Anti-Dust Case

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I currently have an Antec 1200, and even with the dust filters getting regularly cleaned their is a good amount of dust accumulation in the case (granted not as bad as my old 900 version 1).

I attribute this to how open the case is in general.

Are there any cases where getting dust inside in almost impossible? I was looking at the Cooler Master Cosmos, and it seems like a pretty air tight case other than a few openings. Are there any others?
 
It's gonna be almost impossible to seal up the tiny gaps in any case and make the case "air tight". Your best bet is to change your case's airflow setup so air is being forced out of those gaps, not being sucked in.

You want a case with positive air pressure. With positive air pressure, the amount air being sucked in by filtered intake fans exceeds the amount of air being pushed out by exhaust fans. That way, excess air inside your case will force its way out of unfiltered gaps in your case.

Most cases use a negative air pressure setup, in which exhaust fans outnumber intake fans. This causes air to be sucked in not only by your filtered intakes, but any unfiltered gap in your case. That's why you will find dust built up around the edges of your DVD drive, PCI brackets, and wherever else there are tiny gaps for air to move through.

There are not many cases designed with positive air pressure in mind, unfortunately. A few notable ones are made by Silverstone: the RV02, FT01, and FT02. Or, you could buy a traditional case and turn one or more exhaust fans into intakes (don't forget to add dust filters for your new intakes!). That's what I did with my Antec P182. I flipped the top fan over and made it an intake, and put a dust filter on it. After 6 months there is a negligible amount of dust in my case. Plus my CPU temps dropped by 1-2 C on average!

An easy way to test whether you have positive or negative air pressure: Take a tiny piece of paper towel or napkin, and place it against a gap in your case like a watercooling grommet. If it sticks, air is being sucked into that gap and you have negative air pressure. If it falls off, you have positive air pressure.
 
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If I have a negative air case, would it be bad to put electrical tape over the extra intake holes?
 
I'm not sure this something worth pursuing. Sure it sounds great but quite really could end up being more of a pita than most people are willing to go through.
 
No such thing. Unless you operate in a clean room with a industrial size ventilation system and a space suit.

Pet dander, Human dander and dust bunnies will find there way into your case. Just buy some filters for your fans. I have two on my case and hardly ever have to dust it.
 
I see the Cooler Master Cosmos has dust filters.

Does anyone who have it really seem to notice a lot of dust with it?
 
I have dust filters on all of my intake fans and still get dust inside the case. It's not anywhere near as bad as the cases I had without filters. I can go about a year without having to clean it out now.
 
I deal with, almost exclusively, the Cooler Master RC-690 case. It's got filters on all the intake fans, and all the places you would put an intake fan. When coupled with positive pressure (more intake than out) my rigs keep about 95% dust free. I clean them out every, oh, 9 months and really have very little work to do.
 
If you want a case that could be completely sealed and you can find/afford it this one has no fans... TNN 500AF

No clue how well it work mind you but I do remember when it was released it was priced crazy high.
 
Reduced Dust Intake = Positive Air Pressure

Some think having dust filters all around keeps cases clean. That's only half true. Most cases are made with negative pressure, so no matter where you have dust filters, dust will still make its way inside the case. Like others have said, buy a positive pressure case from Silverstone or have more CFM intake fans than CFM fan exhaust.
 
To a very large extent how much dust accumulates in the case depends on how much and how dirty the air is that passes through the case. It there's a lot of case fans running at high speeds the case will get filled faster. If the room is dusty, or located near dust sources (like carpets) it will fill faster.
 
shmo007 said:
If I have a negative air case, would it be bad to put electrical tape over the extra intake holes?
Click to expand...

This would even be worse because with negative air pressure that air will struggle to get in and it will go through every little gap you can imagine. There is no way to seal it all unless you use a caulking gun or silicone.

Dust will literally be trying to force it's way into your system through every crevice and crack. It will go through the spaces between your PCI brackets, you'll get fine white dust on everything on the rear panel (because it will be going through the panel seams and connectors).

This has happened to me before when I was younger and I thought I was being smart.

The only way you can avoid dust is either a sealed system that is somehow heatpiped or watercooled to an external cooling system...or the easy way by making positive case pressure. More air in through filtered fans (and use really good filters) than air out means that the air pressure in your case will be higher than outside your case. Therefore, air will be trying to get out of all the cracks and gaps instead of trying to get in. This will effectively push dust out.
 
Am I the only one that slightly enjoys opening up my case and taking like the gpu and fans out and cleaning them? Putting it back together makes me feel like I am building it for the first time.
 
Typically, less moving air means less dust accumulation. If you have fans in your computer case, you're going to have to clean it eventually. Recently, I took apart an eight-year-old 48-port switch, with no moving parts. The unit was absolutely spotless inside because there was no need for airflow, but for most computers, having no fans at all is completely impractical as the processor, chipset(s), memory, hard drives, power supply, etc, all generate heat. If that heat doesn't move, it continues to build and eventually overheats. The TNN 500AF is an extremely cool case because it uses heat pipes on just about everything, to transport heat to the chassis itself, but if it were placed in a vacuum at room temperature, it would still overheat because there would be no airflow to dissipate the heat generated by the components.

Water cooling is an attractive solution, even to non-overclockers because it allows the fans to be relocated. The computer case itself can be fanless and kept relatively clean, while radiators on the outside can be cooled by convection or by forced air fans, but those fans still occasionally need to be cleaned. Even if a computer is fanless, it should still be inspected and cleaned periodically because dust that settles on a surface can begin to act as an insulator, preventing the escape of radiant heat.

Positive air pressure is good. Like others have said, it means that any air that passes through the case will be expelled through any gaps in case panels and brackets, but since fan filters aren't going to pick up all of the dust, the finer particles will begin to collect on the inside of these seams and gaps instead of on the outside. Additionally, the filters used to capture dust need to be cleaned periodically and that's why most case manufacturers design the filters to be removable.

I wonder if it's possible or practical to place a computer inside of a mini clean cabinet, using a forced-air HEPA filter to pump air into the cabinet, thereby supplying the computer with the airflow it needs while keeping it as clean as possible.
 
charlesshoults said:
I wonder if it's possible or practical to place a computer inside of a mini clean cabinet, using a forced-air HEPA filter to pump air into the cabinet, thereby supplying the computer with the airflow it needs while keeping it as clean as possible.
Click to expand...

Practical, yes, in the sense that this approach would work. :D

Practical, no, because of the likely cost. :(

x509
 
I have toiled with a completely dustless case idea many times. Ultimately, the cost of an absolute dust free case, really outweighs any possible time saving benefits.

Basically your limited to a few options,
-use fanless heatsinks where possible
-use lower cfm fans where possible, less airflow, less dust
-positive pressure, more cfm in than out.
-filters on all intake fans
-move pc away from carpets or floors
-vacuum your house!, sell your cat/dog, take a shower.

Hopefully you will only have to dust it the inside once a year. and if you live in a dusty environment be prepared to clean the air filters on a monthly basis or you will burn out fans. but that beats having to disassemble a working PC.

Watercooling can be a possible dust free solution, but watercooling usually makes it difficult to work inside a case. consumes more time, because you have to drain, fill, and clean a watercooling system.

There are completely fanless cases, but lets be honest, they are overpriced.
anything you make custom is probably going to interfere with future upgrades.
 
When you look for computer desks, you're bound to find a few extraordinarily stupid ideas. Computers generate heat and there must be some method to move that heat away from the computer and placing a computer inside an enclosed space is usually asking for trouble.

YT-Computer%20Desk%2075_400.jpg


I was thinking about making a computer cabinet at some point anyway, most likely part of an entertainment center, but the question of dust gave me an idea. Rather than attempting to make a computer case to keep the components as clean as possible, why not make a cabinet designed to keep the computer case and all of it's components as clean as possible, while still maintaining airflow? I'm thinking of a cabinet, essentially consisting of a skeletal wooden frame, with a solid floor set about 4" off the floor. The top would be mostly solid and the front, back and both sides would be removable panels of wood and glass, held into the frame with pins and a pair of latches, rubber seals between the panels and the frame. In the bottom, a number of large case fans that draw air up through an air cleaner from a 1967 Ford Fairlane. I would place exhaust vents toward the top of each side panel. Remove two screws, then the cover, then take the filter off and clean it. With many cases, in order to get to the filters, you either have to open a side panel or even worse, the entire front panel. To make it easier to get to, the air cleaner could be on the front or the back, but from some viewing angles, it would block the view of the case within it.

knn-e-1960.jpg
 
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