Front Intake Fan & Dust

[bobthebuilder1]

I plan on having a 120mm intake fan in the front of my Antec case. The case offers a standard mesh filter, but I was wondering if you folks recommend an after-market one. Do after-market fan filters offer better airflow/noise reduction due to impedance issues or is this just getting nitty gritty? If you use a custom material in your rig for fan filtering, what is it and how did you order it/fabricate it?

Last but not least, my computer will be fairly near the floor, but not quite resting on it. Will keeping the machine close the ground make a noticeable difference due to slightly lower ambient temps compared to keeping on a desk approximately 2 and a half feet higher? Also, putting the computer below the desk, will that create more dust issues? :beer:

 

[WoodButcher]

If you have an air compressor use it. Blow the case out once a month and you'll be fine. If you use a filter and your house is dusty it will impede air and you'll be cleaning the filter every other day to keep your temps down. I tried AC filter and it was a twice a week PITA for me.

 

[bobthebuilder1]

The air compressor isn't hard on the capacitors and other goodies within your rig? I would think that the PSI would be a bit much for sensitive devices!

 

[WoodButcher]

No, no prob, I've got 4 boxes in my home so I'm not spending time cleaning filters. Hold the fans with a pencil so they dont spin wildly, and I don't run the air over 75 psi. Biggest concern I have would be my kid doing this and not bleeding the tank before hand. I have a small compressor I use for trim guns and brad-nailers. If I use this compressor on a rainy day I'll get water in the tanks and hoses. You would be surprised how durable a pc really is.

 

[martinb]

Just thought that I would add my 2cents here about filters.

I moved into a basement apartment till the house situation gets settled. I'm amazed at the amount of dusty and crap that comes in through the windows. I also have 2 cats but that is minor compared to the dusty and crap.

I believe it was in a SmartComputing magizine. One of the subscribers submitted this tip. To deal with his dusty issues he uses a Swifer cloth over the intake fans and just throws it away when it gets dirty.

However I would add this to that tip. Any type of filter will reduce air flow and that should be taken into account. This should include the number of fans and whether or not you have the negative interior PC case pressure that needs to exist for proper ventilation. That would be affected by the number of fans in the PC case and Power Supply Unit.

I am tring the filter idea but added to the tip by filtering any open card slots on the rear of the case ( added air flow ) plus sealing gaps temporary basis.

Hope that this sparks more ideas.

 

[Zepper]

Here is the fan filter assembly I normally use: http://www.jab-tech.com/120mm-...an-filter-pr-2470.html . The filter material that comes with is pretty porous so I replace it with foam AC filter material. A company in Clearwater FL makes the best AC filter material I've seen, but I've not been able to get some since I moved back north. This may be the stuff here: http://www.doityourself.com/invt/u315952 - You may need to use a stronger fan to overcome the restriction caused by the filter.

.bh.

 

[MarcVenice]

Bob, it kinda depends on the surface of where you're placing the PC on. I for one have carpet, and god do I hate it, but I have to put up with it for now. With a p182 on it's way I've allready figured I can't put it on the carpet because it's gonna suck in dust like a madman because theres an air opening underneath as well as on the sides. If you've got a normal floor it shouldn't be a problem, placing it 2 and a half feet higher 'might' increase temps, but I doubt it, if theres a 1 degree celsius difference I would be amazed.

Btw, woodbutchers suggestion isn't half bad, but the problem with blowing the dust out, is having the dust settle down where exactly? Close proximity to the PC and I guess it will be back in there before you know it. Thats at least what happens to me, because a lot of dust accumalates in it, I blew it out, and not long after it was back in there again. So I actually like having dust filters.

 

[WoodButcher]

My wife knows! Our house is in the city next to an interstate, major dust is a given so I clean the HVAC filters monthly. I'll do the pc's the night before the wife starts cleaning.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I've been partial to filters, but what they say is true. It's a PITA to clean them regularly. I watch my mobo and CPU temperatures, and have a pretty good idea when "it's time. . . ."

So when I planned my latest case-mod -- the one I've blabbed about here for months and still need to post a "project" thread about -- I decided I wouldn't be using those fine-mesh two-part filters from FrozenCPU. Those things are wonderful because you can unscrew the filter-piece, clean it, dry it and screw it back on. They look "neat." But they fill up with cruft too fast.

I'd worked with perf-steel -- what's known as modder's mesh -- before. I discovered a finer grade of it -- with smaller and more numerous holes. Dust is still going to get in through those holes, but it's a compromise.

The other thing I did. The front-panel door has nice ventilation holes -- very ample. I padded the insides of the door with blue fiberglass AC filter material. Once it gets dirty enough, you just replace it. It seems to admit more air than those rectangular AC-vent filters you get at Home-Depot 10 for $4.

We had a gas-company tech come to the house to check our central heating, worried that a pilot light had gone out. He brought in some testing equipment. Then, he remarked that our household air was the cleanest in So. Cal. he'd seen in fifteen years.

Sure. four or five computers -- running all the time -- with intake air that's filtered.

 

[dunkster]

This recommendation may require modding your case intake path.

I modified my case to run with the best combination of cool and quiet, using a single Panaflo 120mm exhaust fan at 7V in combination with a low-restriction front-intake filter.

The best filter media I found is cut from a large multi-layer fiberglas furnace air filter (Home Depot), which is corrugated for maximum surface area and back by an aluminum spiderweb for some rigidity. It's nearly an inch thick - but restriction is extremely low. The restriction is so low that I'm able to run with the single exhaust at 7V for lower fan noise with very good cpu and case temps. Filter exposure dimensions are 6" X 4.75", but actual filter surface area is greater due to the corrugated filter surface. This required case-modding and replacing HD cage by suspending my HD in the intake flow path.

The restriction of this filter is so low that removing it results in less than 1C cpu-loaded temp increase (cpu temp reading shuttles at +/- 1C).

There isn't really any magic for quiet and cool:
- Use as few fans as possible.
- Reduce fan speed(s) as much as possible/practical.
- Physically isolate vibration as much as possible.
- Reduce air flow path restriction as much as possible.
- Any cooling gained by side-vents results in added noise-paths.
- Multiple air-paths often result in some component(s) in a hot spot (such as HDs).

I tried a number of intake-path methods but optimized front-to-back air flow provided the best combination of cool operation of all components at lowest noise.

 

[bobthebuilder1]

Thanks for all the tips guys! I'm heading over to the store this afternoon, we'll see what presents they have in store for this latest project.