# WANTED: Computer cases with air filters



## Snurg (Jan 31, 2021)

One of the things I dislike with PCs and workstations is their lack of air filtering.
Professional apparatuses have air filters that can be easily replaced.
And when you see what kinds and quantities of dirt collect in hospital PCs, you just shake your head in disbelief that apparently nobody cares about the obvious hygienic problem.

So PCs and workstations are de-facto dust and dirt collectors and spreaders.
This week I spent a few days cleaning my two most important computers after I realized how much dirt they blew out.
Just because I missed one annual cleaning, the CPU and GPU coolers were almost completely sealed with thick matted dust.
I practically had to completely disassemble the whole stuff including the PSUs only to clean/replace the fans.
The grime was another story, it cost me a lot of patience, much alcohol and help even from the dishwasher to get away that nasty smell.

I thought "never again" and decided to upgrade the machines with air filter mats and protective wire mesh, so the filters can be easily vacuumed from outside.
This was a lot of retrofitting work, as I also had to close off leaks, remove obstructing parts etc.

I used F9 filter mats that filter at least 70% of ~1um particles.
This should help the grime problem. I hope the filters won't clog too fast...

I also replaced the weak PC fans (12V 0.1A) with workstation/server fans (12V 0.5-0.6A) to compensate for the higher pressure differential, so temperatures are even lower than before without air filtering.
*The effect is just amazing. 
Air no longer feels dusty, is comfortable to breathe.*

For my next computers I would like to buy ATX cases with built-in provisions to fit (and easily replace) filter mats.
Do there exist any on the market?


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## Phishfry (Jan 31, 2021)

I have some generic 4U ATX cases that have an air filter in the front panel door.




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## Phishfry (Jan 31, 2021)

Snurg said:


> Professional apparatuses have air filters that can be easily replaced.


Most PC's don't.
I used to open up my clients cases yearly and give the inside a blow down with a scuba pony bottle for my compressed air supply.
You need to watch that you don't explode the fans by overspinning them. Fan blades really tend to be magnets for grime.
Q-Tip treatment on the really gunked fans.


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## Snurg (Jan 31, 2021)

Phishfry said:


> some generic 4U ATX cases that have an air filter in the front panel door.


These look great!
However, I am looking for smaller, more SOHO compatible cases.
Ideally in the category mini-to-midi-tower that can be better hidden in a small office than a big rack.
Otherwise, exactly like these rackmounts with door that takes the filter mat.



Phishfry said:


> Q-Tip treatment on the really gunked fans.


Personally, I prefer vacuuming to avoid spreading the dust.
However, in some cases I really think of getting a compressor for pressurized air...
For example, to get rid of the goo inside sockets, or to remove the last remains that vacuuming does not remove.

When I was finished with the dozen fans of my workstation, there was a large handful of uglily stained Q-tips left... I dipped them in alcohol and wiped the fans and their casings until they took up no new brown stains. This was a torture, but necessary to get away the ashtray smell.


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## shkhln (Jan 31, 2021)

Snurg said:


> So PCs and workstations are de-facto dust and dirt collectors and spreaders.
> This week I spent a few days cleaning my two most important computers after I realized how much dirt they blew out.
> …
> I also replaced the weak PC fans (12V 0.1A) with workstation/server fans (12V 0.5-0.6A) to compensate for the higher pressure differential, so temperatures are even lower than before without air filtering.


This is such a weird post… The dust settled in a computer case is the dust case fans did _not_ blew out, so, obviously, there is less outgoing dust than incoming dust. And the high-flow fans certainly won't help you keep it clean (more air = more collected dust). Mesh works, yes. HEPA filters are probably better fit for an air purifier.



Snurg said:


> The grime was another story, it cost me a lot of patience, much alcohol and help even from the dishwasher to get away that nasty smell.


Are you a smoker?



Snurg said:


> *Air no longer feels dusty, is comfortable to breathe.*


There is some kind of problem, but I'm not sure it has anything to do with PCs.


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## Snurg (Jan 31, 2021)

Yes I am a smoker.
And the cats walkway to their playground under the roof is above the PCs' shelf, so a lot of dirt falls down there and gets sucked in.
And below the PC shelf is my ashtray.
And I have convection heating in my new flat, this matters most of all.
In my former habitations with traditional tiled ovens, there was no such dust problem...

I apologize for not having an airconditioned server room...

Edit:
Unless I made some gross mistake when upgrading with F9 filters, I think the insides should stay clean now, as F9 is better than N90, maybe even N95 mask.
Now that I "upgraded" my computers to air cleaners, I am thinking that ideally the heaters should be air-filtered somehow, too.
But, how to do this without affecting convection... should do some research.

Edit2:
I guess the problem might have been there for longer, but just below the "comfort threshold" or whatever.
We had very cold and dry air the last time, which results in particularly dry air when heated, which also might make more sensitive for dust.
I suppose the computers kept the dust swirling in the air, so it could not settle.
Or maybe the dust on fans etc got so brittle that every time some broke off, a cloud of invisible dirt filled the room.

Anyway, the effect of the filters is very, very noticeable.
I should have done that "upgrade" much earlier.


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## Crivens (Feb 1, 2021)

Don't blow on the fans!
They can turn into small wind turbines (depends on the motor technology) and the resulting voltage spike goes into some poor 'ol cmos based chip.


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## SirDice (Feb 1, 2021)

Crivens said:


> Don't blow on the fans!
> They can turn into small wind turbines (depends on the motor technology) and the resulting voltage spike goes into some poor 'ol cmos based chip


Yep. You can also ruin the bearings because blowing on them with compressed air typically spins them faster than they're rated for.



Snurg said:


> And the cats walkway to their playground under the roof is above the PCs' shelf, so a lot of dirt falls down there and gets sucked in.
> And below the PC shelf is my ashtray.
> And I have convection heating in my new flat, this matters most of all.


Smoker, used to have a bunch of cats and my apartment is nearly 100 years old. You should see the dust my computers collect. Once every so often I have to replace all fans, even the ones in machines that have some filters. They'll usually start "whining" after a while or just stop spinning at all.

Most of my machines are in Chenbro 19" cases. These usually have filters, that helps but still get a lot of dust inside.




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						Chenbro - Index
					

Chenbro is a leading company in design and manufacturing of Rackmount server and storage chassis for hyperscale datacenter, enterprise, IOT, education, and surveillance applications.




					chenbro.com
				







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						Chenbro - Index
					

Chenbro is a leading company in design and manufacturing of Rackmount server and storage chassis for hyperscale datacenter, enterprise, IOT, education, and surveillance applications.




					chenbro.com


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## Snurg (Feb 1, 2021)

Wow, that's good that there is some choice, at least in the rackmount segment. 

Meanwhile I am thinking about maybe putting the computers into a rack in my clean storage room, so they get less access to dust, and using long USB/HDMI cables for kbds/mouses/monitors.
This would also free up some space in the other rooms currently occupied with computers.
Filters then would also clog less quickly.
(The filter I newly installed on my router a week ago already has its distinctive browning where the air flows through   )



SirDice said:


> Yep. You can also ruin the bearings because blowing on them with compressed air typically spins them faster than they're rated for.


Yes, a fan had to suddenly block while vacuuming to make me learn to protect the fans while vacuuming.
I just block them using a Q-tip if my finger cannot access them.
I also made dents into the fans' blades, until I learned to avoid hard things like screwdrivers to keep the fans from spinning.



Crivens said:


> Don't blow on the fans!
> They can turn into small wind turbines (depends on the motor technology) and the resulting voltage spike goes into some poor 'ol cmos based chip.


Cool idea... 
Will try that with the next batch of fans I throw away, and measure the spikes using oscilloscope in both blow directions 
Already very curious


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## SirDice (Feb 1, 2021)

Snurg said:


> and using long USB/HDMI cables for kbds/mouses/monitors.


Both can't be very long. You'll need to use extenders of you have to cover more than a meter or so. You can get extenders that will send the HDMI and USB signals over a plain cat5 cable (note this is NOT a network signal, don't plug this into your network, you're going to blow stuff up) and cover about 100m with it.


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## Crivens (Feb 1, 2021)

Snurg said:


> Cool idea...
> Will try that with the next batch of fans I throw away, and measure the spikes using oscilloscope in both blow directions
> Already very curious


Good idea. Let us know the results. Once upon a time i saw a board being converted to passive cooling because "the fan stopped working". Then the IO errors crept up on the HD. Maybe things improved, but better safe than sorry.


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## SirDice (Feb 1, 2021)

Snurg said:


> Wow, that's good that there is some choice, at least in the rackmount segment.


I used to have a whole collection of the traditional midi and big tower cases. Things got really disgusting and messy after a while. So I had a buddy of mine build a custom 19" rack that fits under my desks. And bought a couple of different Chenbro cases in various sizes. Some of their cabinets will fit standard ATX mainboards and power supplies (not all of them do, so check the specifications). The 19" rack is on wheels so I can roll the whole thing from under the desk and easily vacuum there


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## Crivens (Feb 1, 2021)

Does it have a 4cm space to heat up pizza in?
Edit: you know, like that KFC game console?


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