Dustproofing a PC (or at least, an attempt)

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PhireSide

PhireSide

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Hello okes

I have a little 'project', if you will, that I want to attempt. I work in an IT company's workshop so I see some pretty filthy PC's on a daily basis, and this has me wondering - how easy would it be to completely seal off a computer from dust bunnies and other critters? I have had my rig in my sig for less than a week now and already I see how the little pieces of fluff and dust settle on and in the case.

Now I understand airflow is critical when it comes to a high performance PC and even a lower performance one, but what also concerns me is the type of airflow you have. At the moment I have 140mm intake fan blowing over the hard drives (it has a foam filter in front if it), and a 120mm rear exhaust fan, just underneath another 140mm exhaust fan on the top of the case. Then there is the PSU, which sucks air from the bottom of the case and exhausts it out the back - I doubt it will make a big difference but I noted it just in case. According to general physics, this should give me a negative pressure airflow, as there is more air being exhausted than there is being taken in. This setup seems to be most common setup, but it is not perfect.

Can a person use your own foam to make better/finer filters for the intake fans, or would a HEPA filter setup be better? I do not want to hurt my airflow, and I am not keen on losing my front intake fan as it keeps my hard drives lekker cool.

This is just something I pondered last night when I couldn't sleep. If one were to seal all the little holes, slap a very fine filter near the intake fan and make use of a negative case pressure, would it be a viable solution? :)
 
Dust filters on all intakes, with more fans set as intake than exhaust to create positive pressure inside the case = minimal dust. Negative pressure would create so many problems and need so much effort that its not worth it.
Check out Demciflex. Its actually a local guy (Cape Town), and he sells the filters worldwide.
 
Sorry Archer, I might be a bit dof but how exactly does a higher pressure inside the case help with the whole dust issue? I was under the impression if you have for arguments sake 3 exh and 0 intake (neg pressure), you would draw air in naturally rather than forcing it in with more intake fans than exhaust (positive pressure). This leads me to think that you would be only drawing necessary air in than excess that just carries more dust with it.

OR am I missing out on a very important physics lesson? PS thanks for the Demciflex. I'll check it out :)
 
Clean rooms operate on the same principle, the pressure to the outside is higher, therefore you can control the amount of particle entering.

The particles enter only from the fans creating the pressure, everywhere else the air is rushing to get out (IE. particles can't force their way in from every other hole in the case).

FYI tho, I've tried this before and wasn't very successful (stil had dust in the computer). If you succeed do post, but in order to prove conclusively I'd say you need two computer, exactly the same, one with filters, other without.

Then after about 4 months open both up and take some pictures & compare.
 
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Negative pressure = drawing air in from anywhere and everywhere by setting more fans as exhaust. So if you want to be dust free inside the case you need to seal up or filter every tiny little hole. So lets say you filter the obvious big gaps, now dust will still enter from all the gaps between panels.

Positive pressure = drawing air in from specific locations by setting more fans as intake. Now you have two or three very obvious locations where air (and dust) is entering, and so you only need a filter at these locations. Air will now escape from every possible exit, incl the tiny spaces between panels, meaning dust cant get in anywhere except at the filters (which should block the dust)
 
wabbit16 said:
Sorry Archer, I might be a bit dof but how exactly does a higher pressure inside the case help with the whole dust issue? I was under the impression if you have for arguments sake 3 exh and 0 intake (neg pressure), you would draw air in naturally rather than forcing it in with more intake fans than exhaust (positive pressure). This leads me to think that you would be only drawing necessary air in than excess that just carries more dust with it.

OR am I missing out on a very important physics lesson? PS thanks for the Demciflex. I'll check it out :)
Click to expand...

The more important physics lesson is that negative pressure will ensure that air is sucked in through any gaps in the case. Since those gaps won't have filters, more dust will be sucked it that way. With Positive pressure, air will only be sucked in via the fans, which will presumably have dust filters. Negative pressure for dust control is fine only if you have made the case airtight except for filtered intakes.
 
Archer said:
Negative pressure = drawing air in from anywhere and everywhere by setting more fans as exhaust. So if you want to be dust free inside the case you need to seal up or filter every tiny little hole. So lets say you filter the obvious big gaps, now dust will still enter from all the gaps between panels.

Positive pressure = drawing air in from specific locations by setting more fans as intake. Now you have two or three very obvious locations where air (and dust) is entering, and so you only need a filter at these locations. Air will now escape from every possible exit, incl the tiny spaces between panels, meaning dust cant get in anywhere except at the filters (which should block the dust)
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Makes sense. I think I'm missing my morning coffee :P

So if one were to (theoretically) seal up all the little holes you can find, and ONLY have holes where your fans are - would it be plausible?
 
wabbit16 said:
Makes sense. I think I'm missing my morning coffee :P

So if one were to (theoretically) seal up all the little holes you can find, and ONLY have holes where your fans are - would it be plausible?
Click to expand...

Yes it will work, but why go to all that effort when a simple magnetic filter + setting more fans as intake is so much easier.
 
As soon as you have a negative pressure (eg. 3 exh + 0 intake), then your case will draw in air from odd gaps - like from the bottom of the case where you'll usually find the highest amount of dust.

The dust filters that come with the Coolermaster 690 II Advance case that I have work very well and I haven't cleaned my case in like 8 month. With all my previous cases, I had to clean my PC at least once every 6 months.
 
axon1988 said:
Oh this is really interesting... been wondering about this. Which case would you guys recommend in this situation?
Click to expand...

I'd say a Tupperware container to minimize the holes :D

I have the CM Storm Scout, so not the perfect case to start with but I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable ones here have more info on this.
 
Pada said:
As soon as you have a negative pressure (eg. 3 exh + 0 intake), then your case will draw in air from odd gaps - like from the bottom of the case where you'll usually find the highest amount of dust.

The dust filters that come with the Coolermaster 690 II Advance case that I have work very well and I haven't cleaned my case in like 8 month. With all my previous cases, I had to clean my PC at least once every 6 months.
Click to expand...

Which filters are these? The ones on the bottom of the case and the one in the front? Do you have inlets on the bottom of the case or do you just use the front fan that came with the case?
 
Hmmm okay seems as if I have enough interest to give this thing a shot. I think I'll first start off with finding little holes and plugging it with insulation tape, to make my only true inlet the front grille. I'll also patch up the side window's vents, just for good measure, since I have no fans running there
 
wabbit16 said:
Hmmm okay seems as if I have enough interest to give this thing a shot. I think I'll first start off with finding little holes and plugging it with insulation tape, to make my only true inlet the front grille. I'll also patch up the side window's vents, just for good measure, since I have no fans running there
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Weren't you listening, positive pressure and filtered inlets is what you want... then you don't need to worry about sealing anything.
 
doobyscoo said:
Which filters are these? The ones on the bottom of the case and the one in the front? Do you have inlets on the bottom of the case or do you just use the front fan that came with the case?
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I have an intake fan on the bottom, as well as 2 intake fans in the front. I've actually moved my top exhaust fan to the bottom as an intake fan. I've also added another front intake fan.
 
wabbit16 said:
Hmmm okay seems as if I have enough interest to give this thing a shot. I think I'll first start off with finding little holes and plugging it with insulation tape, to make my only true inlet the front grille. I'll also patch up the side window's vents, just for good measure, since I have no fans running there
Click to expand...

Negative pressure is what you want for things like Biohazard laboratories, working with Anthrax, etc. If there are any leaks, nothing gets OUT, "clean" air gets sucked in. This prevents contamination of the OUTSIDE.

Positive pressure is what you want for things like clean rooms. Dirty air coming in through the designated inputs (at high volume) is cleaned appropriately, and then allowed to exit through designated outputs (at lower volume), regulated to maintain the positive pressure. Any other leaks result in clean air leaking to outside due to the pressure difference between inside (positive) and outside(negative), not "dirty" outside air leaking to inside.

So, make sure you have enough inlet fans sucking air in that you can maintain positive pressure in the case. You may have to close up some of the case holes to do so (e.g. if you have a big vent on the side of the case, you'll never be able to generate sufficient internal case pressure.). Then, make sure that all of your inlet fans are filtered using a decent filter. See above. Monitor your case temperature to ensure that you have sufficient outflow of hot air. Adjust the inflow and outflow appropriately. Rinse (the filters as they become blocked) and repeat.
 
doobyscoo said:
Weren't you listening, positive pressure and filtered inlets is what you want... then you don't need to worry about sealing anything.
Click to expand...

Yes I read that, but that is not my goal. The Scout chassis does not really allow too many inlet fans as it's a small case. If I reverse the rear fan, it will be blowing back onto my CPU cooler. If I reverse my CPU cooler, I'll be blowing the air towards the front. Airflow inside the case would be chaotic at best.

I'll start by plugging little holes first...a roll of tape is about what, R10? Cheap experiment to start with.
 
wabbit16 said:
Yes I read that, but that is not my goal. The Scout chassis does not really allow too many inlet fans as it's a small case. If I reverse the rear fan, it will be blowing back onto my CPU cooler. If I reverse my CPU cooler, I'll be blowing the air towards the front. Airflow inside the case would be chaotic at best.

I'll start by plugging little holes first...a roll of tape is about what, R10? Cheap experiment to start with.
Click to expand...

Flow is more important than dust... no point in it being clean but hot.:p
 
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doobyscoo said:
Flow is more important than dust... no point in it being clean but hot.:p
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Or vice versa :D

I'll fool around a bit with masking off all the little gaatjies I can find and see what I can achieve. My other problem would be the mesh that about 99% of the front panel is made of - how the hell does one cover all those holes?

/looks forward to a loooong night

Maybe I should dust-proof my room instead - If I suffocate, You okes can have my PC :D:D

@NomNom, that case looks like a cross between a bumble-bee and a brommer - pretty cool though. I wonder if the same can be applied to the CM Scout? I have two 220VAC 120mm fans that push a very decent amount of air, maybe I can work something out :P
 
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