Dustproof case

I know of a way that could potentially get rid of all dust in a system, but with a higher maintenance then a regular filter. I used to have a Hyla vacuum cleaner, and it uses water as a filter. Basically the intake air on it goes into a water area so that as dust and dirt fly through the intake, it gets stuck in the water. The air that comes out of the unit is completely dust free because the dust cannot get back out of the water. It's basically like a bong if you want to make it easier. This could be done with the input air on a PC if one wanted to mess with it. You would have to change the water out probably every couple of days though, and you'd want it hidden because it will get nasty looking pretty quick. As long as your case is sealed up nice so only air can escape this would keep it completely dust free. I think I may try to design something that would work like this for my mountain mods case.
 
The problem I see in that design though is that the reference design (vacuum) has a lot of power to overcome the resistance created in the water. Great for vacuums where there is hardly a care for noise generated. Very bad for something like a computer that will be near you a lot of the time. Also, the power used to overcome that resistance would be overly wasted 24/7. Run a vacuum 24/7 and watch your electric bill, it will make a difference, and much more a difference than a 120mm fan will.

But assuming all those things are overcome, I would think moisture alone ducted into a computer would not go over well long term and could introduce condensation if the motor pushing the air was introducing air to the water that was quite warm and them condensed on the inner walls of likely colder case panels. I spell bad idea for that. The air wouldnt have to be much warmer even as water naturally evaporates even in room temperature conditions.

Which brings me to the last point, with air pushing through water 24/7 or even for a few hours, eventually the water would completely evaporate rendering the design useless or the impracticallity of filling the water often / hooking up a water line and sensor to maintain the fluid level.

I just dont see many good points to the pros this design would in the end accomplish; no dust. Way too many cons. Not saying that it cant be done, but at what cost to the user. A fan and filter would be more ideal and much more practical. But I enjoy seeing thoughts outside of the box. Good things can come out of those ideas...
 
Yeah, you make a lot of good points that I didn't think about. I ordered some new filters for my 3 120MM intake fans off SVC which I plan to also line with pantyhose. I can run my case fans very low and still get great cooling because I have 6 fans in a push/pull configuration on my radiator. The 3 in front are the only 3 air intakes into my case. If I filter them well enough, I've solved all my problems. I also used weather stripping to seal all 3 removable panels to give me an air tight case. I still have to work on the back of the case as far as sealing but it should kill the dust a bunch.
 
Willsonman said:
Oh that almost made me vomit. I have an acrylic case so my OCD is WAY high strung every few weeks. I honestly just keep it elevated... on my desk, use filters for the fans, and I make sure I clean the air filter for the heating/ac every month. By the way, 99% of all dust is human skin... Honestly people, bathing does help cut down on dust in your living area. Use moisturizers. Good personal hygene is also good PC hygene. :D
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an acrylic case has no place on the floor anyways
 
The dirtiest case I have ever seen was at a prior job doing computer hardware repair. The customer was a body repair shop and the computer was close to the paint booth. The fan would suck up the paint dust and it settled inside the case. The entire inside was 1/4 inch thick in a multi-colored layer of paint dust. You could not see any silk screening on the motherboard or any traces on any chips, everything was covered in paint fallout.

The other things I would get in would get in were roach and rat infested machines. The houses were so dirty that the rats would nest on the warmer parts of the computer and bring stuff in to make nest. They would chew on the wires to help build the nest, pee on the circuit boards until the machines quit working. Some people really live in filth. To work on the roach infested computers we would take the computer and place it in a garbage bag, soak a paper towel in denatured alcohol and seal it all together. Nice huh ?
 
There is no easy way to get a fully dust-free system. I would just make a case out of plexi, sealing the whole thing with clear silicon caulk, then using two blowholes (intake and exhaust) with filters like these: http://www.nexfan.com/80almefanfi.html

Acutally, thinking about this, I may build my linux box in a case like this :D
 
rig up some sort of ionic breeze type device that use electric charges on metal plates to collect dust, but use 120mm fan to pull air in
 
Snoopdog said:
The other things I would get in would get in were roach and rat infested machines. The houses were so dirty that the rats would nest on the warmer parts of the computer and bring stuff in to make nest. They would chew on the wires to help build the nest, pee on the circuit boards until the machines quit working. Some people really live in filth. To work on the roach infested computers we would take the computer and place it in a garbage bag, soak a paper towel in denatured alcohol and seal it all together. Nice huh ?
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I would tell those people to F... OFF and learn to clean up after themselves. I certainly wouldn't have anything to do with their computer. Just regular dust is one thing... but rats and cockroaches? bleh. Should just take it out front of the store while the customer is watching, douse it in lighter fluid, and light it on fire. lol
 
Every Three months I dissamble my PC and Balst it with 120 PSI of compressed AIR (from my compressor) that tends to ged rid of the dust.
 
Skolar said:
I've found that putting filters on my fans increases my temps to the point of instability. I just vacuum out the case every few weeks when I start noticing performance drops.
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For the record, using a common household vacuum can be deadly to your pc:

DansData said:
The obvious choice for getting dust off electronic components is a vacuum cleaner, but this is not necessarily a great idea. Household vacuum cleaners are, for a start, much more powerful than is needed to de-dust a motherboard, and can and do suck loosely-socketed chips clean off the board and into the dust bag. Using the curtain setting, if available, can prevent this - but it's not the only problem.

Regular vacuum cleaners also accumulate static electricity - old-fashioned belt-drive ones do a pretty good imitation of a Van Der Graaf generator, but the fast-moving air inside the plastic tube is enough to put a decent charge on the business end of just about any vacuum cleaner. Static electricity is, generally speaking, A Bad Thing for computers.
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jnex26 said:
Every Three months I dissamble my PC and Balst it with 120 PSI of compressed AIR (from my compressor) that tends to ged rid of the dust.
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You dont need to take your computer apart to blast it. Just disconnect all the wires to the back then blow it out. Thats all I do... super fast and easy. ;)
 
Logan321 said:
I would tell those people to F... OFF and learn to clean up after themselves. I certainly wouldn't have anything to do with their computer. Just regular dust is one thing... but rats and cockroaches? bleh. Should just take it out front of the store while the customer is watching, douse it in lighter fluid, and light it on fire. lol
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OMFG that is classic! :D
 
I realize its impossible to have a computer without even the smallest amount of dust in it. Its nice to have a clean environment, and its gross to have a computer full of dust. You can take steps to minimize the amount of crap your system will filter out of the air though.

I put some motherboard foam in front of the intake fans, taped up all small holes in the front of my case. My case is an antec(chieftec) model with the door that locks and opens to reveal CD drives. I taped a piece of foam to the inside of the door hoping it'd reduce the amount of particles filtered through the Cd rom drives. If you do something to keep dust out it will help. Instead of having to clear bust dunnies from your case ever month, you might do it once every few months. Thats alot of dust that isnt making it into that metal box. Clogging heatsinks, getting electronically magnetized to all your components. I have an old soundcard that has a dust haze on it. I dont have the heard to stick a motherboard in the dishwasher...
 
Fanless PSU, then watercool the CPU/NB/VGA, take out the case fan(s) then just seal the rest of the box up, then you just clean the fans for the radiator when needed, will cut time down cleaning the case :D
 
well how about turning your case into a room air filter. room of clean air means less dust in case. build an external duct that attaches to the back and outputs through a 3m furnace filter;) ugly but effective i guess. the massive surface area would make up for any backpressure. and atleast ur comp will do something more than cool itself heh
 
yeah, just splurge and spend 10 bucks on a 4 pack of canned air and just take that thing outside. That's what i do. My stuff is much more dust bunny than grime so it's not so bad. putting the computer on a desk away from the carpet or the ground in general reduces dust build up like ten fold. Also, vaccume. not your computer but like a 10 foot radius from where it's sitting.
 
or you could just fill your case with cooking oil

or get a lian li pc6077b and run ex 23bs on it that already have built in filters! ive had my comp for months and not a hair has gotten within(just have to keep the filters clean(monthly for houstonians)
 
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