Cleaning/Dusting graphics card.

Holythief · Jul 15, 2014

So i have an evga gtx 570 sc lying around (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51e7Ku2ggpL.jpg)

And i'd like to clean/dust it out before i either sell it for give it to my brother to use.

So my question is, can i just unscrew the top plastic shroud and simply clean it with some cotton buds/q tips ?

Should i remove the heatsink block itself and re paste ?

If so what thermal paste should i use (i currently only have some Arctic mx-4 and Noctua NT-H1)

RCoon · Jul 15, 2014

Holythief said:
Should i remove the heatsink block itself and re paste ?

Yes, remove the whole heatsink, blast it with compressed air (those things are pretty straightforward, big block of fins and a fan). Then just use some standard MX4 or AS5, tiny tiny blob. Should do the trick. Pretty easy, usually the whole sink is held on by 8 screws.

Vario · Jul 15, 2014

Use the MX4, don't use the NTH1, I haven't had much luck long term with NTH1 on graphics cards I think it gets too thin when its hot and squeezes out.

RCoon · Jul 15, 2014

Vario said:
Use the MX4, don't use the NTH1, I haven't had much luck long term with NTH1 on graphics cards I think it gets too thin when its hot and squeezes out.

I half expected you to say "slap a 38mm fan on it, AINT NO DUST GONNA SETTLE ON THAT". Seems a legit way of de-dusting a GPU. 5000RPM of static pressure goodness.

GorbazTheDragon · Jul 16, 2014

I'd think that after a few years of use you'd have to open up the shroud and clean the dust out of the fins on the heatsink... One of the downsides of these blower style coolers is that they are an absolute pain in the back side to clean.

Processor	Intel Core i7-4790K @4.5ghz
Motherboard	Asus Z87-PRO
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15s
Memory	Corsair Vengeance Pro 2400Mhz C11 (2x8GB)
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 1080ti 11G Gaming X
Storage	256GB Samsung 850 Pro/512GB Samsung 850 Evo/4TB Western digital Blue
Display(s)	Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q
Case	Corsair Vengeance C70
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM650x
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Corsair RGB Strafe Red switches
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64 bit

System Name	HP Omen 17
Processor	i7 7700HQ
Memory	16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	GTX 1060
Storage	Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s)	1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s)	Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply	230W
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD+
Software	Win 10 Pro

System Name	Computer of Theseus
Processor	Intel i9-12900KS: 50x Pcore multi @ 1.18Vcore (target 1.275V -100mv offset)
Motherboard	EVGA Z690 Classified
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S, 2xThermalRight TY-143, 4xNoctua NF-A12x25,3xNF-A12x15, 2xAquacomputer Splitty9Active
Memory	G-Skill Trident Z5 (32GB) DDR5-6000 C36 F5-6000J3636F16GX2-TZ5RK
Video Card(s)	EVGA Geforce 3060 XC Black Gaming 12GB
Storage	1x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe (OS), 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB (data 1 and 2), ASUS BW-16D1HT
Display(s)	Dell S3220DGF 32" 2560x1440 165Hz Primary, Dell P2017H 19.5" 1600x900 Secondary, Ergotron LX arms.
Case	Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s)	Audiotechnica ATR2100X-USB, El Gato Wave XLR Mic Preamp, ATH M50X Headphones, Behringer 302USB Mixer
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000W 80+ Platinum White
Mouse	Zowie EC3-C
Keyboard	Vortex Multix 87 Winter TKL (Gateron G Pro Yellow)
Software	Win 10 LTSC 21H2

System Name	HP Omen 17
Processor	i7 7700HQ
Memory	16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	GTX 1060
Storage	Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s)	1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s)	Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply	230W
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD+
Software	Win 10 Pro

System Name	Indis the Fair (cursed edition)
Processor	11900k 5.1/4.9 undervolted.
Motherboard	MSI Z590 Unify-X
Cooling	Heatkiller VI Pro, VPP755 V.3, XSPC TX360 slim radiator, 3xA12x25, 4x Arctic P14 case fans
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x16GB 4000 16-19-19 (b-die@3600 14-14-14 1.45v)
Video Card(s)	EVGA 2080 Super Hybrid (T30-120 fan)
Storage	970EVO 1TB, 660p 1TB, WD Blue 3D 1TB, Sandisk Ultra 3D 2TB
Display(s)	BenQ XL2546K, Dell P2417H
Case	FD Define 7
Audio Device(s)	DT770 Pro, Topping A50, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, Røde VXLR+, Modmic 5
Power Supply	Seasonic 860w Platinum
Mouse	Razer Viper Mini, Odin Infinity mousepad
Keyboard	GMMK Fullsize v2 (Boba U4Ts)
Software	Win10 x64/Win7 x64/Ubuntu

Cleaning/Dusting graphics card.

Holythief

RCoon

Vario

RCoon

GorbazTheDragon