The origins of the monster from Cloverfield.

ElReg has been collecting those pics for a while. I looked at that stuff, and noticed that most of the computers have the same kind of dust. It's more like lint. We used to get that kind of stuff from a big buffer. I guess dry cleaners or fabric plants could get similar. At home I just use compressed air when I see a really dirty computer. It takes 2 seconds - but it's not a good method if you have an issue with dust in your lungs. :)

What I actually found interesting is that all those pictures represent situations where the dust is drawn into the computer case by the fan. I think most of that could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, by leaving off the case. I do that often and it's amazing how long the computer stays clean when you don't have it set up like a vacuum cleaner.
 
Actually when I was writing that last post I was thinking about those. I saw a review of them some time ago. I bet a lot of stuff/fluff wouldn't accumulate in those. I like computers and what's inside is more interesting than the box. I'm sure most of us have put computers together is a pile without a box and found they worked just fine.

I think the vacuum cleaner design might have started with the IBM-PC and AT designs. I remember how people were so afraid of computers and went to extremes around them. In retrospect it was funny. IBM started an urban myth - presumably based on engineering theories - about how you had to have the case closed so that the air flow from the power supply was drawn in the correct way across the cards and CPU. Do you know how hot an 8088 gets? Like I say, looking back it's a joke. I just refurbished a 5150 and I can confirm that you can touch the CPU and there is no way it would overheat in a Nevada summer.

My current "desktop" has a Pentium 2.8GHz chip and the case is closed. Of course it has the Intel heatsink with fan on it, but what is important is that I don't have a lot of air motion through the case. When I built it I thought I'd just see how it went. It runs 24/7 and so far it has not dropped a beat in the almost 40°C summers here. Yes, there's a lot of urban myths out there.
 
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