Cleaning my rig and installing new fans, but am I doing it wrong?

[7up]

Hi guys,

I'm an OC and custom PC novice with a very dusty-but-decent 2nd hand rig, which I am totally cleaning and dustproofing, so it never again gets to the state it is currently in.

I'm a bit wary, having never done it before.

Based on research, I've attached my checklist of items and procedures. One for Cleaning, one for Dustproofing, one for Fan Positioning. Also some pics of my rig.

How am I doing?

Cleaning

Items required:

Isopropyl alcohol

Microfibre cloth

Air duster

Thermal paste

Something for anti-static?

Procedure:

1. Remove case panels (Cooler Master 831)

2. Remove heatsink

3. Remove graphics card (Ati 4870x2)

4. Remove power unit

5. Air-dust the boards and case, being careful not to freeze any parts.

6. Clean all smooth surfaces with alcohol dampened cloth

7. Carefully use cloth on components

8. Clean CPU, apply thermal paste.

9. Clean all removed components as above apart from..

10. ..the heatsink. Wash in warm soapy water then fully dry with hairdryer.

11. Reassemble.

Dustproofing

I have 2 new 2200rpm Yate Loon fans to install in my Cooler Master 831 case

Items

2 x 2200rpm Yate Loon fans

2 x big polyurethane sheets (air conditioner filters)

Procedure

1. Cut sheets to size for all ingoing fans.

2. Use standard mesh sheets for outgoing fans and any other vents

3. Tape up remaining small areas where dust can get in

4. Periodically clean filters, and the interior as required.

Fan Positioning

I am guessing that it is a no-brainer that one YL fan should go over the heatsink. There is a clip for an additional fan on the heatsink if another should be added. Should it?

The third pic shows my current setup without the YLs. The other fans are all around 1400rpm.

Rig Specs:

E8400 CORE2DUO PROCESSOR 3ghz 6 MB

Video Card: ATI Radeon HD '4870 X2'

MOBO: Asus P5K Premium wifi ap

- DMA/ATA 133 (Ultra) x 1, DMA/ATA 66 (Ultra) x 1, Socket LGA775, ATX, Intel P35 Chipset

Sound card: Creative SB X-Fi ExtremeGamer

Memory: 6GB

(2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2

+(2x1GB) Geil Black Dragon 2GB 2x 1GB 800Mhz Dual Channel DDR2

Hard drive: 750GB Samsung HD753LJ

Operating System Version: Windows 7 (64 bit)

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Thanks in advance!

I'll be checking the board while I pull this thing to pieces, live.

Ash

 

[alienware]

Dustproofing is impossible. Be very careful about putting AC filters over a fan because they will restrict its airflow quite dramatically.

The best thing to use is something similar to what you find in a tumble drier. AKA screening that Americans use in their screen doors. It has big enough holes not to restrict the airflow too much and will catch large particles and fluff quite well without being too restrictive. Don't forget to clean regularly or you end up with a film of fluff that will block airflow completely.

 

[7up]

Oops - Aforementioned photos attached.

 

[alienware]

Also, where are you? England? USA? Hard to tell really.

EDIT. IIRC you were from the U.K. O.K, good, try this stuff.

http://www.flyscreenqueen.co.uk/Fly Screen Material.html

A meter is way more than enough so £5.99 and you're golden. It's super tough and being what it is you can either dip it in water or just replace it.

 

[7up]

Hi AlienALX,

Thanks for the link, I am liking the big-value methods That mesh is good for catching most dust, but the main road outside my window makes the smog and dust where I live very fine, like silt.

As part of an experiment I'll be sticking to the polyurethane sheets for a while, just to see how much more effective they are at keeping the fine dust out.

Hopefully I have compensated enough for a raised temp with the new clean interior + extra fans.

I also plan to experiment with a 'cold air from outside' method, using a tumble-dryer vent pipe connected (and PU filtered) from my window to the main intake. As long as the weather is dry, obviously..

With that in mind, I would still really appreciate your thoughts.

 

[alienware]

Air con sheets will keep the dust out. I know this because I have used them in the past.

I used to have an Alienware MJ12. It looked like this with the front closed.

And when opened up looked like this.

Note in the front is a 92mm intake fan that feeds directly into the hard drive bay? Well you can see by looking closely that there is a lump of air conditioning filter in there. I got it from my friend's basement who I was living with at the time in Ohio.

Within two months my hard drive failed. It was made even worse by the fact that the more dust you have in the air the faster it blocks. And cleaning them every two or three days (because they fill up that fast) was not really an option because it meant totally taking the rig apart.

And worst of all? My PC was far from 'dust free'. As I said in my first post dude, that is impossible. By plugging up the fan with that material all you are doing is slowing the air flow and increasing pressure. From that moment on your PC will suck dust in through every single nook and cranny it can find.

 

[7up]

I hear what you're saying, man - thanks for the concern. Last thing I want to do is burn it out before I've even got a chance to OC.

Rather than plug each fan up with custom cut 120mm square sheets, I am trying a different method which should allow for the same or more amount of airflow. It will effectively turn one whole side of the rig into a breathing PU panel.

Also, the fan over my intake is a 120mm, so I'm going to place the second 2200rpm fan right there.

Let me know what you think once you see it

I'm doing it right now, so let me finish cleaning and constructing, and I'll post some photos.

 

[alienware]

Here's an idea. Get a fan and a black sack. Rubber band the black sack over the exhaust of the fan and fire it up. Time how long it takes the bag to fill with air. Then stick on the filter and see what happens.

That will give you a good indication of how much air you are going to get or lose.

 

[mrapoc]

Also the cold air from outside thing....quite a big nasty chance of condensation wrecking your rig there.

Just make sure you got plenty of airflow to move more air if you are getting hot inside, as for dust filters, from experience they do more harm than good the finer they are. Really fine ones clog up in a couple of days meaning no airflow meaning a hot rig, i have some mesh type stuff on mine, biggish holes, still catches quite a lot of dust, not really affecting airflow plus i only have to clean them about once a month

 

[alienware]

Well there is a reason that manus have stopped using these types of filters tbh. Lian Li used to make filters that were identical to air con filters. I noticed on the last Lian Li I built into it had no filters. Seriously 7up I'm not saying this stuff for the fun of it or to put the wind up you, but you run a serious risk of wrecking your hardware. A couple of years ago Alienware had to recall every single rig they had built with a C2QEE in. What was happening was people were idling at 72c before any overclock on water cooling. Overclock? you would reach 107c and the machine would shut down. Now the early extremes were very hot because they were 65nm so Alienware just told people to disable thermal throttling. In the end the water cooling would dry up and sound like a coffee machine.. Cracking and all sorts.

Alienware then realised they had a serious problem.. But what was it? Well it took some figuring out, but the culprit in the end was this.

That's the rear cover from the entire back of a Predator 2. What's it doing on my bed? Well the answer is simple. Look at the fan grille. Whilst quite lovely it was blocking the airflow so much that the hot air was being distributed back down the case and back in. the CFM out of that thing was stupid. Alienware issued a bulletin to everyone's Myhive telling them to remove the back completely. That's why I have a complete one laying on my bed. On my other rig? There's a simple mod that allows you to keep most of it in place. I have two back panels like this, hence I didn't want to cut the last complete one I had.

A nice ten second mod that reduced people's CPU temps by about 30 degrees.

 

[7up]

Hi guys,

Predictably my refurbish project has taken longer than I originally hoped, so I don't have any pics yet.

Before some more filter related chat, let me ask you guys a quick question:

I'm having trouble finding somewhere in UK (EU also good), that stocks the following item at a good price:

The additional 4 fan holder trays that come with the Cooler Master 830 side door.

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_parts.asp?PRID=14466

I dont need another door, but I believe this is the only way to get the black fan holder trays. It's for the additional fans I have purchased, plus some further modding.

I'm having trouble finding somewhere, preferably in UK (but EU also good), that stocks it at a good price.

Any idea where I could find one? Thanks!

On to filtering, brb..

 

[7up]

Hi again,

Another quick question before I go on about filters:

Is there any good reason why the metal 'box' containing my HD- which sits just behind the main intake fan at the front of my rig- has such an appalling airflow design?

A bunch of smallish holes punched into sheet metal. Hmm..

Should I get rid of this, and find a air-friendlier box for it?

 

[7up]

@mrapoc: Thanks man, I'll do more research before I consider piping air in from outside.

@Alienx (and everyone) I genuinely appreciate your concern dude, because as an overall technical guy with limited 'custom rig' knowledge, I'm feeling my way through this whole process.

But.. Have a read of my OLD setup when compared with the NEW one. I'm confident that it is offering a cooler environment, especially when you take into account that I have since disassembled and removed every speck of dirt from this previously caked-grey system.

There's no way around the irritating fact that where I live means I have to clean my filters very regularly, and even more-so if PU is used.

This means that using PU in hard to reach places is a no-no. Instead, I'm creating entire panels which clip off instantly, by modding the large mesh frames that come with my Cooler Master. One big one for the front, and two big ones for the sides.

I ran some slightly unscientific tests of 1 x PU sheet VS my stock default triple mesh (wide metal mesh + fine metal mesh + mosquito-net style mesh).

Without taking into account faster dust build-up, the PU has the edge, just slightly.

Here's my intended setup. All thoughts from anyone reading are appreciated, thanks.

Front Panel/Main Intake

OLD: 1x1600rpm fan over HD. No fan in space above. Metal housing for HD with holes punched in, plus ringed grille, plus wide metal mesh, plus fine metal mesh, plus mosquito net style mesh.

NEW: 1x2200rpm over HD. 1600rpm fan in space above. Fixed, detachable PU sheet covering the entire front panel.

Top/Centre Exhaust

OLD: No fan. Wide metal mesh, plus fine metal mesh, plus mosquito net style mesh.

NEW: 1600rpm fan. Wide metal mesh. Dust cover when not in use. (Needs testing to ensure the fan can beat gravity-assisted dust)

Side Panel

OLD: 3x1600rpm fans. Wide metal mesh, plus fine metal mesh, plus mosquito net style mesh.

NEW:3x1600rpm fans. Very large fixed, detachable PU sheet covering entire side panel.

Side Panel (unused side):

OLD: Wide metal mesh

NEW: Very large fixed, detachable PU sheet covering entire side panel.

Rear Top Exhaust:

OLD: 1600rpm fan behind restrictive metal grille (@Alienx: similar to your Alienware grille in air-flow terms)

NEW: 1600rpm fan behind VERY wide mesh grille (@Alienx: similar to your new one). Dust cover when not in use.

Heatsink:

OLD: 1600rpm fan

NEW: 2200rpm fan

Wire Management:

OLD: Slightly chaotic. Fan/Airflow restrictive.

NEW: Tied and tucked for airflow optimisation

Thoughts?

Still really keen to hear of anywhere I might find the 120mm black fan tray holders for this model too, see earlier post, thanks!

 

[tinytomlogan]

I think your making the dust filter scenario a lot more dificult than it needs to be.

Just get some of these filters http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=6598&cat=0&page=1

Ive found them to be a good mix of flow and filtering.

 

[7up]

Thanks Tom.

Since I have the PU sheets already, I'll be trying them out. If it goes to plan they will be much easier to clean.

What I would like right now are airflow thoughts based on:

• my proposed fan positions / number of fans
  
• my HD enclosure case (if that is the name) currently over the main intake at the front, which to my novice eye look pointlessly restrictive:
  

Should I get rid of this, and find a airflow-friendlier box for it?

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