pc cleaning. finally.
the detected temps inside my computer was getting high enough that i finally decided to completely disassemble the thing and clean it.
i found out a couple things while taking “oscar” apart:
- the thickest layer of dust can be found around the cpu.
- there’s a paper-thin layer of dust between the cpu fan and the copper heatsink effectively blocking around 40% of the top of the heatsink.
- the power supply was hotter than usual.
i took out all the components and cleaned off the dust with a brush and some compressed air. off goes the motherboard from the case for cleaning. i also took the heatsink off the cpu to clean it out and put in a fresh layer of arctic silver before clipping the sink back on. of course i cleaned the case before screwing putting everything back in.
what bothered me was the task power supply. it was hotter than usual, the voltages it was giving out were getting on the low side and it started to smell weird. since it was out of warranty already, i opened it up — don’t do this if you don’t know what you’re doing. i saw four capacitors that already started to buldge and leak (red arrows).
this is so not good.
i just cleaned my pc, reorganized the wiring to make airflow much better and i even got this new gadget to cool the hard drives. i can’t just plug in a failing power supply.
aawwww.
so i canvas for a new psu and i ended up buying another 450 watt task psu. i know, i know. i said it before that i won’t get another one from task and that i’d try to get a really good psu and that i won’t get it from pcx anymore. but one out of three isn’t really that bad. i didn’t get enough money for a really good psu — just enough for an “ok” one. the 450 watter from task was the only one that fit the money that had at the time. but on this turn i got the psu from rising sun computers. they have a two-year warranty on the thing and their prices are pretty good and they are generally friendlier. i just wish they have more branches though.
the task psu i got is the same model but a newer version (2.0). this version has two 12 volt rails, a 24-pin mobo connector a part of which you can detach to make it a 20-pin mobo connector. this time there are two sata connectors instead of the previous version’s one.
i took a screen shot of the voltage readings that i get using speedfan. remember that these readings are usually lower than the ones i get using a digital voltmeter.
i just hope this newer version is really better than the last one. let’s see.
the old task psu is still working but i’d like to replace the four capacitors with new ones before i use it again. i’m just having a hard time sourcing electrolytic caps with a rating of 105c so if you know of anyone then please leave a comment.
