Fan Filter Question...

[Smithy18]

I was just looking for some information on the pros and cons of using a few filters in front of the intake fans on my antec dragon case. There are two 80mm fans in front and neither have filters on them. What I was wondering was if I do add a 2 filters to these fans will it make an air pressure difference and not make the air flow as good as it should? Do I just need filters for the intake fans? There are 2 intake and 2 main expel and a dual ps fan sucking heat off the cpu heatsink and out of the back of the case.
Any info would be great. Running cpu temp is around 34-36 C

Regards

 

[Floydian]

Yeah, they restrict airflow slightly, and yes, only on intake

Is the dragon case the 1030/830 series? If so I'd check if you can even fit a filter on those fans (in the front).

I also saw someone who just put an air filter (kind of like the stuff in your furnace, not sure what its called, I forgot) between the plastic and the metal part in front, a little different, but it looked like it worked fine.

Good luck!

 

[NesuD]

I am one of the guys using the furnace filter material between the bezel and the front fan intakes and yea it definately reduces the airflow into the case. You need to decide if the reduced dust in your system is worth the reduction in case cooling. Unless you are running some outrageous heat producing hardware in there an Antec 10xx series case with all 4 auxiliary fans (2 front 2 Rear) being used should run plenty cool even with the filters reducing some of the intake airflow. The benefit of reduced dust accumulation in the case versus the loss in airflow is definately worth it in my opinion. I say go for the filters.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Yeah, I think you'll be amazed how much dust a filter will pick up. Go for it.

 

[Anubis]

use some pantyhose they work well for dust. dont cost must. and dont affect airflow that much

 

[HouRman]

I don't use filters anymore because the filters lower the rpm of my fan and create a noticeable amount of noise.

If I was concerned about dust just I'd use an air filter and vacuum occasionally.

 

[mschell]

For a filter to be even remotely effective it should have at least 5 to 10 times the surface area as the fan that's drawing the air past the filter. Since no case made today has provisions for such a filter you are better off running no filter and blowing off any dust accumulations that happen to form. Dust in itself will not harm the system components but can form an insulating blanket over heatsinks reducing their effectiveness and coat fan blades which will reduce airflow as well.