Im guilty of turning the fans on max and leving them there. No More of that. This is a brand new build after 5 months. Cheez and quackers!
I saw a co worker using this. I bought one. Its great!
Ill have fun this weekend…
Ill have fun this weekend…
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I have been told… Don’t know how true it is but it seems plausible.
One thing to be aware of for those that have a fan cooler for the CPU is to disconnect the lead first. If you spin up the fan with a blower or ‘air-in-a-can’ it can turn the motor into a generator and put voltage/current into the motherboard in ways it wasn’t designed to cope with
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Good stuff. In the Problems And Solutions thread I think I mentioned how (with an unplugged system) a good ‘scrubbing’ (removing dust with gizmo like that) gave me my new computer back. Amazing how icky it gets in there over time.
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WOW, Never heard of that. However, I never let the fan spin when I clean them because it is supposed to be bad for the bearing. REALLY BAD. But now I got a better reason.
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I did a bit of googling on this as i was skeptical, my thoughts are that modern electric fans are contactless and have speed sensors built in. So any back shunt of electricity generated, if any should be minimal and not of concern.
Looks like i was wrong there, its quite well documented! Disconnect them before cleaning
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That’s true, when spinned by external force the fan motor will generate voltage (as any electric motor acting as a generator), when spinned fast enough the induced voltage can rise above 12V (typical CPU fan voltage) and can damage MB components. If you don’t want to disconnect the fan power while blowing into it you can just block it so it doesn’t spin. Same goes for laptops when trying to clean the air ducts - be careful as often laptop fans have more fragile blades which can break when blown with too much air force.
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I can confirm this is a true possibility.
Ground yourself, be mindful of what you touch, and don’t sneeze towards the case.
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That’s true, but the whole curcuitry is built to ensure the fan runs at a certain speed when under power, not to regulate/stabilize the output voltage when the fan is being driven by airflow. Those are two very different jobs. Building in safeguards against overvoltage into the fans would increase their price significantly.
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And here is my Very High Tech Solution… I keep them from Spining as I clean. I use my finger or a BBQ stick. The thin ones you make shrimp kebobs with…
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I feel like a luddite… no fancy air blowers, I just use a soft paintbrush 
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I use two air sacs, conveniently situated in my thoracic cavity.
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Thats so it. Thats what im taking about
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Huh, funny timing, I just spent an hour or two dusting out my PC with an electric blower similar to the one above. Basically an older version of this:
That and taking Q-Tips to all the fan blades and brushes to the heat sinks takes forever. Worth it, though.
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Why don’t You ever invite Us for a BBQ? 
I’ve felt an obligation to push this case every time this issue comes up.
It’a a Thermaltake open case; totally exposed but for a wall of plexiglass. Even in a house with cats* such as ours and a careless PC owner such as me, the spiny bits stay relatively clean while the thinking bits stay cool. FWIW, my theory on closed cases is that they do a far better job keeping crap in than keeping it out. I’ve never once cleaned anything inside.
*the cats stay away from the PC for whatever reason. But there is always a risk that they will try to hid inside and ball up the fans. So far it’s never happened.
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I think you’re onto something there.
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I have anxiety just looking at your case.
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I often stuff my headphones in there when not in use. Been my MO for five or six years now. Never a problem.
I believe you, but tbh I also cringe hard when I see your case. My cats would definitely sleep in there. 
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