A harrowing image of a gaming PC that endured severe battering during Hurricane Helene has been shared on the PCMR subreddit. Despite being left a tragically sodden and silt-strewn PC after the category four storm, Redditor Frequent-Band9676 joked about the number of cans of compressed air needed to clean up the tower. The PC enthusiast now hopes to be able to clean up, thoroughly dry, and rebuild their machine.
At first glance, this image looked like one of the dust, fluff, and cobweb-packed PCs we often see – a typical result of neglect or, some would say, misuse. However, Frequent-Band9676's PC probably turned from a sleek gaming machine to the mess you see now in hours.
The Redditor lives in North Carolina, one of the hardest-hit areas of Hurricane Helene in the U.S. They personally endured the storm without injury, ending up "not happy but safe." However, this PC ended up in the state you see in the main picture and wasn't covered by their insurance policy.
Under the mud and grime, the storm-struck PC clearly has some quality components. We see Frequent-Band9676 built into a Fractal Design Define C mid-tower chassis. There is also what looks like an Asus ROG Strix triple-fan graphics card, possibly a GTX 1080 Ti. Last but not least, we spy six Noctua fans, and there are possibly more.
How many cans of compressed air do I need from r/pcmasterrace
Fellow PCMR Redditors gave generous advice and support, hoping to get Frequent-Band9676's disaster-struck PC back up and running. According to our understanding of the thread, the PC has now been hosed down, which should have eliminated most of the debris we see in the main image. Most advice suggests that the PC be stripped down, with individual parts washed with distilled water or isopropyl alcohol. Then, it should be physically cleaned (brush, Q-tip, cloth, etc.) and left to dry even more thoroughly.
According to the horde's wisdom, most of the parts should be recoverable after this washing, cleaning, and drying process. However, nearly everyone recommends simply chucking the PSU in the trash and starting from a new model.
Later in the Reddit thread, Frequent-Band9676 reveals that the PC in the photo isn't their newest, current desktop. What we are looking at is a ~$3,000 PC that was built in 2017. Apparently, the newer PC has choice components such as an Intel Core i9-12900K and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti inside. It isn't clear whether the new machine got away with little to no damage or is still buried in mud—navigating this 3,200-comment Reddit thread isn't as easy as it should be.
The last update from Frequent-Band9676 about the hurricane-hit PC suggests that all the essential components are drying from washing and cleaning. They are resisting the urge to rebuild and power on in haste. We will keep an eye on the thread, hoping for good news.
