Keeping your computer case clean and components cool.

Oh lordy it’s a blog update!  Sorry folks for the long delay.  Life happens.

I’ve got a short tid bit to share.  I went to clean out my desktop computer and blow all the dust that I figured had accumulated over the past 2 years.  I opened the case up, and to my surprise, it was pretty damn clean in there.  How you ask?  AIR FILTERS!

A few years ago when I was overclocking this rig (see my previous post describing overclocking), I added a variety of fans to keep things cool.  There are a total of 6 fans in my case.  I also intended to have more fans so each fan could run slower and create less noise.  I hate fan noise especially when not necessary.

I also read about how effective installing some sort of air filters on your intake ports can help keep things immensely cleaner in your case.  Keeping your desktop free from dust and other dirt allows the cooling systems to do their job better.  Dust is a poor conductor, and when your CPU heat sink is covered in dust, it can’t do a very decent job.  So I gave it a shot.

The first air filter is very DIY – it is a piece of cut pantyhose lined on the side door of the case where an air intake grill is.  Doesn’t look the best from the inside, but you can’t tell it’s there from the outside.  If you live with a female, chances are there is an old pair lying around that she’ll be okay with you cutting up.

The second air filter is a small metal mesh cover that fits exactly over a fan (similar to this cover).  This goes on top of my front fan that sucks air into the case.

Both do a great job at keeping things clean inside.  When it is time to clean, it is a matter of cleaning the filters instead of the entire case – much easier.