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Stainless Steel

G

Glacier

n00b
Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
44
i need [H]'s opinion on full-out stainless steel cases.

looking to build a new coputer in the next couple of months, and since i have the resources, i was thinking of getting a custom built case built entirely out of stainless steel.

im not much of a comp wizard, so i dont know the heat issues that would occur.

also, the case isnt gonna move more than 5 feet, so the weight isnt really an issue, and casters are a must.

i just need your guys input on this.
 
why dont you try chrome?? thatd look ALOT better ....as far as steel though.........i wouldnt honestly know but id assume you would run into heat issues unless you got really good airflow through that......still though....look more into it

ed:nvm......case material means very little i hear....
 
Case material has effectively 0 affect on heat.
Well, that's not entirely true.

Incorporating running space heaters might be a bad idea.
 
If you build a case out of stainless steel, be careful about "work-hardening". Stainless stell will work harden very easily, and it can crack, leaving you with a shoddy-looking case. If you're having some manufacturing facility build it for you, make sure to specify stainless steel welding rod, or else your welds will look like crap, while the rest of the case looks good.

If you go for a stainless steel case, do your research about companies that can do this type of work before you plop down money...prices for labor on this type of thing can vary wildly.
 
Having had several pieces fabricated out of stainless or aluminum I tend to go with aluminum.


Stainless will generally cost a lot more than aluminum and have a much heavier weight. Since weight isn't an issue, stainless will work but you will need to source local materials and a local shop to avoid getting killed on shipping.

One option to consider is to get a normal case to cannibalize for all or part of the frame. This might be the entire frame or drive cages and mobo tray.
 
Okay, firstly, you need to be more specific. Are you building this case are having it built for you. If you're having it built then by all means, go with stainless. You're not going to have any temp problems.

If you are building it yourself, then consider that stainless can be difficult to work with (it's harder than mild steel and a LOT harder than aluminum.) It is also going to be expensive. It may not look as good as a nicely finished aluminum case.

Personally, I'd stick with aluminum. Or maybe frame it in stainless and skin it with aluminum/plexi (which is sort of what I'm in the process of doing right now, except I'm using mild steel to frame since it is so much easier to weld :D )
 
Xeese said:
Having had several pieces fabricated out of stainless or aluminum I tend to go with aluminum.


Stainless will generally cost a lot more than aluminum and have a much heavier weight. Since weight isn't an issue, stainless will work but you will need to source local materials and a local shop to avoid getting killed on shipping.

One option to consider is to get a normal case to cannibalize for all or part of the frame. This might be the entire frame or drive cages and mobo tray.
Click to expand...
Also Aluminun dissipates heat much better which is important.
 
xphantg0d said:
Also Aluminun dissipates heat much better which is important.
Click to expand...

That's just adverting fluff from case companies. Aluminum offers no real world cooling advantages over steel. It's advantages are less weight and easier to work with.
 
Yogi said:
That's just adverting fluff from case companies. Aluminum offers no real world cooling advantages over steel. It's advantages are less weight and easier to work with.
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EXACTLY. It's funny...people act like they have a camp fire going on inside their case. Don't know about the rest of you, but despite 24/7 operation my case doesn't get hot, doesn't get warm, doesn't feel like it's doing anything except staying at room temp :cool:
 
If you build a case out of stainless steel, be careful about "work-hardening".
Click to expand...

hmm , in all my years of selling stainless auto accessories , i have yet to see a
crack on any of the products ( which range from stainless rocker panel kits to pushbars)
 
ciggy50 said:
hmm , in all my years of selling stainless auto accessories , i have yet to see a
crack on any of the products ( which range from stainless rocker panel kits to pushbars)
Click to expand...
Well, that's obviously because companies don't know what they are doing and get lucky a lot.
 
It depends on the stainless. Some work harden less then others. And the stuff you see on the shelf at a store is more then likely built right and inspected before shipment.

Use sharp tools and change them often and it won't be a real problem. I suggest that when you buy the material, you ask about the work hardening characteristics under cold work and what tooling they suggest. Something in the 400 series will probably work. But I am sure that somebody that knows what they are talking about will call me an idiot.
 
Wondernerd said:
. But I am sure that somebody that knows what they are talking about will call me an idiot.
Click to expand...

they better not :p ;)

xphantg0d said:
Also Aluminun dissipates heat much better which is important.
Click to expand...

but completely pointless in a case as Yogi, homersapien, and Kadarom Douhrek
pointed out, if there is actually any substantial heat transfer to the case, you have some serious airflow problems
like maybe a dead raccoon in there :p

there are a few cases that employ heat pipes to transfer to the case and employ it as a passive heatsink,
http://www.xoxide.com/zalman6.html
but transfering form a point source to such a large interface is far easier said than done, and those cases have great difficulties in higher ambients with higher power consumption components and their °C/W rating typically sux

see > http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=770036&page=1&pp=20
interesting reading in more than one way :p
 
Just wanted to point out that stainless is expensive as all shit, looks pretty much like aluminum and contrary to popular belief is not stain proof, it stains LESS. if you touch a piece of rusted steel to it it will pick up the discoloration. for the money i'd go with aluminum, i'm helping a friend build a case out of aluminum diamond plate and it A: honestly isn't all that expensive and B: is super easy to work with, so long as you don't need to weld it, but if you have a TIG welder handy that shouldn't be a problem either. I think you might be able to heliarc it, but seeing as i can't weld anyway, i can't say for sure.
 
theTomunist said:
but if you have a TIG welder handy that shouldn't be a problem either. I think you might be able to heliarc it, but seeing as i can't weld anyway, i can't say for sure.
Click to expand...

Just for info...heliarc=TIG........and you can weld Aluminum with mig (wirefeed) too...and if you are a really awesome weldor...it can be done with ox/aceteleyne as well...I ain't that good.... :p :D
 
ah, i actually was kind of thinking that heliarc was TIG, but i didn't really feel like looking it up. Deduct 5 smart points from me.
 
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