Question How difficult is it to take apart a laptop graphics card and clean it?

[SiameseCatz]

I have a 1070 that is caked in dust, in an ASUS ROG GL702VS. I don't have a lot of computer know how. I'm kind of scared to take the chance taking it apart and putting it back together again. But it absolutely needs to be done.

Is it a task that a beginner can do?

 

[USAFRet]

Is it a task that a beginner can do?

That depends on the beginner.

How do you know it is "caked in dust"?

Pictures, please.

 

[Rokinamerica]

At least you should be able to take off back cover and use a can of air to clean vents, fans-while you hold the blades, and then just clean out all dust.

 

[geofelt]

Search for a youtube video on how to upgrade ram or ssd on your laptop.
Canned air can blow away most dust.
Find a way to immobilize any fans so they do not spin up past their capabilities and get damaged. Laptop graphics are chips soldered in and not cards.

 

[mettall]

Try to avoid removing the heat pipes, because if you replace the thermal-paste with anything that is not for laptops that can bring you headaches in summer. So just stabilize the fans and clean it with a vacuum cleaner that blows out, air compressor (careful with that) or a can of compressed air.

Technically it is not a big issue to do it by yourself. If you know how to use the screwdriver you will be fine. Search for some videos on youtube on how to disassemble your laptop model. No need to take apart the whole laptop. You just need to access the fans. Try to remember which screws goes in which holes. Some of the screws may be with different sizes.

It looks like the fans on this laptop model are easily accessible.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Some interesting remarks above.

To follow on some, yes, this is relatively straight forward to do. But, as suggested this could be involved.

When you say clean the GPU, do you mean the fans/heatpipes, or the chip itself? That latter being more difficult, as you will have to replace thermal paste after removing the heatpipes. This is also a good solution for overheating laptop GPU's and CPU's in general. The paste that comes with most laptops is trash, and a decent one like Noctua NT-H2 works really well in a laptop. Others like Arctic MX4/Noctua NT-H1 can suffer with a pump out effect after just a couple of months of gaming. So using the H2 rules out having to replace paster every 3-6 months. Apply the H2, and forget about it for 2 years.

If you do want to 'really clean the fans' then starting with compressed can of air is great. You might also source some Isopropyl Alcohol (99%) and cotton buds (or q-tips as it might be known). This will be used to wipe off any gunk or stubborn dust. The ISO is also used to clean the old paste from the chip.

This should help get you through the whole cleaning process: Laptop Liquid Metal Re Paste - Asus ROG GL702VS - and 20-30C Difference! - HEAT FIX - Bing video

Use or get a magnetic screwdriver tool, with multiple heads too. Make sure you are prepared.

 

[SiameseCatz]

That depends on the beginner.

How do you know it is "caked in dust"?

Pictures, please.

Okay, so this laptop is NOT allowing me to copy and paste pictures, I went to great lengths to take this thing apart to take some lovely photos for you all for naught. Or perhaps it's this site, I'm not sure. I know that it is caked in dust because it always is, using pressurized air in a can does little to nothing besides delay the inevitable. I'll try and use imgur to upload the photos for you?

https://imgur.com/a/vRbvt8C

View: https://imgur.com/a/vRbvt8C
here is a photo of the laptop with the back taken off, with the fans visible, and here

https://imgur.com/a/dYUphbE

View: https://imgur.com/a/dYUphbE
is the left fan

https://imgur.com/a/Q9XRyLf

View: https://imgur.com/a/Q9XRyLf
and the right fan, respectively

As I mentioned, blowing canned air on them does little to nothing besides make my computer run cooler for a week. There is always caked on dirt and dust that the canned air is ineffective at removing that acts as a magnet for more dirt and debris, I need to physically take the fans out and give them a good rinse underwater to get rid of all the dirt and debris. Else, as I mentioned, it's just a matter of time before my PC begins overclocking? Is that the right word? Pardon my ignorance.

My laptop gets REALLY hot and the fans begin spinning so much that I can barely hear whatever application I'm running.

 

[USAFRet]

(yes, imgur.com is the preferred method for posting pics)

Yes, thats a lot of dust.
Blow it all out.
If it gets dusty again really quickly, that is your environment.

 

[SiameseCatz]

(yes, imgur.com is the preferred method for posting pics)

Yes, thats a lot of dust.
Blow it all out.
If it gets dusty again really quickly, that is your environment.

The thing is, when I use the canned air, I can physically see more dirt and dust on the fan blades. It literally acts as a magnet to attract more dirt and debris onto the fan blades. The canned air does not get all of the dirt and debris off the fan blades, I've done this several times and as I mentioned, it's only a matter of time before my thing begins overclocking and running slower. I want to disassemble the laptop and remove these fan blades and give them a hard scrubbing, but I'm unsure of how many components I'd need to remove to do so. I need a new laptop battery and I know that's easy enough to remove, so I was planning on doing the laptop fans too. Is it a pretty straight forward process? Or is it sort of complicated?

 

[geofelt]

I think you need to get a small cotton swap that can fit between the blades.
Possibly some thin cotton wrapped around some thin plastic that can fit between the blades.

Soak in alcohol to loosen the grime and get the chunks out.
This will be a tedious chore.

Usually, the fans housing is held in place with a few screws allowing you to remove the fan.
That will make your job easier.

Is the laptop running on a clean surface, or is it on a rug or other place with lots of dust?

 

[SiameseCatz]

I think you need to get a small cotton swap that can fit between the blades.
Possibly some thin cotton wrapped around some thin plastic that can fit between the blades.

Soak in alcohol to loosen the grime and get the chunks out.
This will be a tedious chore.

Usually, the fans housing is held in place with a few screws allowing you to remove the fan.
That will make your job easier.

Is the laptop running on a clean surface, or is it on a rug or other place with lots of dust?

I usually have it on a flat surface, like a cardboard box if I'm using it on my lap. But alas I took your advice and removed the fans. Darn, I can't fully dismantle the fan meaning I'll have to get some alcohol in between each of those fan blades. I was really hoping to just be able to take the fan blade and run it underneath some running water. Oh well.

Thanks for the help everyone!