Putting An End to Dust Inside Computers

Cool...nice filter... I'm just trying to figure out a good place to mount any filter/fan add on. Under case...in case.....side of case...back..front...top???

Hee hee...maybe make a PC muscle machine with this

I was thinking of going to the local scrap yard to check out filter pans and buy a one of those ring filters. Also, there might be room enough to mount a fan inside the filter pan if needed. D from BC

Without googling...Isn't there some sort of 11 year solar cycle and does it affect the weather..? D from BC

My oldest son keeps all his PC's in a big glass-door-closed rack mount cabinet with it's own filtered air system.

...Jim Thompson

krw wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.individual.net:

Today,I am wearing shorts and a polo shirt,have to start thinking about sunscreen soon. 8-]

I'm going for a bike ride later today,gotta let it cool off some first. I also have to do a security mod on my Integra,a friend got hers stripped a day ago,they got under the car,hooked the hood release cable to pop the hood and cut her alarm siren wires,before they took her stereo,leather seats and AEM cold air intake.I'm making a shield and rerouting the cable inside the engine compartment."Midnite Auto" thieves have visited me before,last time they nearly got shot,but they still return.

I wish I knew somebody with a MIG welder.

But you also buy a case designed to have air pulled in the right direction - across the motherboard as soon as it is taken in through the fans. You can also buy ducting to go on your inwards sucking fans which directs the coolest air (just coming in) right onto the parts that need it, i.e cpu and gpu.

Yes, and a 22year, and one in the thirtys, hundreds, ten thousands...

That's a gross waste of time. Unless forced to live under beds with dust bunnies, they'll be obsolete by the time dust hurts them.

Any more, I carry mine around the house with me (wife wants a ThinkPad too now).

Easier said than done because it is an insert which does not have an ash drawer. So, in the morning we have to shovel out the ash. The dust comes because one has to separate the big glowing coals from the ash. I do turn on the "fan only" switch on our central heat in hopes that at least some dust gets sucked in and ends up in its pleated filter. It's the good stuff, supposedly catches microscopically small particles.

We live in a "Jetson's style" home, early 70's. Open architecture, tons of windows, not very efficiently heated. It was built in them good old days where people drove Pontiac GTOs (a neighbor still has his) and energy prices didn't matter. Back then propane was "recovered refinery waste" and dirt cheap. No more, it costs more than gasoline for us. So when it drops below 45F the wood stove has to come on or the missus ain't going to be happy. The sad thing is we are now nearly out of firewood and so are many dealers because the winter was quite chilly and long :-(

So, next year we will get five cords. Used to be two. Some global warming, eh?

Learn by first maybe by consulting manufacturers. If makes little difference to chassis whether fan blows in or out. The only relevant number is CFM - how much air is moved. Most every computer is completely fine with only one chassis fan as made so obvious by simple arithmetic.

A significant reason for dust? Too many fans moving excessive air uselessly. A computer is constructed to move enough air to be perfectly fine even in a 100 degree F room. Anyone can do the arithmetic - simple multiplication using formulas from fan manufacturer application notes. A standard 80 mm fan is more than enough airflow for a chassis. More airflow only makes greater dust problems.

Is dust so much as to completely clog air holes? Then an industrial version of that computer is required - moves no air through chassis. Does computer have big dust balls. No problem. Until dust packs holes closed, then dust is not a problem. Defined is why a computer works just fine for five years without ever removing dust. If dust becomes so great as to pack cooling holes closed, then either someone installed too many fans without learning, or the environment requires industrial grade equipment.

Again, direction of airflow makes no difference to chassis temperatures. That should be obvious. CFM measures air exchange. Notice the relevant spec number provided by all fan manufacturers: CFM. CFM from a standard 80mm fan is sufficient even when computer is in a 100 degree F room; if computer was assembled using simplest engineering knowledge.

Why do some have so much dust problems. They are the reason for Tim's joke in "Home Improvement": "More Power!". The joke would mock those who advocated more without first learning why - first learning simple numbers. Then those computers have excessive dust accumulation. So they blame a human for not removing dust? Nonsense. Some even insist that air flow direction is important; fail to learn about CFM.

Question: In case you often do that sans power cord, how does the battery fare over time? When I bought a new laptop recently I was surprised that they recommend a lengthy "battery calibration routine" every three months. Takes hours. I am pretty new to the LiIon game. One of my other laptops has one but it's always plugged in.

Several around here wear shorts in this sort of weather. Some nuts in the winter, even. Sunscreen will likely be a good idea for anyone outside tomorrow. We still have a 18: or so of snow on the ground (at least I'm not in Western NY).

Bike ride? We're still a couple of months away from that! ;-)

That sort of thing is a rarity around here. Many don't even lock their doors. An armed society, and all that. ;-)

-- Keith

Brendan Gillatt wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Yes,I saw one of those cases recently. Dell,IIRC.

Look at the motherboards;the hottest components are at the top. By blowing air from the top down,you are forcing(-trying- to force,actually) naturally-RISING heat downward and out at the bottom. Makes more sense to pull hot air out at the top,aiding the natural convection.

I think the article I saw was in Popular Mechanics,can't recall the exact issue.

It has, Buy an industrial pc case. they have a washable filter infront of the intake fan.

Bye. Jasen

A computer case designer would probably figure that it's better to error with too much airflow. If so.. When I try using filters, the reduced airflow might be ok. D from BC

Industrial pc case...Do you mean rackmount? D from BC

Didn't you know? Dust is a by-product of computing. Ed

Like dirty oil is from driving... D from BC

typically they are, but not all rackmounts have filters.

Don't expct it to be cheap, do expect it to outlast many motherboards.

Bye. Jasen

I always let mine burn out before cleaning the ashes (it does have a drawer). Have you thought about a central vac? I'm going to look hard at one for our next house.

I've used about 2/3s of a cord in five years (it's nice and dry ;). I was going to try to use the rest this winter but it hasn't been cold enough (and I was sick during the worst of it).

Since I've used two cords in 13 years...