second life for PC case?

[livinghalf]

When I started second life, my work was somewhat distracted (of course!)  so I have to set up one more monitor, one for SL and one for work. Since then the case experienced over-heating after long hours of playing (which rarely happened before), and it certainly attracted amount of dust. One month and I was shock. I even find hair and cat dander stuck in the filter. 

At any rate, I'm done cleaning up but still consider to correct everything. I put my Clair air purifier (www.go-clair.com), which I'm using in living room next to the case to prevent further dust in the near future. However, what's next? 

Any advice is welcomed. 

[Sassy Romano]

Next step is to get rid of the cat.

[Jean Horten]

No, the next step would not  be to get rid of the cat, but to  open up the computer,  remove the heatsinks from the cpu and gpu , clean all heatsinks (preferably with compressed air) and to reinstall the heatsinks with fresh thermal paste. Cleaning all fans and checking that they still move freely  is recommended too. If you don't have the skills to do so, contact a pc service in your town or a pc savy friend and have them perform that maintenance.

J.

 

[Qie Niangao]

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Jean Horten wrote:

[...] remove the heatsinks from the cpu and gpu , clean all heatsinks (preferably with compressed air) and to reinstall the heatsinks with fresh thermal paste. [...]

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I might suggest doing most everything else before removing heatsinks. It's usually sufficient to just blow the dust out with compressed air and/or use a very soft artist's brush to gently dislodge it from heatsink surfaces accessible while in place.

Even this, however, is assuming any "next step" is justified. If all the fans are spinning and the temps are staying reasonable under load, I wouldn't do anything until the next time there's an actual problem -- this from the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy of computer maintenance.

[Jean Horten]

I had some overheating issues recently on a laptop running a GTX 770M which were unresolvable until I removed the heatsink and reinstalled it with fresh thermal paste. The old paste was dried out and crumbly and not capapble to transfer the heat correctly anymore.

That machine runs approx 10°c cooler with the fresh paste and teh overheating issues are completely gone now.

Looking at the op's description of what was found inside that computer I presume it's a little older and replacing the thermal paste never is a bad idea on older hardware.

Even having it replaced by some pc service shop  if you can't perform that servicing yourself  is cheaper than a burnt out CPU or GPU.

If it aint broke, don't fix it...
Have you ever changed the oils on your  motor vehicle or do you wait with that too until  something breaks?

J.

[Qie Niangao]

I'd still want to learn from the OP what occasions any "next step" at all. If indeed that machine has elevated temperatures (as yours had) then yeah: let's figure out what's preventing the cooling system from working. I'm not averse to removing heatsinks when necessary, but in machines this old, that's not without risk: thermal compound isn't the only thing that gets old and brittle. (I completely support your recommendations of cleaning the heatsinks and determining that all fans are fully functional.)

At least in my experience, changing the thermal grease between heatsink and GPU is really not routine maintenance comparable to changing the oil in an engine. Of course, if one needs to lift a heatsink, there's no choice.

[sandrab2686]

Gaming computers heat up a lot and it is normal but when you factor in the dust as well then it can do a lot of harm to your gaming PC. I think you can go ahead and use those room air purifiers. From what I see on the website they are small and portable so it shouldn't be a problem shifting them from the living room to where you have your PC .Make sure you place your PC does not stand on the floor. This can attract a lot of dust and dander. Place the air purifier in such a way that there is good air circulation around it that way it wil be capable of drawing in more dust. Also keep it switched on all the time and then maybe you can check th results.

Also let me know if this Clair air purifier really works. I face a similar situation at home. I use an ioniser but its of no use but I am curious whether room air purifiers help because I see the design is slightly different .

[livinghalf]

good idea. and I will be slayed down. 

 

@Jean Horten: What is fresh thermal paste for??? 

[livinghalf]

sounds wise. I will try. 

[livinghalf]

That Clair air cleaner's still my ultimate solution with my naked PC at the moment. It simply inhales all kinds of dust. I don't know much about air circulation, but as long as I don't find a better way, I will keep the air purifier in my room.  

And air circulation in the room is a bigger version of compressed air in pc case?

[Jean Horten]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease