Dust filter and mesh front bad?

Rockbox · 19 Feb 2022 at 11:36

Should I use a dust filter on a mesh front pc case? Used one behind it for years, but I heard it impedes air flow a little.

I have a 230mm fan half-blocked by hard drive cages, and my cable management isn't great in my Bitfenix Prodigy, but it's unsolvable.

Rockbox · 19 Feb 2022 at 12:50

Mr Mcgoo said:
mesh front can usually get away without a dust filter as the mesh does a fairly good job to minimize dust.

Do the pros outweigh the cons? I'm revamping my cooling, and every bit of airflow helps. But the room's pretty dusty, and holds up well thanks to filters on every intake.

Rockbox · 20 Feb 2022 at 10:14

Thanks all. I've removed the filter, so we'll see how much of a difference it makes.

I have 2 120mm filters on the side panel, which is just holes, no filter. Where would a 230mm filter be useful? Cases with 230mm side fans? Because the front panels I see are either closed off or mesh.

Rockbox · 20 Feb 2022 at 19:29

See, that's what I'm worried about. My front fan is a 230mm Spectre (non-Pro). I assume high static pressure fans have the thick fins, while high air flow have the scythe fins. The Spectre has the latter.

I measure my temps, and it might take a day to work out how much of a benefit it brings, but filtering every intake keeps the inside dust-free for weeks, if not months.

I'll probably end up keeping the filter, as the fan is large, and runs on quiet mode, so how much of a difference will it really make? The only filter giving me trouble is the PSU one that slides in, as it can amplify vibrations in the case sometimes if all the way in.

Rockbox · 20 Feb 2022 at 19:42

On top of that, the Spectre was installed with anti-vibration pads and sits tightly between the front and hard drive cage. Removing it wouldn't be easy. For my next case, I'll strongly consider high static pressure with my mesh front, but for now it looks like this fan will die with this case.

Would you say it's best to avoid large fans in general? And what do you consider large? >140mm?

Rockbox · 22 Feb 2022 at 10:48

Thanks. On my 2nd day without the filter. Need to go through my coretemp logs, but from what I've seen, I'm not seeing a huge difference with the filter off. Then again, I don't have GamersNexus style standardised testing.