the last straw

[ryuji]

i cleaned my computer when i disassembled it about 2-3 months ago.. the intake fans already have heavy duty dust on them as well as exaust.. the mobo is covered with dust... my slk needs to be blown out again.. my zalman needs to as well....

how do you clean freaks keep it clean... also how would i filter side panel fan without it hindering air flow and it being mostly hidden

 

[msummers80]

I've seen filters. I've also heard of people getting some ladies nylons and cutting that and stretching it across the intake holes (do it on the inside where no one will see it). Good luck keeping it clean. You might just have to open it up once a month and blow it out and consider it a regular maintenance routine.

 

[dommer]

If you smoke, or have a lot of pets, the problem is amplified.

 

[PsycoGeek]

I cut the bottom out of my case, built a box for it to sit on, and put a filter in it. Both 120mm fans pull air up and out.

Filter:

Installed:

 

[nst6563]

PsycoGeek : Cool idea...does your front 120 blow air out then ( I assume so since you said both 120's blow out)? Do you not have any air blowing across your drives or mb components?

Nice idea though....I do like it...

 

[Impulse]

Best way to keep the 'puter clean is to keep the room clean... If you can manage to get it off the floor it'll pick up considerably less dust as well, filters will only go so far (and once they're clogged they're doing more harm than good really).

If you've got tons of little vents in some area of your case where there's no fan/filter you might wanna consider sealing it up as well (s'long as it doesn't disrupt airflow, it can often enhance it actually), dust tends to leak in easily along those spots.

The floppy drive on an old case I've got here used to be the piece that collected the most dust in the entire front part of the case, because it wasn't mounted flush and the gap left made a lot of the dust settle there rather than elsewhere. It actually died from dust inhalation! But who needs FDDs anyway...

P.S. If your case is right on the floor, getting it just a few inches higher can help, whether it be on a cart (tho I find most of them quite annoying, particulary those that wrap around the case like a vice grip, ugh) or on any ol' box.

 

[PsycoGeek]

PsycoGeek : Cool idea...does your front 120 blow air out then ( I assume so since you said both 120's blow out)? Do you not have any air blowing across your drives or mb components?

Nice idea though....I do like it...

Yeah, both 120's pull air. The front one is right in front of the HD cage and keeps the SCSI U320 Fujitsu drive plenty cool. The rear 120 is pulling more than enough over the motherboard and expansion cards... has to be... look at my sig. I have the FSB up to 265mhz now and can go to 270 (voltage increase worries me a little though).

I also watercool too, so the heat output inside the case has dropped a bit. The radiator/pump/resivor are in an external case. I plan to post it in the water cooling area when I get the tubing re-routed. Won't be for a few days though.. just spent 7 hours on my knees installing a new vinyl tile floor in the kitchen.

-edit- I almost forgot to mention... both fans together move about 106cfm (Vantec Stealth's), which I plan on replacing with Silent X fans (116cfm total).

 

[jaffy]

My new case (TT Tsunami) came with a front filter. On my last case, I just used a pair of pantyhose as a ghetto filter, worked great. It did feel strange going into WalMart and buying a pair of plus sized pantyhose though...

 

[GJSNeptune]

Not to hijack the thread, but I've always wondered about the PSU fans and if they push dust into the case. Does anyone filter their PSU?

 

[jaffy]

^^ PSU fans suck air out of the case, at least they are supposed to