OT-BLoody heatwave

[Fyron]

No need for that. Go to a local computer/electronics store and buy a can of compressed air. Take the PC outside with case off, blow all the dust out, paying careful attention to all fans and heat sinks (as this is where dust is the biggest problem). Its really easy.

[Randallw]

Fans pretty obvious but whats the heat sink look like. All I know about them is you need a lot when designing a battlemech . Theres a big gold thing with lots of ridges, more surface area I guess.

[Will]

If you're feeling especially brave, you can unplug everything on the system board, put it in your dishwasher and run it. That cleans out the dust really well, and as long as it is dried before you try plugging everything back in, works fine. Although it's probably not a good idea if you have hard water...

With the canned air, it may be hard to get some dust cleared away, especially on heat sinks, especially on the CPU. You should be able to remove the fan from the heat sink (usually there's some locking levers and some clips) to get better access, and if that still doesn't work with the compressed air, take a damp (meaning, not dripping) napkin and wipe away the dust.

And while the temperature is that high, it's probably a good idea to only have the computer on when you really need it, and maybe keep the side of the case off for better air flow.

[Randallw]

Found some local shops that have tiny vacumns and air cans. Only problem is that my case appears to be held together with rivets. This doesn't make sense to me but that's what it looks like. There are two big screws at the back but the rest look like rivets. I am wondering if the rivets are just to hold the sides on and if I unscrew the back the whole thing will come off.

Edit: figured it out. The two screws hold on one side which I guess comes off. Last time I had to open a computer the whole cover came off.