Clean out your computer!

The other day I went through my bios to check what I had in various settings and make sure everything was set right. I don't remember exactly why...but it might have had something to do with reinstalling my system on a new-to-me SSD. Maybe I was checking what the default hard drive was and check the settings...I dunno. While there, among other things, I decided to set the alert for the temperature gauges on different things, among other things.

I set the alert for 80C on the CPU...and to my shock and horror, it went off the next day while just opening a streaming video online. That's bad. That's really bad. Maybe that might be an issue for some people with under-powered laptops...but I have a pretty nice quad core that I was supposed to upgrade quite a while ago...but is still listed as one of top 100 fastest processors available to consumers, far and above the average PC.

So, what was the issue?

Dust.

_{Verstaubter Kühlkörper eines CPU-Kühlers By Hans Haase 19 June 2018, 10:37:47 CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)}

Dirty sticky piles of dust clogging up the heat sink of the CPU fan. Just globs of it. It was disgusting. I had actually cleaned out my case...well I guess it was longer ago than I realized. I really should have considered getting a case with dust filters...but I just didn't think about it, and I kinda cheaped out on the case and mobo...which were part of a barebones deal.

It made me think though...how many people actually clean out their computers? How often do you do it? Did you know that you should clean out your computer every few months? Or at least every year. Do you know how much dust can be in there? It can be quite disgusting. Dust also shortens the life of your computer.

I personally just use a vacuum, but some people are scared about static, which is nowhere near the problem some make it out to be. You can also pollute the environment and get a can of air.

If it's a laptop that's not made to be taken apart by anyone but a professional, yet it has fans installed, sell it. That thing's a pile of consumerist junk.

Computers have to be taken apart and serviced. It's just a nature of their design.

If a computer was made perfectly to have no holes and no fans and is waterproof, yet has a separate battery that can be replaced, without opening it up, then sure, it's fine if it's not really made to be opened easily. But things happen with computers. They get old. You want to upgrade them eventually. You want to replace broken parts. Eventually the repair shops for the company stop wanting to repair them...because they're assholes. Then you have to find some third party to repair them...often when the design is closed.

But I digress.

Computers have to be opened and cleaned occasionally if they have openings.

Look up the model of your computer and how to open it. Do it very carefully and put all the screws in separate containers sorted by size and type. Take pictures if necessary. If it's the first time you're doing something like this, it will probably be necessary.

If it's a laptop and they use some kind of plastic tool to open it up, buy a cheap one on ebay or some other store. Do not try to get by with a flat head screw driver. You will damage the cheap plastic on your expensive machine.

If it's a laptop, I would suggest buying new thermal paste and cleaning off the old stuff on the CPU and putting some good stuff on it. Whatever has good reviews should be fine. The stuff they put on a lot of laptops is subpar and utter crap. They save a few pennies, which translates to millions of dollars, by putting on the cheapest shit they can find.

I actually had a laptop fail on me dozens of times before, and you know what one of the major issues it had? Shit thermal paste on the CPU. After I gave up on dealing with the company and their shitty requirement that I not take apart the computer, replacing that thermal paste solved most of the issues with the laptop. They actually replaced multiple motherboards on that machine...and it all could have been avoided by someone just taking off the heat sink and fan and putting on something that wasn't utter garbage.

If you ever have a laptop or electronic device that has issues in the first month, do whatever you can to get a full refund and get something else.

But I'm getting off topic.

Dust is everywhere. We shed dead skin all the time, and it builds up like snow on everything. You don't want it insulating your computer gear though. Computers need to stay cool. So you want to clean the various parts of a computer occasionally. If you don't, that dust will build up, and your computer will overheat and act like shit. So just clean it out every few months and save your computer taking a shit on you.