Front Dust Filter question

[MoonC A T]

Ended up getting a new case for my Gigabyte Z590i Mini Itx build, an NZXT H210. My question is, if I'm using a front 240mm AIO, is there any reason to keep the dust filter in place? Seems like a lot of unnecessary airflow blockage for air on it's way in to the radiator. Assume I will be cleaning the radiator regularly.

[Prof. Insanity]

You pretty much said it already. It blockage airflow but covers better from dust which might end up in heatsinks or the GPU.
Probably depends on the dust filter pattern* itself how much airflow it blockage.

[MoonC A T]

Publicado originalmente por Prof. Insanity:

You pretty much said it already. It blockage airflow but covers better from dust which might end up in heatsinks or the GPU.
Probably depends on the dust filter material itself how much airflow it blockage.

It's pretty dense, think coffee filter (the metal kind, not the paper ones).

[Prof. Insanity]

Publicado originalmente por ᴹᴼᴼᴺC A T:

Publicado originalmente por Prof. Insanity:

You pretty much said it already. It blockage airflow but covers better from dust which might end up in heatsinks or the GPU.
Probably depends on the dust filter material itself how much airflow it blockage.

It's pretty dense, think coffee filter (the metal kind, not the paper ones).

I personal use Polyester fabric dust filters, but also only for my bottom and side, the top is always free. I think dust filters on small cases have a bigger impact about having slightly increased temperatures compared to big cases. When you plan to clean it anyways frequently I would simply leave the dust filter away as long the PC doesn't sits on the floor and soaks possible dirt inside.

[r.linder]

Without a filter, you'll just have to clean it out a bit sooner than usual

[Azza ☠]

A dust filter is ideal. You can remove and clean it easier, keeping all the dust in one place rather than spread through your PC. The restriction of airflow from it should be min, unless you don't clean the filter much. It's considered a lot better than the dust blocking fans and heat sinks.

[MonkehMaster]

me personally, i would prefer the filter, than being forced to clean more frequently, no matter how often i clean, those mesh screens dont block airflow as bad as you would think.

that being said, one can assume when i person says they will clean frequently, it doesnt always happen "frequently" they just get to it when they can and regret it later.

anywho, i would use the filter.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Buy yourself an air blower; then you shouldn't really need a filter anywhere but for the PSU and maybe the bottom of the Case.

[MonkehMaster]

Publicado originalmente por Bad 💀 Motha:

Buy yourself an air blower; then you shouldn't really need a filter anywhere but for the PSU and maybe the bottom of the Case.

not all dust simply "blows" off the components, loads of it sticks to the surface, crevices, ect.. and has to be wiped/cleaned off.

also lets assume, not all places/areas are more or less dusty and require tons of dust cleaning and wiping down dust one day to find a film of dust the very next day, is quite annoying to say the least, i would prefer majority of that gets stuck to a filter, than have to take apart my pc weekly to clean it properly.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Weekly? That perhaps says your home is simply un-clean and needs work.
Shouldn't have to open and blow out all dust with compressor but maybe once every 3-6 months.

[MonkehMaster]

Publicado originalmente por Bad 💀 Motha:

Weekly? That perhaps says your home is simply un-clean and needs work.
Shouldn't have to open and blow out all dust with compressor but maybe once every 3-6 months.

not all parts of the world are "dust free" (well... no parts of the world are dust free), not including areas near farms, were dust is plentiful.... or other areas that have tons of dust, it has nothing to do with an "un-clean house".

also, even clean houses have dust, but needless to say, the whole purpose of a fust filter is to help keep your pc free of dust, simply because not only is it a hassle to clean, but it can cause issues with hardware, some not so common and some very common, most notably heating issues.

lets also not forget, things like gpu's have layers covering other layers (ie.. plastic covering a heatsink, heatsink covering a pcb... ect...), you cant simply "blow" dust from such parts, nor heatsinks, you have to actually manually clean that stuff or it will continue to build up till it causes issues.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

I've had gaming consoles and gaming PCs running in places like Arizona in Summer time and also Iraq. I know all about dusty environments, trust me. And I've been doing this for 30+ years now.

My suggestion to those using liquid coolers + radiators would be that maybe your best bet would be to configure the system so that the radiator is used for exhaust @ top rather then front intake. Then have front intake case fans and have filters on the bottom and front.

[MonkehMaster]

Publicado originalmente por Bad 💀 Motha:

I've had gaming consoles and gaming PCs running in places like Arizona in Summer time and also Iraq. I know all about dusty environments, trust me. And I've been doing this for 30+ years now.

My suggestion to those using liquid coolers + radiators would be that maybe your best bet would be to configure the system so that the radiator is used for exhaust @ top rather then front intake. Then have front intake case fans and have filters on the bottom and front.

i have been doing this for 30+ years as well...

i agree, radiators should be venting heat, not putting it into the pc.

i disagree with not using dust filters tho.

[_I_]

the heated air off the rad as intake will still be more than cool enough for the rest of the pc components

if the rad fans are any good they would be fine with the little extra sp needed to go through the filters

still, cleaning the pc every 3-6mo depending on environment is a good idea

[MoonC A T]

Thanks everyone. Did a quick easy test.
Re-calibrated Smart Fan curves.

i9-10900F
MSI Coreliquid 240R

Setup the case without the filter...
Idle temps are 28-30
Dying Light 35-45
AIDA64 Stress Test 60-65 stable, min. 1 hr

With filter on...
Idle temps are 33-36
Dying Light 50-55
AIDA64 Stress Test 65-70, min .1 hr

I'll probably keep the filter on.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

For a good test of your max temps; run these both at same time.
> Prime95 > Small FFTs Loop Test
> FurMark -or- MSI Kombuster (select stress tests, not benchmark, as the stress tests will be looped; also use your screen native res, to ensure a proper load on the GPU)

Run them together for approx 1 hour and this should give more accuracy with regards to probably the highest temps you'll ever see; based on your overall coolers, fans, airflow, fan curve settings as well as ambient temp.

CPU & GPU should be totally find upwards of 80-85*C areas.
If it is an NVIDIA GPU then it is best to try your best to keep that below the 85*C area at all times to avoid thermal throttling. Keeping such a GPU cooler also helps its ability to auto turbo boost higher based on thermals.

My test suggestions will also yield higher temps then any Game would ever do, which is a good thing because even if your CPU or GPU gets near the 80-85*C range during such stress tests, it shouldn't be coming close to that during Games then, since those will never be as stressful.