[oviedo7]

Yeah I have the memory specs now and have found a couple of places to buy them. Just stalling a bit to see if I would need anything more. I've gotten my hands on some compressed air and I heard you could use a handheld vacuum cleaner as long as it is battery charged... Is that true?

The lamellas of the heatsink are filled with dust and I could clean it more if I unsrewed the fan and using a Q-tip between the lamellas. Then I thought about replacing the heatsink-fan as it was working very hard and loud when I got it - I don't know how long it have been doing that before I got it and I thought it might be good to replace it. Would it be okay to just clean the heatsink on the outside like this?

How much dust usually gets underneath the heatsink?

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I've gotten my hands on some compressed air and I heard you could use a handheld vacuum cleaner as long as it is battery charged... Is that true?

Absolutely not
This is a recipe for a problem.

Dust under the heatsink is impossible because it is sitting on the cpu.
You should be able to disconnect the heatsink and fan from the cpu depending on how it is connected. Some use screws and others use a pressure released latch on either side of the cpu.
Taking it out and blowing it out should clear 99% of the dust. This also could be the reason it is working os hard to cool the cpu.

[rshaffer61]

I've gotten my hands on some compressed air and I heard you could use a handheld vacuum cleaner as long as it is battery charged... Is that true?

Absolutely not
This is a recipe for a problem.

Dust under the heatsink is impossible because it is sitting on the cpu.
You should be able to disconnect the heatsink and fan from the cpu depending on how it is connected. Some use screws and others use a pressure released latch on either side of the cpu.
Taking it out and blowing it out should clear 99% of the dust. This also could be the reason it is working os hard to cool the cpu.

[oviedo7]

Alright - I'll stay off any ventures with a vacuum cleaner then... I don't have a handheld one anyway so that's money saved right there.

It's already more silent now with the cleaning I did when I first got it... Since there won't be any dust underneath - couldn't I just take of the fan and clean the heatsink while it still sits on the CPU? - Without taking it off?

Edited by oviedo7, 16 January 2010 - 01:01 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Yep you could and you would also have access to the heatsink fins as well.

[oviedo7]

Then I'll with that option - since no dust would have found it's way to the cpu, I think I'll keep the heatsink in place and just remove the fan, thus enabling me to clean between the fins. And maybe I'll shop for a new heatsink fan to replace the old, as it might have done some heavy working.

Any specific I need to look for in a heatfan or is it more down to size?

[rshaffer61]

You will need to know what CPU you have because that determines the heatsink and fan you buy.

[oviedo7]

On my system the fan just sits seperately on top of the heatsink connected with a couple of screws into the sink. Couldn't I just replace the fan only and leave the sink in place?

[rshaffer61]

Yes but not advisable as normally the heatsink and fan are sold as a unit and specifically designed to work together.
The fact that most manufacturers make the fans to be replaced is good but you would need to do some investigating and make sure you get a fan that is rated as good as the one you have. Most likely it would be a 90mm fan but I could be wrong on that.
Try checking with the manufacturer of the system or the fan. The other thing to consider is being a name brand system the heatsink and fan may be on a retail cpu which means it is specifically made for that system and cpu.
I would suggest contacting them via phone or internet as I'm sure they have the replacement parts you could purchase.

[oviedo7]

Oh okay. Well I'll look into finding a direct replacement then, if I decide to replace it. For starters I could take it off and clean it thoroughly, since the spot clean so far has already done wonders.

I have a couple of blurry photos of the vents on the back and front of the case:


4 big holes for screws...


Not much space between the inner metal case and the outer plastic shield. Perhaps I could mount a fan on the inside and put the srews in from the outside, removing the plastic shield? Then again there really aren't any dedicated screwholes...

Edited by oviedo7, 16 January 2010 - 01:52 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Yep back one is a normal setup. Front maybe a little harder to do. Another ideal for the front is to use zip ties to secure the fan. Make sure you check the directional arrow on the fan so that it is pulling air in from the front and blowing out on the back.

[oviedo7]

Don't know why zip ties didn't spring to mind. Thanks for the advice.

I'll find something to fit at the holes at the back and in the front?... Same size as in the back or is bigger better - instead choosing the biggest I could fit in under the PCI card?

What connections could I use?

I'm not at all into the terms and doings of power inside the case. I have a power cable coming from the PSU - same size as the one going to the floppy drive. Also I don't think I would be needing the floppy so I could perhaps use that as well?

I got 2 set of 3-pins available alongside the 3-pin that supplies the heatsink-fan. The pins have these words: FAN_SEL1 and FAN_SEL2.

Also 2 plugs - a yellow and black - Uhm... Plugs the size as used in the floppy drive. The power plug to the floppy drive would fit these plugs...

Sorry if this was TOO confusing..

[rshaffer61]

Probably going to be a Molex connector. Something with a end that looks like this.

[oviedo7]

Yeah I got one of those idle too - a female one - coming from the PSU. With a twin one like this, could I plug the 2 fans into that?

[rshaffer61]

As long as they will reach the fans then you should be ok. If needed you can purchase another Y splitter

[oviedo7]

Should I use an extra Y-splitter for extension? I might need some lenght so get both to the front and back. But it us okay using the idle plug coming from the PSU right?