Cleaning PowerMac G5

markivmarkiv
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I have the oldest and slowest possible powermac g5, where I stay there tends to be a lot of dust. I want to clean my powermac, there is a lot of dust inside, is there any manual available on that, also is it possible for me to remove the heat sink and clean around it. I thought it was a dust issue as I can hear the fans blowing consistently and I had to change my SuperDrive in about a year time as the lens went bad. I have tried to google for help, but couldn't find any. Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    xoolxool Posts: 2,460member
    Compressed air. I usually take out my CPU fans, but otherwise my can of compressed air gets everything pretty clean. From time to time I'll also remove my graphics card so I can clean its heat sink and fan.



    My 9800 Pro had so much dust in (these big worm-like things) it would overheat anytime I'd do anything intense, like gaming. Installed, it was at too much of an angle to really clean it out well, so I had to pop the card out to get it clean.



    Now I try and clean it regularly so it is easier to do.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    markivmarkiv Posts: 180member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Xool

    Compressed air. I usually take out my CPU fans, but otherwise my can of compressed air gets everything pretty clean. From time to time I'll also remove my graphics card so I can clean its heat sink and fan.



    My 9800 Pro had so much dust in (these big worm-like things) it would overheat anytime I'd do anything intense, like gaming. Installed, it was at too much of an angle to really clean it out well, so I had to pop the card out to get it clean.



    Now I try and clean it regularly so it is easier to do.



    Thanks for the suggestion of buying compressed air, I don't know if I can buy a can of compressed air in India (it might not be available here), or might be too bloody expensive like my 1 mbps adsl connection costing me 100 dollars a month with 10 GB download limit. Is it safe to remove the heatsink of the powermac g5 to clean, I havenevre done it so I am asking. Thanks for the reply.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    coreycorey Posts: 165member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by markiv

    Thanks for the suggestion of buying compressed air, I don't know if I can buy a can of compressed air in India (it might not be available here), or might be too bloody expensive like my 1 mbps adsl connection costing me 100 dollars a month with 10 GB download limit. Is it safe to remove the heatsink of the powermac g5 to clean, I havenevre done it so I am asking. Thanks for the reply.



    Whatever you do be VERY wary of static electricity. Sometimes leaving the muck alone is better than disturbing the peace.



    If you can't get a can of air, try blowing hard on it or try using a bellows to get the big stuff out, you should be able to scrounge up one of those. This method works better than you might think.



    Leave the heat sink alone. This is one of those "if it isn't broken don't fix it" moments.



    Corey
  • Reply 4 of 9
    regreg Posts: 832member
    I also like to have a vacuum going in the area where I am spraying the air. I don't remove the heat sinks but do remove the fans and hand clean them with a wet towel. I now clean all my machines once a year and they stay pretty clean and have very few problems.



    reg
  • Reply 5 of 9
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Forget canned air, pick up something like THIS. There are smaller, cheaper ones and look for sales, but they work much better than cans. Not only do they have more pressure (with pressure regulators so you can dial it down) but you have a greater volume of air to get that dust out. I usually hold the fans still with a finger. A compressor just makes the job so much easier. Oh yea, and when you are gasping for air in a magical cloud of dust, you can stand back and blow the floating dust away. Can't do that with a can.



    Don't bother taking off any heat-sinks. You want a solid connection between the fins and processor and removing them, even to clean it, will cause more harm than good.



    EDIT: Oh, India. hehe.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    You could clean it by getting a new comp....



    JK
  • Reply 7 of 9
    bentonbenton Posts: 161member
    Why doesn't Apple incorporate replaceable or washable air filters?
  • Reply 8 of 9
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    There is a third party company that used to make those for G3's. A G5 would be easy, just add a screen an keep it clean.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    markivmarkiv Posts: 180member
    I went to the computer store today (actually computer stores) those guys haven't even heard about the compressed air can. The best option for me would be getting a small portable vacuum cleaner if that would serve the purpose or I would have to blow my computer (no pun intended). Thanks for your replies guys, actually sucks to be the only guy who own a mac in my area.
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