clean graphics card?

[Teny]

i was wondering on how to clean a graphics card after awhile of use and have collected some dust.
and does it differ from a single slot and dual slot?
and how many times do i have to clean the graphics card in a year?
thanks in advance

 

[D-Lew]

It's not really "necessary" to clean them usually under most circumstances for a casual user. It certainly doesn't hurt though.

Get some compressed air, they sell them in aerosol cans, and just blow all the dust out. The difference between a single and dual slot will just be the type of opening into and out of the heatsink. Try to blow the dust through both ways. If it's not so old it's caked in there, it should all come out easily enough.

I probably clean my whole computer for dust 2 or 3 times a year.

 

[Teny]

i have 7 120mm fans in my case, and in a week when i open my computer, theres like major dust everywhere. Every fan, every heatsink....
ive gotten more dust since i switched to this case, this case creates dust in a week where my other case would take 2 months to create, and then i get paranoid of something in my computer (chipset, cpu, graphics card, etc) gets overheated, and dies out.
my room is always hot for some reason.....
i guess i will get some compressed air for my graphics card.
my friend told me to never blow air, but to vacuum it, but it seems like its hard to vacuum the graphics card.
how long should i wait after blowing compressed air into the card?
my friend fried his old motherboard because he used compressed air where it froze on the motherboard, and he tried turning it on right away.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

When using cans of "compressed air" it's best to keep the tip a few inches away from the surface you are spraying and use short bursts to avoid freezing the parts. Any condensation that appears from spraying will quickly dry.

I'll use a vacuum to get the crap out of the case. I use the brush and nozzle attachments to gently get any built up dust off of fans and components after removing them from the case.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Yeah, first time we used a compressed air can, nobody read the labels, and my mom was using it. She turned it sideways, which is not advisable, and she just held the thing down, I thought my laptop keyboard was a goner. Fortunately, I was there to tell her to stop lol.

 

[cavemangrinder]

i have 7 120mm fans in my case, and in a week when i open my computer, theres like major dust everywhere. Every fan, every heatsink....
ive gotten more dust since i switched to this case, this case creates dust in a week where my other case would take 2 months to create, and then i get paranoid of something in my computer (chipset, cpu, graphics card, etc) gets overheated, and dies out.
my room is always hot for some reason.....
i guess i will get some compressed air for my graphics card.
my friend told me to never blow air, but to vacuum it, but it seems like its hard to vacuum the graphics card.
how long should i wait after blowing compressed air into the card?
my friend fried his old motherboard because he used compressed air where it froze on the motherboard, and he tried turning it on right away.

Never use a vaccum to clean the inside components. Vacuums create alot of static. As for all of the dust collecting in there, the compressed air is the best way to clean it out. If you are getting excessive amount of dust in there frequently, I'd recommend getting some fan filters to keep alot of the dust out while still providing air flow.