Is there such a thing as an internal dust catcher for PCs?

[noisyturtle]

My apartment is super dusty/cat hairy and aside from having to wipe away a layer of dust from surfaces a couple times a week, I have to do an open-up-and-clean on my PC every other month or so (more in the summer.) Is there such a thing as an internal dust catcher or filter that would attract some of that crap and cut down on cleaning, or am I forever doomed to be super vigilant about it as long as I live here?

I did a little search and couldn't really find anything that fits what I am talking about, so figured I'd ask.

[CPTBadAss]

My CM HAF 922 has filters on the front fan for dust. I would imagine a filter isn't that rare of a thing for a computer.

[SpAmRaY]

http://www.xoxide.com/lascutfangri.html

[smknjoe]

There are several cases that come with washable filters.

[Melvang]

You will want to use some sort of filter on your intake fans.  If your case doesn't have this feature built in you can use dryer sheets over the intake.  If you need to be discreet on this you can put them under any cover on top of the fan.  But you will want to make sure they are kept fairly tight so they don't get sucked down into the fan.  Also one thing to make this work better is to make sure you have more air flow going into the case than coming out of the case.  IE, if you have 5 fans, 3 intake and 2 exhaust and they are all the same air flow for each fan than you are good.  If they vary then you will want to make sure that the 3 highest air flow fans are set on intake.  There has been some discussion on the benefits of positive pressure vs negative pressure when talking about air cooled PCs.  My personal take is that the difference is going to be well under any sort of margin of error of the test equipment anyway at the parts where this will be important. 

My pc has 3 180mm fans across the bottom of the case (Silverstone FT-02) and each has a removable cleanable filter.  I only need to take them out and clean off the filter, (haven't had to clean the actual inside of my PC since going to this case yet) and I am good to go.  They are a metal mesh and are fairly loose openings but they still catch the crap in the air.  And my pc sits on the floor on a short carpet and own a cat in a 100+ year old house.

Also changing out the furnace filters on a very regular basis and/or having a professional come in and clean the ducts in your house can have a very dramatic impact on the amount of dust in your house.  Just make sure to buy good filters not the cheapest ones on the shelf.

[noisyturtle]

Aside from fan filters, is there anything that can actively snatch dust out of the air inside a PC?

[Melvang]

nope.  your best bet is to not let it in the case in the first place.

[kmiller8]

my heatsinks work as pretty good dust catchers.

[noisyturtle]

my heatsinks work as pretty good dust catchers.

you and me both

[Wildcard]

Aside from fan filters, is there anything that can actively snatch dust out of the air inside a PC?

Just putting this out there, but if you're really looking for a few die hard solutions

(1) get an air purifier that sits next to your computer to pull dust out of the air before it makes it into your tower. There are high quality air purifiers that use electrostatic charge to remove dust particles from the air and allow you to wash the cartridges to remove the dust.

or

(2) if you remove the air flow and close off the vents you could drastically reduce the dust getting inside the tower. There are some people who have been able to do extreme water cooling without the use of case fans. They basically picked up large copper radiators that sit outside the case. They watched their internal case temps and said that while the internal temperature is higher, it still stay's below the required temperature ranges.

[Badwrench]

Aside from fan filters, is there anything that can actively snatch dust out of the air inside a PC?

Just putting this out there, but if you're really looking for a few die hard solutions

(1) get an air purifier that sits next to your computer to pull dust out of the air before it makes it into your tower. There are high quality air purifiers that use electrostatic charge to remove dust particles from the air and allow you to wash the cartridges to remove the dust.

or

(2) if you remove the air flow and close off the vents you could drastically reduce the dust getting inside the tower. There are some people who have been able to do extreme water cooling without the use of case fans. They basically picked up large copper radiators that sit outside the case. They watched their internal case temps and said that while the internal temperature is higher, it still stay's below the required temperature ranges.

This is what I do (#1 above).  Living in an apartment with a cat and a dog has forced me to make a few changes.  I still get some build up in the pc - even with intake filters, but it is dramatically better than it used to be.  The most build up is always the blower fan on my reference 660Ti.

[tp4tissue]

Filters don't work... they may lengthen the time with which you have to dust by a month or 2, but that's it...


Best way to be dust free.... is use external water cooling radiators..  and leave the entire inside of the case convection cooled..

So basically just a canopy to prevent top down dust settling..

move all fans away from main tower via the water loop..


I had this years ago on a water cooled p4 prescott, and I never had to dust the inside of the case, even though it was completely open to air..

I've only ever had to do quick vacuum swipes of the radiators.

[fohat.digs]

(1) get an air purifier that sits next to your computer to pull dust out of the air before it makes it into your tower.

There are high quality air purifiers that use electrostatic charge to remove dust particles from the air.

Technically, it is true that the electrostatic charge will "remove dust particles from the air" but be sure to understand that it does not magically make them disappear entirely.

What really happens is that it drives them out of the air with a charge, but then they stick to the entire interior surfaces of the room - walls, floor, ceiling, etc, as long as the charge is being supplied. When you turn off the device, they are all still there, and will start releasing from wherever they have been temporarily immobilized.

A filter that causes them to stick to the filter element itself, which can be removed and cleaned or replaced, will actually trap the offenders and remove them from the environment at hand.

[IvanIvanovich]

My set up on my main pc is open air unenclosed with a water and convection cooling arrangement and it's amazingly clean. If you must have an enclosed box forced air cooled type case, the easiest solution to this problem is making sure the case has positive pressure. You want a much stronger intake than exhaust ratio. Lets say for example you would use a 140mm front intake with 80cfm and rear or top 120mm exhaust with 50cfm. You may think wait a minute that is going to make more crap come inside and build up... but it's actually the opposite since the inside becomes pressurized more than the outside which makes it harder for larger particles like dust to come in.

[Novus]

My case the CM storm stryker has removable dust filters on the top and bottom of the case.
I find it's pretty useful and easier to clean than my last tower which didn't have a removable dust filter.

[Jocelyn]

positive pressure

This^ and it's a all you need, but you can't do it with a crappy case. What kind of case do you have noisy?

[noisyturtle]

positive pressure

This^ and it's a all you need, but you can't do it with a crappy case. What kind of case do you have noisy?

I currently am using a Corsair Carbide 500R, plenty of room for fans I think. I may not have them aligned properly though. 2 in front sucking in/Zalman CPU cooler pushing air to the back fan/back fan pushing out/200mm side fan sucking in/top fan blowing out

[Wildcard]

Sounds like a lot of people already do some form of advanced water cooling.

A good air purifier is worth its weight. I have one in my office and I rarely have to dust anymore. I just need to make sure the check the aluminum filters every now and then, and wash them out when they get full.

[noisyturtle]

I have an air ionizer or deionizer, something? Sharp PlasmacutterHD is what it says. I really only use it when I smoke a cigar in my room just for the consideration of my roommate, but I think it may be too small for the space. It does a great job of eliminating smoke and smells, but apparently not much for dust.

[Jocelyn]

Sounds like a lot of people already do some form of advanced water cooling.

A good air purifier is worth its weight. I have one in my office and I rarely have to dust anymore. I just need to make sure the check the aluminum filters every now and then, and wash them out when they get full.

positive pressure

This^ and it's a all you need, but you can't do it with a crappy case. What kind of case do you have noisy?

I currently am using a Corsair Carbide 500R, plenty of room for fans I think. I may not have them aligned properly though. 2 in front sucking in/Zalman CPU cooler pushing air to the back fan/back fan pushing out/200mm side fan sucking in/top fan blowing out

Yeah that's definitely positive pressure (You can take the radius of each fan and multiply it buy itself to compare intake and exhaust, kinda hard to explain), but I honestly think that side with mesh is a big part of why there's so much dust. I haven't owned a desktop in about a year, but I always get cases that have intake only and usually from bottom to top. That said, I really don't think there's too much you can do other than getting magnetic filters for all intakes or a new case. There is no such thing as an internal "dust catcher" as far as I'm aware of. I also have cats, and when I had my Silverstone FT02 (3 x180mm intake at bottom w/ filters + 120mm exhaustup top), and I allmost never had to clean the case.  I'd open it up maybe once every 6 months, but even then it was barely dusty.


Bleh I'll explain in case you're curious.
Side fan 100x100 (side fan) = 10000 intake
Front fans 60x60 x 2 fans = 7200 intake
Back and top exhaust 60x60 each (2 fans) = 7200 exhaust

A good air purifier is worth its weight. I have one in my office and I rarely have to dust anymore. I just need to make sure the check the aluminum filters every now and then, and wash them out when they get full.

I like this idea, but it will need to be changed very often if you have cat(s) lol.

[noisyturtle]

Does the location affect the dust intake? It currently resides on the carpeted floor, and I imagine that a higher location may help. But then again, dust floats so not really sure on that front.

[Leslieann]

Fan filters just change where and how soon the dust collects.
Positive pressure... same thing.

Best solution I have found is:
Keep it off the floor
Use large, slow spinning fans ratherthan small high rpm fans (trying to cram a lot of air through a small hole and creating a dirt vacuum).
Don't let anyone smoke or cook near the computer, any oils and vapor create dust magnets on every surface it touches.

If possible, use watercooling with a big radiator.
Water allows for larger, slower spinning fans and a larger surface area with fresh air blowing directly onto it. Most computers use a bunch of smaller fans blowing a lot of air into a case, just so the internal fans can direct some of it to where it needs to go. With water, you can put the fans pushing clean air right where it needs to go and not waste any.

The more air you move, the more dust you bring with it. The more dead spots you have, the more areas dust will collect.  You want a slow speed, wind tunnel that blows on everything you need, and nothing else. Doing it this way, you don't need filters. Any air going it, goes right back out.

My old file server ran of a single 140mm fan. Not even a power supply or cpu fan, it never got dusty inside. My I7 desktop runs on a dual 120mm watercooler, with very slow fans and it never gets dirty either. They both use well directed, low speed air. You do not need and expensive case either, my desktop uses a Corsair watercooler I got on sale, and a used radiator inside a $24 case I modded in 5 minutes with a Dremel. It looks factory inside and out. I had to open for the first time in 2 years to top off the fluid the other day. Clean as a whistle.

[Jocelyn]

Does the location affect the dust intake? It currently resides on the carpeted floor, and I imagine that a higher location may help. But then again, dust floats so not really sure on that front.

Yes, put it on your desk or get a bigger desk so you can...

[Leslieann]

Does the location affect the dust intake? It currently resides on the carpeted floor, and I imagine that a higher location may help. But then again, dust floats so not really sure on that front.

Carpet is better than tile and wood, depending on location. Stuck in a corner away from traffic and doors the carpet can actually serve as a dust filter.  In high traffic areas, the carpet can gunk up and make it worse. Hard floors are easier to clean, but if not kept clean, will funnel dirt to the pc.



Edit:
Putting it high will make it louder, another reason for water.

[Badwrench]

Sounds like a lot of people already do some form of advanced water cooling.

A good air purifier is worth its weight. I have one in my office and I rarely have to dust anymore. I just need to make sure the check the aluminum filters every now and then, and wash them out when they get full.

I still get dust, but significantly less.  I actually have my air filter running to deal with the pet dander as I am horribly allergic to cats, but love having them.

Does the location affect the dust intake? It currently resides on the carpeted floor, and I imagine that a higher location may help. But then again, dust floats so not really sure on that front.

Yes, put it on your desk or get a bigger desk so you can...

This.  In addition to what Leslieann said.  One cheap option is the Lack table from Ikea:  http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50272376/#/50251699

[noisyturtle]

Awesome. A lot of great info here, hopefully some others take something away from this too

Looks like some minor changes will make a world of difference dust-wise.

[Oobly]

I run a watercooling system with a big car radiator on the side of the PC (water blocks on CPU and both graphics cards). Big slow fans pull air through it and cool the passive components. One intake area, which catches most of the dust. I simply vacuum the radiator now and then. I keep the tower on my desk which helps a little, too.