Dust

B

Big_H

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
234
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to limit (or stop) dust getting in my case?
I just opened it up, and man is it dusty... and it doesn't seem like it should be, as I just cleaned it this past summer.

I remember seeing some fan filter things but I don't remember where. Anyone used these, how well do they work, can I find the filter stuff here (walmart, hardware store, etc) and make them myself?
Any other ideas?

thanks.
 
It works great for making low impedance filters, and is cheap too.

I would highly recommend using new or washing them first though unless you want a fishy smelling PC.
 
You can also pick up some filter material from Home Depot for cheap in sheets and cut your own to size, it's quite easy. If not, then you can buy them at most computer stores (ex. CompUSA and Fry's) for just a couple bucks.
 
I clean out my case once a week. My room isn't really dusty but it looks like snow in my case, so I clean it out once a week. Panty hose sounds pretty, I've put some mesh filters on mine though.
 
Thanks guys! I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow! :D

Pantyhose... I may have to try that just because...
 
Originally posted by Ravenrex
It works great for making low impedance filters, and is cheap too.

I would highly recommend using new or washing them first though unless you want a fishy smelling PC.
Click to expand...


OMG roflmao....*cough*


Me: Hey lets go play KoTOR.

Friend: Sure

Friend: Hey, what's that smell??

Me: umm.....



hahaha..I don't know why I got a kick out of that, probably cause I'm really tired. :D
 
Another thing that helps is creating a overpressure in the case. By having more more CFM of intake fans than exhaust helps to keep dust from settling inside the case, and from it being pulled into other cracks and your optical drives in the front.
 
You can buy filters for your fans but be warned, the air intake/outake is decreased dramatically.
 
Originally posted by Big_H
I just opened it up, and man is it dusty... and it doesn't seem like it should be, as I just cleaned it this past summer.
Click to expand...

you just cleaned it out last summer? good God man.....

how about saying screw the panty hose crap and just clean out your case with some compressed air every couple of months. your case will breath much better without any airflow restrictions and it'll probably run much cooler just for the fact that it'll be gettin' cleaned more than once a year. :rolleyes:

man, sorry for the :rolleyes: but come on, you clean your case only once a year and you wanna know how to avoid dust?
 
I usually take a leaf blower to the inside of my case once a month or whenever it bothers me ;)
 
I use the filter that came with my AMG 1000 but ripped off the plastic crap and glued foam onto it. Works really well.
 
The fan filter that came w/ my Lian Li keeps alot of dust out.

But you can keep most dust out my take some compress air to it once a month and it will stay clean.


You could also get water cooling and seal your computer in what those vacum bags :eek:
 
Another good way to keep a dust-free case it to maintain positive ventialtion. This is what they do for low-maintenance servers. It's not the #1 option for the best cooling, but it does keep dust from settling in there. Basic rule of thumb, just have more fans pushing X amount of CFM in than you have fan sucking X CFM out. This is positive ventilation, air will be going out through cracks, instead of in. It doesn't give dust a chance to settle.
 
Originally posted by ozziegn
you just cleaned it out last summer? good God man.....

how about saying screw the panty hose crap and just clean out your case with some compressed air every couple of months. your case will breath much better without any airflow restrictions and it'll probably run much cooler just for the fact that it'll be gettin' cleaned more than once a year. :rolleyes:

man, sorry for the :rolleyes: but come on, you clean your case only once a year and you wanna know how to avoid dust?
Click to expand...

Actually, I usually clean it 3 times a year, beginning of summer, end of summer, and over Christmas break. I must have had a dusty fall, because it's never been a major problem before.
So... my bad.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone
H
 
Yes, use pressure characteristics to prevent dust from settling, you want CLOSE to even pressure, while being slightly positive. TOO positive, and you are sucking more air/dust in, than you are evacuating....

-PHiZ
 
I went to Home Depot and bought an enormous roll of window screening for about $4. I just used that on all my fans...seems to work well.
 
Originally posted by tdg
Another thing that helps is creating a overpressure in the case. By having more more CFM of intake fans than exhaust helps to keep dust from settling inside the case, and from it being pulled into other cracks and your optical drives in the front.
Click to expand...

And many intake fans dont suck in dust? Boulderdash! Stupidest bunch of parrot talk I have ever heard.
 
The point is, the dust doesn't have AS MUCH a chance of settling as if you had negative air pressure in your case. If you have negative pressure, dust is getting sucked in every avialable crack, sometimes at such a small flowrate that any dust that gets in will settle.

For example, you could have dust seeping in the cracks between your optical drives, or your floppy drive.

Positive pressure makes it so that air pushes OUT of any available opening, making sure dust doesn't get in there. And it lets you control where air is getting into your case, something negative pressure does not. This way you can at least filter the inflow fans, and then voila, minimize the dust coming into your case.

Yes, it does help. Just think about it for a bit.
 
The best thing to do is seal up the case with pax mate, then have a singular intake with a filter element on it. This way all the dust will be captured by the filter and will not enter anywhere else. I have this on my case. I actually have no intake fans, only 3 exhaust fans. The radiator is mounted on the front and is the only intake. There is a dust filter on that. It works really well and I believe it to be the ideal case cooling setup.
 
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