Question on PC case fans

[Clutch Cargo 384]

I am in the middle of a new PC build and I am modifying a Cooler Master HAF-X (huge beast, remember those?).  Anywho, I'vebeen taking out the fans, cleaning them and noticed that the front and top fans have a grill pattern and then sandwiched between that and the fan is a fine mesh.  As a test, I took out the mesh and the air flow increase like 50%!  So now I am thinkin' what's better to leave that mesh in place and clean it as always or take out the mesh and get that air moving?  Sure I guess the whole idea is to catch all that dust but....

What do you guys think?  Have better filtering or have better intake airflow?

[stans 703]

Keeping dust out of the case is important as dust will get drawn into the video card cooler as well as the CPU cooler when air cooled and will collect in the radiator fins of a liquid cooler.  With my old Antec 900 case, I taped a couple of used clothes dryer fabric softener sheets onto the front of the case, covering the intake fans, and over the side vent.  It raised temperatures about 2C, but it kept most of the dust out of the case.  It did not look pretty, but it worked and it was easy to replace the sheets when they were full of trapped dust.

[ryanbatc 12,857]

My house is really dusty (hard to clean often with kids) so I opted for the case with the dust filter (ie a thin mesh-like screen) in front of my case fans and also on the top of my case.  I periodically take the mesh out and blow it off.  I probably should give the case a full cleansing this summer .

Also I have my case fans as follows

3 front intake, 2 top exhaust and 1 rear exhaust.

I wanted to take a look at them today because I've really not cleaned much since I made this thing (late Feb of this year)

First pic is with the mesh screen on - you can see some dust has collected.  But in the second pic (removed the mesh) the fans are pretty free of dust.  Third of course is inside the case which I have not cleaned at all yet.  It's not too bad

(and yes I am running the rainbow pattern because my kids love to walk by and see it LOL - I usually prefer white or red)

20220619_203804 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

20220619_203940 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

20220619_204151 by Ryan Butterworth, on Flickr

Edited June 20, 2022 by ryanbatc

[Clutch Cargo 384]

Wow... look at all those "purty" colors.  Ha, a little teasing but now I got them all in my PC too.  Guess that's the latest fad on PC design.  Got to admit yours looks really nice and clean.  I've converted an 'ol Cooler Master HAF-X case. Plenty of room to put all the goodies in there. 

Just finished the "hardware" side of the install.  After watching a lot of videos on the subject and a little research (gee, a whole industry on fan design, air pressure, air flow, etc.,  I see I had committed one of the most basic mistakes... I had my unit on the floor and on carpet no less!  Only been doin' that for 10 years, ha!  So that will be raised.  Read even as little as 6 inches off the ground can alleviate up to 40% of dust.  So up they go. 

Decided to keep the mesh screens on the intake fans (3), and will remove them on the exhaust fans (3).  Rather clean a simple fan shield rather than every nook & cranny inside the PC.  😉

 

Clutch

[martin-w 3,235]

On 6/19/2022 at 1:31 AM, Clutch Cargo said:

As a test, I took out the mesh and the air flow increase like 50%! 

 

Depends how desperate you are for the additional cooling. Most of us over cool our PC's in regard to case fans anyway, and the HAF case is famous for extreme airflow. 

Personally I go for filtered intake because I don't need extreme airflow. I have a cool setup that runs at temps well within the norm. 

I also have a positive case pressure, two 140 fans in and one 140 out. Thus hardly any dust build up at all. Its also very quiet. 

Now if we were overclocking to the max it would be a different story and different choices might be made. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,235]

On 6/20/2022 at 4:30 PM, Clutch Cargo said:

I had my unit on the floor and on carpet no less!

 

Mine is on a carpet, but as the PSU draws air from beneath, I placed a hardboard panel underneath so its not directly on the carpet. Dust isn't an issue for me at all. 

Depends on the pile of the carpet too. If the pile is deep then dust is more likely and if the PSU is drawing air from beneath the vents will be blocked and PSU will run hot.

There's also a safety issue in my view. PSU's do fail and when they do they can emit sparks. With a flammable carpet beneath its not ideal in my opinion. So yes, solid panel beneath if on a carpet. 

[martin-w 3,235]

On 6/20/2022 at 2:34 AM, ryanbatc said:

Also I have my case fans as follows

3 front intake, 2 top exhaust and 1 rear exhaust

 

I have half as many and its super cool and quiet. Much more powerful CPU and GPU than you too, hotter. Most of us over cool. 🙂

And Ryan... your D15S looks close to your graphics card. Did you mount the D15S the right way around? Its a canted design, asymmetrical, designed to be further away from the graphics card. Mine's a good inch and a half away from the card backplate. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by martin-w

[Clutch Cargo 384]

Good feedback Martin, appreciate it.  My build is now complete and the unit runs so cool now... Idles at 23c and does daily chores at 5GHz at 29c!  MSFS is running between 30's to 40's.  To think my 'ol i7-2700k was in the high 70's! 

I do have a lot of dust and I even had a board on the floor like you have.  So I'm gonna try raising it a tad 6-18" and check the results on dust.  If it works what I plan to do is get a low-lying TV stand and tuck it into my desk.  By that I mean I have a "U" shaped desk (I mean cockpit!), and I have two PCs on the outside of the U sort of tucked under the overhang of the deck.  Thinking of sliding the stand there and place the two PCs on that.  We'll see. Gonna try some different heights today.

Here's another question for those reading.  Ya know how we have on the back of PCs (at least on the older cases), all those little grill pieces that you remove to place various cards with.  Well, those all have grated holes.  What's your thoughts on taping those up to keep air from escaping that way and maybe directing more towards exhaust fans?  Overkill, leave as it?  Thoughts?

[martin-w 3,235]

17 hours ago, Clutch Cargo said:

Idles at 23c and does daily chores at 5GHz at 29c!  MSFS is running between 30's to 40's.  To think my 'ol i7-2700k was in the high 70's! 

 

Think You might find those temps are wrong. No way will flight sim be running at 30 to 40 degrees. And 29c 5GHz under load wont be happening either. 

 

17 hours ago, Clutch Cargo said:

What's your thoughts on taping those up to keep air from escaping that way and

 

No! Leave them alone. You want the air to escape. What would be the point of stopping the air escaping from there and directing elsewhere to do the same thing. All you'll do is cerate turbulent air and compromise cooling. 

 I have a positive pressure and have in the past removed them completely.  Positive pressure and lots of escape routes for the air is my philosophy.