Putting a case inside a case?

[xDoron22]

Hi eveyone!

Some weird thoughts were running through my head late in the night trying the find a way for minimizing dust inside my case. 

The case is on the table near me. Ryzen 5900X and RTX 3080.

 

I got a fractal R7 case. Fans are as in the picture (All are noctua 140 mm).

 

 

So what if i put my case inside a hand-made Acrylic box? See pic for general idea.

 

 

I will drill holes in the right locations, front, back and top.

 

How bad will it  affect temps? Will it even reduce the dust getting inside?

 

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks!

[IkeaGnome]

If you put it in an acrylic box with holes drilled in it, in a dusty room, you'll still pull dust into your computer. If you filter those holes, it's going to add restriction and raise temps a bit. 

Why not just get a HEPA filter?

[xDoron22]

2 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

If you put it in an acrylic box with holes drilled in it, in a dusty room, you'll still pull dust into your computer. If you filter those holes, it's going to add restriction and raise temps a bit. 

Why not just get a HEPA filter?

I know HEPA filters for vacuums and such. But whats an hepa filter for computers?

Btw I can add filters for each 'panel' of the acrylic box but it will look less "good"

 

[IkeaGnome]

Just now, xDoron22 said:

I know HEPA filters for vacuums and such. But whats an hepa filter for computers?

 

One for the room. You can get air purifiers that will help with dust, and vacuuming and regular cleaning and dusting helps with a lot of the rest. 

I don't think it's a reason not to if you want to do it for fun, I just don't think you'll get what you're hoping to out of it. 

[xDoron22]

6 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

One for the room. You can get air purifiers that will help with dust, and vacuuming and regular cleaning and dusting helps with a lot of the rest. 

I don't think it's a reason not to if you want to do it for fun, I just don't think you'll get what you're hoping to out of it. 

Oh.. Air purifiers will add cost, electricity and noise I guess.

I do vacuum once a week. I think my room just collects a lot of dust over time..

 

I do like the idea of the project  I tried searching the web someone who might have done that before But couldn't find any.

 

 

 

[IkeaGnome]

3 minutes ago, xDoron22 said:

Oh.. Air purifiers will add cost, electricity and noise I guess.

I do vacuum once a week. I think my room just collects a lot of dust over time..

 

I do like the idea of the project  I tried searching the web someone who might have done that before But couldn't find any.

 

 

 

For what it's worth, my work computer(the one I'm on now) is in a station very similar to this.

Spoiler

That being said, it stays less dusty than everything around it, but it's underground in a mine and still gets coated in dust regularly. The computer is in the bottom cabinet. 

[xDoron22]

2 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

For what it's worth, my work computer(the one I'm on now) is in a station very similar to this.

That being said, it stays less dusty than everything around it, but it's underground in a mine and still gets coated in dust regularly. The computer is in the bottom cabinet. 

So you're saying that the computer is underground, in a mine, inside a dedicated housing! and still collects dust?!

Damn.. Dust is such a pain.

[IkeaGnome]

Just now, xDoron22 said:

So you're saying that the computer is underground, in a mine, inside a dedicated housing! and still collects dust?!

Damn.. Dust is such a pain.

Yeah dust is a pain. I clean it quarterly.

Spoiler

 

[xDoron22]

11 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

Yeah dust is a pain. I clean it quarterly.

 

That's your computer that is inside the cabinet?? Damn that's even worse than mine! hehe 

I will try my project just for the fun of it. Maybe it will work maybe it won't.

I must try it!.

 

Thanks for your help.

[dilpickle]

As long as your case is getting air from your room its going to get dusty no matter how many boxes you put it in.

 

Get better filters for your case and clean them regularly. Otherwise do what you can to minimize dust in your room.

[Bookmann]

1 hour ago, IkeaGnome said:

Yeah dust is a pain. I clean it quarterly.

  Hide contents

 

That reminds me of our work computers - it surprised me how much shop-dust accumulated inside the CAD machine in the office.  

 

The best luck I've had controlling dust was based around:

1. positive pressure design - more blowing in than out keeps it from sucking dust in through every nook, cranny, drive, and port.

2. filtering intakes - where you do draw air in, make sure it's clean

 

That really minimized the dust i got in - just really fine powdery stuff, no fluffy bunnies.  You could always improve the filtering - i was just using fine-mesh pc filters, using paper or foam (such as furnace or automotive) filter materials that get finer particles will cut it even more (at the cost of airflow). 

[IkeaGnome]

Just now, Bookmann said:

That reminds me of our work computers - it surprised me how much shop-dust accumulated inside the CAD machine in the office.  

 

The best luck I've had controlling dust was based around:

1. positive pressure design - more blowing in than out keeps it from sucking dust in through every nook, cranny, drive, and port.

2. filtering intakes - where you do draw air in, make sure it's clean

 

That really minimized the dust i got in - just really fine powdery stuff, no fluffy bunnies.  You could always improve the filtering - i was just using fine-mesh pc filters, using paper or foam (such as furnace or automotive) filter materials that get finer particles will cut it even more (at the cost of airflow). 

Oh, I don't care how dirty this computer gets. I clean it quarterly because I'm supposed to. It's a gold mine. If this breaks, I get a new one. This one is a little short on RAM anyways so I might get lucky next time. I'm right off the end of the shop. I get rust from the mezzanine above me, dust from the welders the next bay over, rock dust from blasting rounds. Computers are surprisingly tough.

[thrasher_565]

3 hours ago, xDoron22 said:

That's your computer that is inside the cabinet?? Damn that's even worse than mine! hehe 

I will try my project just for the fun of it. Maybe it will work maybe it won't.

I must try it!.

 

Thanks for your help.

pantyhose is cheap but ya even really good filters will let in dust at some point.  there was one case that claimed it was dust proof but cost like $500...so...

 

https://www.coolthings.com/silverstone-mammoth-series-mm01-pc-case-dustproof-splashproof/

Edited November 29, 2021 by thrasher_565