Keeping dust out of computer case

[Silversierra]

I just did a little modification to my case and was wondering if maybe I shouldn't have done it. I don't want to get a ton of dust in my case so I made a filter out of felt material and taped it to my intake vent. It made my temps go up, especially my 6600gt. I took the filter out for now, just because I was afraid of the gpu temps (66C seems hot to me). Is 66c too hot? Is there a less restrictive material than felt to make an effective filter. Also, I read that it's really hard to get dust out of pci slots, so i taped over them with a small sliver of duct tape, will this work? It seems easy to peel off now, but will it harden and get stuck?

 

[frodor]

You can get purpose built filters for 3.50 USD. Also I've heard great success using panyhose material. Supposedly lets the fan breathe and traps dust well. Though I've never used myself.

I wouldn't use duct tape. They do make colored slot protectors to cover up slots to keep out dust and other debris. Vantec makes them. http://www.vantec.com.tw/

 

[harrkev]

Another idea is to use a fan controller or otherwise reduce the speed of your fans. Less air movement = less dust. Of course, you have to balance cooling against noise and dust. But if your system is already freezing, slowing down the fans might be an option.

But I would guess that felt is too restrictive. And if you DO use something like pantyhose, be sure to clean it every week or so.

 

[foxkm]

try keeping a negative air pressure in your case by having more exaust fans then suction fans. Keep your case as high off the ground as you can. Computers that are on the floor always collect much more dust.

 

[HardWarrior]

Positive and negative pressure are the same in terms of dust acumulation. Negative pressure will simply suck dust in through the open seams of your case. Neutral pressure is the way to go, but it's very hard to achieve for the average computer jock. You can cut down dust greatly by keeping your computer area as clean as possible and using a filtering material on all intakes.

 

[Matt155]

Best thing to use is go to Home depot and get one AC filter, it will come in one large sheet or mesh and cut it to fit the size of the opening. Now this material is less restrictive and will keep out the larger dust particals but not the really fine dust that will accumulate over time.
I sitll have to clean out my case every 3 months or so and this is running my system at least 10 hours a day.

 

[Silversierra]

Hmm, my pc is on the floor, and the intake vent is on the bottom, so this will suck in dirt more like this? I've only had it built a month, and I can see a slight coating of dust on the inside. How do you get the dust out when you clean? Especially without breaking anything?

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Canned air or a small vacuum.

 

[Zepper]

I'm fairly sure that felt is too restrictive for air filter material.

Positive pressure keeps it cleaner and is easier to achieve. See coolcases.com for info on positive pressure. PP also helps keep stuff out of your optical drives, floppy drives, etc.

I use foam-type air conditioner filter material for intake fan filters.

.bh.

:moon: