Hello!

I just finished building my new PC and I'm very proud of myself. However, I accidentally opened a wrong expansion slot insert and I was wondering if that would be an issue. Are things like dust and insects a concern? I do plan on keeping the area tidy - would that be enough to keep my PC safe?

Thank you in advance for replying.

If in doubt use duct tape. ;)

Ah, how can I forget the ancient teachings?

Uh, shouldn't you be able to just close the slot by screwing the little metal plate thingy back into place?

I doubt it wll. My pc's one side is open, and I have no problem. My previous pc was only a bare bone metal frame with the top being used as a makeshift bookcase

Unfortunately this case doesn't have screws in those parts. You need to pop them out.

https://www.amazon.ca/Thermaltake-Versa-Power-Supply-CA-1B2-00M1NN-00/dp/B00J0NZ3Q4?ie=UTF8&ref_=pe_386430_198870080_TE_item Thanks for the info! I heard of people leaving their cases open while operating but I never thought of it when the problem came up.

And here I thought that was a standard for every self-respecting manufacturer. But then again, the case is only 50 bucks compared to the ~140 you canucks apparently have to cough up for a decent one, so I guess you shouldn't expect much in the way of comfort features...

There are also screw in blanks one can buy. It ought to have some way of securing a board to the case. But yeah, a few save money on actual screws and have those tear-offs.

Get some.fine mesh from the garden store or supermarket, spray it black and sticky tape it to the inside so it looks like a vent.

Duct tape all the way. I have professionally duct taped even some vent holes in my case to properly regulate air flow so that my new fans work properly.

I agree with blocking the hole. If you don't, it may reduce your airflow depending on your case's setup and where your fans are located.

I confess, I did the same exact thing when I installed the GPU. The slot's metal piece could not be reinstalled, but I had an unused old computer I've been harvesting parts from to fix it with.

I use(d) to do that with desktop PCs too. Sure I heard those warnings that the PC may overheat when the air is not flowing inside as intended (because you have the case open), but I never had such problems, in fact I am pretty sure my PCs ran cooler that way, including e.g. hard drives and such.

I don't quite believe in those "optimal airflow" arguments with desktops anyway as what you have inside (how many expansion cards, how many hard drives, how the cords go inside etc.) varies so much anyway, changing the various ways the air flows inside.

With laptops I can understand such concerns better as their innards don't vary, and they are made quite tight in order to save space.

I had a guy told me that the air "inside" the pc will grow too hot for the PC to work if I leave the side open. It made as much sense as saying the moon is made from cheese, as the internal air has no barrier with the external air, since they are the same air

I had a desktop PC once that over heated but only with the case on, if I removed the top it ran smooth for months, but being a desktop (same as the bottom case here: http://baber.com/tag/at-format-computer-cases/) I had to find another place to put my screen :P

You should be able to use spare slot covers from any PC as they're fairly standardized in size/shape. If you don't have any, just ask around as someone you know is likely to have some spares kicking around for sure, or even a local PC shop. They shouldn't charge you for them either unless they're gigantic douche bags. :) I have probably 5 million of them here, too bad they can't be sent through the Internet via file attachment. LOL

I've attached one :D