Cleaning G5 interior to reduce temperature

alexf · Sep 30, 2004

Hi Everyone,

I recently came across this:

http://g5support.com/group/viewtopic.php?t=18

He claims that he has drastically reduced his G5 temperature and nothing violates the warranty (and is probably right) but it still seems a little scary to me, especially as I'm not very hardware savvy.

Has anyone tried this, or would anyone recommend / not recommend this?

varmit · Sep 30, 2004

alexf said:
Hi Everyone,

I recently came across this:

http://g5support.com/group/viewtopic.php?t=18

He claims that he has drastically reduced his G5 temperature and nothing violates the warranty (and is probably right) but it still seems a little scary to me, especially as I'm not very hardware savvy.

Has anyone tried this, or would anyone recommend / not recommend this?

The compresses air for the processors is computer cleaning 101, and should be done at least once every 3 months. I personally like to do it once a month if possible. But taking off all the fans, I don't think that is needed. Just have to blow air though the grills.

JOD8FY · Sep 30, 2004

It's perfectly safe. I use a can of compressed air to clean out my desktop PC about every 3 months. Trust me, as long as you don't touch any wires or parts, the air won't hurt it. I do belive that it can lower your computer's temperature and it will also cause you fans to run quieter and less often.

As a matter of fact, I think mine's due for another cleaning...

JOD8FY

alexf · Sep 30, 2004

OK, I bought a can of Kensington Dust Blaster compressed air with a straw.

I am worried because when I used it on my keyboard, the lucite clouded up (probably condensation because the can was so cold - I doubt there was any moisture in the can).

Is this an issue if blowing out the prossessor heat sinks, or should I be careful about condensation / moisture?

Also, if this is computer cleaning 101, how come I can't find any info from Apple on it?

5300cs · Oct 1, 2004

alexf said:
Also, if this is computer cleaning 101, how come I can't find any info from Apple on it?

They'll probably post it after everyone knows about it already

I used canned-air on the inside of my MDD G4 a few months back. There was so much dust in there I could've made a sweater ..........(ok that was gross.)

I got condensation on the CHIP becuase I was being a numbskull, but it ended up working fine. (Also got condensation on the CCD of my digital camera which had me sweating big time- that was OK in the end, too.)

tech4all · Oct 1, 2004

5300cs said:
....There was so much dust in there I could've made a sweater ..........(ok that was gross.)

That's A LOT of dust!

5300cs said:
I got condensation on the CHIP becuase I was being a numbskull, but it ended up working fine. (Also got condensation on the CCD of my digital camera which had me sweating big time- that was OK in the end, too.)

What did you do that makes you a "numbskull"?

And is it really neccessary to blow/clean the dust out of a PowerMac G5? Where do you clean/blow it off at? The fans or the general "inside" parts?

Sorry if that was stated already, but I'm really tired and need sleep and didn't feel like checking.

JOD8FY · Oct 1, 2004

alexf said:
OK, I bought a can of Kensington Dust Blaster compressed air with a straw.

I am worried because when I used it on my keyboard, the lucite clouded up (probably condensation because the can was so cold - I doubt there was any moisture in the can).

Is this an issue if blowing out the prossessor heat sinks, or should I be careful about condensation / moisture?

Actually, there is moisture in the can. If you shake it, you will feel something in it. That's why they say to never use it while it's upside down. The moisture is harmless; you can't see anything come out. The can of air should not cause any condensation, so don't worry.

Good luck,
JOD8FY

ewinemiller · Oct 1, 2004

JOD8FY said:
Actually, there is moisture in the can. If you shake it, you will feel something in it. That's why they say to never use it while it's upside down. The moisture is harmless; you can't see anything come out. The can of air should not cause any condensation, so don't worry.

Good luck,
JOD8FY

Actually just using compressed air will cause condensation if there is any humidity in the air even if held upright. Contents under pressure, expand when the valve is opened, dropping the temperature, it's physics 101. It is the basic principle behind how your air conditioner runs. I live in florida, you might as well be using a spray bottle of water to clean off your machine when you use compressed air here.

Having said that, getting a little mist on your heat sink or fans is not a problem, but other components may not be so hardy. You're probably better off using a vacuum cleaner with a very soft brush attachment to get the dust bunnies out of your computer. Office supply and computer stores sell little vacuum cleaners just for this purpose.

Finally, if you're already running into enough dust in a G5 (even the oldest really isn't that old) that it makes a noticable difference in heat then it's probably time to move the G5 out of the wood shop or stop rubbing long haired cats on the air intakes.

alexf · Oct 1, 2004

ewinemiller said:
Actually just using compressed air will cause condensation if there is any humidity in the air even if held upright. Contents under pressure, expand when the valve is opened, dropping the temperature, it's physics 101. It is the basic principle behind how your air conditioner runs. I live in florida, you might as well be using a spray bottle of water to clean off your machine when you use compressed air here.

Having said that, getting a little mist on your heat sink or fans is not a problem, but other components may not be so hardy. You're probably better off using a vacuum cleaner with a very soft brush attachment to get the dust bunnies out of your computer. Office supply and computer stores sell little vacuum cleaners just for this purpose.

Finally, if you're already running into enough dust in a G5 (even the oldest really isn't that old) that it makes a noticable difference in heat then it's probably time to move the G5 out of the wood shop or stop rubbing long haired cats on the air intakes.

A vacuum cleaner to clean the interor of a G5?!

Do you know how much static electicity vacuum cleaners give off? I would not recommend this.

If you read the link at the beginning of this post (http://g5support.com/group/viewtopic.php?t=18), the author claims that he reduced his CPU temperatures by 15 - 20º by doing this procedure, which is quite a lot, and probably means a quieter machine.

However, I am still worried about condensation / moisture getting in there.

jayscheuerle · Oct 1, 2004

dusted...

Makes you wonder why they don't put some sort of air filter or lint-trap on these machines...

jared_kipe · Oct 1, 2004

I wouldn't recommend blowing air through fans, I have done so to really really disgusting PC heatsinks/fans and it made the fans make noise. This led me to believe that some of the dust might have gotten where no dust is supposed to get and might eventually wear out the fans. Something to think about.

alexf · Oct 1, 2004

jared_kipe said:
I wouldn't recommend blowing air through fans, I have done so to really really disgusting PC heatsinks/fans and it made the fans make noise. This led me to believe that some of the dust might have gotten where no dust is supposed to get and might eventually wear out the fans. Something to think about.

Good point - thanks.

But what do you mean by "blowing air through fans"? Does this include using compressed air on the removable fans? And the heatsinks?

Search

Search

Cleaning G5 interior to reduce temperature

alexf

macrumors 6502a

varmit

macrumors 68000

JOD8FY

macrumors 6502a

alexf

macrumors 6502a

5300cs

macrumors 68000

tech4all

macrumors 68040

JOD8FY

macrumors 6502a

ewinemiller

macrumors 6502

alexf

macrumors 6502a

jayscheuerle

macrumors 68020

jared_kipe

macrumors 68030

alexf

macrumors 6502a

Our Staff