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Q: Mac Pro -- Front intake dust filter??

S

StanD

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 15, 2008
52
0
Raleigh, NC
Hey there,

Well my parts finally all arrived and I set out to put things together tonight. The delay was due to the fact that the store I ordered my Caldigit RAID card from had a hard time getting ALL THE PARTS from Caldigit ... nice.

We won't add to the fact that there is NO documentation on the battery install. Now you don't need to be a rocket scientist or whatnot, but a leaflet or even a PDF on their site would be grand :)

Anyways, my question / dilemma:

I would like to put a dust filter in the from grill area of my new Mac Pro but for the life of me can't figure out what would fit there. Now I do have a bunch of the foam PC case filters (120mm) and could theoretically tape them together or some such but that would be a hack :) I would prefer a one-piece solution that I can remove every so often and dust. This would also GREATLY reduce the dust on the rest of the components.

So I figure this is the group of people to ask for their ideas / experiences. So what do you do to limit dust and what dust filter do you use?

Thanks,


- Stan
 
Personally I just do a quarterly clean where I open up the machine, pull out the fan assemblies, the RAM, the video card, etc and hit them with a compressed air can.
 
I kept my G5 on the floor for 3 years and it surprisingly never collected allot of dust the whole time.

If your worried you just spray the insides with canned air once or twice a year.


Don't risk over heating it with foam or a filter.
 
a dyi solution

compare the external to the internal (where dust is kept to a minimum). do note that the whitish appearance on the front cover isn't because of the flash (though flash was used) but it is in actual fact the dust collected over a period of approx 1 mth. you can compare it to the upper part of the dust filter which is darker in color.

the middle picture shows the layer of dust where the filter doesn't cover. this is over a period of approx 1 mth.

btw, i recall there was a thread where a user used a "skirt-liked" example. that's apparently works great for him too and it does spice up things. i'm happy with my dull setup, works well so far. it certainly would look better if i could be bothered to have my dust filter on the internal and have it slide out for cleaning when i shut down, remove wash (or better still, apply the DSLRs technology, auto cleaning sensors! the shake and the anti-static etc)

for those who are concern about the tempt. i've tested on full load i.e. 97% CPU usage (somehow, can't hit a steady 100% even when throw at all the demanding tasks) and i did so for a period of more than a week continuously (yes, i leave the mac on to render and work her way with batches Q-ed), fans hover at most at 1100 rpm (HD/Expansion), CPU fans never hit beyond 800 rpm. RAM hits a high of 82ºC but generally stays at 80ºC steady. CPU temp - between 63 to 69ºC, northbridge - 58ºC, psu - 74ºC, 4 hdds with the one closes to psu at the highest of 47ºC. ambient temp - 33ºC

note: temp and rpm credits to iStats menu

p.s. it helps to use some of those anti-static solution to wipe the mac's exterior. less dust gets attracted to the case.


Dusty%20Mac%20Pro.jpg


Dusty%20Mac%20Pro%20Top.jpg


Dusty%20Mac%20Pro%20ATI.jpg
 
teohyc said:
Actually the dust collects more at the graphics card
Click to expand...

Truer words have never been spoken. I have the NVidia GeForce 8800. It collects dusts like stains on a mattress.

My theory is that the vertical fan on the top of the card disrupts the air flow and allows the dust to fall, and settle.
 
An Alternative, courtesy of CalDigit

These 2 videos, courtesy of CalDigit offers pretty good guide on the disassembly and assembly as well.

The first link as shown below, is the 4-core (2x2)
http://www.caldigit.com/RAIDCard/RAIDCard_Howto_1.html

Next up, the 8-core (2x4 aka Early 2008 Mac Pro)
http://www.caldigit.com/RAIDCard/RAIDCard_Howto_2.html


By the way, I do agree the gpu do collect dust, but my personal experiences is that if the control of the front is managed, the dust in there is minimal, at least so for my ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT. A lot of factors determine the dust levels, one such is certainly the air quality in which the Mac Pro is located.

This is the direct link to the post of the "skirt-liked" dust filter.
 
richthomas said:
stick a thin piece of filter fabric between the inside of the case and the front two fans (where ive placed the red arrow).
Click to expand...

Hey there,

This is exactly the approach I was looking at. Can you recommend some good filter fabric?

Thanks to everyone for their replies,


- Stan
 
there're industrial based filters that really traps the fine dust yet are thin enough. i can't point you to the specifics, but that's a direction u can look at for starters.

those sharp air filters are have some pretty neat ones in there too.
 
To follow-up here:

I dropped by Ace hardware tonight and browsed the filter section and found exactly what I needed! It is this perfect filter material similar to the stuff you see in those 120mm case filters and is easy to cut. Total cost was $3.

I simply cut it to fit, added some Velcro to it and now have a removable, washable filter for my Mac Pro.


- Stan
 
StanD can you show us a picture of your mac with the filter. I have considered this my self. I live in a much older house seems to be a lot of dust even when we dust and vacuum on a regular basis. I keep my mac off the floor and It still sucks in more dust then I would like.
 
I usually find that a dust filter is more of a pain to clean then just going through with compressed are every so often. I have had my Mac Pro since 06 and although I am most likely over due of a cleaning it is working well.
 
rpaloalto said:
StanD can you show us a picture of your mac with the filter. I have considered this my self. I live in a much older house seems to be a lot of dust even when we dust and vacuum on a regular basis. I keep my mac off the floor and It still sucks in more dust then I would like.
Click to expand...

Hey there,

I will gladly post a pic of my setup. I have put small squares of Velcro on the filter material to make it removable and washable. I chose a fabric that is pretty porous so as to not impact airflow that much.

Will post shots this evening when I am home.


- Stan
 
Disposables

synth3tik said:
I usually find that a dust filter is more of a pain to clean then just going through with compressed are every so often. I have had my Mac Pro since 06 and although I am most likely over due of a cleaning it is working well.
Click to expand...
just get those disposable filters.
 
Re:Filters

Stan and forum members,

I have exactly what you are looking for. Contact me and I'll send you a pic.


Ben
 
Ben,

E-mail sent.

Others,

Pics of my ghetto setup coming as soon as I get my pieces all assembled and some time to actually spend time on it. Isn't work grand?


- Stan
 
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