Build for exceptionally dirty environment

[Yogi2367]

I'm tapping my fellow enthusiasts for some outside-the-box, and maybe even radical, thinking ...

I'm on a quest to build a computer for a dirty environment. That being said, I want to keep all of the components inside a sealed case. I can move air around inside the case, but do not want to utilise an intake and exhaust. Here's what I have to work with;
1) MSI Z77A-G41 mobo
2) Intel I5 (not sure of the model)
3) 16GB (4x4) Ripjaws memory with heatsinks
4) 1TB Samsung 850 EVO
5) Corsair H100i
6) SeaSonic SS-520FL2 520W
7) XFX R7800 graphics card
8) The environment is between 70F and 110F depending on the season, and is extremely dusty/dirty.
9) Compressed air is available to keep the outside build up of dirt to a minimum.
The idea is to move air around the inside of the case and let the case itself dissipate the heat. As for the CPU, the plan is to mount the Corsair radiator against the case, and put a heat sink opposite the radiator on the outside of the case.
Keep in mind this is not a gaming machine, but rather a production machine that is mostly accessing ECU's, databases, and websites.
Questions ...
1) Any suggestions on a case, or case design?
2) Will it work?
Any other thoughts or comments are welcome.

 

[kanewolf]

You really should investigate the industrial computer market. There are cases and pre-built units that are designed for factory floor and other high temperature harsh environments. Your parts list is a desktop grade parts. Not industrial grade parts.

You may not like this answer, but a Panasonic toughbook or similar rugged/mil-spec laptop may be the best answer.

 

[Yogi2367]

I already have Toughbooks for the extremely harsh environments. This is a see-if-I-can-do-it-myself project

 

[kanewolf]

I will say that looking at the mil-spec or industrial computers may give you a case idea. For what you are doing, I would skip the discrete graphics card and use the built-in GPU. No reason to generate more heat. The power supply will be the biggest issue IMO. You will still have to cool it.

 

[Yogi2367]

Well, that particular SeaSonic is a fan-less PSU.
Great point about the graphics though. I suspect the on board Intel graphics are better than the R7800 card anyways.

 

[boosted1g]

Fan-less would be bad in this situation, your PSU will need airflow.
As suggested, using integrated graphics if at all possible will be better for heat and power usage.

I personally would look at Fractial Design Define R5 or R4, which is insulated, allows you to block unneeded fan ports, and has easy to clean intake filters.
What I would do is mount your AIO cooler at intake. Then have 1 fan at rear of case. This will create positive pressure in the case (intake > exhaust) which will help with dust getting in the case. Since you are using water cooling for CPU and using integrated graphics the rest of the cooling should be sufficient for the board/ram assuming you are not trying to do a heavy overclock (which will make the board and ram hotter).

 

[Yogi2367]

The R5 seems perfect for a silent solution, however, that's not what we're after here. I'm trying to avoid using an intake and exhaust if I can.
If I have to use intake and exhaust, mounting the AIO radiator at the intake is probably not best idea. No matter how good your filters are, dust and dirt does get thru, and would subsequently clog the radiator fins. To clean them out you would be blowing the dust right into the cabinet. However, mounting it on the exhaust side is perfect. No preheated air blowing thru the cabinet, and a compressed air cleaning would push the dirt outside the case.

 

[Yogi2367]

What about pressurising the case? Use the R5 case like boosted1g suggested with the AIO rad on the exhaust side, and a fan cooled PSU as kanewolf suggested, orient the fans to blow out, and supply filtered, compressed air that runs thru a water separator to keep it dry ???
How much air to put in there though ... 15 to 20 PSI out of a 1/2 inch pipe ??? Definitely need to be able to keep positive pressure in the case.

 

[kanewolf]

If you are going to supply filtered air, then you need to think more about CFM rather than pressure.

These are the type of commercial cases I was thinking of -- https://www.dustshield.com/

 

[boosted1g]

Obviously you need low PSI, but it is not so much a matter of PSI, its a matter of CFMs of flow. Just like with a turbocharger, flow (and thus performance) is very different on a 35mm turbo vs a 60mm due to much different flow rate.
Even 5 PSI above atmospheric pressure would give you a positive pressure.

Having the rad on the intake or exhaust will only make a limited difference in regards to dust accumulation. Whatever dust gets through the intake filters is (for the most part) going to follow the air flow path and thus most of it is going to accumulate on the AIO rad still.
In short it will be the difference between 95% of the dust that gets through filter accumulating on the rad, to maybee 65-70% of it.
No matter the rad fins will get clogged, and will get dust everywhere cleaning it (thus needing a little more cleaning.

If you are going to have a dedicated flow of filtered air going to the case anyways then it really wont matter dust wise if rad is on intake or exhaust configuration.

One extra thing you could do on the R5/R4 is put filter material on the outside vents so it goes through 2 phases of filtering by the time it gets to the rad/inside of case. Also means that the bulk of dust will be stopped at the first filter that will be really quick and easy to clean.

 

[Yogi2367]

Those are kind of cool!
Yes, CFM over pressure. I was trying to correlate the two ... but not very well ... LOL

 

[kanewolf]

A typical underfloor pressure for a data center is 1/4 to 1/2 inch water. That is only 0.009 to 0.018 PSI (under 1 PSI). Some references are even lower -- 20 Pascal which is 0.003 PSI. I would think those are they type of pressure numbers you need to think about ...

 

[Yogi2367]

Understood. That would be basically for a clean room. Since all of their racks would have their own cooling solutions, excess air, or airflow, is not needed to enhance cooling ability. Theoretically, for this build, something as simple as a furnace fan and duct would suffice to provide both the volume and the pressure ... correct?

 

[kanewolf]

Understood. That would be basically for a clean room. Since all of their racks would have their own cooling solutions, excess air, or airflow, is not needed to enhance cooling ability. Theoretically, for this build, something as simple as a furnace fan and duct would suffice to provide both the volume and the pressure ... correct?

A hundred or so CFM is all that will be required for a PC.