Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, SpotTheCat, Nemesis

 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Antec 900 Fan Filters

Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:25 am

Has anyone had any success mounting fan filters in an Antec 900?

My room gets pretty dusty, and I don't want to get my new build all dusty. Considering all of the fans on the 900, I know that without filters it will become a dusty mess without frequent cleaning. After inspecting the fan mounts, it looks like I need filters that are relatively thin. I tried these but the frame around the filter are too thick and they won't mount properly:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2633/ ... 36c223s548


I'm thinking something like either of these might do it:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2599/ ... 36c223s548

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2589/ ... 36c223s548


Has anyone has any success using something like this?
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:22 am

So far close to 50 people have read this post, and no one has had a thing to say, which probably means that the prospect of using filters in my Antec 900 doesn't look too good. However, being the stubborn ass that I am, I ordered both types of filters mentioned above, just to see for myself.

If I can actually work out a filtered cooling solution in the case I'll be sure to post it with pictures. If not, I'll make sure I share my failure with everyone.

If anyone has any suggestions or has had success with using filters on one of these cases, by all means, let me know...
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:12 pm

So after seeing how many people were reading my initial posts asking for help installing dust filters on an Antec 900, and how few (read: none) had any suggestions, I decided to come up with a way to do it on my own, and share my success or failure with everyone else, so here goes...

After plenty of tinkering, I've finally been successful in installing dust filters in my Antec 900 case. What seems like it should be a fairly simple procedure actually took well over an hour before I came up with a workable solution.

As I mentioned previously, I purchased two different types of filters this time around. Upon receiving the package, I realized that the first set of filters were more like speaker grills than fan filters. The mesh didn't really seem fine enough to catch enough dust. The second set, on the other hand, were just what I was looking for. They had thin aluminum frames that looked like they would hopefully sit just behind the intake fans and fit snuggly between them and the hard drive cages, plus the mesh was finer and appeared to be of a higher quality.

There was one drawback to the Black Anodized Fan Filters though. As you can see in the picture on FrozenCPU.com, there is an indentation at each of the screw holes, effectively widening the filter from a millimeter or two thick to over half a centimeter or more. I didn't think this would be a problem until I thought I had successfully mounted the filters onto the fans and tried to reattach the plastic fan mount to the hard drive cage. Luckily the filter frames are made of soft aluminum so I was able to simply pound out the indentations on all four corners until they were perfectly flat. This decreased the diameter of the screw holes, but they were still just wide enough to use.

Anyway, without futher ado, here are my instructions for installing dust filters on the front panel intake fans on an Antec 900...

First things first, get yourself two 120mm filters similar to these. Newegg doesn't have them, but I was able to find them on FrozenCPU. Though I'd never heard of the site before getting myself into this mess, they're service was pretty good. They processed the order withing 24 hours and the filters arrived two days after that.

Once you have your filters on hand, the first thing to do is flatten out the indentations on the four corners. Just lay them on a solid surface with the indentations facing up and give each corner a few solid whacks with a hammer and that should do it. Just don't go overboard and bend the frames. Its not easy straightening them back out. I learned this the hard way...

Now its time to pull out the first hard drive cage. Remove both sides of the case, followed by the eight thumb screws (four on either side) holding the first hard drive cage in place. Slide the cage out the front of the case, and proceed to remove the three black screws on either side of the cage that hold the front grill panels on, as seen here:

Image

After you remove the screws, carefully pop the three front grill panels off of the front of the hard drive cage. Be careful not to bend the sides of the panels when you do this. Now take notice of how the power and speed selector switches for the fan are run through three clips along the length of the hard drive cage. You've got to bend these up and release the cables like so:

Image

Once the cables are released from the hard drive cage, carefully unclip the black plastic fan mount from the cage and turn it around so it looks like this:

Image

Notice there are only two screws holding the fan in place, in the upper left and lower right hand corners only. Unscrew these and place the filter over the back of the fan. When replacing the screws, you may have to turn them to get them through the screw holes on the filter since these have narrowed from pounding out the indentations around them, however, they should fit. Once you feel them make contact with the screw holes in the plastic fan mount itself, CAREFULLY screw them back in. It should only take about one full turn to a full turn and a half to tighten them, as the added thickness of the filters means only a small portion of the screw actually makes it into the fan mount. If you turn them too much you will strip the holes and you'll have to go to the hardware store and get longer screws to replace them with, however, if you are careful, these should be fine.

At this point, you're almost finished, and your fan should look like this:

Image

***You must make sure that you only put screws in the top left and lower right hand corners. The hard drive cage has small cut outs in these two corners to allow added room for the screw heads once the fan mount is clipped back on. If you put screws in the other two corners, you will not be able to get the fan mount back onto the hard drive cage.***

Now that you've got your dust filter secured to the fan and fan mount you're almost done, just clip the mount back onto the hard drive and run the fan power cable and speed selector switch cable back through the clips on the side of the hard drive cage and bend the clips back down to resecure them. After this just pop the three front grill panels back onto the fan mount and screw them back in and you're all done. Repeat the steps for the second intake fan on the other hard drive cage and you should be all set.

Hopefully this helps some of you guys out who are in the same position I was in. The Antec 900 is really a great case, but due to its great airflow, it's bound to be a dust magnet without some kind of filtering. I realize that my instructions are a bit more detailed than what would normally be necessary to install filters, but the trial and error I went through to figure out how to get these filters in neatly was way more of a hassle than I ever expected. Thoguh if you follow my directions carefully, you shouldn't have nearly as many problems as I ran into at first. Once I worked out a way to get the first one in, I had the second one installed in a snap.

Now for a quick disclaimer:
I'm sure some of you will probably point out that it would be easier to just mount the filters on the other side of the fan, but I was hoping to not obscure the fan LEDs with the filter. Also, I have a theory that the fans will move more air by pushing it through the filter behind it than by pulling it through the filter if it were in front of it. This is just a theory though since my build it not complete and I haven't been able to test it out.

Anyway good luck guys, and by all means, post any ideas or improvements you've come up with...


-zer0
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
Usacomp2k3
Gerbil God
Posts: 23043
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 4:53 pm
Location: Orlando, FL
Contact:

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:15 pm

Looks good. Thanks for the update.
 
njenabnit
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 644
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 5:33 pm
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Contact:

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:10 am

what effect does the filter have on sound? you would think that the fan would a) have to work harder to pull air through, thus wearing out the fan faster and/or b) create some sort of hiss while pulling the air through.
Image
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:09 am

N_4_7_3 wrote:
what effect does the filter have on sound? you would think that the fan would a) have to work harder to pull air through, thus wearing out the fan faster and/or b) create some sort of hiss while pulling the air through.


->

zer0 wrote:
This is just a theory though since my build it not complete and I haven't been able to test it out.



I'm not really sure just yet. Like I said, my build isn't complete yet, so I haven't actually been able to test this out. Though because the intake fan is placed in front of the filter, its not pulling air through the filter behind it, its pushing it through. Air from outside the case passes through the fan, then the filter.

Like I said, its just a theory, but I think that the fan won't have to work as hard since its drawing outside air directly and then pushing it through the filter, as opposed to having to work to draw it through the filter first.

As soon as my build is complete I'll power it on and let everyone know what the results are. It might be a couple of weeks though, moneys a little tight at the moment... :-?
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
Flying Fox
Gerbil God
Posts: 25690
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Contact:

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:36 am

zer0 wrote:
I'm not really sure just yet. Like I said, my build isn't complete yet, so I haven't actually been able to test this out. Though because the intake fan is placed in front of the filter, its not pulling air through the filter behind it, its pushing it through. Air from outside the case passes through the fan, then the filter.
Then regular cleaning of the fan blades may be in order. Not sure if I would like that.

zer0 wrote:
As soon as my build is complete I'll power it on and let everyone know what the results are. It might be a couple of weeks though, moneys a little tight at the moment... :-?
Stuff sitting around gathering dust and decreasing in value fast? I hope you can finish it soon.
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

Gerbils unite! Fold for UnitedGerbilNation, team 2630.
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:46 am

Flying Fox wrote:
Then regular cleaning of the fan blades may be in order. Not sure if I would like that.


I'd rather clean the fan blades than the whole case :D

Flying Fox wrote:
Stuff sitting around gathering dust and decreasing in value fast? I hope you can finish it soon.


Same here. I only need my graphics card, CPU, HSF, and optical drive, so its not too much. I've been buying parts in installments, which basically means that every paycheck I get I buy a few more parts so I don't spend more than ~$400 at a time.

So far I have:

Antec 900 case
Antec NeoPower 650 Blue PSU
Abit IX38 Quad GT motherboard
150GB WD Raptor
500GB WD SE16 Caviar

For the CPU I'm looking at an Intel Q9450, and the GPU is going to be a GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB. I should have it completed in just a few more weeks, assuming I don't get hit too hard with taxes. I have no idea what I'm going to owe, or even if I have a shot at a refund, so thats what's really going to determine how soon I get this done.
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
SpotTheCat
Gerbilus Supremus
Posts: 12292
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 12:47 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Wed Apr 09, 2008 2:00 pm

I don't like how most filters are in PC cases, including those. They really do block so much of the working area of the fan. I would much rather see the filter placed 25mm in front of the fan, sealed with some kind of cowling. I usually use a dead fan's jacket.

Nothing this deep, however, would fit in an antec 900.
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:20 am

zer0 wrote:
should have it completed in just a few more weeks, assuming I don't get hit too hard with taxes. I have no idea what I'm going to owe, or even if I have a shot at a refund, so thats what's really going to determine how soon I get this done.



UPDATE:
Uncle Sam raped me... Looks like this build is gonna have to hold off for another pay period till I can set aside enough cash to move forward :(
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
pb126
Gerbil In Training
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:14 pm

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:19 pm

Great tips on the fan installation process. Thank you for posting that, Two questions:
Have you found that it has helped you reduce dust without overly decreasing airflow?
Also, did you do anything re the 200mm fan on top?
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:44 pm

To be honest, as I've stated above, this build isn't completed yet, I put the fans in before the rig is up and running. Money ran a little short during tax season so I've been holding off on finishing this build for a short period. I'm hoping to buy the next set of hardware in another week or so. Also, I'm not planning on installing any other filters because the rest of the fans are for exhaust, so if they're going to be moving any dust at all, they'll be moving it out of the case, which is fine by me. There's no reason to try to strap a Maytag dryer lint filter on that jumbo 200mm fan if I don't have to...
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
ncorn83
Gerbil In Training
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:10 pm

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:49 am

Thank you so much, this is a huge help. I have almost the same setup you mentioned (case, PSU, HDDs; different MB) and filtering is something I've been wondering about.

Any suggestions for cable management? Will you be using a fan controller?
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Mon May 05, 2008 11:39 am

ncorn83 wrote:
Any suggestions for cable management? Will you be using a fan controller?


To be completely honest, this build got put on hold for about a month because I had no money left after taxes for the rest of the parts. I should be done in the next two weeks or so when I order the last component, either a Q94500 or Xeon X3350, depending on availability. Once I get the last of the components I'll post some more pics with cable management and the fan filters. As for a fan controller, I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking about it, but for the time being, I may just leave all of the fans on medium.
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."
 
berval
Gerbil In Training
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 12:59 pm

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:23 pm

I also did the same thing with my antec 900, but I did it a little different.

Image

Instead of mounting the filter behind the fan, I mounted it in front. I used the same filter as you, but got mine from xoxide.com. By doing this, I didn't have to smash the edges of the filter with a hammer and didn't use any screws because the front of the fan has two pieces of plastic that the filter can be mounted on(you can see them on this pic). So, I just clipped it into place and screwed the three front grills back on. It was kind of tight screwing the grills back on, but it seemed like a more efficient way of doing it because the fans themselves are also being protected from dust. Also, when I need to clean them, all I have to do is: loosen the hdd cages, remove the fan, and just wash the front cover. Better than also having the clean the fans, which is a pain! :wink:

*Oh, the LEDs don't get blocked too much and airflow is good as long as you clean your filters regularly. Just need to buy two more of these.
 
zer0
Gerbil
Topic Author
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:12 am
Location: New York

Re: Antec 900 Fan Filters

Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:02 pm

yeah by the time I finished the build I actually did the same thing. I used short bolts to hols the filters to the front of the fans after drilling larger holes in the fan bracket. it works much better that way. the only downside to using filers int his case is that its a bit of a pain to clean, but its better than the alternative...
I think the vast majority of people who tell you they have a virus actually mean 'I keep my pictures in the system32 folder and occasionally delete things at random'.

"it boots up so fast the desktop icons fly right off the screen..."

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
GZIP: On