The better to lubricate the cooler: grease or oil

Sooner or later, even the quietest computer starts to make a strong and unpleasant noise. This is a clear sign that it is time to lubricate the cooler. So how and what is it better to do? Special or conventional grease, machine oil, WD-40 is used.

How to lubricate the cooler

The first thing you need to decide is the type of lubricant. A fan for a PC has its own technical features, and not every lubricant can cope well with the task assigned to it.

Silicone Grease. It is the best choice for servicing coolers. Silicone grease has a thick enough consistency to stay in the bearing for a long time, and does not affect the fan speed.

WD-40. This tool copes well with pollution, and with it you can start even a cooler that has stopped from dust. It can also be used as a lubricant, but it must be borne in mind that it is not as long-term and effective as silicone options.

Litol and Solidol. Such materials are not intended for use in fast-rotating mechanisms, they are very viscous and reduce the efficiency of cooling systems. Based on this, Litol and solid oil are not recommended for lubrication of coolers in a computer.

Graphite grease. Separately, it is necessary to single out a lubricant containing graphite: the use of such solutions in computers is highly not recommended. Firstly, these lubricants are electrically conductive, and the ingress of graphite particles on electronic components can damage the latter. Secondly, they are designed for large mechanisms and have a very high viscosity, which negatively affects the performance and service life of the cooler.

What kind of oil can lubricate the fan in the computer

In addition to special lubricants, it is permissible to use various oils as lubricants.

Machine. It is a good option; it optimally lubricates moving elements and saves the cooler from unpleasant noises. Medium viscosity oils, such as SAE 10W30, are recommended.

Oil for sewing machines or electric shavers. If there is no special grease or engine oil at hand, then this option is quite acceptable.

Vegetable. This is the worst thing you can think of to lubricate a cooler. Because of their properties, such oils do not remain on the surface like a machine oil, but they dry out, coke and become very sticky, this contributes to dust growth and, as a result, to the cooler malfunction.

How to lubricate a cooler in a computer

Before you begin any work with the computer, you must verify that all its components are turned off and not connected to the electrical outlet.

Tip
It is also worth making sure that there are no warranty seals on the case: if they are violated, the warranty will be voided.

Instruction:

1. Remove the back cover of the system unit and disconnect the cooler. It is usually fixed with screws or a special quick-release fastener.
2. Prying off with a clerical knife, remove the sticker from the back.
3. Carefully remove the protective plug from the center of the cooler and grease the axle.
4. Assemble the fan and install it back into the case.

If there is no hole under the sticker, then most likely it is a non-separable hydrodynamic cooler, it is positioned as maintenance-free. In this case, try carefully to drill a small hole in the center or make a red-hot needle with a hot needle and fill in the grease there.

CPU cooler

CPU cooler, whether it is a boxed cooler or a third-party manufacturer, such as Zalman or Cooler Masteralways have a specific mounting method, and for processors Intel and Amd these mounts are different.

Maintenance of such cooling systems is practically no different from conventional coolers, however, it has its own small specifics, in particular, thermal paste is needed:

1. Having disconnected the wires, it is necessary to detach the cooler from the motherboard.
2. Very carefully remove the heatsink from the processor, it will resist a bit due to thermal paste.
3. Dismantling the cooler, you need a dry cotton pad, clean the heatsink sole and processor from the old thermal grease. You do not need to remove the processor from the motherboard!
4. Having disconnected the fan from the radiator, grease it with the method described above.
5. Connect the radiator and fan back.
6. Distribute a small amount of thermal paste with a thin layer on the surface of the processor, for this a plastic card is very suitable.
7. Carefully put the cooler on the processor and fix it with a standard mount and connect it to the motherboard.

Graphics card cooler

Almost all air-cooled video cards from an old GeForce Gts 450 Gainward until new Nvidia RTX 2060 have a similar cooling system design that also needs to be serviced periodically.

As with the processor, this will require thermal grease:

1. Unscrew the retaining screws and unfasten the wires, pull the video card out of the motherboard.
2. Remove the screws holding the fan. Usually they are located around the perimeter of the board.
3. Release radiator screws and remove.
4. To clear a video chip and a radiator of thermal paste.
5. Apply fresh thermal grease to the video chip using the same technology as for the processor.
6. Assemble a video card and connect.

Power Supply

Oddly enough, the power supply cooler almost never makes noise. But when the room is very dusty or the device is old, extraneous sounds begin to appear.

Unlike other coolers, it is possible to lubricate some power supplies without disassembling it:

1. It is necessary to inspect the power supply cooler for a sticker.
2. If it is on the side of the protective grill, then pierce it with a syringe and a needle and introduce lubricant into the cooler.

However, to service most power supplies, they must be disassembled:

1. Disconnect all wires and unscrew the screws holding the PSU in the housing.
2. Remove the four screws on the perimeter cover of the power supply.
3. Carefully remove the cover (using excessive force may damage the fan power cable).
4. Lubricate the cooler.
5. Assemble the power supply and install it back in the housing.

Laptops and game consoles

If a laptop or console starts to make noise, then it is strongly recommended not to perform maintenance at home. The risk of damaging something due to insufficient qualifications is very high. It is better to contact a service center, and if the warranty has already expired, then many private workshops are willing to take care of servicing laptops such as AsusHP Acer Aspire and Lenovo, you can also contact them for servicing the PS3, PS4, or Xbox.

purityis.decorexpro.com/en/ magazine recalls that absolute silence during computer operation is possible only by replacing all cooling elements with massive radiators, which are ineffective in modern systems.

Also, do not forget that hard drives make a lot of noise when working, and if silence is a priority, then they should be replaced with SSD drives. And in order to reduce noise, it is recommended to use closed housings with noise absorbing inserts and at least a couple of times a year to carry out preventive maintenance of the main cooler, clean it of dust and lint, and lubricate it. The procedure will significantly reduce the load on the other cooling devices, and thermal paste will have to be changed a little less.