Airflow Question...

[OD3]

My o/ced 650 Duron resids in an Antec KS-282 case with both the front and rear fan guards cut out. I have mounted PC Power & Cooling Silencer fans over both holes with the front blowing in and the rear blowing out. Additionally, the Antex PS303X powersupply is blowing up and out the back. Should be the proper airflow accoring to AMD's specs.

Now here is my problem: Case is on a hardwood floor in a room frequented by 1 dog and 3 cats. I am getting TONS of dust/dirt/hair sucked in all the time and I am getting tired of cleaning it our every other week. I am going to install a filter on the front fan (maybe ScotchBrite pad) and more thna likely replace both fans with Sunon 60mm's provided they are not TOO much louder. What I want to do next is cover the holes that Antec punches in the side panels. I think they are more eye candy than effective as they just allow more dust to come on in. Probably cover with tape or something else...

If I cover those holes, will it affect air flow through the case too much? Do they really serve a design purpose or are they just eye-candy as I suspect?

Anyone have tips on good material to cover those holes with and other material to use as a filter for the front fan?

Thnks!

 

[Dan]

I've heard that a section of old panty hose works great.

 

[clumsum]

I was reading a post on some forum and the topic was Bounce fabric softner sheets used as filters.
They were saying it worked great as a filter and also as an odorizer, I have not tried this myself, but I do intend to soon.
Try to listen to the fan pitch (or check fan rpm) and see if using these as filters causes you to have too much air restriction.
Maby......try taping a strip over your side case holes and see if it helps any???
I would stay w/the quiet fans unless you are having heat issues.

 

[Valvoline6]

The dryer sheets work with little fan / airflow restriction. Use USED dryer sheets, not new ones. New ones would probably restrict airflow, and might end up blowing the fabric softener into your case. I have an Antec sx830 and 1 dryer sheet fits perfectly and covers both fan intakes as well as other holes in the lower front half of the case. My case / motherboard / cpu temps remained exactly the same after adding the dryer sheet.

I would change the sheet every two weeks if you get dust build-up. I have a bird so there were a few feathers and some dust picked up by these sheets that would have made their way into my case. In fact I was amazed by how well these sheets worked, and they're virtually free!