Question Hairdryer to clear out heatsink

[Herculiam]

So one clip on the cpu fan is difficult to get to, so would it be okay to unclip half of the fan, brush out what i can get to and hairdryer out the rest of it on cold? would this cause static at all or damage anything? it just saves me having to unscrew the motherboard.

 

[AllanGH]

Use a keyboard vacuum instead. Why blow all that crap around inside your case?

 

[CountMike]

So one clip on the cpu fan is difficult to get to, so would it be okay to unclip half of the fan, brush out what i can get to and hairdryer out the rest of it on cold? would this cause static at all or damage anything? it just saves me having to unscrew the motherboard.

Just the fan or whole cooler off the CPU. In first case just fold fan so it doesn't turn while blowing. If whole cooler, than don't do it like that because you will have to replace paste if you separate it from CPU.

 

[velocityg4]

I doubt the hairdrier would move enough air for serious cleaning. As long as the hairdrier doesn't touch the internal components. I don't think static buildup would be an issues. Just leave the computer plugged in to a grounded outlet and turned off. So any charge build up will dissipate.

If you are really concerned. Use a grounding wrist strap. One with an actual wire to the computer case. Also ground the case. Then you, the computer and the hairdrier should all be energized to the same charge.

I use Qtips to get in between fan blades and dust heatsinks. When fan removal is impractical that is. Only when I don't have my air compressor handy.

 

[USAFRet]

A hairdryer won't provide enough directed flow to do much.
It won't do much more than if you were to blow hard on it.