General question (Really not sure where this should be)

Dust in a PC (Hear me out) can it actually affect it? (daft question I know) reason I asking though? I noticed I had a hell of a amount of dust building inside and on here before I've said I was getting BSOD after BSOD infact up to recently I was getting BSOD'S with kernel failure....................so I took the plunge from amazon and I bought a IT Dusters Compucleaner Xpert fan ............the results have been good. I let it rip inside the PC itself and since then? BSOD'S I was having have just stopped. Kernel power failures seem to have stopped too

Johnnys123 said:

Dust in a PC (Hear me out) can it actually affect it?

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Yes, as you have found out. Vac then duster blower (canned air). I do my computers every year, sometimes twice a year.

I perform a dusting and cleanout of our PCs on an annual basis. (Yes, it is on my calendar :) )I used to use canned air but earlier this year I purchased a small blower with a rechargeable battery and a few attachments. Works like a champ. Helps me to clean the case, all internal components, keyboard, etc.
Here's a link--> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GBWYMW1D?ref=clp_cat_p_0&th=1

All electronic devices perform more reliably when dust free. Blow out your laptop and gaming console vents as well. Also blow out your smoke detectors to reduce false alarms. Do the blowing outside whenever possible. Since I already have Ryobi batteries, I bought this little blower; works great:

Assuming you folks are aware, but mentioning as a reminder. Be sure your electronics are not powered when you do this. Obvious I know. But anyway.
In the past, experience taught it was necessary to be cautious when using a forced air "blower" because of likely static electricty interraction. Canned air, not so much of a problem. Vacuum cleaners was less risky.

Oh when I cleaned things out everything was powered off don't worry I mean it wasn't clogged clogged but enough to the point there was obviously issues going on and 1 blow later......... It's not completely dust free maybe I could get a bit more away but unclogged enough the BSOD'S are no more

Many years ago, I used to just blow my own air at it a lot. It wasn't all that effective (helped a bit) and wouldn't have been safe. Was all sorts of big dust in there. We're talking when the Internet was in its early days. You do all sorts when you're younger .

Don't be doing it folks.

I use a 20 gallon air compressor twice a year.

Does the job perfectly.

Just need to make sure any to secure fan blades so they do no spin out.

I usually just stick a pencil in between the fan blades and then blow out.

I will also clean fan blades with q tips and isopropyl alcohol.

Hi-
Instead of canned air, I use VC023 Air Duster (from Amazon) once a week, on my HP Pavilion All-In-One desktop (sealed back) PC. The Air Duster is ~$23.00 and is for my needs, and over time it's a cheaper alternative to purchasing multiple cans of air.

GCG1000 said:

Hi-
Instead of canned air, I use VC023 Air Duster (from Amazon) once a week, on my HP Pavilion All-In-One desktop (sealed back) PC. The Air Duster is ~$23.00 and is for my needs, and over time it's a cheaper alternative to purchasing multiple cans of air.

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I went a similar route as the compressed air goes fast and adds up over time.

I also run a HEPA air purifier in the room where the PC is. Less dust in the air means less dust gets sucked into the PC by its case fans.

My own experience: My main PC (see 2nd system specs) had originally a 3rd generation Intel Core-i3 3220 CPU. I later bought my 3rd generation Intel Core-i7 3770 second hand to upgrade without replacing everything. However, the previous owner had kept the Intel CPU fan, so I used my old Core-i3 CPU fan to avoid buying a new one. This wasn't adequate for the more powerful Core-i7 and it had higher than average CPU temperatures, over 80 degrees Centigrade, but I didn't mind. But, in a hot summer day with outside temperature of 40 degrees, the CPU eventually reached the threshold of 105 degrees at full load and in order to protect itself it was dropped to about 1.5GHz and felt slower than an old Intel Celeron! My system was crawling. I then bought a third-party CPU fan with adequate airflow and dropped the average CPU temperature under 75 degrees, lower than 55 degrees in non hot days. So, yes, high temperature can affect performance and even the life of your electronics, so a good dusting does a huge difference. I use an air blower. Avoid vacuum cleaner as it might generate static electricity and damage the motherboard or other devices. Also I replace the old dry thermal paste between the CPU and the heat sink with fresh every couple of years. This makes at least 3-5 degrees difference if the old one is dry.