Just like changing the fluids in your car, maintaining your gaming rig is important to keep processing speeds and cooling levels optimal. Things can get pretty fiddly, and it'll take a bit of time if you want to be thorough, but the end result is a computer that looks and runs as good as new!

We're all guilty of letting our rig get a little unclean, us monkeys included. So we thought we'd bring in a rig from someone at Mighty Ape HQ that had seen a bit of neglect. We won't point fingers or name names, but let's just say with all the console releases and games to play, this poor computer hadn't been given any care in about a year!

We Gorilla Rig monkeys set to it and worked our magic, and we think you'll agree that the results speak for themselves!

Surveying the Damage

One look at this rig and we knew we had a bit of work to do. Not only were the case fans, GPU fans and CPU heat sink absolutely clogged with dust and dirt, dust had also permeated its way into the messy cabling.

To top it all off there appears to have been a family of spiders living in the bottom of the rig, resulting in a nice collection of cobwebs and dead insects.

It should be noted that the owner of this rig is now known as spider guy. Not spider-man, that name's far too good for him.

Where to Start…

Moving through the case from front to back with a simple brush, we started with the air intake, taking off the front of the case and removing the air filters. Yep, they were all in need of a good clean.

After brushing off as much as we could from the filers, we got in with some compressed air to blast out the most stubborn remnants. Note: It's best to do this outside so you have proper ventilation and the dust doesn't settle back inside the case.

Use compressed air in short spurts to get the best accuracy and pressure, and if your can cools down too much, take a break – they work better when warm.

Rinse and Repeat

Going through the rest of the case is fairly similar in procedure. We also used a damp cloth on the individual fins of each fan after removing them to give them their original shine back.

You can be quite thorough with your dusting when moving through the case, just make sure you're delicate when going over your components.

To ensure we collected all the dust we dislodged, we had a vacuum cleaner nozzle hovering above the area we were working.

You shouldn't use a vacuum directly on your components or fans, but it they do make for a great extractor as you work.

Keep Your Cool(ant)

After removing the main body of dust from the heat sink, the best way to get between each individual fin is to remove the unit entirely and blast compressed air down every lane.

We made sure to keep the now exposed CPU chip covered and clean while working. In doing so we kept any contaminants off the chip to ensure the best possible bond between chip and heat sink when it was reinstalled.

While we were had the two apart, we cleaned off the thermal paste from both the CPU and heat sink, applying new solution once it was all clean.

There's still plenty to do with this guy, but we've taken the first step! We hope we've inspired you to show your own rig a little TLC… it's definitely worth your while!

Continued in part two…