SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

IT’S STAGGERING THAT this liquid cooler worked as long as it did, diligently cooling the Core i7-3820 for almost five years. However, it does illustrate how imperative it is to give your rig a good clean once in a while. Dust, grime, and condensation are major killers for hardware like this, and keeping your CPU cool should be one of your top priorities. We’re not saying go crazy on the cleaning, but every three to six months, take your rig outside, and take a can of compressed air or even a foot pump to it, to get rid of excess dust inside the chassis. In fact, this is why we recommend windowed cases, so you can avoid the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy.