Just about time to pull out the air compressor again

Read 'em and weep fellas... When it comes to King of Cringe in this category the crown is mine.














This is the result of using your balcony with all it's pretty flowers and stuff as your air intake when you live next to a gravel road.
The PC stayed nice and cool until it started clogging up. This is beyond dust... The components are starting to grow fur.

Scannerman said:

Read 'em and weep fellas... When it comes to King of Cringe in this category the crown is mine.

View attachment 70025



View attachment 70026



View attachment 70028


View attachment 70029

Click to expand...

OMG! lol
Do you strap them on the back when you go dirt bike riding?

You could salvage that, if you melt it down first

You're gonna need a bigger toothbrush
I'll lend you this?

antspants said:

You could salvage that, if you melt it down first

You're gonna need a bigger toothbrush
I'll lend you this?View attachment 70031

Click to expand...

I don't see the Sulfuric Acid or the Dynamite. You keeping the good stuff for yourself??

antspants said:

You could salvage that, if you melt it down first

You're gonna need a bigger toothbrush

Click to expand...

Brother, why do you think I invested in an air compressor?

Oblias said:

I don't see the Sulfuric Acid or the Dynamite. You keeping the good stuff for yourself??

Click to expand...

Funny you should mention that. I should have taken a snap shot of the PC that I serviced at the lab my wife works at. I'm pretty sure the corrosion was the result of H2S, but it looked to me like the PSU caught fire in the process. Now that puppy would have given these pix a little competition!

Scannerman said:

Funny you should mention that. I should have taken a snap shot of the PC that I serviced at the lab my wife works at. I'm pretty sure the corrosion was the result of H2S, but it looked to me like the PSU caught fire in the process. Now that puppy would have given these pix a little competition!

Click to expand...

Now that would be something to see! You know, it amazes me that some systems look like they should have died decades ago, but they still keep plodding along, faithfully working for us without even the reward of being cleaned/serviced at a reasonable interval. Go figure......

Scannerman said:

my wife

Click to expand...

And don't forget the most important instructions of all..... "Stop leaving the door open!!" (video reference) Hahaha

Wolfzz said:

Here are a couple of my clients computers before I tackle them with my Air Compressor

View attachment 70014View attachment 70015View attachment 70016.View attachment 70017View attachment 70018

Click to expand...

Holy Smokes! (Glad it didn't go up in smokes). . I've had computers given to me that looked like that. That's awful!

Scannerman said:

Read 'em and weep fellas... When it comes to King of Cringe in this category the crown is mine.

View attachment 70025



View attachment 70026



View attachment 70028


View attachment 70029

This is the result of using your balcony with all it's pretty flowers and stuff as your air intake when you live next to a gravel road.
The PC stayed nice and cool until it started clogging up. This is beyond dust... The components are starting to grow fur.

Click to expand...

I guess this justifies why I'm so obsessive about keeping my case dust free on a regular basis. And why I only need a can of compressed air instead of an air compressor and toothbrush

The dustiest mine ever gets is a light coating after 4 months. A can of compressed air takes care of all that.

Dru2 said:

I guess this justifies why I'm so obsessive about keeping my case dust free on a regular basis. And why I only need a can of compressed air instead of an air compressor and toothbrush

Click to expand...

User preference. The six PCs that run in my basement on a daily basis second as reliable air filters. The cleanest air is down here — not because there's no dust, but because the air is constantly being cleaned. My daughters have allergies and the funniest thing is they're fine down here, but upstairs they start having complications until they take their meds or go back to the computer room. I don't think blowing that dust around with a can of air would win points with the Missuz. Still, if I had a reusable canister that I could pump full of air via my compressor I could wait for the ladies to leave to go do their thang and I could have at it.

hmmm... Thanks for the idea! Time to spend more munny!!

Oblias said:

And don't forget the most important instructions of all..... "Stop leaving the door open!!" (video reference) Hahaha

Click to expand...

Ha, ha, ha! You caught that, huh? Domestics.. Gotta luv 'em.

Oblias said:

You know, it amazes me that some systems look like they should have died decades ago, but they still keep plodding along, faithfully working for us without even the reward of being cleaned/serviced at a reasonable interval. Go figure......

Click to expand...

Agreed. It also behooves me to say that they don't make 'em the way they used to. Some of those old PCs are tough!

Scannerman said:

I don't think blowing that dust around with a can of air would win points with the Missuz.

Click to expand...

I've got respiratory issues as well and why I do my dusting outside on the patio where necessary - usually just the front mesh grill where it absorbs most of dust. With my routine cleanings though there isn't much dust on the inside, so I can just wear a normal N95 type mask for that.

Scannerman said:

Brother, why do you think I invested in an air compressor?

Click to expand...

I've got those Corsair RAM fans, but I don't use them. Never found I needed them; and all they do is add noise.

Dru2 said:

I've got respiratory issues as well and why I do my dusting outside on the patio where necessary - usually just the front mesh grill where it absorbs most of dust. With my routine cleanings though there isn't much dust on the inside, so I can just wear a normal N95 type mask for that.


I've got those Corsair RAM fans, but I don't use them. Never found I needed them; and all they do is add noise.

Click to expand...

I hear you. All three girls including the Missuz have issues with dust. I was hoping my daughters might inherit my end of the genetics in this regard. Not a chance. I checked out those refillable canisters and read a number of reviews. Think I'll just stick with using the compressor. In my younger days lugging this beast up the stairs would be a breeze. Even with all the mechanical drives pulled the thing is awkward to carry up stairs. With a compressor I never have to worry about running out of air, contributing to more e-waste via aerosol cans, or having to buy more cans. I certainly have enough air pressure to do an effective job (which is why caution is advisable). Even with a vacuum cleaner one must be careful. Admittedly, my air compressor is portable and a good deal lighter than my PC. Alas, it makes such a racket that I have to use ear protection.

Those RAM fans really do keep the RAM cooler although I wonder how important that is considering that the older style Dominator RAM has huge heat sinks on it already. My CPU is clocked from 3.2 to 4.2 GHz and I have no idea how much this affects the RAM but it certainly won't make it any cooler. The fans came with the kit. I also had to modify the brackets and eventually removed the bottom brackets because they were pretty much useless on my ASUS system board due to where the cooling pipes for the VRM were located. In fact, it was those heat sinks that made it next to impossible for me to install my Noctua NHD-15 so the wife inherited that cooler. (The temps on her Haswell put my system to an open shame.) Noctua recommended the cooler I'm using on this machine although I don't think it's nearly as formidable as the NHD-15. Plus I had to order it from Austria because they didn't have it stocked anywhere in North America at the time. I'm thinking every little bit helps.

I'm tempted to just give the thing a quick vacuum job and shut the door on it. Once the door is closed nobody can see the spaghetti monster inside; but the OCD monster in me will remind me every day that it's there. Surprising as it may seem, I really do appreciate good cable management.

Scannerman said:

In my younger days lugging this beast up the stairs would be a breeze. Even with all the mechanical drives pulled the thing is awkward to carry up stairs.

Click to expand...

I don't lug my PC anywhere, just pull it out of its spot and use a can of air. I also keep the front grill cleaned with a duster, so air flow isn't hindered. As you see from my photo, I have the keep that front clean or else dust builds up quick.

Anyway, because I dust the inside routinely with a can of air, I don't get dust buildup, so cleaning is quick and a lot less messy.

Scannerman said:

Those RAM fans really do keep the RAM cooler although I wonder how important that is considering that the older style Dominator RAM has huge heat sinks on it already. My CPU is clocked from 3.2 to 4.2 GHz and I have no idea how much this affects the RAM but it certainly won't make it any cooler.

Click to expand...

I don't use them. Never needed a "RAM fan". Anyway, I think those fans are more for looks than anything else.

I'm running an Intel i9-9900K with a base freq. of 3.6 to 5.0gig max turbo. And that's a hot CPU out the box, but my Corsair's H115i RGB AIO cooler keeps it at bay, and I don't overclock (not that it can't handle simple overclocks) so it's perfect.

BTW, nice looking PC

Scannerman said:

Brother, why do you think I invested in an air compressor?

Click to expand...

Nice. Mine is dead. I'm totally with you on Corsair. Such a pity.

Blah. I'm going obsolete. I like cases with front bays and all sorts of goodies in them. Corsair does make some fine looking cases though. Still over-priced. IMO Corsair and ASUS are resting on their laurels and counting a little too much on their popularity. Quality control is failing and they're both getting worse every year. <Just my opinion, of course. Not trying to offend anyone. I'm on decade #3 now, building PCs, observing, taking notes etc. Used to be the biggest ASUS fan boi ever.

Dru2 said:

This is the second time you've made this statement concerning a post of mine. This will be the second time I tell you it's not an issue if done right. It's not that hard. And removing the power supply is a piece of cake if using a modular one - simply disconnect the cables from the PS and remove it (been there done that). And what's so hard about disconnecting a cable from a component for removal?

It's only an issue if you make it an issue

Click to expand...

Sorry, that response was intended for winuser who was complaining about his cable management in his TV stand at home. I neglected to hit the quote button when I responded.

I haven't had a non modular power supply for probably 15 years. I buy them solely for cable management purposes.

As far as my comment goes though, inside of a single PC, I have no problems with cable management either. My boxes are, and have always been very tidy.






Where the struggles come in have always been home theater racks, and computer racks with tons of cables, components, etc. You spend a ton of time, get them just perfect, and then have to swap a component, and find that your cables just don't quite reach.

Dru2 said:

I'm running an Intel i9-9900K with a base freq. of 3.6 to 5.0gig max turbo. And that's a hot CPU out the box, but my Corsair's H115i RGB AIO cooler keeps it at bay, and I don't overclock (not that it can't handle simple overclocks) so it's perfect.

BTW, nice looking PC

Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah well, you're talking high performance, high efficiency Intel bleeding edge stuff there. That chip can do a solid 5 GHz on a mild O.C. (never mind turbo). I tend to shy away from any kind of liquid cooling. (Says Air Compressor Man.) Not that I've ever had a build leak on me, but it's just a *wait for it*... ::::drum roll:::.... user preference.