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Any good methods to help pc not be an inhome dust filter?

B

btbam

Banned
I got 2 intake fans on my pc, and I have to open it and spray the dust out with air 2 weeks or so, are there any methods you guys use to "catch" some of the dust getting into your pc?

I thought about getting some really fine knit wire screen to install over port intakes, wondered if its a good method or any other you may suggest?
 
You can get those foam filters, but I never liked them because they make it so less air actually goes in.

I think there are also other filter types, but I haven't looked very closely at what is out there.
 
Originally posted by: btbam
I got 2 intake fans on my pc, and I have to open it and spray the dust out with air 2 weeks or so, are there any methods you guys use to "catch" some of the dust getting into your pc?

I thought about getting some really fine knit wire screen to install over port intakes, wondered if its a good method or any other you may suggest?
Click to expand...

The first line of defence is to keep the area where your box is as clean as possible. Vacuum like crazy and don't smoke anywhere near your computer. You won't get everything, being that dust is made up mostly of discarded skin cells but cleaning helps a lot. Hosing off the inside of your box OFTEN helps too because letting the fine dust accumulate gives it a chance to harden. I've yet to see a fan filter that does anything more than clog very quickly, so I don't use them.

 
Question, where does dust settle? I would think at the lowest point. Is your PC on the floor? Yes? Then move it up to your desk top. No? Bump on what HardWarrior said. Clean like a meth addict!
 
Originally posted by: stevennoland
Question, where does dust settle? I would think at the lowest point.
Click to expand...

I must have Super Dust then. 🙂 It settles on everything if I don't clean like a "meth addict!"

 
Currently, im testing out a small 3M Filtrete air filter. Its pretty thin, but its a cotton type mesh. Its actual use is for a hepa type air filter.

Not sure about the actual effectiveness yet.
 
Originally posted by: CheesePoofs
Doesn't having more fans exhausting air help with dust buildup? Or is it more fans blowing in?
Click to expand...


Not too sure but I have two in and 3 out and the dust does build up quickly.
 
Originally posted by: CheesePoofs
Doesn't having more fans exhausting air help with dust buildup? Or is it more fans blowing in?
Click to expand...

The best you can do is keep a slighty positive pressure so even more dust would be sucked in though the seams of the case. As long as you have fans, dust is going to be your friend.

 
If you create a positive-pressure environment in your case (Total CFM in > Total CFM out), the internal dust situation will be improved greatly. But you have to work on your case to insure that as much as possible of the air coming in and going out is controlled by the fans. IOW, plug all major and minor vent holes and other gaps that are not at fan locations - I use duct tape, rope caulk (Mortite and Frost King are two brands), etc.
. Then you must use filters on all the intake fans and keep them clean so as not to restrict air flow. I use the foam air conditioner filter material as mentioned above as it is easily cleaned and cheap to replace if you don't want to bother with cleaning it.
.bh.
 
I got a big desk and the pc box sits on the top right next to the monitor with the side of the case facing front.

As we speak I can brush dust off the grille of the side door intake fan, just slight dust build up, my desk also has a little platform onthe bottom left that I havea kvm run to and psu cord for pc's i build and test to sell.

 
Originally posted by: stevennoland
Question, where does dust settle? I would think at the lowest point. Is your PC on the floor? Yes? Then move it up to your desk top. No? Bump on what HardWarrior said. Clean like a meth addict!
Click to expand...

Moving consoles to desktop made the biggest impact on dust reduction in my case. I have nine working PC's in my house. In my home office five of the boxes reside and I also use a hepa filtration unit. (Whirlpool Whispure)

I removed all the filters that were in use because overheating became an issue. (especially when I had Palomino processors in use)
 
This is one reason I've been investigating high throughput fans which lack motor noise.

In other posts, I noted that the YS-Tech 120x38mm fan is supposedly rated (12V @ 0.66 A) to push 125.5 CFM. It is my fan of choice for use with the XP120, with a blow-hole and duct on the case side-panel.

I figured if I put one of those ULTRA "UV-reactive" fan filters (FrozenCPU.com) on the fan, it would still suck in a helluva lot of air per minute. But my idle and load temperatures went up between 2 and 4 degrees Fahrenheit. They are still acceptable -- many might say outstanding -- but I'm trying to "go after the last grain of rice" so I can OC this 3.0C to 3.8 Ghz or above. The CPU temp today -- at a room ambient which clocked in at 76F from the hard-disk tape-on thermal sensor immediately after starting up the system -- was 40C or 104F at 100% load (Task Manager Performance monitor never dropping below 95 except for a few brief spikes).

I could take the filter off, or I could open my duct on the inner side of the fan filter to relieve the obstruction to air intake, and the CPU fan would then be sucking in some of the interior case air which is already filter through the two front 120mm intake fans. That would probably give me the best of both worlds -- I get a portion of cold air from the side-panel blow-hole, but some interior air makes up for the what is lost by the filter obstruction.

This is all preparatory to my plexi-glass experiment with Sentinel's ducting-mod (see "Foam board Mod").

I FREAK--in' HATE DUST!! I HATE DUST IN THE CASE, I HATE DUST BUNNIES, I HATE THE STUFF GETTING ON MY CIRCUIT CARDS. And the timely, weekly removal of case panels and consumption of another $5 can of air is a nuisance.

Like I said in an earlier exchange with someone who's done a water-cooled system, I can't wrap my brain around the idea. But next build I do, it may be some combination of heatpipes and TEC, or it might be water-cooling. I just wish somebody could promote a non-conductive liquid coolant that had similar thermal resistance properties to water . . .
 
You can keep the dust out....but it takes more than foam pads and panty-hose.

A neutral pressure system works best, insuring all the air entering the computer goes through good air filters, designed for the purpose. A large surface area of filter material is a must....the more the better.

Check out this album, runs clean as a pin, using three different real paper pleated air filters. No pantyhose here.......and no dust.
 
Originally posted by: btbam
I got 2 intake fans on my pc, and I have to open it and spray the dust out with air 2 weeks or so, are there any methods you guys use to "catch" some of the dust getting into your pc?

I thought about getting some really fine knit wire screen to install over port intakes, wondered if its a good method or any other you may suggest?
Click to expand...

I found that the foam filters clog REALLY quickly. Now I use squares of cheesecloth, as used in cooking. They catch most of the dust, don't clog so quickly, give pretty good airflow, and are so cheap as to approach free.

Lisa
 
A used dryer sheet actually works pretty well. Plus, it's disposable, and you've already got them around the house.
 
Furnace filters. They are large, cheap, and they are designed to catch the small stuff. Buy one, cut it up and it should last quite a while.
 
well, washable lose fiber 1/2" furnace filters atleast. those are low resistance. the paper ones block too much for case fans. i just cut out a piece the size of the fan and use ghetto masking tape around the edges to hold it😛 works like a charm, catches more dust then anything else i've tried. as for how quickly they clog.... of course if the filters lousy, it'll clog slower😛 but the furnace filter is so think and spongy with its random mesh of loose fibers, it clogs in a way that doesn't really block air flow that bad. just vacumn it every month or so.

i like it esp with cases with loads of fans...might as well double as a room air filter with all that excess air movement😉
 
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
well, washable lose fiber 1/2" furnace filters atleast. those are low resistance. the paper ones block too much for case fans. i just cut out a piece the size of the fan and use ghetto masking tape around the edges to hold it😛 works like a charm, catches more dust then anything else i've tried. as for how quickly they clog.... of course if the filters lousy, it'll clog slower😛 but the furnace filter is so think and spongy with its random mesh of loose fibers, it clogs in a way that doesn't really block air flow that bad. just vacumn it every month or so.

i like it esp with cases with loads of fans...might as well double as a room air filter with all that excess air movement😉
Click to expand...

Would they sell this stuff at a normal hardware store like Home Depot? I kinda want to get some for my single intake fan...

-spike
 
Originally posted by: stevennoland
Question, where does dust settle? I would think at the lowest point. Is your PC on the floor? Yes? Then move it up to your desk top. No? Bump on what HardWarrior said. Clean like a meth addict!
Click to expand...

Where does dust settle most? In the two weeks I had my comp running with no filters and negative pressure, the only place I noticed dust was in my heatsink, on the fins. Easy cleaning.

Is my PC on the floor? Not this baby. I always make sure she's up on something, right now she's on a seperate little table next to my desk, 1. To get her away from the dangerous, icky yucky floor, and 2. So I can have quick access to the side panel when I need to.
 
Originally posted by: Spike
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
well, washable lose fiber 1/2" furnace filters atleast. those are low resistance. the paper ones block too much for case fans. i just cut out a piece the size of the fan and use ghetto masking tape around the edges to hold it😛 works like a charm, catches more dust then anything else i've tried. as for how quickly they clog.... of course if the filters lousy, it'll clog slower😛 but the furnace filter is so think and spongy with its random mesh of loose fibers, it clogs in a way that doesn't really block air flow that bad. just vacumn it every month or so.

i like it esp with cases with loads of fans...might as well double as a room air filter with all that excess air movement😉
Click to expand...

Would they sell this stuff at a normal hardware store like Home Depot? I kinda want to get some for my single intake fan...

-spike
Click to expand...

yea thats where u get the stuff.
washable stuff tends to be blue. i never actually wash the stuff, just vacumn
 
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