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Acrylic cases & ambient temp's...

X

Xylo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 5, 2005
Messages
421
I have been using a big steel case for years, and when I decided to build my new system, I've been drooling over the new all aluminum cases like the Wavemasters, Tsunami Dreams, etc...partially due to the heat transfer properties of aluminum...

However, for long complicated reasons, I'm considering instead going with an all-clear acrylic case (like clearpc.ca or clearcomputercase.com)...but I am very wary of the heat in the acrylic case...

Just how bad are the acrylic cases in terms of trapping in heat?...how are they compared to the aluminums?...

Thanks!
Xylo
 
What heat transfer properties of an aluminum case? There isnt any.

All those aluminum case that cl;aim to be like a big heatsink are full of crap, dont listen to them. After all, your computer isnt really touching teh case, so how the hell can it transfer heat to it?

I have an Aluminum case, and the only part of it that isnt cold, is where the PSU is, and even then its only just about noticable. Aluminum cases are nice, dont get me wrong, but they certainly dont transfer any heat away from anything.
 
DarkBahamut said:
What heat transfer properties of an aluminum case? There isnt any.

All those aluminum case that cl;aim to be like a big heatsink are full of crap, dont listen to them. After all, your computer isnt really touching teh case, so how the hell can it transfer heat to it?

I have an Aluminum case, and the only part of it that isnt cold, is where the PSU is, and even then its only just about noticable. Aluminum cases are nice, dont get me wrong, but they certainly dont transfer any heat away from anything.
Click to expand...

Well I would agree that it is a trivail factor, but consider that the case is cool because it is dumping what little heat that it does pick up by convection very effectivly to the cooler room air.

It is mostly marketing hype and if I wanted a plastic case I would ignore that factor and go with plastic

The only real concern I would have would be the hard drives that use their outer metal cases as a heatsink. Installed in a metal case properly helps them transfer heat to the case and dump it from the drive. This is not critical to the drive, they are designed to survive without it. But the cooler electronics are, the longer they tend to live.

Just put the hard drives in front of a fan or have good airflow in the case.

I also noticed most plastic cases have crappy vent holes for the fans. Open them up.
 
wwparrish said:
Well I would agree that it is a trivail factor, but consider that the case is cool because it is dumping what little heat that it does pick up by convection very effectivly to the cooler room air.

It is mostly marketing hype and if I wanted a plastic case I would ignore that factor and go with plastic
Click to expand...

And it's much lighter than steel...but not as light as acrylic...


In any case, yeah...hmm...still having a hard time deciding on a case...
 
build your own acrylic case, thats what im going to do with my server whatever form factor i end up buying
 
As long as your airflow is decent, you can make your case out of wood.
 
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