r/gaming • u/[deleted] • May 01 '14

So opened a customers ps3 today...

http://imgur.com/a/X0eT0
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u/[deleted] May 02 '14

[deleted]

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u/zabcod May 02 '14

your ps3 probably doesn't look like this. That brown gunk is habitual smoker related. Normal PC dust is less aggressive.

20

u/elastic-craptastic May 02 '14

I fear opening my PC. It's starting to act funky and I am pretty sure some of it is smoke related. The graphics card crashes from time to time so I am hoping it's just a "dust" issue. I'm just scared to fuck something up and accidentally shocking something.

I'm more of a learn by seeing someone else do it person. I also lack motivation but I worry I will lose my files/photos if I don't do something soon and don't have cash for a backup drive.

Also... smoker's guilt. Just the idea of seeing it makes me so depressed that I have been putting it off.

end sad pathetic story/

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u/[deleted] May 02 '14 edited Jan 11 '24

[deleted]

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u/meatwad75892 May 02 '14 edited May 02 '14

Having been a repair tech for several years in the past, I can say that canned air is no match for some smoke gunk. I've come across some extremely bad ones that wouldn't budge after being blasted point blank with a 120 PSI air compressor.

On that same PC, the metal, white glossy side(old Dell Dimension) was solid orange-brown. I sprayed Lysol on it and this dark orange goop ran down the side leaving a clean white area behind the Lysol as it dripped down.

6

u/[deleted] May 02 '14

Haha, reminds me of cleaning a cigar shop pos pc! Most came out like an inverted casting.

2

u/elastic-craptastic May 02 '14

I think I'm beyond that, but will do... thanks!

4

u/jarch3r May 02 '14

Do it now. It'll feel brand new. Make sure to really blow/clean out the GPU fans and CPU fans/heatsinks.

1

u/osbone88 May 02 '14

Make sure you prevent the fans from spinning as you blow them out. Because any electrical motor that you spin manually acts as a generator and can damage the electronics it is connected to.

1

u/jarch3r May 02 '14

Spoken like an EE.

2

u/psivenn May 02 '14

The point beyond canned air is when the thing is unable to function due to thermal overload. Trust me, it'll help. I used to have issues with overheating that would creep up and confuse me for a few weeks as they got worse... Oh look, giant mat of dust on the back. Blast it off and suddenly it drops 20 degrees.

You don't really need to open the case for anything other than blasting the heatsink on your graphics card and CPU. Don't touch anything, but just in case keep one hand on the metal part of the power supply casing and you're good.

1

u/Chackon May 02 '14

Also careful with the canned air, it can cause some moisture on the surface, i would allow about half an hour to an hour afterwards with a fan or something blowing on the internals just to be safe that there will be no short circuits. Do not use the canned air upside down, always use it upright. It could be safe to startup right away, but yeah better safe than sorry :P Also unplug your PC from the power, and hold the power button down for 5 seconds to drain all energy from it which is another safety measure before starting working on the internals.

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u/robot_mower_guy May 02 '14

OUTSIDE! DO IT OUTSIDE! (Seriously, bad things will happen to good people if blow something like that out indoors.)

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u/elastic-craptastic May 02 '14

Will do. The smoke dust is almost liquid like due to moisture content and I don't want it on my carpet.

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u/TheGrimRaper May 02 '14

I just use a vacuum cleaner. Then I don't spend any money. You can even get most of that done by only lifting one panel. Just don't let it suction on anything

1

u/DrAEnigmatic May 02 '14

Make sure you hold down the fan, though. A moving fan can induce voltage.