Quick Question About Static

[HaGGardSmurf]

A guy is trying to tell me your fans create a static charge and attract dust. (mainly your cpu cooler)

How could there be a static charge on your fan or heatsink? Your heatsink is mounted to your motherboard and touching your case, both of which are grounded...?

I can see the plastic blades creating a static charge and attracting dust, but I'm unsure about the heatsink. Also, if this is true, can you spray that anti static stuff on the fan blades to solve the problem?

 

[BaronMatrix]

A guy is trying to tell me your fans create a static charge and attract dust. (mainly your cpu cooler)

How could there be a static charge on your fan or heatsink? Your heatsink is mounted to your motherboard and touching your case, both of which are grounded...?

I can see the plastic blades creating a static charge and attracting dust, but I'm unsure about the heatsink. Also, if this is true, can you spray that anti static stuff on the fan blades to solve the problem?

TVs do the same thing and have no moving parts. I don't think anything will stop dust build up but you can fix it with a can of air.

 

[HaGGardSmurf]

I have a hyper 212+ and have cleaned both my fans on it once already (had it about 4 months) how would I clean the heatsink itself? Would I need to take it off and use water, then remount the heatsink? (It's not dusty enough to do that right now)

 

[hunter315]

I would simply remove the fans and blow compressed air through it, that will dislodge the majority of the dust, water wont necessarily work right, it might just turn the dust into gray goop between the fins that you cant get out but compressed air when its dry should blow it all out.


As for static building up, its more the dust hits the heatsink and sticks, then air blowing across charges up the dust which attracts some more dust but most of your dust build up is going to be from the dust getting blasted into the heatsink fin, much more so than it accumulating through static.

 

[pjmelect]

I can see the plastic blades creating a static charge and attracting dust, but I'm unsure about the heatsink. Also, if this is true, can you spray that anti static stuff on the fan blades to solve the problem?

Interesting idea spraying the fan blades may help to cut down on the dust clogging up the heatsink. If you try it let us know here how it works out.
I personally think that static does not play a part in the dust build up in the heatsinks vanes, and that the vanes act as a kind of sieve for the large air flow flowing through them. Actually I think that it may be a bit more complicated then this simple explanation but this explanation will do for now.

 

[HaGGardSmurf]

I usually just use compressed air, thanks guys.

 

[HaGGardSmurf]

Best answer selected by haggardsmurf.