[NBLUG/talk] Safe cooling in a dusty environment?

[Troy Arnold]

On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 12:25:32PM -0800, Lincoln Peters wrote:
> I'm expecting to do another upgrade on my parents' computer within the
> next month or two (this time it's most likely a new motherboard, CPU,
> and RAM).  However, one thing I noticed after the last upgrade I did
> (new tower with better cooling) is that it's in an area filled with
> dust and cat hair (there's a visible layer of cat hair suctioned to
> the intake vent on the front of the case), and once I do this upgrade,
> it will probably be producing even more heat than before.
> 
> Any suggestions?  I know I've seen dust filters that install between
> the case vents and the fans, but I don't know how much they'll reduce
> the amount of cooling I get from the fans.  And cleaning the dust out
> of the case is a huge chore (I'm the only one who can reach behind it
> to disconnect everything, and I have to travel 90 miles to do it for
> them), so I want to minimize how often that needs to be done if I
> possibly can.  I'm also reluctant to install a liquid-cooling system,
> since a leak could cause considerable (and expensive) damage and
> they're on a tight budget.

Lincoln,

Unless your parents are gamers or otherwise need serious graphical
capabilities, why don't you dodge the issue and spec out cool-running
hardware?  This generation's CPU's aren't the mini thermo-nuclear devices
of a few years ago, and you may be able to replace the existing video card
with something integrated. 

Regarding the dust and cat hair problem: the higher you can situate the box
off of the ground, the less of an issue it will be.

-t