How badly does cigarette smoke effect a PC?

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

Well I'm a heavy smoker and I must say this has worried me since reading about it. I wouldn't like to lose a PC worth around £800 to smoking. Basically what I saw was pictures of a CPU heatsink, and fans that were all like, clogged in tar and stuff and that frightened me but, I've been basically smoking next to my gaming PC for around 6 months and I can see into my transparent window on my case and the fans look okay and fairly clean, if not a little dusty after not yet being cleaned after 6 months, and my CPU heatsink looks fine also. It's still silver in colour and doesnt look bad, with maybe a few little specs of dust on it. If things look okay does that mean it is okay, or at least not affected by cigarette smoke? And why wouldn't this be affecting me? Would it be okay if I just cleaned it every 6 months to a year or? It doesn't ACTUALLY effect the electronics itself right? Just the fans? Idk man I'm worried help!

 

[alexoiu]

Interesting post. But you know what's funny (or at least what I think is funny):
You're more concerned about CPU heatsink and fans getting clogged in tar than you care about your lungs.

 

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

Interesting post. But you know what's funny (or at least what I think it's funny):
You're more concerned about CPU heatsink and fans getting clogged in tar than you care about your lungs.

Bro, seriously, I'd not smoke if I could, but I can't, cause I'm a very paranoid nervous wreck of a person, who constantly worries about his PC and makes it hard to enjoy it. Now, will you answer my questions please?

 

[alexoiu]

No offense meant, just considering your question from a psychological perspective.
It seems that we become more and more addicted to these toys.
Now to answer your question, you don't have to worry about it. Even if let's say some particles would get stick to components, the process is slower than components "aging" and needing to be replaced.
Not sure if my English knowledge helped me enough in the last phrase to make myself clear.
Dust accumulates faster than tar. Cleaning them every 6 months is OK.
But I guess that a more helpful answer would be: "yes the smoke is very dangerous for PC and it will damage it if you don't stop smoking."

 

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

No offense meant, just considering your question from a psychological perspective.
It seems that we become more and more addicted to these toys.
Now to answer your question, you don't have to worry about it. Even if let's say some particles would get stick to components, the process is slower than components "aging" and needing to be replaced.
Not sure if my English knowledge helped me enough in the last phrase to make myself clear.
Dust accumulates faster than tar. Cleaning them every 6 months is OK.
But I guess that a more helpful answer would be: "yes the smoke is very dangerous for PC and it will damage it if you don't stop smoking."

But can tar be completely wiped off as much as dust can? And also just to confirm was your last sentence sarcastic and you're saying the better answer would be that so i would not damage my own insides, even though it doesn't damage my PC's anyway? Because I should care about my self more than my PC right? Okay well you've reassured me on that. To be honest I thought it probably wouldn't damage things as long as i clean it and was more careful.

 

[alexoiu]

Yes, the message was care more about yourself.
As for tar, taking into account its composition and proprieties (http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/smoking-and-tar or similar), it might not get that easy out of the CPU cooler fins. But again, this might mean 1-2 degrees added to the CPU temperature in 2-3 yrs, which actually doesn't even matter, because by then you would have probably upgraded the components.

 

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

Yes, the message was care more about yourself.
As for tar, taking into account its composition and proprieties (http://www.quitnow.gov.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/smoking-and-tar or similar), it might not get that easy out of the CPU cooler fins. But again, this might mean 1-2 degrees added to the CPU temperature in 2-3 yrs, which actually doesn't even matter, because by then you would have probably upgraded the components.

Haha that's true. Well thanks for that makes me feel better. I just hope you're telling the truth. One last question if you don't mind and then I'll select you for the best answer. Do you know if cigarette smoke can badly effect the actual electronic parts such as chips and circuit boards and stuff? Also I mean I'm not too sure how smoke can actually get into a PC like, maybe if I had the side panel off, but I mean it's not as if I blow smoke into my PC haha.

 

[alexoiu]

You must be kidding.
OK. Let me ask you this: what if I answer yes, intake fans absorb smoke and tar accumulates on components, causing short-circuits? Would you believe me? Go smoking outside? Or, would you smoke less? Quit enjoying a good cigar while playing... I don't know, what's your favorite game?

 

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

You must be kidding.
OK. Let me ask you this: what if I answer yes, intake fans absorb smoke and tar accumulates on components, causing short-circuits? Would you believe me? Go smoking outside? Or, would you smoke less? Quit enjoying a good cigar while playing... I don't know, what's your favorite game?

Right you're really confusing me right now, and I'm not sure what you think I'm kidding about. This is really bugging me because I smoke a lot and there will be nothing to change that and I need to know how bad it is, because maybe if it is bad enough, all I'll simply do is smoke outside of the room the PC is in. But you shouldn't lie about things just to make people have better health, this is a tech hardware site, not a health site. And it wouldn't work on me to make me stop smoking anyway. So I would please like the answer on whether it damages components such as circuits and chips and how bad it can be. I'm not that much of a health expert on PC's and how all that works so, if you would kindly give me an easy for a noob to understand, clear enough, straight to the point answer.

 

[alexoiu]

I very much sorry, but I can't have a serious answer to your question. However, let's try one.
Serious answer: From my knowledge, in the tobacco leaves and whatever other ingredients they add to cigars, there are not conductive particles in such quantities to create short circuits when accumulating in your PC... Most of them will remain in your lungs. Sorry for the last part, but I couldn't help myself.

 

[synphul]

A straight forward answer to the question, aside from needing to wipe down your pc case a little more often it will be fine. I worked in an autoshop that saw far worse chemicals, smoke, exhaust, the occasional overspray of water, grease, fine oil etc. We had 2 pc's in the garage bays and one in a side office with no door just off of one of the bays. Never had an issue the 6yrs I was there. In addition to cigarette smoke, there was a fine mist of oil and transmission fluid in the air, we ran welders, power grinders, torches, parts wash machines with heavy solvent. They survived.

 

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

A straight forward answer to the question, aside from needing to wipe down your pc case a little more often it will be fine. I worked in an autoshop that saw far worse chemicals, smoke, exhaust, the occasional overspray of water, grease, fine oil etc. We had 2 pc's in the garage bays and one in a side office with no door just off of one of the bays. Never had an issue the 6yrs I was there. In addition to cigarette smoke, there was a fine mist of oil and transmission fluid in the air, we ran welders, power grinders, torches, parts wash machines with heavy solvent. They survived.

I thought it was more of a scare. I mean, seeing the pictures on the internet are worrying but I guess no PC can just get a clunk of that stuff on it unless it sits there for a couple of years even. Mostly what they show is just yellowed/browned clunks of dust which is pretty bad just to have that much dust I guess, and that does the worst part. Thanks, I'm at ease.

 

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

I very much sorry, but I can't have a serious answer to your question. However, let's try one.
Serious answer: From my knowledge, in the tobacco leaves and whatever other ingredients they add to cigars, there are not conductive particles in such quantities to create short circuits when accumulating in your PC... Most of them will remain in your lungs. Sorry for the last part, but I couldn't help myself.

Thanks. You're a crazy ass mofo but you're good.

 

[synphul]

There will be some nicotine/tar staining and it will leave more of a residue than if no smoke were present at all. It doesn't cause "chunks" of things to accumulate though. I've seen 'dirtiest pc case ever' pics often showing overflowing ashtrays and gobs of stuff like a rats nest built up in the pc. That's not an effect of smoking, that's the aftermath of a pig. Plenty of non smoking pigs too, if someone wanted to they could let years of dust build up and throw in some cheeseburger wrappers, drip some melted cheese in there and throw in some french fries if they wanted to. Is it indicative of what your pc will look like if you eat near it? No, it's a sign of someone who lacks hygiene in general.

I smoke and my pc's never look like that. The biggest cause of dust in my cases has nothing to do with smoking. It has to do with living in a rural environment on acreage with bare land, wind, dirt road and the fact I have a woodstove with a blower on it. It's not even the gray linty type dust most people in suburban environments experience, it's straight gritty brown dirt from the outdoors and requires a more frequent cleaning regimen. But then most people have concrete/asphalt driveways, sidewalks, concrete - right now my front yard is a mess from the frequent rain in the midwestern u.s. and requires wearing knee high rubber boots to get through the mud lol. The joys of rural living. There's no thermostat to turn up for central heat, it involves dragging a chainsaw out and making heat the old fashioned way. 😛

If you're concerned with residue when cleaning the outside of the case, just use a cloth dampened with windex, clorox wipes or something along those lines with a mild detergent cleaning agent. Even regular dust won't be completely removed with just a dry cloth or compressed air.

 

[xMRxVENGEANCEx]

There will be some nicotine/tar staining and it will leave more of a residue than if no smoke were present at all. It doesn't cause "chunks" of things to accumulate though. I've seen 'dirtiest pc case ever' pics often showing overflowing ashtrays and gobs of stuff like a rats nest built up in the pc. That's not an effect of smoking, that's the aftermath of a pig. Plenty of non smoking pigs too, if someone wanted to they could let years of dust build up and throw in some cheeseburger wrappers, drip some melted cheese in there and throw in some french fries if they wanted to. Is it indicative of what your pc will look like if you eat near it? No, it's a sign of someone who lacks hygiene in general.

I smoke and my pc's never look like that. The biggest cause of dust in my cases has nothing to do with smoking. It has to do with living in a rural environment on acreage with bare land, wind, dirt road and the fact I have a woodstove with a blower on it. It's not even the gray linty type dust most people in suburban environments experience, it's straight gritty brown dirt from the outdoors and requires a more frequent cleaning regimen. But then most people have concrete/asphalt driveways, sidewalks, concrete - right now my front yard is a mess from the frequent rain in the midwestern u.s. and requires wearing knee high rubber boots to get through the mud lol. The joys of rural living. There's no thermostat to turn up for central heat, it involves dragging a chainsaw out and making heat the old fashioned way. 😛

If you're concerned with residue when cleaning the outside of the case, just use a cloth dampened with windex, clorox wipes or something along those lines with a mild detergent cleaning agent. Even regular dust won't be completely removed with just a dry cloth or compressed air.

Thank you very much. I feel a lot better now, since smoking near the PC is pretty much inevitable for me and that, it's good to know I can do it without essentially really damaging my PC if I clean it regular, which I should anyway. My case is black so I don't have to really worry about staining and that. I feel bad for picking you as a best solution since that other commented first and more but you gave me more of a straight forward answer without faffing about as requested.