Dust, i'm amazed how it gets in ........

[The Matrix]

Ive got a 650D case, on the front it has 2 dust filters. One is the standard outer removeable corsair one and on the inside of that i have a 200mm Demciflex filter. When the PC is not in use i have a Demciflex filter for the top and for the rear exhaust, the only other holes on the case are the rear PCIe blanking plate covers which have small vent holes, i even changed them to ones that have a micro mesh.

Anyway, the other day i decided to give it a good clean out. I was suprised how much dust was on the inside, this was mainly on the fans and Phanteks air cooler. I took the cooler off and gave it a good blow out, same with the GPU as that also had dust on the cooling fins, also the case fans had quite a bit of dust on them. Any small screw holes or water cooling rubber grommets that arn't in use ive taped over them with black insulating tape to again try and stop dust getting in, its amazing how it does get in as the Demciflex filters have hospital grade micro mesh.

 

[Baron C]

Heh, I literally stripped my system down for same reason.
My cat clearly is getting old judging by the clump accumulated behind mainboard.

You need to consider how much more dust there would be without the filters. At best filters are mitigation rather than foolproof.

Short of you turning your house into a hermetically sealed environment with independent atmosphere and dressing up in full body sealed suit and a body scrub every time you enter ...then there will always be dust.

 

[currob]

Anyone have any suggestions for the aerosol style containers for blasting out dust from heatsink fins etc?? In particular my radiator is a real pain to get out of the top of my case to clean out, was only thinking the other day about those sprays with the straw on them, are they any good? Safe to use for behind motherboard etc??

 

[ShivP]

Yeah, they are compressed air cans. I got 5 for like a tenner, good stuff. Even if the liquid inside it comes out it evaporates instantly and doesn't effect electrical components at all.

 

[The Matrix]

I use Falcon Dust Off

You could always take your heatsink to the garage and blow it out with the air line that you use to blow up your tyres, that would be handy for a rad.

 

[Baron C]

I use a giotto rocket blower , just requires one purchase and last lifetime.

 

[currob]

Ah, I was hesitant because of the possibility of liquid coming out of the can, nice to know that doesn't cause a problem, would be a great way to get behind components, maybe overkill to use an automotive airline though

 

[danswan]

I have the same case, until I switched my fan configuration a bit to ensure there was positive pressure I also had a lot of dust. Now it all gets caught in the filters.

 

[The Matrix]

Ive been toying with the idea of buying a mini compressor, normally i buy 6 cans of dust off which are £28 so its just under £5 a can for the XL size.

Over time i'd save money if i could find a small/mini compressor at a good price, it would be great for blowing out a case once dismantled, heatsinks and rads etc.

 

[The Matrix]

Ah, I was hesitant because of the possibility of liquid coming out of the can, nice to know that doesn't cause a problem, would be a great way to get behind components, maybe overkill to use an automotive airline though

Believe me, once you see how much dust gets inside a coolers heatsink or rad you'll think its a good idea lol.

I have the same case, until I switched my fan configuration a bit to ensure there was positive pressure I also had a lot of dust. Now it all gets caught in the filters.

Can i just ask what fan setup you are using ?

On my 650D i'm using 2 x cooler Master 200mm Megaflow fans on the front and top, the front is intake and the top is exhaust, on the rear i have a 140mm exhaust. My cooler is a Phanteks ph-tc14pe which has 2 x 140mm fans as a push pull to exhaust to the rear.

 

[OLDPHART]

Anyone have any suggestions for the aerosol style containers for blasting out dust from heatsink fins etc?? In particular my radiator is a real pain to get out of the top of my case to clean out, was only thinking the other day about those sprays with the straw on them, are they any good? Safe to use for behind motherboard etc??

Buy a 240v/12v camping Air Bed pump from a camping shop or of line, l'm using a Bestway Side winder 3 nozzle's different size's works a treat £12 at the time l bought it online with P&P 2 years ago.

I look after 3 PC's alone in my house and friends + family saved a small fortune over the years.

Tip-get a 1" and a 3" paint brush's give everything a light brush before blasting with air. As PCB's and fans hold the dust due to a very small amout of static.

Always keep your case earthed leave plugged in and switched off at the rear of the case PSU on/off while you work on it.

Work it out £6 to £12 depending on size does 2 to 3 PC's at most by a Air pump £12 need l say more.

 

[danswan]

Believe me, once you see how much dust gets inside a coolers heatsink or rad you'll think its a good idea lol.



Can i just ask what fan setup you are using ?

On my 650D i'm using 2 x cooler Master 200mm Megaflow fans on the front and top, the front is intake and the top is exhaust, on the rear i have a 140mm exhaust. My cooler is a Phanteks ph-tc14pe which has 2 x 140mm fans as a push pull to exhaust to the rear.

I've also got a Megaflow intake at the front, the rear 120mm (stock) is intake and I have a silver arrow cooler with the two fans pushing air up to the stock 200mm fan at the top, which is exhausting. Made a slight difference to temps (for the better) but a large difference to dust.

 

[Ripshod]

I have the same case, until I switched my fan configuration a bit to ensure there was positive pressure I also had a lot of dust. Now it all gets caught in the filters.

@OP clean the system then follow this chap's example. Filters+positive pressure means nothing gets sucked in through the gaps and vents.

 

[The Matrix]

@OP clean the system then follow this chap's example. Filters+positive pressure means nothing gets sucked in through the gaps and vents.

I did try that in the past, problem was that their was virtually no room between my 7970 and the Phanteks cooler. The metal clips were far too close to the circuit board on the GPU for comfort, his cooler must be a lot smaller.

 

[Ripshod]

Make the rear fan an inlet and slap a magnetic filter on the outside? The air moves so fast when pumped by fans that conventional thinking about convection goes out the window!!

 

[joeyjojo]

You can get less dust (but usually higher temps) by making sure the case has positive pressure (inside relative to outside). I.e. have more air coming in (with dust filters!) than out.

 

[BattFink]

I've just spent the best part of my day stripping down my water cooling loop as the amount of dust was really starting to wind me up.

I'm lucky that I've got an air compressor in the garage as I do a lot of vehicle maintenance tasks myself (air tools for the win), it's probably paid for itself by now with the savings from not having to buy compressed air cans

Are those deciflex filters worth buying over the 900D's standard dust filters?

 

[The Matrix]

Are those deciflex filters worth buying over the 900D's standard dust filters?

Without a doubt, the demciflex filters use medical grade material that really does catch the dust. As an example, i can open the front of my 650D which already had a corsair filter inside the panel, you wouldn't believe the amount of dust thats got past the corsair one and has been caught by the Demciflex filter, you can run your finger over the demciflex filter and write your name in the dust that its caught. I hoover the dust off weekly and wash it occasionally.