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This blows!

  • Thread starter swords
  • Start date
Seriously, I've tried all sorts of things to clean the dust outta my PC case I've got one of those "cooler cases" that's full of holes. Nice when it's clean but it gets hot as hell when it's choked with dust. I picked up an air compressor kit with some good blow gun bits and really have my PC case like new now. If you have dust in electronics problems like I do don't waste your time with those cans of propellant, I can blow harder than those with my own lungs. Pick up a cheap air compressor (mine was only $50) and the accessory kit $8. I ran around the house blasting years of dust out of everything this weekend. The cats stayed on the patio! :D
 
I just looked into my crystal ball. One month from now, swords will get a new vacuum cleaner. A short time later, there will be a new thread on the forum entitled "This sucks!"

Jason
 
Be warned, air compressors compress air, and what's in the air as well, therefore humidity as well... When compressed, the humidity reverts to liquid, and in your jet of compressed air, you will feel drops hit your hand sometimes...
To avoid this, just make sure you drain it of pressure everytime, and in doing so, the water that's accumulated should be expelled as well. Usually the drain is at the lowest point, allowing this to happen.
 
Did you open your case to clean it? I open mine up every few months and give it a good once over. It's amazing how much dust is drawn to those electrical fields.
 
LOL! I actually hate carpet, it's always dirty. I finally cut out my neon orange 70s shag carpet a couple years ago. I like tile or linoleum cos I can just sweep and I'm all done no matter how much soil I spill!

Yeah, I've had the case cover open for some time trying to blow it out but it never got clean. this weekend I finally went and got the accessory kit with some nice directional heads.

Those cans of propellant are good for spewing coolant all over your equipment if you use more than a tiny "ppft" tap of the trigger. We had a very condensation prone air compressor at my first mailing job. I shorted out the paper "burster" with it (a machine which separates continuous forms), I sprayed out the works with water and not a jet of air like what was supposed to come out! :D
 
I have to clean my computer out quite a bit too; more than I'd like to, and probably not as much as I should. I have a dedicated air compressor to do the job. I just have to be careful not to use it while anyone is sleeping....as it can wake the dead lol.

My case accumulates dust like a vacuum and sounds like a vacuum cleaner with the 120mm fans it runs. I get to give it another good clean before my motherboard replacement comes in. It's been a big hunk of metal for the last two to three months.

P1020701.jpg


When it works, it does have pretty lights
P1020700.jpg


Crystal
 
That's a big, beastly looking PC (mines like that too) what do you do with it? Anything special? Digital art or 3D gaming...?

I had mine built for creating 3D characters/environments but I found out I'm just not into the polygon & math work of that sort of software. I prefer painting or sculpting with my hands not cad like coordinates. So mine's just a way over beefed Photoshop digital painting/drawing setup. I do like not having to clean brushes or keep track of pens & nibs, just put the pen tablet aside and walk away! :D
 
Yeah it's huge. It's a full server case. I don't do anything all that special with it. I built it to be a gaming PC. I used to really be into World of Warcraft (it's called WarCrack for a reason ;)), but quit playing awhile ago. I'm sorta waiting for Aion now. The flying aspect is kinda neat. Though it may be a bit too Korean for my taste. I wasn't too much of a fan of Guild Wars and it's being produced by the same company....so we shall see. Steps are being taken to allow it to be better accepted here in the States from what I read recently. Only time will tell. My comp is kinda out of date. I'm still running the same BFG GeForce 7950 OC card. Maybe I'll upgrade soon. Does your case have any openings in the side? Mine has that honeycomb design, which is just as good as being completely open. It makes dust even worse. Sure it looks nice, but there's certainly a lot of up keep.

I don't have the patients for programing or digital art. I can barely get a website together using basic HTML and a CSS template haha.

Crystal
 
Yeah, mine has a couple honeycombs on the side as well as the entire front is one big honeycomb except for the power button and the CD Rom Drive. The openings keep the works pretty cool but they do collect dust like champs, then they heat up like crazy. Mine was shutting itself off the other day so I knew something really had to be done. When I blew it out it was like someone dumped out a whole bag of perlite, you couldn't even see in here for a minute or so! :D

If you like to draw/paint it's really fun to do it in Photoshop with a Wacom pen tablet. Not much programming with that other than setting up your canvas and choosing a tool. Being able to create your own tools as well as the Layers function are awesome. It takes some getting used to drawing without looking at the paper and up at the screen instead but there is a lot of neat things you can do compared to traditional paper & pen. It's a bit disheartening at first cos you essentially have to relearn how to draw/paint. My first digital drawings look like a 5 year old did them - now I've advanced to about an 8 year old!
 
  • #10
Hey, have you seen these?
http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/
I saw a review of an early model that mistakenly listed them at $249 MSRP - I was very disappointed when I called them and found out otherwise.
As for dust in cases, I like to turn my vacuum on nearby while I blow mine out. I use the canned stuff - the trick is just to not tip it while using it, and keep it warm because the expanding propellant has a refrigerating effect and the pressure drops as the can cools. I usually buy two cans at a time and alternate between them when one gets too cold. At work, we have a portable air tank and a compressor handy in the shop, which makes things easier. But I can see how having a poor air source could be a real pain.
~Joe

PS - Did you ever try any 3D sculpting programs? I've always been curious about those.
 
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