A few questions

[servarus]

I got a few questions:

1. Taking care of your PC.
I love my PC, LOL, so I want to know what can I do to keep it, uh, healthy. I did some research and I found a lot of the tips given is quite general and some of it is outdated. So I want to know what do you guys do to take care of your PC.


2. Cleaning the PC.
Any tips? Also, I need some recommendation on tools that can help me clean my PC from dust and what ever contamination. Anything, and any cost. Value for money is preferred.

3. Cooling
I. What do you guys suggest for a priority upgrade:
a. New CPU Cooler
b. New case cooler

II. Also, to compare which actually has a better effect to the system between both type of cooler?

III. Again, suggestion to what cooler to buy. Anything, and any cost. Value for money is preferred.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

1. Hug it each and ever day to make it feel wanted. Keep liquids away from it. Use a good Firewall / AV / Malware Combo (Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite is a great but atm). Make sure it gets good , clean power. Monitor its temperature voltages etc on regular intervals (OCCT great tool for this).

2. Best way to take care of dust is to not let it in. A case equipped with air filters is best for this. For what does get in, here's what I use:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgk/R-202018102/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Of course getting this didn't cost me a dime as it was already here. If I'd been using cans bought at BestBuy, I prolly woulda paid for the Husky by now.

3. What's a case cooler ? Best way to solve this problem is a good case. Full Towers are most always better than mid towers and so on down the size range. Fans are good. HAF-X is a great example of a good cooling case. The DF-85 is much like the HAF-X but adds inlet filters and CPX form factor PSU capability. It also adds a HoT Swap external SATA bay which is a huge step up from an external SATA port. The 3.5" drive cages are great but they missed the boat on the 5.25" drive bay "doors" which I don't get. Their respective newgg poages have great videos.

If "value" is a concern, the hands down winner is the Scythe Mugen 2 SCMG 2100

Read why:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=15

 

[suteck]

1,) Slap it around so it knows who's boss! Love is great but Tough Love is better . Keep it in a cool, dry, visible place - when it's stuck under a desk or in a corner it tends to be easily neglected.

2,) ^+1 on the firewall - Zone Alarm Security Suite is an awesome program, and I added SpySweeper to it,(even though it has both Anti-vir & Anti-spy) for added protection and they work great together. Cost a little extra, about $20/year but nothing gets in!!
I don't use many filters for my air flow because the ARMOR+ MX only comes with the one on front so I also use an air compressor to blow mine out weekly - Just be sure it has a moister filter on it if it's kept outside and MOST IMPORTANT is that you dial down the pressure coming out the nozzel so it doesn't blow your wires and capacitors off. Both of these, internal and external, cleaning of hardware and software is important.
Use programs like CCleaner (HERE for free), to keep the unused, broken, and temp files down to a minimum and use it for registry cleaning, defragging and compacting. There are other tools out there you can pay for that will do a better job so ask for them if your interested.
A good >80+ power supply unit will help keep your internal components from suffering from vdroop.
Again ^+1 on the OCCT. I keep it running most of the time (got a serious OC going here so I watch my temps), It's a great monitoring and testing tool.
Get a good defragging tool -disk keeper is okay if you want to pay for one. Power defragmentor GUI, it's free HERE, and I like the way it runs in a command window.

3.) Case cooler(s)? FANS - The important thing to remember here is to have an air flow design in mind and place the fans accordingly. More fans doesn't necessarily mean more noise. Just get the ones with adjustable speeds and again - make sure you have a positive air flow design. Calculate based on fan cfm's at maximum speed that you have a little more air moving out of the case the you have air you have coming into the case. - Cool air coming in will expand as it heats up in the case giving you a little extra for the outgoing. If you have filters on the influent side that will decrease the amount going in. And it's actually simple planning. If you have two fans coming into the case and they are capable of 25 cfm's then you will have 50 cfm's going in. So hopefully you will have two fans blowing out you will want at least 50 going out, ideally one at 25 cfm's and the other at 30 cfm's giving you that little extra. Get good fans and for appearances you can get a cool/pretty fan controller for a drive bay and you will be able to control the air flow and noise from the front. It's a one time expense so do in wright. You can get anything from these expensive NZXT Sentry LX Dual 5.25" Fan Controller / Temperature Monitor for about $65 or something a little more basic like these Aerocool EasyWatch 3.5" Fan Controller / Temperature Monitoring Panel for around $25.
Same goes for the CPU cooler, one time expense. That's not something you want to save money on. There's nothing wrong with the Scythe Mugen 2 SCMG 2100 that JackNaylorPE suggested - it's just that to me that's the one component that you should take the best care of, so get a solid, top notch cooler like the Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B. For about $65 or $70 you can get one or two fans on them depending on your application needs and space available in your case, (this is where JackNaylorPE suggestion of a full tower case comes in). And you will need to take into account if or when you will be doing any overclocking. Keeping this component cool will help it last a long time and allow it to operate at it's full potential, no thermal throttling to slow it down when you depend on it the most!

If you let us know what kind of case, fan set up (if any), and any other hardware you'd like to upgrade I might be able to help you an what would be a priority upgrade.

 

[servarus]

About OCCT there's this test for power supply, I want to run it but...the warning really makes me scared. Did you guys did the test? What happened?

2. Best way to take care of dust is to not let it in. A case equipped with air filters is best for this. For what does get in, here's what I use:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgk/R-202018102/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Of course getting this didn't cost me a dime as it was already here. If I'd been using cans bought at BestBuy, I prolly woulda paid for the Husky by now.

Seriously? I did use something like that for my laptop and it worked fine, although....not so sure about PC...

2,) ^+1 on the firewall - Zone Alarm Security Suite is an awesome program, and I added SpySweeper to it,(even though it has both Anti-vir & Anti-spy) for added protection and they work great together. Cost a little extra, about $20/year but nothing gets in!!
I don't use many filters for my air flow because the ARMOR+ MX only comes with the one on front so I also use an air compressor to blow mine out weekly - Just be sure it has a moister filter on it if it's kept outside and MOST IMPORTANT is that you dial down the pressure coming out the nozzel so it doesn't blow your wires and capacitors off. Both of these, internal and external, cleaning of hardware and software is important.
Use programs like CCleaner (HERE for free), to keep the unused, broken, and temp files down to a minimum and use it for registry cleaning, defragging and compacting. There are other tools out there you can pay for that will do a better job so ask for them if your interested.
A good >80+ power supply unit will help keep your internal components from suffering from vdroop.
Again ^+1 on the OCCT. I keep it running most of the time (got a serious OC going here so I watch my temps), It's a great monitoring and testing tool.
Get a good defragging tool -disk keeper is okay if you want to pay for one. Power defragmentor GUI, it's free HERE, and I like the way it runs in a command window.

Noted, and will try ASAP.

3.) Case cooler(s)? FANS - The important thing to remember here is to have an air flow design in mind and place the fans accordingly. More fans doesn't necessarily mean more noise. Just get the ones with adjustable speeds and again - make sure you have a positive air flow design. Calculate based on fan cfm's at maximum speed that you have a little more air moving out of the case the you have air you have coming into the case. - Cool air coming in will expand as it heats up in the case giving you a little extra for the outgoing. If you have filters on the influent side that will decrease the amount going in. And it's actually simple planning. If you have two fans coming into the case and they are capable of 25 cfm's then you will have 50 cfm's going in. So hopefully you will have two fans blowing out you will want at least 50 going out, ideally one at 25 cfm's and the other at 30 cfm's giving you that little extra. Get good fans and for appearances you can get a cool/pretty fan controller for a drive bay and you will be able to control the air flow and noise from the front. It's a one time expense so do in wright. You can get anything from these expensive NZXT Sentry LX Dual 5.25" Fan Controller / Temperature Monitor for about $65 or something a little more basic like these Aerocool EasyWatch 3.5" Fan Controller / Temperature Monitoring Panel for around $25.
Same goes for the CPU cooler, one time expense. That's not something you want to save money on. There's nothing wrong with the Scythe Mugen 2 SCMG 2100 that JackNaylorPE suggested - it's just that to me that's the one component that you should take the best care of, so get a solid, top notch cooler like the Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B. For about $65 or $70 you can get one or two fans on them depending on your application needs and space available in your case, (this is where JackNaylorPE suggestion of a full tower case comes in). And you will need to take into account if or when you will be doing any overclocking. Keeping this component cool will help it last a long time and allow it to operate at it's full potential, no thermal throttling to slow it down when you depend on it the most!

If you let us know what kind of case, fan set up (if any), and any other hardware you'd like to upgrade I might be able to help you an what would be a priority upgrade.

That's quite hard for me, although I understand what you are saying. So basically, air input must be equal or less than air output, yes?

Well I am actually eyeing on these products to upgrade from my old case.

Case:
(According to my preference)
1. CM Elite 430
2. CM Scout
3. CM Elite 370

Actually these are the only nice case that the shop near my house has. Didn't went to survey at other stores, plus I only know CM products. So I am open to suggestion.

CPU Cooler:
CM Hyper N520

I don't really know much about CPU cooler, plus this was a recommendation from my friend. From you both suggestion, I think I somehow like Prolimatech Megahalems, and Scythe Mugen-2.

 

[suteck]

Not hard at all, looks like you got it first try. So yes, a little more going out than coming in. A little, too much difference (more than about 20cfm's) and you start creating underpressure inside the case (LOL, vacuum is too cool a word), and too much extra pull on the in blowing fans makes them run faster than designed and hitting MTBF sooner. No big deal of course, fans are rather inexpensive, and you're not gonna hurt any components in your PC. It will only affect the cooling - cool or not so much

I like the Scout case you're showing. Nothing wrong with sticking with what you know. I would go with the optional 120mm up top instead of the 40 mm standard, And this one would be great to put there. It will give you almost 115 cfm but it is a little loud on the higher speeds. I would also put in one of the side fans. Like this one, Shark 120mm Black Edition Fan - 82.6CFM for only $15. That will give you ~158 cfm's out and 142 cfm's in. These suggested fans have limited adjustable speeds out of the box. With a controller you have more control over the individual fan speeds so I would ask your guys at the coolermaster store where you shop about what they have available.

Your Hyper N520 looks pretty good from the reviews so that should be a good addition. The hyper 212 is one of their biggest sellers so that would be a good choice also. Of course, I still like the Prolimatech Megahalems. They will fit in that case and you can start with 1 fan for normal operation and go to 2 in a push/pull config if/when you start overclocking. Or start with 2 to keep your cpu in optimal cooler temps. The cooler you run that cpu the longer it will last, Oh wait, I already said that!

 

[servarus]

Not hard at all, looks like you got it first try. So yes, a little more going out than coming in. A little, too much difference (more than about 20cfm's) and you start creating underpressure inside the case (LOL, vacuum is too cool a word), and too much extra pull on the in blowing fans makes them run faster than designed and hitting MTBF sooner. No big deal of course, fans are rather inexpensive, and you're not gonna hurt any components in your PC. It will only affect the cooling - cool or not so much

I like the Scout case you're showing. Nothing wrong with sticking with what you know. I would go with the optional 120mm up top instead of the 40 mm standard, And this one would be great to put there. It will give you almost 115 cfm but it is a little loud on the higher speeds. I would also put in one of the side fans. Like this one, Shark 120mm Black Edition Fan - 82.6CFM for only $15. That will give you ~158 cfm's out and 142 cfm's in. These suggested fans have limited adjustable speeds out of the box. With a controller you have more control over the individual fan speeds so I would ask your guys at the coolermaster store where you shop about what they have available.

Your Hyper N520 looks pretty good from the reviews so that should be a good addition. The hyper 212 is one of their biggest sellers so that would be a good choice also. Of course, I still like the Prolimatech Megahalems. They will fit in that case and you can start with 1 fan for normal operation and go to 2 in a push/pull config if/when you start overclocking. Or start with 2 to keep your cpu in optimal cooler temps. The cooler you run that cpu the longer it will last, Oh wait, I already said that!

Thanks for the recommendation, I bought the fans you suggested, quite surprised to see it available in my country. But the Scout was out of stock so I just bought the CM430 for my workstation. I'll reserve scout for my gaming rig.

I ordered the Megahalems, should be a while before I could get it, kinda worried since my stock cooler is making noises. Is it weird for the fan to go as high as 64XXRPM on a AMD Phenom II X4 925 Stock cooler? What do you think is the optimal temp for CPU to be at?

 

[servarus]

Best answer selected by servarus.