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Keeping dust out?

G

groovin

Senior member
hey forum, i was doing my normal dust cleaning and started wondering what i can do to keep the dust out better. i try to clean it out every 3-6 months, and will continue to do so, but id sleep better at night not worrying about a dust bunny taking down my workstation (it's happened before).

right now i have an antec case with a fan in the front and a fan in the back. there is no filter over either of the fans. I also noticed that there is tons of dust seeping in through the cracks and seems of the case. from what little ive gathered so far, i see that i can:

-block up as many holes as i can
-put filters over the fans
-keep positive pressure in the case so theres constant air blowing out of the seams and cracks
-keep case elevated

my questions are:

-what can i use as filters?
-how do i maintain positive pressure in the case? I am assuming it means having more fans blowing in that blowing out.
-does anyone have any other suggestions or can expand on those mentioned?

thanks!

 
If you have positive pressure you probably dont need to worry about blocking holes. And youre right, you need more intake than exaust. The reason you have negative pressure is you really have 2 exaust fans if you include the PSU fan. A more powerful intake will work, or another intake fan on the side perhaps. Or if the rear fan is exaust, try mounting it as an intake (not sure how yours is currently).

As for filters, a piece of womans nylons streched over a fan grill will work well. Or plastic screens used for house windows screens will work too, but will be not filter as well as nylon. Get the screen materiel at a hardware store. If you use nylon you need to be careful to make sure it doesnt get loose and a piece sucked into the fan as it will stop the fan. In either case youll need a fan grill, the wire ones are fine. One way to mount them is to just put the grill between the fan and case with the material over the grill, ie fan - grill - filter media - case. There are other ways of course.

There are also filters for fans you can buy. But DIY is more fun. Just make sure you clean the filter regularly (obviously) its amazing how fast dust will build up. My Antec 1080 amg soho case has dual 80s in the front with a front filter, its mesh is about halfway between nylon and screen material. It needs to be cleaned about once a month, and it gets nasty in that time.

Elevating the case good too, but youll still want filters. Also I would not try filtering the CPU fan (I know you didnt mention that just putting it in for completeness), its too critical. Just intakes and rely on those to keep the CPU heatsink dust free.

 
What worked best for my was putting my case on my desk...
I don't get much dust now, but when it was on the floor I had tons of dust bunnies! 😱

After frying an old Palomino I removed all my filters never to go back.
 
so positive pressure is better for cooling than negative, i have so much exhaust an so little intake right now
 
Everything you stated pretty much covers it. Positive air pressure in the case is basically more intake than exhaust. Although it keeps dust out, can really keep the hot air in the case. It might increase your temps some, so keep that in mind. For filters, you can use cheesecloths or nylons.
 
SVC.com carries nice replaceable foam filter frames to fit most fan sizes from 80mm up for $1.99 each. You can replace the foam that comes with the frame with foam air conditioner filter material which costs about $2. for two very large sheets. They also sell several very nice permanent filters of various types of meshes for a bit more.
. To create positive pressure, you have to block as many of the extraneous vent holes in your case as possible or it will take way too much in the way of intake fans to accomplish. As much of the air flow as possible has to be controlled by your fans. A fan controller can help balance the fans to achieve the goal. The Coolermaster Aerogate 1 is on clearance at SVC for $5.00 now.

.bh.
 
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