How To Deep Clean Your Computer 

Instructions unclear : somehow upgraded my system.

4:41 “Hm, doesn’t look so bad from behind” -JayZ Two Cents, 2020

Around 2000 in one of my former jobs, a mechanic used an air compressor to clean out their server - which ran the entire store's computers / POS Terminals. I got paged on a Saturday morning after this happened and found out that for some reason their server wouldn't boot - wouldn't even power up. The poor guy then asked me why there were little cylinders all over the floor. Turns out that he blew a whole bunch of pieces parts off the motherboard - capacitors, resistors, you name it. I was speechless at that point needless to say!

"Isopropyl alcohol is pretty cheap, you can get it at any store right now" No, sir, you cannot. It's was bought out with the toilet paper. I was at the liquor store today, and in the vodka section, they had signs that said "Due to high demand, products in the section are limited to 2 per customer". People are using fricken VODKA as disinfectant.

"I'll put a link in the description of which vac I plan to buy to do this right" *fails to post link*

my allergies are so bad my eyes started watering when u did the slow-motion dust scene

May be worth mentioning when dusting, making sure the DIMM Slots and PCIE Slots are 100% free of dust otherwise you can short your hardware. Its best to do and overall dust first with everything plugged in. Then remove GPU and RAM to dust. Just my input :/

It gives me great peace seeing someone manhandle a much more expensive PC than mine.

"This is our file server" ... holds a PC with a GTX Titan

I took mine to the “dry cleaners” and it came out pressed and starched. Works great. You should try it.

Jay: *Blowing dust off filters* Phil: "AHHHH AHHHH AHHHHH H" Jay: (ಠ_ಠ)

Jazy, you are the super person in pc related videos, thats why i subscribed your channel, whenever i have any problem regarding my pc, i always check your videos and even ask my friends to follow your instructions, the way you explain i love it, you tell everything in detail, step by step that even a small child can understand and build a pc. I love the fact that you always make videos on every topic, keep it up bro, lot of blessings and prayers for channel, 10/10

12:08 "you can buy it at any drug store" Me: I've been looking for isopropyl alcohol for months

The cleanest quality on youtube right now!

a tip if you plan to use the air compressor anyway - hold the fans with your fingers or something before blowing in the general direction of the fan(s) to prevent destroying the bearings inside or the fins itself.

A good guide, thanks! I just build my son a PC with the exact same case and GPU so he'll definetly want to watch this for future reference.

I normally take apart all the parts and use a soft brush with vacuum cleaner + alcohol wipes, all while also replacing thermal grease. I also wash aluminum heat sinks with soapy water and dry accordingly. Using contact cleaner to reinsert RAM and GPU for the best contact. The system then looks as if new parts were put for the first time. Keep up the great content.

This is basically my old man but tech version. Every time he comes over to my apartment he says I should've cleaned better lol.

I use a compressor but you're right I always dial it down to about 15 PSI. I also use a pen or pencil to hold the fans in place so I don't over spin them or damage the bearings.

much love for JayzTwoCents and the crew

I do use a compressor for cleaning mine, but on low PSI and from a distance on the sensitive parts and high PSI up close for the case (the metal and plastic part, not fans and front I/O). For the fans, i use a kind of cleaning tissue, kinda like a thin wetwipe, but with a cleaning product. Not sure how to describe it better tbh, but they are super handy, especially for the fan blades and especially if you're a smoker/vaper. For the tempered glass side panel, i just use a proper window cleaner and a lintfree dishtowel, works incredibly well. Doesn't take much effort and leaves it looking new again

I would strongly recommend actively cooling the RAID card, because it was designed to run in a server with designed airflow, which PC does not have. I had my 2 Dell PERC H200 cards running too hot to touch, and added a 40mm Noctua fan on each of them (and fresh thermal paste). Now they are just a bit warm to the touch. Just a tip to help the card not cook itself ;)

Thank you for this video, Jay and Team!

Best tech channel. Ever. Thorough and credible advice and amazing perspective on every topic. BEST ADS EVER. I mean talk about the ifixit ad. That add was on par with the flex seal ad! Again, if I'm wondering about anything with my pc I know I can rely on your channel anytime.

Jay, yo! As a window cleaner (once upon a time) I know a thing or two about cleaning glass. The best thing? A good quality washing up liquid. Some of those case windows are pretty thin so I'd advise using a "blade" (rubber scraper) with caution to remove excess water before polishing with a scrim (untreated linen cloth) This will give you sparkling, smear free glass. Don't forget to do both sides!

I usually put my finger between the fan blades (so it doesn't spin at all), when I use compressor to dust off my pc.

The slo-mo dust montage is THE REASON why you're the best.

Greetings from Sweeden. When you use an air compressor to blow out all the dust (which works really well) make sure you use your hand or something else to stop the fans from spinning. Do not ever use a regular vacuum cleaner to clean a computer. Also, I must point out that the Fractal Design R-series are really great at catching most of the dust in the filters. I just cleaned an R2 after about 5 years running 24/7 and there was almost nothing inside the case.

I've been using a compressor in my systems for years. I always hold the fans tho, but never had an issue.

Never have I been so happy to see an add, I missed the World of Warships adds... I like boats too.

I use a blower to remove the dust from my PC but at the same time, I have a hover running to suck it up, I used to be a builder P&D, and when you sand down the walls or the woodwork dust gets everywhere so lots of time is spent cleaning it up so I used hovers and dust bags, it works and saves a lot of time. a little tip in return for all the advice I have got from you. cheers for that by the way, and keep on trucking.

Appreciate all of your insight! Great video 👍

That World of Warships ad was so good I was looking for the skip button then realized it was Jay doing it.

Another point regarding using compressed air to clean off dust: there may be oil residue in the air depending on the compressor used. You don't want oil in your system

this was very helpful! thank you, Jay :D

Awesome video Jay! Thank you!!!

I haven't cleaned my computer in over 5 years! I'm going to get it cleaned today

Hi J. I have two feedback information about cleaning. a) My wife's hairdryer (with heat-off button pressed), does a pretty good job of blowing the dust into the room. So I have set the vacuum on the floor, and with the hose on one side and the hairdryer on the other, the room stays clean. For the next clean, I will take the end of the vacuum hose, and attach a smaller hose to it, allowing for some air leak. The end of the smaller hose I will place a straw to allow my reach into very small areas. Some computer cases (like mine), have virtually unreachable filters. The straw works to enter the grill and agitate the built-in filters. Regarding filters. For my last year's cleaning I went to the local hardware store and bought a package of furnace filters. These come two to a package and eacg us about twice as thick as I need, but I cut them to size, thinned them to half thickness and I lined the suction side of the fans and I air intakes. After One year of use, the fans blades are clean, a minimal amount of dust on the home made filters for the fans, and the grill. I do track temperatures inside the case, and they were about zero to one degree different (depending on location within the case). The filters were under $5.00; the hairdryer, -- borrowed. Like most of your presentations that make sense to me. Keep it up and keep it entertaining.

I always run a shop vac as I blow stuff out to get as much of the dust sucked up. This is a good guide for beginners

Been actually looking forward to this. A fully populated R6 NAS for cleaning

Jay: Don't use an air compressor to clean out a PC Linus: *cleans entire server room with air compressor multiple times* Me: Who is telling the truth

"If you Smoke or Vape near your Computer..." *Turns around to look at his Martin Fogmaschine* Well i gues that counts....

I've used an air compressor for the last 15 years. I always hold the fans in place so they don't spin like crazy and potentially brake (which happened once) and I've had no problems ever since. I've tried some vacuums and "proper" tools such as the one you're using but I can never get the same result. Takes me about 3 to 5 mins to clean my pc with the compressor and it seems pretty safe to me, the only downside is having to do it in the garage because of the huge clouds of dust that com out f the case.

These how to maintain your pc vids are great.

I would've loved to see Louis respond with 'oh yeah, you definitely have a spot in my company. We do need someone to do the garbage' or something like that.

I didn't know about memory training before, thx

Fantastic vid, thanks!

DAAAAAAAAAAMN, finally a sponsored Ifixit recomendation. NOW i´ll buy my Ifixit kit

"I like big boats and I cannot lie!" -JayZ, Computer Rapper

"Cordless leafblower" and "Outside" Don't use a gas powered one, they are too powerful, and can cause damage. Taking it outside keeps your place cleaner.

When I clean my PC, I generally use my Kirby vacuum with hose attached and brush nozzle. Although not specifically designed for electronics, the brush nozzle is made with natural horsehair. I thoroughly clean the CPU cooler as well as the GPU cooler. I use a tapered nozzle to suck the dust out of the optical drive, media card reader, and IO connectors. I use microfiber cloth to clean the fans and with a little glass cleaner for the case.

This video inspired me to clean my not so dusty filters. The DATAVac I got at Amazon makes life easy.

Hey Jay, I've been an electronics tech for 25+ years (navy and civ). Isopropyl alcohol is a good cleaner to use for electronics. However; most store bought stuff is not pure enough (i.e. just search a chain drug store and the purest they had was 91%) and that leads to the white film you were talking about. I would suggest buying the most pure (i.e. the highest %) you can find. Getting bored pretty quickly during the lock-down. Thanks for posting the new vids.

instructions unclear: ended up at the car wash

You can also buy cans of compressed air at most computer stores for this purpose. That eliminates any AC motor static issues.

Awesome Vid! Made me sneeze 3 times!

Thought it was going to be for laptops with that thumbnail :(

That's my PC a week after a Deep clean... "welcome to the Tropics" :(

good video idea thank u

Your "dirty" comp looks like mine after cleaning lol.

Phil stop scaring me that badly, you nearly gave me a heart attack :(

Love you jay, from italy 🇮🇹

Hey Jayz! Thanks for the promo code in the world of warships, now downloading thru steam!

Thank you that helped me :)

"Isopropyl alcohol, it's pretty cheap. You can get this at any drug store." I remember those days, pre-pandemic, when you could just go to a drug store and buy isopropanol.

Fun fact: Powered fans generate electricity when you spin them with compressed air. Side note: You can generate more than 12v if the fan spins faster than it's stock 100% RPM speed, which causes a very bad day for your motherboard.

Vinyl record cleaning brushes are all anti-static too! handy to use

@JayzTwoCents Hey Jay where's the dust vac link you mentioned in the video?

10:55 should've made the room dark and lit the dust with lights it would look cool

1:28 That's the amount of dust my PC collects within 3 days of cleaning it.!

thank you!!

I've used a low noise air compressor and airgun at 70psi to clean my computers and servers for 10+ years and never had that problem. But, it is a good idea to hold fans steady with one hand when blowing on them or they just spin and dust doesn't come off. I use both vacuum and airgun... I find vacuum method alone doesn't do a great job if the dust is caked on; the vacuum is to collect the dust that blows loose. Goo gone and orange clean is a great combo, especially for renewing plastics. The orange clean takes the goo gone residue right off and leaves a nice matte finish on non-shiny plastics.

12:30 . My dad couple years ago used one of those to clean his PC while the PC WAS TURN ON. He pointed twords the psu made the fan spin backwards, even his mouse and keyboard fried.

"In case you didn't know I like boats" guess that explains the camaro! *shrugs*

You can pick up an in-line air dryer for your compressor for a few bucks, and a regulator for the same. The key to inline dryers is you want them close to the tool, not close to the compressor. Because the air in the tank is hot, which holds the moisture better. As it travels through the air hose it cools down and condenses as moisture droplets. If you have the dryer at the air compressor than the air is still hot and hasn't lost it's moisture to be collected by an air dryer. So your setup should look like this... Air compressor ----> 50' or 25' hose ----> inline air dryer ----> sling hose (I use a coil hose, looks like a spring) ---> Air Gun

Congratz for having so many viewers. Not sure how you pulled it off.

13:14 and also remember to plug out your fans when blowing them out motors can generate energy

I was just finishing up cleaning my PC when I clicked on this video, Then Jay said the thing about Clorox wipes, and I started laughing because that's exactly what I was using lol.

Yow Jayz! Really appreciate the promo code now enjoying the World of Warships during this quarantine season! Keep safe! Haha

pledge makes a cleaning spray specially for electronics, it evaporates quickly and doesnt leave residue and it wont discolor your electronics.

Always claiming there's a link in the description for something, never is.

I use air compressor when I clean my PC and I always hold the fan(s) in place if I blow anywhere near them.

my computer is near so many vape clouds and insents, so this is super helpful. big thanks for not ragging on vaping either :D

This is perfect! I have the same case

JayzTwoCents: "Anti static this, anti static that" Me: "uses normal vacuum and standard brush to clean pc"😅

A few months ago I was constantly getting BSOD. The code was memory issues. So I decided I was going to deep clean the computer and apply new thermal paste. Let's just say it turned into an entire day project. Everything piece got detailed. The computer is running much better and the thermal paste helped keep the CPU heat down. The only thing I need to do is upgrade.

Hey, I got the same case, I can just follow along exactly! 😁

Jay's Videos are actually useful and informative for the average pc users when compared to linus who only likes to build minecraft creeper pcs and 7000 petabyte servers and hackinthoshes.

Jay, you didn't put any link for a Dust Vac on Amazon, like you said @13:40.

"dont use air compressors" me: welp..... at least the radiator is clean

I use anti static camera lens cleaner to clean off any surface in my computer case. works great!

Thanks!

I think we need a video on how to deep clean our computer's browsing history.

I usually use some painting brushes (cheap ones can be okay) and make sure they aren't statically charged before I just use them to brush out the dust. As someone with Eczma I tend to make things very dusty. Painters brushes are gentle enough they don't damage the board or components but can get into the nooks and crannies to get all the dust out. Also handy for dusting figures, and work great for heatsinks as you can get into the fin and brush out any stubborn dust the compucleaner can't shift.

ya'll should totally do a laptop cleanup video!

My personal rig is in a discarded ,4u server case from work. I am using material for face masks to make filters for the inlet. I have a roll of material 6 ft by about 50 ft so... I blow it out with an air compressor set to 25 Psi OUTSIDE. Good advice!

this seems kinda hard, why cant i just throw it into the dishwasher, didnt that linus kid throw like 10 keyboards into one?

There is always about 7 people claiming first.. you all get a participation trophy for staying home and typing first 🤣

40-50 psi on an air compressor has done me good, no issues and have been doing it for years. Just have to do it on a day with low humidity.

I'm a diesel mechanic and used compressed air on my pc. Worked a charm. I held the fans so they wouldn't spin though :D