Dust filters, what are they good for?

T

Technikal

Gawd
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
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590
Just wondering what are peoples feelings on dust filters? It seems the pro dust filter crowd has had a resurgence lately.

I've only ever used dust filters a handful of times and each time I stopped using them because the annoyance and disadvantages of them outweigh the "good" of using them. Really they don't stop dust from getting in your case, all the filters do is slow down dust buildup somewhat. Mileage may vary I guess if you don't vacuum much, house cleanliness or own a pet. Vacuum around your PC once a week? No? Me either :) Filters also do nothing to prevent that fine, tiny dust from getting in the case. Filters and even grills greatly decrease airflow, add noise and turbulence and dust still gets in your case and on your parts. Dust even gets in the case from circular airflow around intake fans.

I find much less dust issues in high airflow, no filter cases and open air test benches that sit out for months or even years. You don't see dust filters on consoles either.

I've had high end PC parts caked in dust and they still work fine. Opps, oh well blow it out..

What I've been doing for years is every 2-6 months or whatever take the case outside and blow it out with the compressor or canned air. With consoles or similar electronics with fan intakes that you can't open same thing once every few years using canned air works good enough there as well.

I just took apart and blew dust out of my old Dreamcast for the first time last week. There was hardly any dust in there anyway and it was used alot. All the game consoles have intake fans these days but they are so low flow I'm betting there won't be much dust in them anyway even after years. Unless you have it close to the floor or carpet maybe.

The best PC filters I used are the Lian Li ones that look like a large sponge with high airflow. The typical screen types are all basically the same.

hmm, just ran out of beer..
 
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I prefer to treat the problem, not symptoms. In other words, find out why your house is so damn dusty if it's such a problem. I've run with and without filters. Never seen a difference in dust build up inside the computer. I blow my systems out once a year, and there's only a very light layer of dust either way.

I fail to see the point of them.
 
I just worked on a PC with some kind of impenetrable/unvacuumable substance which seemed to be a combination of dust and fur. I couldn't believe it. Of course, there were no dust filters, just grills stamped into the case metal itself, which ended up being a sort of filter because the grills were what this crap was stuck on. Inside wasn't too bad, in that there was not dust all over everything, but the carpets of dust/fur were also on the inside of the PSU where it inlets air from the inside of the computer.

Being true to the BTX design, the main intake goes right into the CPU fan/heatsink, and so this stuff was completely obstructing airflow to the CPU heatsink, and the rest of the system. Sadly, there was no easy way to get rid of the stuff (vacuum:fail). I had to remove the CPU heatsink and fan to get to the screws that allow removal of the front bezel. What a pain in the arse. And yes, it was a Dell.

To answer your question, I'd say dust filters are good for certain situations, and certain people, namely people who have the mental capacity to understand that their situation requires dust filters and the ability to easily clean the filters. It would help if case/PC makers designed cases with filters that were easily accessible.
 
Considering just how much money is spent on computer parts, why wouldn't you want some filters on your intake fans? I dunno I kinda just see it as a little extra protection for fans and computer parts....
 
Dust filters have worked wonders for me. Mostly they are there to keep the bigger dust from coming in. With mesh filters and good airflow you can prevent dust buildup and have more than sufficient cooling. I like to keep a little positive pressure in the case specifically to help keep dust out.
 
I threw DEMC magnetic filters on all my intakes.. my god! i'll never build again without them. Looks nice with a 3x120 filter placed over my rad grill :) They make custom sizes for all the popular cases too.
 
My wife and I rescue cats and dog so they have a better chance of finding a home than our local humane society (Fuckers kill them if they don't get adopted after a time period). So, I NEED dust filters. Its mostly becasue of the fur to be honest. We keep out house very clean. But for example, we got this current one that's 5lbs of fur, that loves to sit next to the warm computer. I don't blame her though...

And a picture of the cuteness

 
My computer is located behind my desk. I have a thread somewhere on my ft03 build, showin off the bottom dust filter.

If my desktop was on top of my desk, or placed elsewhere, I probably wouldn't NEED a dust filter. However, where it is now, practically demands it.
 
In for two filters! Think I'll splurge on DEMCI for my next build whenever that is. Until then, cheap no-name filters.
 
FireBean said:
My wife and I rescue cats and dog so they have a better chance of finding a home than our local humane society (Fuckers kill them if they don't get adopted after a time period). So, I NEED dust filters. Its mostly becasue of the fur to be honest. We keep out house very clean. But for example, we got this current one that's 5lbs of fur, that loves to sit next to the warm computer. I don't blame her though...

And a picture of the cuteness

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im pretty sure if you read your owners manual for the cat that it includes a section about electronics and computer hardware. i know my cat loves to sit on top of my dads laptop and the dvr. i generally try to keep him out of my room though, even so my floor is covered in pet hair about a week after i vacuum and some inevitably ends up in my case. i dont have dust filters on the current antec 300 im using, my tj08-e is supposed to arrive today though, havent decided if im going to use the included filter yet.
 
Remember, HP will not warranty any of their electronics where pets are involved, because they are a "bio-hazard".
 
canna said:
Maybe I don't find cats cute?

I consider cats on the level of rodents. You wouldn't want a rat roaming around your house would you?
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That's because you never had a good cat before. Hell, that little white one in the picture is more loyal than my dog, and does a good job of showing me what she catches. i gotta find out here those fuckers keep getting in!
 
canna said:
Maybe I don't find cats cute?

I consider cats on the level of rodents. You wouldn't want a rat roaming around your house would you?
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Don't have that problem if you have cats, in fact the houses around our area are free of rodents due to our cats, they destroyed a rat colony under a neighbours shed, that the pest control guy said he cleared up, bait traps don't work for crap, they go after the apple trees and rubbish bins instead.

NoOther said:
Remember, HP will not warranty any of their electronics where pets are involved, because they are a "bio-hazard".
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I wouldn't even put them in the same section as a chain smokers laptop/PC, now that is a health hazard, cat fur/dog fur/human hair is just one step up from regular dust, little more work to get it cleaned out, but you could be there for hours cleaning the brown pasty crud from a smokers system, and if you get that crap on you, you'll smell like you have been smoking as well.
 
tuaarita said:
In for two filters! Think I'll splurge on DEMCI for my next build whenever that is. Until then, cheap no-name filters.
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I just bought 2 custom DEMCi filters for my SG05 and the price was very reasonable, even including shipping from South Africa.
 
FireBean said:
My wife and I rescue cats and dog so they have a better chance of finding a home than our local humane society (Fuckers kill them if they don't get adopted after a time period). So, I NEED dust filters. Its mostly becasue of the fur to be honest. We keep out house very clean. But for example, we got this current one that's 5lbs of fur, that loves to sit next to the warm computer. I don't blame her though...

And a picture of the cuteness

Click to expand...



ah... that looks like a nice kitty...yeah cats make filters moar necessary :) i have a very old long haired black cat.. he doesn't no more cause he is blind..but he use to like to jump up on my desk and then onto my old full tower case and sleep on top of it.. that case would get a bit fuzzy inside pretty quickly.


anyways I mainly wanted to say thanx to y'all for taking in the dogs and cats, someday I'd like to do that also...need to buy a house (ideally a few acres) and then have a kitty rescue house.

Anyone that thinks cats aren't loyal doesn't know for cats...I've had a few over the years and they have all had very unique personalities and habits. But they have all been very bonded with me (my other cat who passed away now, use to listen for my car and then would go to the window and then run to the door to greet me when I got home. My blind kitty cat basically jumps up onto my lap the second i sit down anywhere in the house... sometimes I have had to eat dinner with him sitting on my lap cause he just kept jumping up so finally i just say "f*ck it" and let him stay...
 
Outamyhead said:
I wouldn't even put them in the same section as a chain smokers laptop/PC, now that is a health hazard, cat fur/dog fur/human hair is just one step up from regular dust, little more work to get it cleaned out, but you could be there for hours cleaning the brown pasty crud from a smokers system, and if you get that crap on you, you'll smell like you have been smoking as well.
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Actually fur of any kind is several steps up from 'regular' dust. But to be honest, it was a sarcastic comment geared at HP's practices rather than cats or cat hair in general.
 
FireBean said:
That's because you never had a good cat before. Hell, that little white one in the picture is more loyal than my dog, and does a good job of showing me what she catches. i gotta find out here those fuckers keep getting in!
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I find cats cute occasionally, but when people use the argument about having a "good cat", I find they describe the cats as acting more like dogs :p That is why I prefer dogs.

That being said, dust filters are important because even the best kept houses collect dust and I prefer to not have it blown into my pc. My house is quite clean, but you just can't help it in some environments.
 
vacuum and dust the room more often, it makes a huuuuuuge difference.
 
average person sheds 8 lbs. of dead skin a year. i got five of them in my household plus a big shephard. i have filters on everything and clean them weekly.
 
they'r only good for clogging up and making you work more then you have to, there's better ways to blow money, compressed air is my favorite.
 
They work wonderfully well for me (Antec 900 v2). Before I had them I would need to open my case pretty often to remove an horrible amount of dust, now I only remove the filters, clean them up and put them back in (like once per 1-2 months maybe).

The insides have remained clean for months. The amount of dust inside is so tiny I know I won't need to worry about it for a long time.
 
I love my filters, as long as they are cleaned regularly. Case has nearly no dust in it anymore and temps don't fluctuate.
 
I live in Las Vegas, please tell me how I am supposed to keep outside dust out of my home.
 
Air-tight sealant on all entries and an airlock for leaving/entering the house ;)

That or use some filters :D
 
Kusanhagi said:
I love my filters, as long as they are cleaned regularly. Case has nearly no dust in it anymore and temps don't fluctuate.
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Agreed. I clean the filters on my P183 once every week or two, and the inside of the system has stayed looking mostly free of dust for over a year. After 18 months of use, I cleaned out my NH-D14, as I was doing a motherboard swap and felt it was worth the time. Barely anything to remove. I am pleased.
 
the best dust filters are those 3M 1200+ rating filters for your AC, and a good vacuming twice a month....

Taking showers help keep all the dead skin and dandruff away from the computer too

;-)
 
omegatotal said:
the best dust filters are those 3M 1200+ rating filters for your AC, and a good vacuming twice a month....

Taking showers help keep all the dead skin and dandruff away from the computer too

;-)
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Be careful with getting a filter that is too "good," they are restrictive and can kill your fan motor.
 
darkstarcow said:
Be careful with getting a filter that is too "good," they are restrictive and can kill your fan motor.
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LOL never happened to me ever, worst case is that the ac started to freeze up, that just means you overshot the time frame when you were supposed to change the filter and should do so
 
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