Weekend Open Forum: How often do you clean your computer?

As the resident “computer guy” for friends and family, it goes without saying that I’ve seen my fair share of PCs over the past 10 years or so. The majority…

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I don't use dust filters on any of the fans on my rig because they restrict airflow way too much. So on average I need to clean it once a month.

i've recently noticed a decreased frame rate when logging into an MMO (runescape) could this be due to dust? I plan to clean out my computer once i get home shortly, but by god since it's a dell I cant manage to get the fan off the heat sink, its clipped on with 4 VERY stiff clips, one which i've broke over the years attempting to get it off.


on a side note, I've ordered a faster graphic's card recently which should be here soon.

I have no rugs in my computer area. Rugs can be a big generator of particles inside a desktop.
I check for dust about every 9 months of use.

I typically clean my main work system every six months or so. The system in the bedroom for media hasn't been cleaned since I put it in there a year ago.

I use laptops and know they are ready when I notice the fans... I use my compressor to blow out the dust, I'm always surprised by how bad they get as they are stood on a desk not the floor.

Desktop gets cleaned once every 6 weeks, laptop every 4 weeks.

after about every 3-6 months or so i clean up my pc-system. Their is almost no difference between the temps with or without filters. So i opted to use the filters. I don't have to clean my pc every 3 weeks because removing things frequently might damage componts through wear

Every 3 months I give it a full scrub down. Every last inch either dusted, wiped or gassed. Every other week, I give the filters a quick dusting.

Turns out, a dry, soft-bristled paint brush is perfect for cleaning filters.

I wipe off the fans and wash my computer's filters every 2 weeks and do a more thorough clean about twice a hear.

I cleaned my pc if I noticed there's dust building inside it... to reduce the numbers of cleaning my pc I just make I place my pc in a room where I specialized it to place my pc and I make sure the room is always clean and free of dust

I clean my dust filters on my gaming rig about once every month, the inside is still mostly dust free since I built it. Might have to clean the inside once every 12 months or so.

I clean basically every 3-4 months- clean the filters every week. Used to clean on a 1-2 month basis until I started using a better grade of aftermarket filtration - DemciFlex.

Water loops generally get stripped/flushed every six months.

I have the Lian Li PC-P80 Armor Suit with three 140mm fans in front. Even with the removable dust screen in front, I have to sweep and blow out my machine every two weeks or so. It is so dusty here in SoCal.

I bought a little handheld 1 gallon Craftsman shopvac and I can sweep with one end and put the hose on the exhaust to blow out my fans and case crevices...

Every 3 months if I can, simple dusting. Flush my wc loop about every 4-7 months I'd say.

I don't recommend anyone to try this on anything electronic, luls

I have my desktop pretty well sealed except for the intakes which all have filters. I clean the filters about once a month and take the doors off for a full cleaning about once a year.

i used the demcifilters on my raidmax smilodon case for a straight year without having to clean till i just recently moved to a cm storm trooper. im sure it was a bit restricting but well worth keeping all that dust off my rig

I should clean it once i month i usually clean mine every 6 months but I think its been closer to a year iv been busy\lazy.

I clean my computer every 3-6 months, only because it's a gaming PC, and is hard to clean. Any other computers or servers I have I clean every 3-4 months.