Motherboards Maintenance

Regular maintenance tasks to keep your motherboards running efficiently.

Dust heatsinks and VRM area

Use compressed air to clear dust from VRM heatsinks, chipset cooler, and M.2 heatsinks every 3-6 months. Dust on VRMs causes overheating under load and can trigger thermal throttling or shutdown.

Replace CMOS battery

If the system loses date/time settings or BIOS configuration on power loss, replace the CR2032 CMOS battery. Typical lifespan is 3-5 years. Cost is under $5 but prevents boot failures.

Update BIOS and check capacitor health

Flash to the latest stable BIOS annually for CPU compatibility and stability fixes. Visually inspect capacitors for bulging or leaking every 6 months — early signs of power delivery failure.

Update BIOS/UEFI

Updates improve system stability and add compatibility for newer CPUs/RAM. Crucial for new builds.