Screwed up and vacuumed my PC. Now having CPU issues
Posted by YepThatsMahogany@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 60 comments
TIL that you can't vacuum the inside of a PC. It had never really crossed my mind why you couldn't. I am fully aware of static discharge and the threat that poses to PC parts, but didn't think that was something vacuuming could cause.
Everything seemed fine until I realized that my CPU is maxing out like crazy when booting up games. I started up Elden Ring and can play for a minute before the game stutters and crashes. Looking at my task manager, everything else seems fine besides CPU, which shoots up to 100% utilization. I've used this computer for years and never had any issues.
I've tried reseating the GPU and RAM. Not sure if I should try reseating the CPU. All fans are spinning.
I would really appreciate any help or tips, I really didn't think I'd screw up my PC by vacuuming it-- I used a handvac. I've been wanting to rebuild or upgrade my PC sometime in the next year or two, so at least these aren't brand new parts. Would love to know if I should replace my CPU or if I potentially damaged anything else based on what I've described.
Famous-Eggplant8451@reddit
Depending on the vacuum if it has strong suction it can actually dislodge components on the motherboard. Some components are only held on by very small amounts of solder
arturaspc4@reddit
This is false. No matter how powerful a vacuum cleaner is it cannot do any physical damage to components on the motherboard, even if it were to have a cold solder joint. The only way one can dislodge a component using a vacuum cleaner is if the component was hit with the pipe of the vacuum cleaner, and even then it will likely break the component and not the solder.
Source: I design motherboards for medical devices for a living. In simple terms, when a component is soldered the copper on the board fuse with a component's metal plating using the tin in the solder and form an alloy. There are circumstances where the alloy forms a weak bond to both surfaces known as a cold joint, but even then you'd have to use physical force or vibration to knock it loose, a vacuum cleaner wouldn't cause that.
kaleperq@reddit
I'd say it could cause issues if something is loose or poorly connected. And there is also the possibility of it suctioning hard to a flat surface and then pulling on it and cracking the mobo or something else if you're unlucky.
And my completely uneducated guess is that mobos for medical devices have more safeguards in cade stuff happens unlike a consumer grade mobo, or there are other safeguards to replace the mobo's utility until its fixed or something like that. So I belive it's not a fair comparison. But this is just a random guess, for all I know they could be the cheapest thing possible to produce a lot of, even if they're important and should be made to last and be redundant for obvious reasons.
arturaspc4@reddit
I cannot guarantee it but I don't think a consumer grade vacuum cleaner has enough static pressure to create so much pull that would bend an FR-4 board.
And although I can't guarantee how PC motherboards are made, the industry standard is a 1.55mm FR-4 board with ENIG coating and the solder paste used is a variant of lead free solder, but even then both solder paste and the board can be made with entirely different materials and that depends from manufacturer to manufacturer. The physical properties between these different PCB materials used minimally impact the actual quality of the final device. The only difference I can think of is that medical grade devices (we make) have a stricter QC but this also heavily depends on the manufacturer and their budget.
Medical motherboards are in fact very similar to PC motherboards in both physical composition and even design choices albeit for different reasons.
kaleperq@reddit
Ok. I don't really understand the techical terms. But uve had experiences whith old hardware and like cracky dry feeling boards that feel like will crack at any moment. Especially whith ram sticks. I haven't felt any new mobos so I can't say it's probably gonna resist it, but there is an y likely case where a manufacturing defect cracks it or smth. Low, but possible.
Now I know more than before
arturaspc4@reddit
For starters, FR-4 PCB technology is ancient, it was created in 1968, so I believe older hardware had also used this model.
FR-4 PCBs generally don't change with age, however they are especially sensitive to moisture. FR-4 substrate has a relatively low moisture absorption rate, however if left in a moist environment for a long period of time it can cause irreversible damage to the board itself and the components that are on it. Moisture in the board can lower the substrate's glass transition temperature and expand the inner layers, thus causing uneven flexing within the board which can indeed lead to cracks forming in the layers. The uneven flexing can also warp the top surface layers causing the copper pads to lift off the surface or crack the solder joints, whichever is weaker.
As I don't live in a very humid environment I haven't noticed that sort of cracking in any of the computers I have taken apart, even in the +20y old ones, however it is very possible in other climate regions.
kaleperq@reddit
Huh. I mean, those pcs I touched were ddr3 low end office pcs, and they were preety busted up whith oxidated psus and grimy af. The fiberglass boards just feel very flimsy, empty and dry like crusty bread, I guess something to be expected whith the conditions in which they were in. And I have some experience whith new boards, but it's an nvme ssd and a laptop mobo I tried to not touch, and maybe a old ddr4 atx mobo whithought the ram I have laying around in case I get some ddr4, and those feel about as I expected, good feel and doesn't seem like it'll snap at any moment, so it might just be myll limited experience thinking that old boards feel like this.
So multi level circuitry has existed for a long time? And i guess the standard has improved since then in some way.
This is preety off topic but whatever, I'm learning something here.
Dapper_Daikon4564@reddit
Lol, what powerful vacuum and cheapass PC components do you have?
Something coming loose is like a 1 in a billion chance. Possible, but unlikely
Putrid-Flan-1289@reddit
Came into this thread far too late, seems like you're all good to go. I'm just here to say I'm glad it all turned out okay. It breaks my heart to read these stories when they don't have a good ending.
gabacus_39@reddit
I've vacuumed my PCs for 25 years with zero issues.
Fun-Psychology4806@reddit
So what
People drive a car for 40 years then die in an accident
kaleperq@reddit
So what, you can spontaneously combust or have a meteor hit you while you're sleeping.
gabacus_39@reddit
I was responding to OP's statement "that you can't vacuum the inside of a PC" because you obviously can and can do it safely with no issues.
Fun-Psychology4806@reddit
And I was responding to yours, you can do a lot of things with no issues, until you have issues
SuperZapper_Recharge@reddit
And most of us work on the PC's without ESD straps. It doesn't mean that they are not good ideas. It means that we are taking risks. Most of us know we are taking risks and when those risks happen we will blame ourselves.
spooninacerealbowl@reddit
That sucks!
Optimal_Visual3291@reddit
Oh no, high cpu usage, it’s like, being used and stuff, and 62c instead of 50! What a fking waste of internet space.
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BiluochunLvcha@reddit
when i worked at a casino we used vacs on the boards to get the dust. it was very common. i'd guess something is knocked loose.
SuperZapper_Recharge@reddit
Traditional house vacums are ESD machines. ESPECIALY with the metal tips.
The vacum itself isn't the problem. They sell ESD safe vacums. Go to Amazon and type in 'ESD safe vacums'.
clad99iron@reddit
Nah, house vacuums are fine for this kind of thing. This myth had just been roaring out of control forever and will not die.
OP's edit seems spot on. He's seeing a coincidence happening.
m4tic@reddit
How hard did you vacuum it? Did you scrape against board surfaces? Did you dislodge the cpu heatsink? This looks like heat not leaving the CPU.
Get a blower / air duster, something like a datavac. There's a bunch of similar cheaper blowers now. Take your pc outside and blow it out.
Sounds like you need to take it a part and rebuild it.
Other_Ad_6621@reddit
I use a small brush to dust off my pc interior but some compressed air would probably be better
m4tic@reddit
Get a blower, never buy canned air again.
GreatMorph@reddit
Or a compressor
m4tic@reddit
or a compressor.. but there is some technicality involved and wanted to keep it simple.
Other_Ad_6621@reddit
Good advise
YepThatsMahogany@reddit (OP)
I was mainly only vacuuming the dusty surfaces of the case as well as getting some loose dust out that was intertwined with some of the cables. No scraping of any sort, though I was using bristles on the vacuum which I read on other threads that people say they can be much worse in terms of static electricity.
rdldr1@reddit
That sucks.
ltecruz@reddit
You probably knocked something lose, have you checked temps?
Dapper_Daikon4564@reddit
'something loose' > check temps....
This post keep amazing me with these weird jumps from A to £.
If you have no hot water in your kitchen, does that make you check the garage door? LOL
shawnikaros@reddit
That loose something could very well be the CPU heatsink, or a fan connector. You always check the easiest and most obvious things first.
ltecruz@reddit
That comment is clearly from someone who has never dealt with the typical consumer problems. There's a reason why the "Have you tried to turn in off and on again" meme exists - cause it makes sense for non tech savy people.
Dapper_Daikon4564@reddit
Sure, but if you can loosen your fan connector or heatsink that easy, you'll likely have a lot more problems with your build.
Anyway, the easiest thing would be to Google that game and find out that was the issue before even opening up the case?
YepThatsMahogany@reddit (OP)
Update, the maximum temp my CPU got to was 62 celsius, which doesn't bad at all. Generally was around 50.
CrewmemberV2@reddit
Under load?
YepThatsMahogany@reddit (OP)
Yes, that was under load
YepThatsMahogany@reddit (OP)
I haven’t checked temps, just utilization in task manager. What’s the best way to check the temperature?
GreenDub14@reddit
Speccy is free and gives you an all around tool for the inside of your PC
croholdr@reddit
thermomometer
chemistryGull@reddit
You know, sometimes i wish i had a infrared thermometer, because i dont trust the cpus internal thermometer… (20°C cpu in a 21°C room? Idkkk…)
Ephemeral-Echo@reddit
HWinfo64 has a temperature monitor. You can also use Rivatuner statistics server that comes bundled with MSI afterburner.
YepThatsMahogany@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the rec!
GhenghisK@reddit
Typically a rectal thermometer is the most accurate... But seriously depending on what hardware you have there should be an offering of temperature monitoring apps
Ok_Inevitable_9063@reddit
Do you use air cooler or aio?
DesperateAngle1379@reddit
It's like saying I cut my finger with a knife and didn't expect to bleed , one google search and it could have been avoided. How people are so arrogant thinking they are always right?
Wise-Resort-5718@reddit
If I had a dime for every person like this... $$
Dapper_Daikon4564@reddit
Thinks he's having a CPU problem, reseats RAM and GPU, but doesn't touch the CPU... that makes total sense, LOL.
Btw, I've cleaned PCs with a full size vacuum the past 30 years, nothing ever happened.
Not even when I was a kid and thought it was fun to make all the fans spins as quickly as possible. (Don't do that!)
Upstairs_Lettuce_746@reddit
Oops too late. Just did it
Dapper_Daikon4564@reddit
Lol, don't send me a $10,000 cheque!
rdrg66@reddit
Don't suck just blow. Always use a blower to clean a pc.
r-bsky@reddit
I was also about to do it the other day, but thankfully refrained from it in the end - hope you get it fixed!
AstarothSquirrel@reddit
You can use a vacuum to clean your computer. People will cite videos of static from a shop vacuum and yes, if you are hoovering up a shit load of sawdust and your vacuum has a metal bucket, and no earthing, you could build up static. take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Yoqnh1lUU. I use air compressor and vacuum all the time and it's never caused any issues.
Shadowraiden@reddit
i would just get some new thermal paste and do a quick reseat of the CPU.
possibly knocked the cooler slightly off and broke the seal that is created that helps with thermals.
Big_Training6081@reddit
So everything works fine expect the cpu, and you decided the best course of action would be to reseat everything expect the part that's having the issue? Seems logical. Rofl.
YepThatsMahogany@reddit (OP)
Fun, constructive comment. I didn't reseat the CPU because 1) I don't have thermal paste and 2) the heatsink was a bitch to put on from what I remember, which was many years ago. Wondered if there were other courses of action.
Big_Training6081@reddit
I feel like it was pretty constructive considering the situation. You obviously knocked something loose vacuuming it or it wouldn't be having issues. There's not a lot of options. My local wal Mart actually sells thermal paste now so yours might as well check there, otherwise just order some.
groveborn@reddit
Take the cooler off, remove the fan, see if it needs a bit of cleaning. The fins can get caked and invade Switzerland.
Reassemble and repaste. Your issues don't sound like esd damage, it sounds like you're not cool.
DonTaddeo@reddit
If the fans are running OK, it sounds like the CPU might be getting overvolted. On the theory that something in the bios got corrupted, you might clear it, perhaps after updating.