Helpful tips on dusting inside PC case?

[gvstn]

Hi,

I need advice on cleaning dust from a desktop case.

I have a CM 690 II Advanced case, about a year old. This computer has always run the fans a bit stronger/louder than I expected. I made some adjustments in BIOS and was good for several months. Recently, I noticed the fans running stronger more often and decided that since I hadn't cleaned the case that might have something to do with it. A quick look at the fans and I saw dust on the grills. Not much dust in the case but the grills are hard to clean. There is a thin sheet of mesh behind each grill which keeps dust out of the case but also seems to trap a very thin layer of dust between it and the grill.

I only took my first look yesterday and did not have any compressed air. I just blew out what I could without any disassembly but the case is running more quietly with the little I accomplished.I don't expect anyone to research taking my particular case apart but does anyone have any tips for clearing this thin layer of dust without taking the top and front panels off the case? Or is dissasembly the only way? Thanks for any suggestions.



Mine is not Nvidia edition shown in the below pic but I am guessing the front panel may come off the same way. Looking at the front panel open in this way you would have a thin sheet of mesh/filter which could be removed and then the grill behind that. Removing the mesh would make it easy to blow out the grill but I am wondering if there is a "good enough" way of blowing out the grill without removing the mesh?:

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Don't the "grills" pop off? Wash them and put them back. Nt.

[gvstn]

2. Thanks

No they aren't removable. I thought they were when I bought it but find out now they are not. It would be major disassembly to get to the mesh from inside the case. Removing the top and front panels is the only way I see to get at it.

I'm looking for any advice as to how to blow things out without going to that trouble.

[Phillip McCleod]

3. at work.. at a computer repair shop.. we use..

we use a shop-vac that blows .. shades of 'Space Balls'.. but canned air sorta works too.. an air compressor is too much unless you can reduce the pressure or diffuse the air.

1) take the side panel off the CPU.. i know you said you didn't want to, but trust me you don't want to just blow the dust around inside. it needs to come out of there.

2) take the machine outside. this is going to make a mess.

3) blow through the fans.. including and especially the power supply.. from the *inside* so that the dust blows *out* of the machine. this should get the fans spinning like crazy, which is good as it will dislodge dust. do this until very little dust is blowing out.

4) blow off everything in the interior just to get the big dust-bunnies out.. don't be meticulous, yet, because in the next step..

5) blow through the fans.. including and especially the power supply.. from the *outside* so that the dust blows *into* the machine. get the fans spinning again. when the dust slows down, repeat steps (3-5) until there's no more dust coming out of the power supply and chassis fans.

6) meticulously blow out the interior until your computer is dust free.

7) enjoy a much quieter, cooler-running machine.

[RC]

4. Be careful about using the compressed air to spin the fans.

It is easy to over do it and damage the motor. The rotor (inside fan blade hub) is a permanent magnet. The stator are coils of wire. The current through the coils is controlled by an IC. Spinning the fan with compressed air, turns the motor into a generator. Spin the fan fast enough and it could generate a voltage in excess of the breakdown voltage of the IC.
And then there are the bearings to consider, also.

Just use short bursts on the fan. Short bursts are better to break the dust loose anyway.

Just because the fan runs afterward does not mean it will not come back to haunt you later, if you spin it at turbine speeds.

[Phillip McCleod]

5. yeh i could have emphasized that more..

..i did say not to use an air compressor. the pressure in the canned stuff isn't strong enough to do any damage. in fact, it's a little too soft and directed to get the job done right. removing the straw helps as the can then diffuses the pressure across the fan rather than at a particular point.

a reversible shop-vac works best .. set to blow it will spin the fans just-so.. at a lower velocity than they are designed to spin, but fast enough to clean the blades themselves, not to mention the circuit board inside the power supply, of dust.

[gvstn]

6. Thanks for the detailed instructions.

It looks like this will be a bit of a project. I will get to it in the next couple of weeks. I really thought I had removable grills that would make cleaning a snap.

This design really makes it a chore because of that mesh! My other cases were fairly simple to clean. On the other hand that mesh keeps the inside of the case fairly clean but instead now the grills hold all the dust and are not easy to get to. I've got a copy of the manual and will probably go ahead and take off the top and front grill to do the job correctly. The top grill is a bit of a pain because it has a SATA dock on it with lots of attendant wires. I'll be sure to do it when I have an hour to devote to the job.

I've picked up canned air and will try that. With the mesh removed that will definitely work fine. I am just curious, I don't have a shop vac anymore but am wondering if an electric leaf blower would be similar in air output or much stronger. I never use my leaf blower because it is electric but am wondering if it might be useful or too powerful? I don't think I will resort to that but would like your thoughts.

BTW, my case really isn't dusty inside, it is just the grills which are hard to get from inside the case that are not clean and thus restricting air flow. I suppose I could blow the dust into the case from the outside and then blow out the dust from there but I don't think I want to do that. At any rate I now know it won't be a five minute job and will do it when I can concentrate on doing it correctly.

Thanks Phillip for the detailed plan and thanks RC for the warning. I had a general idea one didn't want to spin up their fans very fast manually but couldn't remember any specifics. I will be careful.

[Go Vols]

7. I take the heat sink

off the CPU and clean it and the top of the CPU,then put new thermal grease on it along with above mentioned things.
I usually do it once a year,mine runs 24/7.