Cleaning GPU without compressed air ( heat sink mainly )

Devilik Monsteer

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Jul 25, 2013
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Hi I wanted to clean my GPU with compressed air but my shi*tty town does not even have one small can of it so i need a way to clean it without compressed air my dad told me i can use the "brake cleaner" for cars but im not so sure about it because after i spray it its leaves some liquid and has a weird smell so i dont know if that is a good idea. Could you give me some idea how to clean it without the compressed air. Before i tried removing the heatsink then putting it under water but it didnt clean all of it and i had to wait for about 3h to make sure its dry
 
Brake cleaner should not be used on electronics.

Clean off old thermal material with rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and a clean cloth or paper towel.

Soem shop vacs have a blow function. I use the compressed air with a vacuum cleaner to get it all rather then blow it into the room. You can always just get close and blow with your lips.
 

Devilik Monsteer

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Jul 25, 2013
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Yea that doesnt work after 1 year of not cleaning...

also to AEVM we just go to a petrol station but i aint going to a PS with a gpu that would look weird and i have bought a "car tires emegraency" ( sorry if spell wrong im new to english ) and i even ask the guy at shop for compressed air and he gave me that and what turned out is that is not air its some kind of foam ( white stuff that is no way a gas ) Also where i live my neighbor aint really good.... so yea
i only have a vacuum to suck thing up not blow :/ any other ideas?

 
Some of those automotive cleaners are positively hostile to electronics and DON'T use a vacuum cleaner near the card, they produce large static charges that can instantly wreck a silicon chip.
In most cases the plastic/metal cover or shroud can be removed from the heatsink, allowing you to get in with a small, soft paintbrush and clean it out properly.
It is ESSENTIAL to clean off all the old thermal goo from the heatsink and GPU before applying new stuff, use a paper towel moistened with either IPA (IsoPropyl Alcohol) or medical alcohol (it's called surgical spirit here in the UK) probably you'll find both at a pharmacy.
Avoid cheap, white goo as a replacement-it's cheap for a reason.

And Avem: please, in the name of the holy, don't ever suggest using a high pressure airline to clean electronics again, those things are potentially very dangerous to the user and the part/s being cleaned!
 

Devilik Monsteer

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Jul 25, 2013
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I didnt want to use vacuum cleaner at first but you said it can instantly wreck a chip but my problem is the heatsink as long as im aware the heatsink is just metal with copper so i dont think vacuum cleaner could do anything to it so could i use it for heatsink? because this is my main problem im fine with gpu boards since they dont have any little gaps that i cant clean with a paper towel also i need to clean my cpu heatsink and its really long... so i can use any toothbrush and so on.. so could i use a vacuum cleaner? If not could i go to a garage ( my dad works there ) and he has some things to blow the air into the wheels so its blowing so will it work as a compressed air?
 
As long as you're not using the vacuum on the card itself, it's fine.
I've seen people use airlines to clean this kind of part, and it works, but there is a big risk of damaging the thin aluminium fins if the airline is held too close (seen that, too). If the user is unwary, the sudden blast of air can wrench the part out of their hand. And be aware, even at normal compressor pressures (about 150 psi) even small specs of dust can cause eye injury as they're blasted free.
As an apprentice I was given plenty of warnings about airlines, and as a car Technician have seen several injuries caused by them.
 

Devilik Monsteer

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Jul 25, 2013
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Im staying with vacuum on heatsinks but have you got any other ways to clean it since the vacuum has a big wide end and can only suck the first few bits of dust but the ones deep in middle will stay there
 

Devilik Monsteer

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Jul 25, 2013
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Okay i have used a paint brush and clean it really nice i cant see any dust at all i have also changed my thermal paste and what? my HD 7870 still gets up to 80C !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! one thing that i'am aware that may affect this is a broken Direct cuii cooling but i have replace it with a case fan ( waiting for the fans for orginal cooler to arive from china ;/ ) but before it it went up to 65c with the case fan and now it has risen so much that after 20 minutes of playing the game its starting to lag and then crashes any ideas what i can do ?