Effective Way To Clean HSF

congrade07

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I happen to read this post last month. When I took my p67 board for rma, i saw my hsf although pretty new but dust has settle between the fins.

So I remove the hsf and the fans. I dump my heatsink block into a pail of water mixed with detergent and started spinning the hsf. After 2 min of spinning and rinsing I air dry my hsf while I went to rma my board.

When I returned, the heat sink is clean and so brand new! When my wife saw what I am doing, she is shocked.... She asked, computer parts can wash with water meh.... LOL
 

sOt0nGz

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damn it, last time i used an old toothbrush to remove them.. so tedious haha
thanks a lot
 

cyloneboy

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Nice one, i will try it on my xigmatek red scorpion Heatsink see if it work. Too much dust on it and internal also very dirty which is very hard to clean using brush..
 

cephelix

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Two thumbs up for this helpful thread...
By the by, cleaned my Heatsink a few days ago using the method outlined, there seem to be residue on the outer edges of my fins...dont know what it is and i can't seem to scrape it off....

anyone encountered this problem before?
also, does anyone know if heat dissipation is affected my an oxidised heatsink?

thanx so much for the help
 

Mach3.2

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Two thumbs up for this helpful thread...
By the by, cleaned my Heatsink a few days ago using the method outlined, there seem to be residue on the outer edges of my fins...dont know what it is and i can't seem to scrape it off....

anyone encountered this problem before?
also, does anyone know if heat dissipation is affected my an oxidised heatsink?

thanx so much for the help
I got white colour residue stuck on my Stock intel heatsink fins also.
I just wash with hot water, but never use the cold water treatment:s22:
 

ZrE0_Cha0s

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Best guide

Well done!!! Best guide to "How to clean your HSF"

But does it apply to all HSF???
Or is there any specifiy materials(like what kind of metals with be clean)???

Sorry for questioning you.:s8:
 

nicholastio

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great guide!
your heatsink looks super shiny after the whole process. if only i read this earlier. cause i just dismantled my whole rig 2 days ago to clean out the dust after 2 years.

i used a powerful vacuum cleaner on my venomous x and it sucked out most of the dust. i still see a little dust under close scrutiny but i guess its fine, afterall it will start collecting dust again the moment i turn on my com.

also, i have since invested in fan filters for all my intake fans as i was shocked to see the amount of dust build up after 2 years, so i hope those fan filters will do me some good.

anyway i ll probably try your method for cleaning the heatsink the next time i clean my com :)
 

amycompton

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However, a bad on my part the I did not consider the difficulty in the maintenance process. The shape of the HSF is round and the fins converges to the center, this cause the dust that is stick at the thin gap near the center impossible to be removed even with an compressed air gun. Hope that this method helps to remove the excess amount of dust that is trapped between the fins near the center of the HSF.
 

i1magic

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I happen to read this post last month. When I took my p67 board for rma, i saw my hsf although pretty new but dust has settle between the fins.

So I remove the hsf and the fans. I dump my heatsink block into a pail of water mixed with detergent and started spinning the hsf. After 2 min of spinning and rinsing I air dry my hsf while I went to rma my board.

When I returned, the heat sink is clean and so brand new! When my wife saw what I am doing, she is shocked.... She asked, computer parts can wash with water meh.... LOL

You should show your wife this :

 

i1magic

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great guide!
your heatsink looks super shiny after the whole process. if only i read this earlier. cause i just dismantled my whole rig 2 days ago to clean out the dust after 2 years.

i used a powerful vacuum cleaner on my venomous x and it sucked out most of the dust. i still see a little dust under close scrutiny but i guess its fine, afterall it will start collecting dust again the moment i turn on my com.

also, i have since invested in fan filters for all my intake fans as i was shocked to see the amount of dust build up after 2 years, so i hope those fan filters will do me some good.

anyway i ll probably try your method for cleaning the heatsink the next time i clean my com :)

Yes .. nice detailed info on how to clean HSF.

But taking it out + wash it = 3-4hrs at least.

Seeing this makes me wonder whether water cooling would be better and easier to maintain.
 

joel3694

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Yes .. nice detailed info on how to clean HSF.

But taking it out + wash it = 3-4hrs at least.

Seeing this makes me wonder whether water cooling would be better and easier to maintain.

But wouldnt the radiator gets dusty too? Correct me if im wrong, I dont liquid cool =x
 

i1magic

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Ok .. I followed the first part using the hot water part and after that I just use the shower head water to rinse off again.

Finally get to clean my heatsink and re-seat it again.

Will monitor the cpu temps.
 

i1magic

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Yes .. nice detailed info on how to clean HSF.

But taking it out + wash it = 3-4hrs at least.

Seeing this makes me wonder whether water cooling would be better and easier to maintain.

But wouldnt the radiator gets dusty too? Correct me if im wrong, I dont liquid cool =x

Yes ... radiator will get dusty ... so just use vacuum cleaner to suck and clean it can liao. Heat sink ... how to clean with vacuum cleaner?
 

jeffrey159

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omg guys, something wrong with my hsf. i use this method and clean. checked my temp. instead of decreasing, my temp now increase to 50+ idle
using thermalright silver arrow sb-e

btw some of my bulletheads of thermalright silver arrow sb-e fall off while cleaning, are those things important?
 
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KleoZy

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Reviving this thread.
now got live video to show you the end product.
 
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