• Gizmodo
  • bestmodo
  • lifehacker
  • kotaku
  • Profile logout login

#pcs#c

Gizmodo

Share Cancel
   
Upload an image | Add an image URL
×

logging in
  • FAQ. Include # before tag:
  • #tips,
  • #dealzmodo,
  • #rumors,
  • #broken,
  • #iphoneapps,
  • #apple,
  • etc.

New York, 7:06 AM
Mon Dec 7
15 posts in the last 24 hours

FR | IT | DE | SP | JP | AU | BR

Gizmodo Team

Tip your editors:

Editorial Director:
Brian Lam | | Twitter

Editor:
Jason Chen
| AIM | Twitter

Features Editor:
Wilson Rothman
| Twitter

Senior Contributing Editors:
Jesus Diaz
| AIM | Twitter
Mark Wilson, Reviews
| AIM | Twitter

Contributing Editors:
Matt Buchanan
| AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci
| Twitter
Sean Fallon
| Twitter
Jack Loftus
| Twitter
John Herrman
| Twitter
Dan Nosowitz

Chris Mascari

Danny Allen
| Twitter
Rosa Golijan
| Twitter
Chris Jacob

Columnist:
Brendan I. Koerner

Interns:
Don Nguyen

Kyle VanHemert

Heroes and Friends

Comment Account Questions:

SUBSCRIBE TO Gizmodo RSS

New: Breaking news and daily top stories via email
9515 Subscribers
Gizmodo
  • Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.
    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Segador Segador
    12:11 AM

    In reply to Retromodo Made New: The Cobra-Matic Casemod
    Beautiful; just another killer design screaming for a Gizmodo 50's week.
     Reply
    Segador was starred Segador was unstarred
    Image of B3ND3R B3ND3R
    12/06/09

    In reply to Retromodo Made New: The Cobra-Matic Casemod
    Beautiful work - stunning!
     Reply
    B3ND3R was starred B3ND3R was unstarred
    Image of ninjagin ninjagin
    12/06/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    A few notes:

    It bugs me when I hear people refer to all alcohols as "booze", as in this article. Isopropyl alcohol is NOT booze. Do not use anything like vodka or whisky or gin or anything you might drink, as there are a host of other things in them (plant extracts, esters, grain "varnishes", etc.) that become sticky, stinky and nasty once the ethyl alcohol has evaporated away. Also, for your own safety, do not treat isopropyl alcohol as booze. It is NOT safe to consume.

    I recommend denatured alcohol, when alcohol is used on electronics. It seems to evaporate more cleanly than rubbing alcohols like isopropyl. I keep a box of alcohol prep pads by my work keyboard to keep keyboard plaque at bay every couple weeks, but I have moist hands that generate plaque very easily. They leave a cloudy residue, but the plaque is gone.

    For dirty computer cases, a few people have recommended either vacuuming them out with a crevice tool, or having the vacuum cleaner handy. (Someone said that fan filters for the PC case fans are a plus, especially if you have pets or carpets in the same room, and I cannot agree more. Make them part of your build list when putting a new PC together.) I suggest that the vacuum is a necessity... if you don't have one, borrow one from a neighbor before you start. The electrostatic charges in PC cases attract such very fine dust and dander (from our pets) that these can cause real irritation problems for your sinuses and airway. In some parts of the country, roaches and mice may be common, regardless of how clean you keep your house. If you have a PC in or near the kitchen, putting on a filter mask before vacuuming is an especially good idea. Then, use the canned air and dust the area afterwards, right away, before you move around too much.

    Don't buy one can of duster. Buy the 3-pack, or a couple 3-packs. Why?, because the dusters will get cold after 6-12 quick blasts, and the amount of propellant left will not offer the same pressure as when it was warm. When one can gets cold, pick up another one, and rotate through your cans, letting them warm up before picking them up again.

    Finally, canned air (duster) is great for small devices/areas, or when just a few quick blasts are needed, but none of it is good for you to breathe or the environment to receive (even if you get the ozone-friendly stuff). They also seem to be popular for stupid kids to huff these days. If you're serious about regularly dusting your electronics, get a small shop air compressor (yeah, they're kinda noisy and a bit spendy) -- it'll blast nothing but air and will give you consistent pressure.
     Reply
    ninjagin was starred ninjagin was unstarred
    Image of Odin Odin
    12/06/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    When you're cleaning a desktop use a vacuum cleaner in addition to that can of compressed air. With the air all you're doing is disturbing the dust meaning it'll just resettle somewhere else, either inside or outside the case. Not the ideal solution.

    When you're cleaning just have the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner behind whereever you're spraying so when that dirt is dislodged it funnels into the cleaner. Even if you don't have a can of air a vacuum cleaner will work great at picking up lots of surface dust and clumps and can be especially good on heatsinks.

    I'd also reccommend a large paintbrush with soft fibers for getting dust out of cracks and crevices. Again heatsinks are the main offender here and they're also the places you want to make sure are dust free.
     Reply
    Odin was starred Odin was unstarred
    Image of ninjagin ninjagin
    12/06/09

    @Odin: You have described my technique perfectly. Works like a charm.
     Reply
    ninjagin was starred ninjagin was unstarred
    Image of Gary_7vn Gary_7vn
    12/06/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    I pound my ear syringe with a 50 tonne machine press to remove sensor dirt. Works every time.
     Reply
    Edited by Gary_7vn at 12/06/09 1:37 AM Gary_7vn was starred Gary_7vn was unstarred
    Image of lpranal lpranal
    12/05/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    I was able to clean some really pesky specks off my D50's sensor with HEET (the gas-line antifreeze... the isopropyl, not the methanol). Everything else I tried either left small amounts of residue or didn't budge whatever was on my sensor
     Reply
    lpranal was starred lpranal was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    12/05/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    Anyone looking for some nifty new LEGO sets may want to check out the new Atlantis line. Awesome stuff they have, and more to come!
    [shop.lego.com]
     Reply
    Edited by Kaiser-Machead at 12/05/09 6:07 PM Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of camneil01 camneil01
    12/05/09

    @Kaiser-Machead: this is related to the post?
     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead promoted this comment camneil01 was starred camneil01 was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    12/05/09

    @camneil01: Damn! I thought I was typing in the tips box. That's some fail-gravy right there.
     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of Segador Segador
    12/05/09

    @Kaiser-Machead: That's funny, I use fail-gravy to clean my Atlantis LEGO pieces...
     Reply
    Edited by Segador at 12/05/09 11:13 PM Segador was starred Segador was unstarred
    Image of spannu spannu
    12/05/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    The technique I use on a desktop that's packed to the brim with dust is to just get a vacuum and alternate between blowing air and sucking it back in. It keeps the dust from settling in places like my lungs.
     Reply
    spannu was starred spannu was unstarred
    Image of ThatsNotPudding ThatsNotPudding
    12/05/09

    @spannu: I've heard this is potentially dangerous as the high airflow can build up a nice static charge on the usually non-conductive hose - until it contacts something on the motherboard and zap! Or rather: zap$$$
     Reply
    spannu promoted this comment ThatsNotPudding was starred ThatsNotPudding was unstarred
    Image of spannu spannu
    12/05/09

    @ThatsNotPudding: Don't worry; me and the vacuum both make sure to wear one of these.

    Seriously though, this may just be coincidence, but I only use a vacuum with metal attachments and lining in the hose, so I've never had to really worry. I also do not stick it anywhere inside the case as there's more than enough airflow from over a foot away.
     Reply
    spannu was starred spannu was unstarred
    Image of FigNinja FigNinja
    12/05/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    I have some disposable biodegradable lens wipes I use on my glasses. They're still damp when I'm done so I usually give my mobile a quick once over at the same time and any other gadgets that are around until the wipe's used up. Helps keep things pretty decently clean.
     Reply
    FigNinja was starred FigNinja was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    12/05/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    I keep my MBP fairly pristine with my iKlear cloth (though I do have the black cleaning cloth it came with), and I occasionally use the spray. +1 to the folks talking about the Mr. Clean product. Those white macbooks were such a pain to clean. The unibody model seems to do away with some of the worst-to-clean surfaces altogether. The powermac gets shots from the compressed air to get crap out of its innards, which I do every couple of weeks.
     Reply
    Edited by Kaiser-Machead at 12/05/09 5:10 PM Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of phunnyballs phunnyballs
    12/05/09

    @Kaiser-Machead: I love the mr. Clean eraser, but they should be warned that it does buff off micrometers of the top of the surface which is why it works so well. If you use it on something shiny, it takes the finish right off.
     Reply
    spannu promoted this comment phunnyballs was starred phunnyballs was unstarred
    Image of back_at_it back_at_it
    12/05/09

    @Kaiser-Machead: I second the veracity of the quality of iKlear's product line. I, too, have had great results (on a MBP) with the spray.
     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead promoted this comment back_at_it was starred back_at_it was unstarred
    Image of Lizard_King Lizard_King
    12/05/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    If you spill soda/coffee/etc into the keyboard of a desktop, take it apart and clean it with hot soapy water. Do no try to use alcohol, it won't dissolve the sugar - once it dries, it will still be sticky.

    Whatever they use at the Apple Store on my macbook screen is certainly better than the damp cloth I've been using. My screen is never cleaner than when I drop it off for some unnecessary service.
     Reply
    Lizard_King was starred Lizard_King was unstarred
    Image of dragon:ONE dragon:ONE
    12/05/09

    In reply to How To Clean Your Filthy Gadgets
    Trackpads. You've missed trackpads. Mine is $%@#% dirty with all the finger oils brewing for 2 years or so, barring the occasional wipedown.
     Reply
    dragon:ONE was starred dragon:ONE was unstarred
    Image of fleebailey33 fleebailey33
    12/05/09

    @dragon:ONE: Actually my trackball is a PITA, kensington expert mouse i have to clean like twice a week at least, worth it i think though
     Reply
    fleebailey33 was starred fleebailey33 was unstarred
    Image of VenomIreland VenomIreland
    12/05/09

    @dragon:ONE: You can use this same cloth to clean the rest of your laptop as well, excluding the screen, but including the touchpad.

    What?
     Reply
    VenomIreland was starred VenomIreland was unstarred
    Image of dragon:ONE dragon:ONE
    12/05/09

    @VenomIreland: Argh. Blame my reading. I never saw the word touchpad when I skimmed through it - and I did a Find in the page for trackpad, not touchpad.

    Curses my vision!
     Reply
    dragon:ONE was starred dragon:ONE was unstarred
    Image of The5thElephant The5thElephant
    12/03/09

    In reply to Acer's Aspire 8942G-728G1280TWN: World's First, Longest-Named DX11 Notebook
    To alleviate any confusion, that is not in-game or a game engine, it is a pre-rendered scene.
     Reply
    The5thElephant was starred The5thElephant was unstarred
    Image of Gaucho85 Gaucho85
    12/03/09

    In reply to The Best Gadgets
    Not to be labeled a fanboy or anything but calling the Xbox 360 over the PS3 is really subjective. I have both but I'd recommend the PS3 over the 360 especially since most games these days are multiplatform.
     Reply
    Gaucho85 was starred Gaucho85 was unstarred
    Image of Grive Grive
    12/06/09

    @Gaucho85: Erm... I could say everything in this list is somewhat subjective.
     Reply
    Grive was starred Grive was unstarred
    Image of anexanhume anexanhume
    12/03/09

    In reply to Acer's Aspire 8942G-728G1280TWN: World's First, Longest-Named DX11 Notebook
    To alleviate any confusion, this is the mobile version of the 5850, not the desktop version.
     Reply
    anexanhume was starred anexanhume was unstarred
    Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

Login

Enter your username and password.

Please enter a username.
Please enter your password.
logging in
Login via Facebook | Sign Up | Forgot Password?

Reset Password

Please enter your email address to have your password reset.

Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
requesting password reset

Register

Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.

Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.

Please enter a username.
Please enter a password.
Please confirm your password.
Passwords are not identical.
Please enter a valid email address.
registration sent, waiting for reply

Submit Your Comment

You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.

See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.

Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
logging in

Login with your Facebook or Gizmodo account.

Sign up here.



  • Archives
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Legal
  • Help
  • Report a Bug
  • FAQ
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.