Even water cooled pcs require air flow to cool off their reservoirs, and dust collecting in radiators is just as annoying for rigs that are all air cooled. My main gaming rig is housed in a Corsair Obsidian 800 case that I mostly cool via airflow from 3 120 mm top mounted fans and a bottom mount 140mm fan. I recently switched to negative air pressure (normally I prefer positive air pressure, but I saw significant cooling improvement by switching to negative) and purchased 3 new Noctua fans. I used to use a competitors air filter that had a hexagonal grid and was rated at being able to filter fine dust, while those filters did in fact do a good job, they had to be cleaned with increasing frequency as the filter material eroded with each cleaning. After some research of varying other filters, I decided to give the Silverstone Tek a try.
Wow, what a difference. First off, due to the configuration of my box, these go on the top vent, I don't even need to screw them into the case as the magnet frame adheres my steel frame very snugly. Secondly, I did a smoke test to see how much the air was being moved with the filters present and when they weren't. Though I'm sure some hindrance was present, with the naked eye I couldn't see any, the fans pulled in air just as fast with or without the Teks in place. I did the same test with unused filters of the previous sort as I had bought a entire box of them at the time and was curious to see how those held up against the Teks. I won't bore you with the nitty gritty details, same smoke test, and I could see a definite impact on how much air was being pulled through, the Teks won hands down.
Cleaning these things is a snap, though in part its due to how they're mounted on my rig, I just peel them off soak, rinse then air dry overnight and then slap them back into place with very little fuss. Someone who has actually mounted these with screws will have a more involved process obviously, but the filters themselves clean up very easily if you put a little effort into taking advantage of their features. As far as their performance at filtering dust is concerned, that will take a while to test but so far I've seen zero buildup on my brand new fans. I'll update this review in a month or so with further input.
| Product Dimensions | 3.15"L x 3.15"W x 0.12"H |
|---|---|
| Brand | SilverStone Technology |
| Power Connector Type | 4-Pin |
| Wattage | 230 |
| Cooling Method | Air |
| Compatible Devices | Desktop |
| Material | silver, stone, lead |
| Item model number | SST-FF81 |
| Item Weight | 0.352 ounces |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 3.15 x 3.15 x 0.12 inches |
| Color | black |
| Manufacturer | Silverstone |
| ASIN | B0040JHMHQ |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | August 20, 2010 |
