Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is your Mac Pro dusty?

Tangerine

Tangerine

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 5, 2007
182
0
Is your Mac Pro dusty inside or very clean? How often do you clean it and what method have you use? I open mine and was shocked to see how dusty it is. My ATI Card that I replace with an aftermarket fan now collecting a lot of dust inside. How do I safely clean all the dusk out? I was going to use an Air blower to blow it out, but I'm scare it may damage my Mac Pro because it's too powerful. Should I just buy the Air Blow Bottle at CompUSA?
 
Absolutely, the dust that gathers on the main fans at the front and back of the system is amazing, plus the design of the cooler on the ATI X1900XT card seems to end up clogged at the air inlet quite quickly.

The fan on the graphics card only seems to spin up to an audible level whenever there's something 3D-intensive going on, so when I can hear the fan spinning up occasionally whenever I'm just browsing the web etc, then I know it's time to give the graphics card cooler inlet a quick blast from the air duster :)
 
Mine is crazy dusty as I live in a small town with dirt roads. I was hoping to find a little computer vacuum but the only things I have been able to find so far is a useless looking usb powered model or a $300 professional kit.
 
janey said:
just blow out all the dust bunnies with canned air/vacuum/whatever you fancy. just nothing too strong - it should just remove the dust, not the components with it.
Click to expand...

Techies use canned air for a reason. Vacuums cause static electric build up which in theory can damage electronics.
 
I actually have some canned air but didn't think to use it inside the Mac Pro - I normally just use it on keyboards. I'll most certainly have a cleanup during the week, blast some of the dust away.

Last time I was inside the case I didn't actually notice much dust, other than clogged in the useless cooler on the X1900XT. Maybe that contributed to it overheating... hmm :D
 
I lick mine clean once a week.

My Mac Pro gets dustier than any computer that I have owned in the last 25 odd years (no doubt because of the wide open Mac Pro cheese grater). Those with the ATI card, listen for its fan spinning up more often and use that as a trigger for the canned compressed air blow out. Instant quiet.
 
Safe way to vacuum?

Last night I opened up my Mac pro for the first time in a long time in order to add RAM. I was amazed at how dusty it was in there. I'm reluctant to use canned air just to blow the dust around. Is there a safe way to vacuum in there to actually remove all that dust?
 
jameskohn said:
Last night I opened up my Mac pro for the first time in a long time in order to add RAM. I was amazed at how dusty it was in there. I'm reluctant to use canned air just to blow the dust around. Is there a safe way to vacuum in there to actually remove all that dust?
Click to expand...

Don't touch anything inside the computer with the nozzle of the vacuum. Plastic tubing and moving particles of dust + sensitive electronics = potential disaster
 
It would be much safer to take it outside and just blow it out with one, maybe two cans of compressed air. I wouldn't even risk taking a vacuum to my multi-thousand dollar machine.
 
Get an Ionizer!

These great little machines just silently plug into the wall, and are alleged to improve your mental/creative facilities by pumping negative ions into the room where you're working. I can't verify the truth of that, it may just be subjective, but the ionizer does attract dust, so if you have it plugged in at the opposite side of the room to your Mac, 90% of the dust in the room will go over there, and not be sucked inside your Mac. Simple, but it really works:)
 
I have similar issues with my PC desktop. Just take some canned air and a vacuum with a hose attachment. Blow out the case with the canned air, and use the vacuum to suck the dust bunnies out of the air, so you're not actually poking around inside the computer with the thing.
 
Graphis said:
Get an Ionizer!

These great little machines just silently plug into the wall, and are alleged to improve your mental/creative facilities by pumping negative ions into the room where you're working. I can't verify the truth of that, it may just be subjective, but the ionizer does attract dust, so if you have it plugged in at the opposite side of the room to your Mac, 90% of the dust in the room will go over there, and not be sucked inside your Mac. Simple, but it really works:)
Click to expand...


Negative ions are such a downer. I only want positive ions in my life.
 
here is what you do.

1. download and install smcFanControl.
2. crank your fans up to full blast.
3. pop the side off your mac pro
4. spray some canned air in there and watch the fans evacuate all that dust.
 
jameskohn said:
Last night I opened up my Mac pro for the first time in a long time in order to add RAM. I was amazed at how dusty it was in there. I'm reluctant to use canned air just to blow the dust around. Is there a safe way to vacuum in there to actually remove all that dust?
Click to expand...

You need a DC powered vacuum cleaner. Often found on sites like cyberguys.com and other computer sites. A regular AC powered vacuum cleaner could destroy your expensive computer without you so much as even touching it (static).

I also highly doubt the effectivness of a computer vacuum in this case. I'd sooner just blow it out with canned air.
 
I come to find that popping out the Optical drive bay area or taping down an unused Optical Slot helps is clearing out dust from that compartment and as well as the PSU area, where you dont want a huge dust build up!!!

speaking of which its that "time of the month" again to clean her up! =)


:cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back