Anybody cleaned the fan of his RMBP yet?

[freelancer27]

Hi guys,

I live in an apartment with a very dusty carpet (I have to vacuum once a week because it is that bad). Given the fact that the fans of the RMBP work somehow like a vacuum too I was wondering if anybody had made the same experience and already cleaned them.

So, how easy is it to clean them and how often do you clean them? Is there a way how I could check if need to clean them without opening the machine?

Thx.

 

[spacepower7]

I'm sorry if you are serious but this kind of sounds like a joke. How often did you clean your PC laptop's fans? I have a 8.5 year old G4 Powerbook that stills works great and I never cleaned the fans or opened the chassis.

 

[medulla]

How would you clean it?

 

[tillsbury]

Just rip the back off and stuff a vacuum cleaner hose in there. Or, if you don't dare do that, write a program to make them spin at 8000rpm in reverse and collect it from the input vents.

 

[GCWB]

I like to fly up into space in my bathtub and then break a hole in the bottom. I then hold my laptop out as the vacuum re-stabilises the pressure. Finally I squeeze my rubber ducky, make big waves and yelp "splashy splash!"

 

[SDAVE]

How would you clean it?

Better question: why? It's barely 2 weeks old.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

I like to fly up into space in my bathtub and then break a hole in the bottom. I then hold my laptop out as the vacuum re-stabilises the pressure. Finally I squeeze my rubber ducky, make big waves and yelp "splashy splash!"

OMG I thought I was the only one!

 

[Ifti]

Better question: why? It's barely 2 weeks old.

Im assuming he just wants to know how to do it, rather then actually doing it now.

 

[JohnDoe98]

Compressed Air.

 

[Fatt]

Just because he is asking, does not mean he needs to do it now. Even though apple machines have very little air flow through them doesn't mean they won't collect dust over time. Just because your machine is not overheating, does not mean it couldn't benefit from a cleaning. Doing a yearly cleaning would be to any machines benefit, arguing otherwise is just another apple centric exercise in hardware ignorance.

In the case of the rMBP, to open it you would need a pentalobe driver get the bottom panel off. Can get one from ifixit for $13. I've already ordered mine as I intend to replace the TIM on the CPU/GPU on day one, and I plan on doing at least a yearly cleaning of the fans and heatsink assembly. Then with just some canned air, you would be good to go. I actually have a DataVac ED500 electric duster for cleaning my PCs and radiators. If your environment is that dusty, I'd say you could probably use one too to keep all your devices clean.

EDIT:

I'm sorry if you are serious but this kind of sounds like a joke. How often did you clean your PC laptop's fans? I have a 8.5 year old G4 Powerbook that stills works great and I never cleaned the fans or opened the chassis.

I find it hilarious that you believe your machine is dust free (as in not needing a cleaning), while admitting you've never even opened the chassis. Classic apple "enthusiast"... Your machine may not be overheating, but I guarantee you, you would see a drop in load temps after cleaning.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

I find it hilarious that you believe your machine is dust free (as in not needing a cleaning), while admitting you've never even opened the chassis. Classic apple "enthusiast"... Your machine may not be overheating, but I guarantee you, you would see a drop in load temps after cleaning.

Perhaps you should reread posts before replying to them. He never said his machine his dust free.

 

[zerotiu]

Just because he is asking, does not mean he needs to do it now. Even though apple machines have very little air flow through them doesn't mean they won't collect dust over time. Just because your machine is not overheating, does not mean it couldn't benefit from a cleaning. Doing a yearly cleaning would be to any machines benefit, arguing otherwise is just another apple centric exercise in hardware ignorance.

In the case of the rMBP, to open it you would need a pentalobe driver get the bottom panel off. Can get one from ifixit for $13. I've already ordered mine as I intend to replace the TIM on the CPU/GPU on day one, and I plan on doing at least a yearly cleaning of the fans and heatsink assembly. Then with just some canned air, you would be good to go. I actually have a DataVac ED500 electric duster for cleaning my PCs and radiators. If your environment is that dusty, I'd say you could probably use one too to keep all your devices clean.

EDIT:
I find it hilarious that you believe your machine is dust free (as in not needing a cleaning), while admitting you've never even opened the chassis. Classic apple "enthusiast"... Your machine may not be overheating, but I guarantee you, you would see a drop in load temps after cleaning.

I'm kind of disagree a little bit. Yes, it is definitely not dust free but cleaning it in some location doesn't have any significant impact (from my experience). Maybe because we live in different location. For comparison, I have to clean my CPUs tower every 1.5 months. Black dusts everywhere . I've opened my 08 mbp 4 times to change RAM + hdd and I don't find any visible dusts like inside my CPUs.

My MBP operating temperature is 55-70 degree celcius. Whether I clean it or not, the operating temperature is still the same. But again, we live in different location and I never use my MBP outdoor. So live here with me..and you can proudly have the title 'classic apple enthusiast' .

I wonder if a few years from now, when all Apples notebooks get new fan design and I brag about the silentnesss, will I be called 'classic apple enthusiast' ?

 

[Puevlo]

A damp rag works best.

 

[Interstella5555]

I'm sorry if you are serious but this kind of sounds like a joke. How often did you clean your PC laptop's fans? I have a 8.5 year old G4 Powerbook that stills works great and I never cleaned the fans or opened the chassis.

I'm sorry if you are serious, but this reply seems like a joke...Beyond the towers I cracked open in college with dust bunnies bigger than your head to living currently in a place with 2 cats and a hookah it's not that hard to believe that dust and other materials will get into your computer. I'm not sure what the best solution is, but pretending that there's n the potential for buildup in there isn't one of them.

 

[MacMan988]

Isn't it a bit too early to open up a retina macbook pro to clean the fans?

 

[gentlefury]

I use smcFanControl on my Mac Pro to blast it out occasionally. I'm guess you could do the same right?

 

[VFC]

Here is the kind of cleaning the OP is referring too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diCvsKmDsng&feature=player_embedded

 

[biscuitsxluv]

Here is the kind of cleaning the OP is referring too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diCvsKmDsng&feature=player_embedded

Wow! That thing s filthy

 

[Funkenstein]

Here is the kind of cleaning the OP is referring too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diCvsKmDsng&feature=player_embedded

Where the hell's he been living? Underground?

 

[Fatt]

Perhaps you should reread posts before replying to them. He never said his machine his dust free.

Maybe you should reread my post and try and follow my logic... By saying his machine doesn't need a cleaning, as in would see no benefit from it, he is implying that it is in fact dust free. As only a dust free machine would not benefit from a cleaning. Do you follow now?

I'm kind of disagree a little bit. Yes, it is definitely not dust free but cleaning it in some location doesn't have any significant impact (from my experience). Maybe because we live in different location. For comparison, I have to clean my CPUs tower every 1.5 months. Black dusts everywhere . I've opened my 08 mbp 4 times to change RAM + hdd and I don't find any visible dusts like inside my CPUs.

My MBP operating temperature is 55-70 degree celcius. Whether I clean it or not, the operating temperature is still the same. But again, we live in different location and I never use my MBP outdoor. So live here with me..and you can proudly have the title 'classic apple enthusiast' .

I wonder if a few years from now, when all Apples notebooks get new fan design and I brag about the silentnesss, will I be called 'classic apple enthusiast' ?

Absolutely environment is the key factor in how much dust you will accumulate, and also usage. If you haven't used the machine much in the past few years, then it obviously wouldn't be as dusty as a machine that has actually been used for 8 years. Unless your living in a Class1 cleanroom, there is no way your machine is dust free, and would therefore not benefit from a cleaning. This is a simple fact, any amount of dust collected on the heatsink assembly will increase your temps, maybe not by enough to make you care, but that is not the issue. My calling him a classic apple enthusiast, is in reference to him stating, his machine would not benefit from a cleaning, while even admitting to having not opened it to see what state it is in. A completely blind and uneducated statement, stated with the confidence only found from an apple user. Your machine may very well not be very dusty, but I guarantee you it would benefit from a cleaning. The benefit may not be significant enough for you to care, but that does not change the validity of my statement. Like I said before, arguing other wise is just an exercise in hardware ignorance...

 

[Dangerous Theory]

Maybe you should reread my post and try and follow my logic... By saying his machine doesn't need a cleaning, as in would see no benefit from it, he is implying that it is in fact dust free. As only a dust free machine would not benefit from a cleaning. Do you follow now?

No he isn't... Dust in the fans doesn't affect performance until it actually blocks heat enough to keep internal temps high and therefore limit the CPU/GPU. A small amount of dust will not provide any noticeable effect.

 

[Fatt]

No he isn't... Dust in the fans doesn't affect performance until it actually blocks heat enough to keep internal temps high and therefore limit the CPU/GPU. A small amount of dust will not provide any noticeable effect.

Remember when I mentioned arguing other wise is just being ignorant, well you've just proved me right... The fans are not the issue, its the fins on the heatsink, once covered in a very light coat of even silt like dust, the efficiency in the thermal transfer between the fins and the air is reduced. Please don't argue with me over this, I have far more experience with PC cooling than you, this is obvious. Again a light coat of dust, may not make a difference significant enough for YOU to care, that however does not mean the efficiency of the heat exchange at the heatsink isn't reduced when even slightly dusty. The fans only become a concern, when like you said they get clogged. I won't say anything further, believe what you want but your logic and information is flawed.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

Remember when I mentioned arguing other wise is just being ignorant, well you've just proved me right... The fans are not the issue, its the fins on the heatsink, once covered in a very light coat of even silt like dust, the efficiency in the thermal transfer between the fins and the air is reduced. Please don't argue with me over this, I have far more experience with PC cooling than you, this is obvious. Again a light coat of dust, may not make a difference significant enough for YOU to care, that however does not mean the efficiency of the heat exchange at the heatsink isn't reduced when even slightly dusty. The fans only become a concern, when like you said they get clogged. I won't say anything further, believe what you want but your logic and information is flawed.

Lol. My original point was that you just decided to extrapolate info from the other persons post and make assumptions about what he meant so you could needlessly argue. You can argue superiority all you like, but performance on MacBooks are not affected by a small amount of dust anywhere in the system. They are designed purposely to allow plenty of leeway with temperatures and still run optimally, for all sorts of environmental conditions. Maybe you work on some shoddy PCs / PC cooling systems, but Macs are designed with a little eloquence.

 

[psykick5]

I had an old 17" laptop from 2003 that was overheating all the time. The P4 was hitting 105C. I opened it up, cleaned it out (and pulled out a ping pong ball sized ball of dust in the fan) and it ran 40 degrees cooler immediately after. Heatsink was clogged, too