Cooler Master Elite 341 Case Filter Design Flaw?

[Hulk]

I recently purchased a Cooler Master Elite 341 mATX case. I plan on building a small quiet SB system. Upon inspecting the case I noticed there is an opening on the bottom of the front cover. Probably there to allow somewhat easy removal of the front cover. I say somewhat because it still requires quite a pull to get it off and I'm kind of worried the tabs that hold the cover on may break off....

Anyway if you notice where the intake on the front of the case is located and where the filter is located then it seems to me that air can enter this handle area and shortcut the filter. Thus rendering the filter pretty much useless. For the filter to be effective it must be the only port for incoming air in the case. I'm going to tape this handle area off but I was just wondering if I'm missing something here.

I'm also going to tape off the vents in the side panel and install a rear fan to draw air out of the case. I was thinking about getting one of the Seasonic fanless power supplies but now I'm second guessing myself because the power supply would be another area where non-filtered air would be drawn into the case. I suppose I could tape a filter to the back of the power supply.

- Mark

 

[Zap]

I'm going to tape this handle area off but I was just wondering if I'm missing something here.

Nope. Slot is for your hand to grab. Yes it lets air in, but the "filter" really is decorative (looks better than being able to see through grill at bare gray metal).

BTW, "everything fanless" is not necessarily the best idea in the world. I've tried that years ago with one temperature controlled fan (fanless PSU - Antec Phantom) and ended up the fan spun really loud because system got really hot. Okay, get rid of fan, right? Yeah, system would overheat. Heck, even my Atom server overheats if the CPU fan is turned off. However, even the littlest bit of fan movement would be enough to keep it cool.

If you want "quiet" then you may want to look at other cases. I love the CM Elite 341 as a micro ATX "gaming" case, but it is terrible for "quiet."

 

[Hulk]

Well I guess Cooler Master fooled me as the thought the filter would actually filter air flowing into the case.

As for quiet, it has been my experience the most important factor is building a quiet PC is quiet components. Quiet, case fans, PS and CPU fan. Of course that's just my experience. You can sound proof the case with various materials but most of the sound comes through the vent holes anyway.

 

[BoomerD]

IMO, you should have more air being forced INTO the case than being forced OUT of the case. In that scenario, you probably aren't getting much air sucked in through the handle area, but might have air being expelled through that and all other holes, cracks, seams, and vents.

If you are set up the opposite way, then air will be sucked into the case through any opening it can...and that will definitely bypass your filter system.