Adding air filters to NZXT Elite 210

I just bought an NZXT Source Elite 210 case (in white) for my new build. Don't have all the components yet, but I'm thinking of ways to keep the dust out.

I'd like to put some kind of air filters in/on the case so the fans themselves don't get dusty, as well as block/filter the openings where there aren't any fans. The case came with two fans, and I'm going to add one (probably on the side panel), but that leaves one top opening and two front openings.

I thought about using thin material (e.g. pantyhose) on the outer side of each fan. That is, sandwich it between each fan and the inside of the case. But that would make it a pain to remove the filters for cleaning, as I would have to unscrew the fan to get at the filter for cleaning/replacement.

The front fans would not be too difficult to filter. They're behind metal grilles which are behind a plastic bezel, so I could put the filters on the outside somehow (tape or whatnot).

I'm trying to avoid the expense of aftermarket filters.

Any ideas?

I'm trying to avoid aftermarket case fan filters & go really cheap.

zip tie some panty house onto the fans, then you just cut the zip ties to clean.

I don't think you get it. I want the filters placed so that the fans themselves do not get dusty. To do what you're suggesting, I would have to put the improvised filters on the inner side, so the fans would get dusty.

Seems there's no way around it, I'll just have to unscrew the fans periodically to replace the filters. I once had a case in which all the fans were held by clips, so it was easy to remove them for cleaning/replacement/whatever. But that was a while ago.

I could put filters on the outside of the case, over the ventilation holes. They would be easy to replace, but look like junk.

It turns out all the fans supplied with the Source 210 Elite are 3-pin. That's disappointing, but not surprising for an inexpensive case. I'll have to replace them with 4-pin fans at some point, so that they aren't all running full blast 24-7.

I went to 7 stores (Wal-Mart, Sears, Home Depot, a grocery store with a hardware section, Ace Hardware, a PC specialty store, an industrial electronics supply company) in the last few days.

Not ONE had either the vacuum filter pads (not cheap ones at least), or pre-made case fan filters.

Cheap, foam pad-type vac filters apparently don't exist. The closest thing I saw was a dual-layer HEPA filter about 3 x 8 inches, for $12, that goes with a particular vacuum cleaner.

I guess I'm stuck either using nylons, or cutting up a paper furnace filter. I had no idea it would be this much of a PITA.

So I ended up buying a package of super-cheap (59¢ for about 2 square feet) fiberglass, cut-to-fit filter material. It's about 1/2" thick uncompressed.

I made three filter "packs" by cutting the stuff out in roughly 12" by 6" sections, then putting clear tape over the edges to rein in stray fibers.

Note that cutting this stuff makes lots of little fiberglass fragments. I wiped myself and the table down with a damp paper towel afterward to make sure I got them all.

I put one filterpack on the bottom of the case. It's held down by the weight of the power supply on one end, tape on the other.

Another went between the front wall of the case and the bezel, covering both fan ports.

Yet a third went at the top of the case. This was the most difficult one, because loose fibers sticking out of the filter material were hitting the top fan, making an annoying noise. So I had to wrap that section of filter in some plastic mesh I had left over from another household project, and cut off the corners so I could screw the fan back in place.

It was a pain in the butt, but totally worth it. Maybe I'll get around to posting photos someday.

Nope...still can't be bothered to post photos, but over a year later, I'm happy to report that my kludged-together filters have been an astonishing success.

I opened 'er up recently to install a sound card, and I was floored at how clean everything was. There is a little dust on top of the power supply, which is near the expansion slots. I did not attempt to put filters on the expansion slot covers; the ones supplied with the case are perforated, so are letting a little dust in there, despite the overall positive pressure in the case.

Other than that, though, everything was really much cleaner than I've been used to. No thick layer of dust on the SSD and HDD. The video card's cooling intake isn't choked with dust. No dust bunnies at the bottom of the case. I did not feel the need to blast the interior with a can of compressed air.

Very nice. Any future builds, I'm definitely using filters. Maybe I'll come up with something a little more elegant than fiberglass wrapped in tape, but it's absolutely worth the effort if you're a neat-freak like me.

How restricting does it impede airflow by adding the filtering material?

I'm sure it impedes airflow somewhat but it hasn't caused the slightest problem with cooling.

I don't overclock, however, so it's not as if I need maximum airflow anyway.