audiodg.exe High CPU usage

[EvilGrins]

I'm back again! I figured I'd post here instead of making another thread but anyway, I called PCS about upgrading my warranty and it can't be done unfortunately I'm just worried about having to replace faulty parts because it costs so much money. I guess I'll have to be extra carful..

On another note, RealTemp seems pretty good. I always monitor my temps through the taskbar now: (R: GPU, B: CPU) Although the fan seems to be louder at times even if I'm sitting on an idle 35 degrees.

ANOTHER QUESTION: What methods do you guys take when cleaning inside your PC and how often do you clean it? Can you recommend what I should do to clean inside my PC to avoid any damages?

 

[Oussebon]

Those temps look pretty nice.

I wouldn't worry too much about the warranty upgrade. The chances of components failing is relatively slim, and you have 1 year parts cover with PCS as a bare minimum anyway. And if something dies outside of that period there are manufacturer warranties to look at, and replacing / upgrading PC parts is quite simple. You'll want to upgrade some things like the GPU from time to time anyway

What methods do you guys take when cleaning inside your PC and how often do you clean it? Can you recommend what I should do to clean inside my PC to avoid any damages?

How often depends a bit on how dusty things are. But 6-12 months is probably sound.

If your PC has removable dust filters you may want to clean those more often. I have a PC where the dust filters are magnetic, so I just pull them off, run them under the tap, dry them very gently, leave them to finish drying overnight while I won't be using the PC anyway, and pop them back on the next morning.

If you have the Corsair Crystal 570X case as per a previous post, all that tempered glass will make it pretty easy to see what state the inside is in. Apparently your case is "equipped with magnetic dust filters on all in-take fans which allows for easy building and maintenance" ( http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/corsair-crystal-570x-pc-chassis-review,1.html )

For dusting the insides, a can of compressed air and an anti-static brush are probably enough. You can use the air to blow the dust out of things like radiators/CPU cooler towers, fans, and wherever else there's dust. Don't depress the button on the can fully, as you want to limit the chance of the coolant spraying out onto components. You may want to very gently hold the fans in place when you blow air onto those to stop them free-spinning.

You can use the brush to sweep bits of the PC case that have got dusty. You won't want or need to run the brush over the motherboard, GPU PCB, or anything of that kind.

There are plenty of videos online on the subject:
General PC maintenance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmEt-foauZM
Dusting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZ8j46GB2w
Dusting the manly way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9T6WGFmam0

 

[EvilGrins]

Sounds good thanks for the links Oussebon I'll be sure to have a look!

 

[EvilGrins]

Sorry back once again. Got a few questions. I've read some stuff about electric discharge. How can I take precautions against that?
I've also read alot about the liquid of compressed air leaking... Which kinda makes me not want to use it anymore... Is it even possible to prevent that?

Also I was considering buying this aswell as compressed air: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ITdusters-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MQ01VZTBH0XCGRBQSQ0P

Would that be safe to use when cleaning my PC? The last thing I want is to cause damage when I'm trying to prevent it!

 

[Oussebon]

I haven't come across that specific duster before but given the high customer reviews it seems fine. Unlike cans of compressed air I guess coolant isn't a factor either.

As for ESD, this is a quick guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQRIzgEVsjI

 

[EvilGrins]

Thanks. I keep my PC on a small wheeled stand a few inches from the floor is that a good place? Also, whenever I open a game or usually a big application my fans seem to make a much louder noise and I don't remember that happening when I first turned on my PC. Is that normal for the fans to be doing that?

 

[Oussebon]

Sounds normal to me. When I open a load of Chrome tabs at once my CPU fans whirs up for a bit and then calms down. Likewise some games. If the temps are fine, then it's fine.

I guess it depends on the fan profile. Some profiles would prioritise noise over thermals, and let temps get higher before revving up. It sounds like your prioritises temps and is happy to generate some extra noise to keep them as low as possible. Which sounds to me like what you would prefer.

I keep my PC on a small wheeled stand a few inches from the floor is that a good place?

Sounds fine to me. As long as it isn't standing directly on thick carpet with the PSU face down, chewing on fibres, or shut into a cupboard, it's probably fine. Again, as long as the CPU or GPU temps aren't hitting 90 degrees while doing generic gaming, it seems fine.

 

[EvilGrins]

Yeah my temps usually don't exceed 60 when playing games which I assume is fine... With my old PC all I did to clean it was use a vacuum with a tube nozzle(?) I don't know what you call it but yeah. I just vacuum wherever I saw dust, with no real techinque or anything. I wasn't even aware if I could have been damaging my PC but that's a thing of the past now. I guess that's why I'm so worked up about keeping my PC clean is because I have never really had the responsibility so I don't know if I'm doing it right. I assume removing dust is the "right way" but I don't know if I could be damaging my components or anything like that so that's why I want to be 100% sure and have the opinions of the people that use this forum since they know a hell of alot more than I do.

 

[Tony1044]

Sorry back once again. Got a few questions. I've read some stuff about electric discharge. How can I take precautions against that?
I've also read alot about the liquid of compressed air leaking... Which kinda makes me not want to use it anymore... Is it even possible to prevent that?

Also I was considering buying this aswell as compressed air: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ITdusters-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MQ01VZTBH0XCGRBQSQ0P

Would that be safe to use when cleaning my PC? The last thing I want is to cause damage when I'm trying to prevent it!

You could get something like this to do your maintenance on: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Static-NOSHOCK-Grounding-Bench-600x500mm/dp/B005PM975C/ (there are other, cheaper ones out there as well).

If I need compressed air, believe it or not I use my SCUBA cylinders. I have an attachment for filling surface marker buoys and lift bags - it's basically a nozzle on the low pressure hose. Works great for cleaning things. Or a can of compressed cleaner like you linked to works just as well