prototype
Member
+52|6569
I was just upgrading my new system and noticed some dust inside on my shiny new components.

My question is what is the best way to keep the inside of my tower as dust free as possible?

I do not leave my system on for days at a time, only for 6-10 hours sessions each day and when I power down, I cover the tower and the monitor in their own clean plastic bag.

What more can I do?

do they make charcoal filters I can put on the vents or somthing or is that going to far?

thank you for any info that gets posted.
Trigger_Happy_92
Uses the TV missle too much
+394|6907

prototype wrote:

do they make charcoal filters I can put on the vents or somthing or is that going to far?
LOL

Just compress air that bitch.

EDIT: since that may have been a bit vauge, you can buy compressed air cans designed specifically to blow dust out of the case.

If you are seriously that concerned about dust (which isnt much of a problem unless there are copious amounts of it on heatsinks, fans, ect), then consider water cooling

1. you wont need as many fans/ventilation in your case, thus less dust

2. it looks cool

3. it keeps things as cool as it looks

4. its quiet

overall, i wouldnt worry about dust, if aesthetics (sp?) is really important to you, and a bit of dust really ticks you off, then compressed air is the way to go. Water cooling would be more moolah of course, but less fans/vents = less dust, and it will keep your system running cooler and quieter too.

Last edited by Trigger_Happy_92 (2008-02-15 22:35:10)

Little BaBy JESUS
m8
+394|6406|'straya

prototype wrote:

I was just upgrading my new system and noticed some dust inside on my shiny new components.

My question is what is the best way to keep the inside of my tower as dust free as possible?

I do not leave my system on for days at a time, only for 6-10 hours sessions each day and when I power down, I cover the tower and the monitor in their own clean plastic bag.

What more can I do?

do they make charcoal filters I can put on the vents or somthing or is that going to far?

thank you for any info that gets posted.
Well first step. see someone about ur OCD.

u do waaaayyyy more than i do lol. just keep it relitively dust free and u'll be fine
ig
This topic seems to have no actual posts
+1,199|6780
put it near an open window
prototype
Member
+52|6569
I live on an island and if i put it near an open window it will get blasted with salt air.

i am happy to hear you guys think i have OCD or somthing, makes me not as worried about the dust.

Last edited by prototype (2008-02-15 22:33:30)

Darkhelmet
cereal killer
+233|7008|the middle of nowhere
Compressed air. Just like Trigger Happy said.
Little BaBy JESUS
m8
+394|6406|'straya

prototype wrote:

I live on an island and if i put it near an open window it will get blasted with salt air.

i am happy to hear you guys think i have OCD or somthing, makes me not as worried about the dust.
haha glad i could help... but seriously dont fret over it.
ig
This topic seems to have no actual posts
+1,199|6780
keep a big fan on it at all times
prototype
Member
+52|6569
keep a big fan on your trees
Defiance
Member
+438|6928

ig wrote:

keep a big fan on it at all times
Your first helpful contribution doesn't warrant a second.

If you have a vacuum with a flexible hose, use the vacuum in conjunction with the compressed air to shoot the dust off of components then suck it out of the air. Works well, and creates a trippy vortex of dust.
masculata
Member
+24|6934|45° 30',North by 73° 35',West
You can get case fans with hepa filters. Never seen one for sale but, I did have a case that had them pre-installed.
Trigger_Happy_92
Uses the TV missle too much
+394|6907

Defiance wrote:

ig wrote:

keep a big fan on it at all times
Your first helpful contribution doesn't warrant a second.

If you have a vacuum with a flexible hose, use the vacuum in conjunction with the compressed air to shoot the dust off of components then suck it out of the air. Works well, and creates a trippy vortex of dust.
Careful about putting the vacuum too close to the components though, those things can create some pretty bad ass static electricity.
SineNomine
Panzerblitz
+37|6980|SPARTA
watercooling, and all of it, mobo, graca, cpu, ram. as me     my system fans are silent and with a filter. i almost have no dust in my case. compared with my other computers with normal fans thats nothing
Gawwad
My way or Haddaway!
+212|6942|Espoo, Finland
air compressor > compressed air
Roger Lesboules
Ah ben tabarnak!
+316|6835|Abitibi-Temiscamingue. Québec!

Gawwad wrote:

air compressor > compressed air
Yup yup, talking about that, i just found something to do!
Freezer7Pro
I don't come here a lot anymore.
+1,447|6455|Winland

Defiance wrote:

ig wrote:

keep a big fan on it at all times
Your first helpful contribution doesn't warrant a second.

If you have a vacuum with a flexible hose, use the vacuum in conjunction with the compressed air to shoot the dust off of components then suck it out of the air. Works well, and creates a trippy vortex of dust.
_NEVER_ use a vacuum to clean out a computer. NEVER!
The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP
.Sup
be nice
+2,646|6711|The Twilight Zone

Freezer7Pro wrote:

Defiance wrote:

ig wrote:

keep a big fan on it at all times
Your first helpful contribution doesn't warrant a second.

If you have a vacuum with a flexible hose, use the vacuum in conjunction with the compressed air to shoot the dust off of components then suck it out of the air. Works well, and creates a trippy vortex of dust.
_NEVER_ use a vacuum to clean out a computer. NEVER!
explain
https://www.shrani.si/f/3H/7h/45GTw71U/untitled-1.png
max
Vela Incident
+1,652|6825|NYC / Hamburg

Freezer7Pro wrote:

Defiance wrote:

ig wrote:

keep a big fan on it at all times
Your first helpful contribution doesn't warrant a second.

If you have a vacuum with a flexible hose, use the vacuum in conjunction with the compressed air to shoot the dust off of components then suck it out of the air. Works well, and creates a trippy vortex of dust.
_NEVER_ use a vacuum to clean out a computer. NEVER!
The tech team supports this statement.


Seriously some compressed air will be enough. If you want you can use a paintbrush.

There are special filters for fan. Get some of them and put them in front of you intake fans
once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot  xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.
kylef
Gone
+1,352|6751|N. Ireland
Vacuum causes mass amounts of static electricity which can then be charged into components, thus either short circuiting or simply damaging from mild to major. Advice is indeed pretty simple: read what Freezer said. Never use a vacuum!

Onto the issue at hand - fan filters for a start will reduce the amount of dust over components and increase dust around the fans which aren't too hard to clean. A clean environment will obviously help a lot. Regarding cleaning, compressed air is definetely your best friend. Once or twice a quarter just take a can of compressed air sort out the dust - this can also prolong the life of components and keep them running to their best ability.

I find that doing a full cleaning occasionally (dust, thermal paste, filters) can be really beneficial to the components - at a very small cost per year. One of the reasons why I opted for an Antec P180 was the delightful air filter bars at the front of the case. I was *amazed* to see how much dust had attracted its way to these filters and was very glad there weren't in my computer. My computer is getting a bit dusty in the interior but dust isn't too bad as long as it is in mild amounts. There's pretty much no way to keep it all clean!

Lastly, airflow. You'll want a nice stream of cool air entering the front, hot air out of the back. This can make the dust "float" through the system - obviously not all of it but quite a bit of it.
c14u53w172
Member
+31|6256|tomania
try de_dust2. much better
kylef
Gone
+1,352|6751|N. Ireland

c14u53w172 wrote:

try de_dust2. much better
ReDevilJR
Member
+106|6608

max wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

Defiance wrote:


Your first helpful contribution doesn't warrant a second.

If you have a vacuum with a flexible hose, use the vacuum in conjunction with the compressed air to shoot the dust off of components then suck it out of the air. Works well, and creates a trippy vortex of dust.
_NEVER_ use a vacuum to clean out a computer. NEVER!
The tech team supports this statement.


Seriously some compressed air will be enough. If you want you can use a paintbrush.

There are special filters for fan. Get some of them and put them in front of you intake fans
hmmm.. I've always used a vacuum to clean it out..
GC_PaNzerFIN
Work and study @ Technical Uni
+528|6672|Finland

vacuum does the job... done that hundreds of times...

edit: there isn't so much need for that tho with this case having fan filters

Last edited by GC_PaNzerFIN (2008-02-16 07:05:47)

3930K | H100i | RIVF | 16GB DDR3 | GTX 480 | AX750 | 800D | 512GB SSD | 3TB HDD | Xonar DX | W8
~{TPP}~richoxon
I Want a New Duck
+43|6825|Up a tree

Gawwad wrote:

air compressor > compressed air
I got fed up with spending £5 on a tin of air, got a compressor line and gun for £70
Freezer7Pro
I don't come here a lot anymore.
+1,447|6455|Winland

ReDevilJR wrote:

max wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:


_NEVER_ use a vacuum to clean out a computer. NEVER!
The tech team supports this statement.


Seriously some compressed air will be enough. If you want you can use a paintbrush.

There are special filters for fan. Get some of them and put them in front of you intake fans
hmmm.. I've always used a vacuum to clean it out..
Don't.
The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

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