Cheers!


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

I just helped my son build up a gaming computer. But most standards, some would call it an 'entry level' gaming computer. 

Well....this beast blows the socks off the XBox. Radon 470 Video card...16g DDR4 memory....MIS mother board....but we only have the I3-6100 in it...but it will accept everything up to the I7. 250G SSD. 

And it's quiet....real quiet. The CPU adjusts the fans speeds as needed. 

And it's fast. Boot time about 17 seconds with Win10. 

Son VERY happy. 

Oh....staying on topic....one side is glass....so he will be able to see the dirt when it piles up.

Has real cool blue and red lights inside too.....


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## getrex (Sep 14, 2016)

I just left one side panel off. About time to clean, though.


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## supers05 (May 23, 2015)

ddawg16 said:


> ....
> Oh....staying on topic....one side is glass....so he will be able to see the dirt when it piles up.
> 
> Has real cool blue and red lights inside too.....


You'd be surprised.... 

To keep them quiet, you'll need to clean it every 6 months. Sooner if you have pets, or smoke, or anything else like that. 

Cheers!


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## Dave Sal (Dec 20, 2012)

I opened up my old Alienware years ago and was surprised at the amount of dust and crud all over the place. I disconnected everything and took it outside and used my air compressor and blew all of that stuff out in a huge cloud of dust. Looked new when I brought it back in. Ran much cooler and quieter but has since been replaced with a new one built by my son and I.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

Mine is open and strapped to the back of the desk so I just reverse the blow on the vacuum and blow it out a couple times a year.


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Goodness gracious that looks like a lot of stuff. I'm guessing somebody is a gamer?


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## getrex (Sep 14, 2016)

Maybe a shot of the front would make this make more sense?


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

getrex said:


> Maybe a shot of the front would make this make more sense?













I built it to function as a server and a video editing station. I have 5 tv's in the house and the computer contains about 20Tb drive space with all pics, videos, movies, music... etc. This gets streamed out to any of the tv's you wish to use.

I also do a lot of high definition video (1080/p60) and surround sound (dolby, dts, dts-hd ma... etc) editing, and the video editing needs a lot of screen real estate.

For orientation... the hard drive bay seen under the left monitor is located at the lower end of the shot of the back.


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## Dave Sal (Dec 20, 2012)

Man, seeing that first pic I got a mental image of some hacked together system but you sure proved me wrong. Very nice setup.


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## getrex (Sep 14, 2016)

I could tell something custom on the front was going on because no premade furniture has wasted space like that in a corner. Very cool setup! I've done video editing and production as a hobby so I don't need anything that fancy. I have dual monitors with one set up vertically for coding and desktop publishing. I can't imagine not having more than one monitor.


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## supers05 (May 23, 2015)

getrex said:


> I could tell something custom on the front was going on because no premade furniture has wasted space like that in a corner. Very cool setup! I've done video editing and production as a hobby so I don't need anything that fancy. I have dual monitors with one set up vertically for coding and desktop publishing. I can't imagine not having more than one monitor.


I had 7 at one point..... Then I stopped working in that field, and I really didn't have the space for it all. I'm down to 3, but only because it's no longer in my office. I feel handicapped when I work on computers with less then 3 monitors 

Cheers!


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## getrex (Sep 14, 2016)

It's a little hard to imagine what you would use seven monitors for.


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## supers05 (May 23, 2015)

getrex said:


> It's a little hard to imagine what you would use seven monitors for.


I was a programmer and amateur video editor. Between bug trackers, reference docs, and various open files, you can use up a lot of real-estate. 

My friend used his 6 for gaming though. Flight simulators are something else with that kind of screen space. 

Cheers!


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