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[Varche]

I have a couple of PC's. They both run fine except the P4 with a 2400 chip which always crashes at some stage during a Skype call (fine otherwise). The other is a similar Athlon machine. That is fine.

At first I thought it was a software compatibility issue but now suspect it is just a cooling issue. The P4 works as the gateway into the Internet for the Athlon. Both run XP.

Took the covers off and the P4 has two fans both working (one at front and one at back) plus the power supply fan. The Athlon has two but the front one isn't working. Both have working fans on the processor. Both machines have gaping holes in the fronts of the towers where a geek might have multiple CDRom drives or those newfangled DVD jobs.

Both are filthy inside with dust everywhere.

Now my questions.

Should I fit a third fan? If so where?

How do you clean the dust out after blowing? Would a household vacuum cleaner create static? Should I just leave it be?

Apart from the increased noise, should I run it with one or both side covers permanently off?

Finally is there anything you can do practically to shed heat creating load during a Skype call e.g. close down all applications like AVG?

Thanks in anticipation
 

[cem_devecioglu]

instead of a vacuum which can create some problems, using an air compressor and pressurised air is a better option.. however in some cases (cpu coolers) that will not be adequate.. you will need to clean them with some wood chops ..

opening the covers  only increases the problem and curious cats is another one (in my house)

you can watch temperature of board and cpu from bios directly are some software that come bundled with mobo in a cd..

you can install extra fans anytime with hot silicone but I found that 220 volt models to be the most efficient and most noisy..even one with 12-15 cm diameter is enough.. if 220 volt is not preferred 2-3 12 volt models will do the job if your psu have left enough power..

there are also some water cooling apparats which is a bit pricey but is really good .. some newish chasis designs have very efficient cooling.. if they can be found with discounts, much better for long time running systems..

[Chris_H]

I never use pressurized air as it only moves the dust to somewhere else.  A small household paint brush with a vacuum cleaner usually does it all.  Try to brush the case occasionally (while earthed) to prevent static build-up on the brush.

If it used to work ok then cleaning the cpu heatsink and getting most of the dust out should suffice..

[Kevin Wood]

I use a compressor and airline to clear mine out. Yes, it just moves the dust elsewhere, but a long way away from the computer IME!

If the fans are working Ok, the heatsinks are free of dust and the original thermal design was sensible, opening the case won't help. The fans should give airflow through the case and, I would say, if the dust is cleaned out and it still misbehaves it's unlikely to be a thermal problem.

Remember to give the power supply a good blast through as they seem to collect the worst of the dust and have to dissipate a good amount of heat.

Kevin

[Entwood]

I don't see Skype actually generating that amount of excess heat TBH .. it is simply using your network card .. or the portion thereof on the motherboard.

If Skype is causing regular crashes I would suspect the install. I would fully uninstall, reboot, clean the system manually of all remaining "bits" of skype (including the registry but that could be a step too far for many) before reinstalling the very latest version of skype. The latter being a fresh download.

[Proz]

Maybe the cpu needs its thermal paste redone with high quality paste ..if i assume by P4 you mean pentium 4 processor ... download Hardware monitor pro ( which is free ) and see what temps on various things are .
I've always found P4's run hot ... i have the 3.2Ghz in an old laptop which idles at 65-68 degrees c on the processor .
As for the dust either blow it away or gently hoover it 

or am i not understanding this due to the lager 

http://www.hwinfo.com/download32.html

[Proz]

In case your unsure this is the kind of thing that program shows you ... just captured this screen a few mins ago...
Quite comprehensive temp monitoring on my pc anyway ...I hope its clear enough for you to see 

[Plomien]

I use speedfan it will monitor temps and fan speeds.
If the CPU is overheating and the vents and fans are clear of dust then it will be a reseat of the heatsink or even upgrade it.
Some good ones here http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=57&subid=1395