Are Cases more than a box?

[fotios]

I am about to start building a new PC and I am not sure about the use of the Case. As most, I prefer a case that looks better than a square plastic box but probably the most important is a quiet operation without sacrificing any performance. The main questions I have are:

1)Is the case the main factor for a silent operation or the fans in it?

2)Is there any reason why aluminium cases are better (except maybe their weight)?

3)Should looks be the only factor in choosing a case?

4)Does it worth to spend more than 50£ in a case and what are the main features I should look for?

I am talking about a case with no PSU included and no over-clocking.

 

[fotios]

First thank you for the reply wusy

An example can be the Antec P180 (£91.59) compared with the CoolerMaster Centurion 530 (£49.88) or the CoolerMaster Cavalier 3 (£50.18)

 

[fishmahn]

Adding a few more points:

1) Both. The case should be stable enough that the vibrations from fans/HDDs etc don't cause the case to vibrate. Cases can also have sound deadening materials to further insulate the room from the 'racket' inside. Usually those are the more expensive cases.

2) nothing to add.
3) IMO, looks should be the last factor in choosing a case (but other people have different opinions). The first factors are airflow, component installation/placement efficiency and capacity and airflow. (Yah, I said airflow twice)
4) I don't think so, but I like the $20USD variety. Others have different priorities...

Mike.

<font color=blue>Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside the dog its too dark to read.
-- Groucho Marx</font color=blue>

 

[Crashman]

1.) Fans first, then case
2.) Steel cases are usually quieter, but only good quality steel cases use thick enough material to deaden vibrations
3.) No, the most important thing to consider is the fan grilles. More offset from the flat part of the panel reduces noise and increases flow. Larger holes also reduce noise and increase flow. Both great and horrible designs are available in the $60-100 range.
4.) Just get a well built case with good ventilation and sturdy materials and you'll be happy, that is, until your friends laugh at your case for lacking style.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[fotios]

Thank you for your help again. I think I will go with the Coolermaster Centurion 530 it seems a much more logical choice. I was also thinking of an Enermax ELT500AWT (500 Watt) but it has too fans one at the back, as all, and one on the top. Given that the box I am thinking of getting does not have a top airway does this mean that I have to point the second fan down towards the motherboard and the CPU? Is that a problem?

 

[Guest]

Steel cases due to their ferrous makeup will be better at sheilding radiated noise and electrical crosstalk. This could be important to those routing sensitive analog signals in the vicinity.

 

[k61824]

1) well... it should be the holes of the case which allow you to put fans on, technically
2) aluminum case are believed to conduct heat better (than plastic case, which I think I just bought one by accident) but if you expect to move the case around (LAN parties?) expect it to be easily scratched if you don't have sufficient protection to go with it
3) well, if everything fits for the airflow and having same number of fans, then it's a matter of preference

Regarding tohe PSU you are talking about...
are you sure the fan is at the top, and not the bottom? there are a lot of PSU with fans at the bottom when you put them in (depends on the mounting holes on the case, most of the time they will be at the bottom)

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")¥(") My bunny has dual channel genitals!

 

[Guest]

Aluminum does conduct heat better than steel. In a computer case the effect of this will be negligible to the point where I doubt you could even measure the difference. The reason is the air between the heat source and the case is very high thermal resistance. Very little heat will be transferred by conduction from the heat source to the case.

Convection will be the dominant factor in cooling. If you can create good fresh air throughput in your case it will be multiple orders of magnitude more effective than trading steel for aluminum siding.

Now if you were to create a nice thermally conductive path from heat source to case then you would certainly notice the benefit.

 

[CD]

A great example of an aliminum case's heat dissapation ability is Thermaltake's new Tai-Chi Super Tower case. It is an absolutely beautiful case that is going to really keep your temps down. If I had the money I would get one.

As far as cases in general goes, think also about the convience factor. Having a case with USB, Firewire and audio ports on the front panel or the top or side of the case (near the front) can really be handy when you need to connect an external device like a digital camera, video camera, external HD etc...etc... (Nobody likes crawling under thier desk to connect these things to the ports in the back).

 

[Guest]

A cases cooling capacity has nearly nothing to do with the fact that it is made of aluminum unless the case itself is in direct contact with the heat generating components. A case of the same dimensions as this new Thermaltake case made of steel would cool as well as far as joe blo can tell. Extremely specialized measurement and environmental control testing equipment would be necessary to even see the small differences in ability to keep a system cooler.

 

[Guest]

wusy, the Silverston TJ-06 just gets the heat generating components out into the wind from the fans more which is just allowing convection to work better. There is still not a thermally conductive path between components and chassis that I see. The high thermal resistance aka the air between the heat generating components and the aluminum case walls will ensure that the enhanced thermal conductivity of aluminum is not a significant factor in how well this case cools. In other words they have designed a case that has great airflow characteristics, it is for that reason it cools well not the materials it is made of.

 

[CD]

A cases cooling capacity has nearly nothing to do with the fact that it is made of aluminum unless the case itself is in direct contact with the heat generating components. A case of the same dimensions as this new Thermaltake case made of steel would cool as well as far as joe blo can tell. Extremely specialized measurement and environmental control testing equipment would be necessary to even see the small differences in ability to keep a system cooler.

Actually the Tai Chi is made of aluminum not steel. And the ability of aliminum cases to absorb and dissipate heat is well-documented through case tests of Lian-Lis and Thermaltakes. Both Guru3d.com and hardcoreware.net have reviews that hold up this claim. It does not have to be touching a heat generating component to absorb in-case heat and dissipate it especially when combined with good case cooling fans.

 

[Guest]

I never made any speculation about what a Tai Chi is made of you have apparently just misinterrpreted what I wrote. Maybe you should read my post again.

Show me a link to any documentation that you think is supporting what you are trying to say and I will either point out the errors in what the documentation says or how you are wrong that it is supporting what you say.

What you are saying just doesn't agree with the commonly accepted principles of heat flow. Maybe I'm missing something. I am always up for learning something new.

 

[Guest]

OK I guess I lied alittle . I had merely speculated that the Tai Chi was an aluminum case but you still misunderstood me as is aparent by what you wrote.

In case it is still not clear I was comparing real Tai Chi cases against a hypothetical Tai Chi case exactly the same except made from steel.

My bad and my apologies.

 

[CD]

OK I guess I lied alittle . I had merely speculated that the Tai Chi was an aluminum case but you still misunderstood me as is aparent by what you wrote.

In case it is still not clear I was comparing real Tai Chi cases against a hypothetical Tai Chi case exactly the same except made from steel.

My bad and my apologies.

Lol, we both flubbed that one. My apologies back atcha.