Cleaning query - case + CPU fans

[Bismark]

Owing to the sheer amount of air that goes through this system and the fact that it is

(1) on most of the day and some of the night
(2) in my office, which is also the living room
(3) a serious "fire-breathing monster" of a machine - well, it certainly kicks out a lot of hot air from the rear

I am keen to control internal dust build-up.

I was just reading the "Looking after your 3XS system" thread and noticed the comment about the front filter on the Fortress FT-01 case.

Since I have one of these cases on my 3XS rig- thanks for the info about the front filter sliding out - I will have to investigate this.

I was going to ask about how to access it as I used the clean the filters in my old rig (which was intensively used for over 4 years and still works fine) every month.

I have a couple of queries about the other filters:

Top filter - what is the easiest way of giving it a good clean (I can get some access with a compressed air can and attached tube, but the Noctua heatsink/fan combo on the i7 is something of an obstacle).

Bottom (power supply fan/filter) - I believe that will probably involve disconnecting everything, laying the case on its side and getting some serious access. Will I have to unscrew the PSU to do the job properly?

CPU fansink (Noctua NH-U12P-E) - a suggestion as to the easiest way of cleaning this thing would be appreciated - there are obviously a lot of small nooks and crannies that could do with cleaning regularly.

P.S. I do take care with the compressed air, etc. not to over-rotate the fans as I want them to last.

[Ben @ Scan]

Hi Bismark

Cleaning the vents and filters can be easily done with a compressor but as not everyone has access to one of these cans of compressed air will shift enough dust and fluff if the system is cleaned on a regular basis, if the system is left for a long time 6-12 months and also depending on the environment you may find that compressed air in cans is not enough...

Personally I use a small Paintbrush and knock all the dust to the bottom of the case and use a hoover to get rid of it, as long as you are careful you can make good job of the cleaning doing it this way.

We dont recommend taking the PSU out or removing the fan grill at the top to clean it, the top fan filter will slide out towards the DVD drive slightly allowing partial access, depending on where the cables are in the system at the top

Regards

Ben

[Bismark]

Thanks Ben - I suspected as much.

The machine will be due for a 'spring-clean' in a couple of weeks - I have given it a quick clean each month but I want to do a thorough job next time (and finding out that the front filter slides all the way out is a big plus - I can wash it like I used to wash the front filter on my old Acousticase).

As an aside, the room temperature changes in the last couple of months have caused a bit of differential expansion in the case which has brought my old panel vibration issue back - this time on the non-windowed panel (which is awkward to get at ebcause of my office layout). So, while I am doing the spring-clean (which will involve disconnecting the machine and laying it flat on the dining room table to get better access), I can get the old Blu-Tack out and address that issue as well.

Finally, cash permitting, later in the year I am thinking of sending this rig back to you guys for upgrading (time for Win7/SSD boot disk combo; maybe also removing the Bu-Ray so I can put it into an HTPC I am building as it is being under-used in my work rig). One thing that occurred to me is:

Would a Corsair sealed-unit liquid-cooling CPU cooler be a good bet? I was thinking that it would possibly give me lower CPU temps than and would be easier to maintain and there is no heatsink with looks of nooks and crannies to clean, just the attached fan unit, which has less fiddly bits to access. Of course, finding room for the fan unit could be a challenge - let me know what you think.

[Ben @ Scan]

Hi Bismark

We do offer an upgrade service and we can always give the system a cleanup here for you as part of the service :-) The Corsair coolers are good but personally I like the Prolima Megahalem as I have one of these on my I7 920 running fine at 4.2 Gig :-)

The Corsair cooler will however only go in certain cases , the Fortress is one of these cases it will fit in so if you opt for this as part of your upgrade you will be ok

Regards

Ben