PC cooling - intake filters

I was looking around and found that they make case intake filters for all sizes of fans. Apparently they keep the dust out so you don't have to clean your machine out often. All the product reviews I found were great (very few of them, as that kind of item must be hard to comment on). However, in the absense of negative reviews, I have some unanswered questions some of you might be able to help me with.

It would seem that making air pass through these filters would generate a high-pitched air-friction noise. Nobody said it, but it seems to be the case. Also, could they generate static and EMI with all that air-friction? I didn't take notice of the material they were made of and even if I did I wouldn't know whether it was especially susceptible to generating static because I'm not too smart with that kind of thing. Foremost, I must know this: Do they decrease airflow?

If anybody can tell me anything or help me locate information on the drawbacks of these air filters, I'd love to know before I buy any.

Also, if you know of a better forum in a community more geared toward answering these kinds of questions that this should be posted on, I'd also like to know. I haven't spent a lot of time with online hardware support communities and am not familiar with any...

Tom's hardware always seems full of advice.

[H]ard|OCP

But neither of you wants to talk to me about it? :'(

I've searched and not found either of those very useful yet.

RE-EDIT: D'oh. Didn't notice the forums. I'll give those a look.

i use just plain old AC filters, works great for me. only problem is keeping them aginst the case, i cut a 1/4 inch ring that goes between the filter and fan. another good thing about them is they are easy to clean.

"Air friction"? What the hell?

It's what makes the player able to change direction in mid-jump.

Well,from your post I'm guessing that you're thinking of something somewhat smaller than this.

Now I haven't exactly worked out the physics involved,but I believe that with the amount of air normally sent through a computer you won't get any noise.

Of course,you could also build a water-cooled system. No fans,no dust.

http://www.overclockers.com/tips1092/Done.jpg

Holy poop that's nuts.

I'm told nylons work just as well, heh. Well, at least really well for a cheap solution...

I've heard some stuff about phase-change (liquid nitrogen or something) cooling. I heard a story about an Athlon Thunderbird 1.4GHz running at 5.2GHz and -17 degrees C. Seems if you were to attach fans to that as well your PC's outtake could be ducted to a port on your desk which you could turn toward you in the summer to use as an air conditioner... Gah. I could clock my RAM however the hell I want, max out my clock speed and multipliers to the highest the firmware/software/jumpers will allow...

I'm also told it's fucking expensive. I've got some research to do.

Manc: The only thing that's nuts about that picture is how goddamn crowded his case is. Ugh.

Ultraviolet said:

Manc: The only thing that's nuts about that picture is how goddamn crowded his case is. Ugh.

heh, his wiring is still better than mine

mine sounds like a damn jet, got the most powerful 80mm fan i could find. it can power a vacume cleaner!
I use just standard AC filters, works great. i just did my 6 month cleaning and there was almost no dust inside the case. what little dust there was, stuck on the blades of the very powerful fan.

Seph: I can't stand people who talk about their hardware in completely unspecific ways. HOW powerful? You know, if those 80mm fans you're talking about aren't Vantec Tornados, then I doubt they're the most powerful you could find. An 80mm one is supposed to push around 100CFM at around 40dB, but you can probably do a lot to reduce it just to air-noise by rubber-fitting it. Anyway, I've found 108CFM fans that are 120mm x 120mm x 38mm (thick to allow steep blade pitch) at about 35dB IIRC, by SunOn, and those are the most powerful I've ever read anything of. The only reason I say that is because I haven't yet seen that Vantec makes Tornados in 120mm.

See if you can't find a place to put some 92mm Vantec Tornados (odds are you won't have anywhere for a 120mm fan of any kind). I think you'll be quite pleased. I've looked around a lot at what's available out there as far as air cooling is concerned, and to me an 80mm fan seems pretty damn tiny unless it's sitting on a heatsink inside the case. Even then, there are ways to make room for larger, more powerful fans.

The larger the fan is the more powerful it is. It can push more air at a lower RPM. The thicker the fan is the more powerful it is. Thicker fans have room for a steeper blade pitch. The steeper it is (up to 45 degrees, or can you keep going and still get more power, somebody?) the more air it'll push. That's why that 120mm x 120mm x 38mm SunOn fan I talked about can push -- supposedly -- 108 CFMs at 3100 RPM. Because larger fans can push more air at a lower RPM they can both live longer under less mechanical strain from spinning fast and operate more silently.

Might be overkill... but I like it.

I have no idea who makes it, need the box
however if i remeber i think it may have been the Vantec Tornado, but not sure. i bought it at an electornics show. it was the most powerful fan i could find.
as far as reducing noise, i tried alot of things. includeing that dyn-mat stuff used in cars. works good, but it is still loud, my mom hates it.



edit: yea it is a tornado, did a search. thats the box i remember, dont feel like pulling the fan out to look.
http://2cooltek.safeshopper.com/61/367.htm?231

Ah, well, good for you then, but a 92mm Vantec Tornado still pushes a LOT more air than their 80mm.

Your intolerable noise is probably a result of vibration from those high-RPM 80mm fans. Like I said, larger fans need spin less for the same effect, or much more effect with the same RPM. That's either less noise for the same effect or more effect with the same amount of noise. You can do a lot to ease the vibration of metal on metal or metal on plastic by putting rubber washers between things where you can fit them, starting with the fans and dampening as much as you feel like aside from that. In fact, they make square silencers specifically fit for any fan measurement and most PSU's, so you might consider those, as your PSU no doubt contributes noise as well. There will, of course, be a point where it's not a matter of the case vibrating anymore, as you will have mostly silenced that, but just the airflow itself being loud.