Aluminum Cases, all Hype?

[GrumpyMan]

Originally posted by: zodder
I'm pretty sure aluminum doesn't do much more for cooling, but my Lian Li PC-65 is light weight, sturdy, easy to work in, and timelessly ellegant. 🙂 I wouldn't want any other case.

I agree, I have a LL PC75 and it does not cool any better than my old Inwin Q-500 (well it does but it also has twice as many fans) but as far as style and weight, it can't be beat in my opinion. The Coolermasters are very nice too.

 

[Camofrog]

it pretty much comes down to..........."You get what you pay for"
Aluminum cases usually come with a few more bells and whistles then steel ones do and they are made differently (obviously material and such)
When it comes to choosing a case its looks, and functionality as well as preference for what hardware you will be using.

 

[beatle]

Originally posted by: EeyoreX

Why do you think they make aluminum heatsinks and not steel ones?

Heatsinks need to be in contact with the item they are cooling. Putting a shiney aluminum ThermalRight heatsink "in the vicinity of" my blazing hot Barton CPU isn't going to do crap to cool it. If it's not in contact with the heat source (my CPU) the heatsink could be made of paper or aluminum for all the difference it would make. Contact is required for aluminum to transfer heat from the heated object to the ambient air. It needs to be in physical contact in order to do anything.

That's not entirely true. While it applies to computer cases for the most part (especially those that are painted) there are some "inverse" heatsink designs that absorb more heat by being in contact with more air. An example of this is the design of many old PPI Powerclass car stereo amplifiers. I have one of these in my car and it does well, even on scorching days with the trunk packed. See this pdf and go the top of page 14.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Al cases look nice and are lighter than steel; if you are getting one for reasons other than those you are wasting your money.

That said, I love my pc-65.

 

[EeyoreX]

There are aluminum cases that use their mass as a large heatsink. They're designed with a heatpipe contacting the proc and the casing.

That's right, there are. But the fact remains there is still some physical contact between the component(s) and the aluminum.

That's not entirely true. While it applies to computer cases for the most part (especially those that are painted) there are some "inverse" heatsink designs that absorb more heat by being in contact with more air. An example of this is the design of many old PPI Powerclass car stereo amplifiers. I have one of these in my car and it does well, even on scorching days with the trunk packed. See this pdf and go the top of page 14.

There still seems to be some physical contact. As I read it anyhow, "... heat from the circuit board to the heatsink fins...". How do you measure how "well" the amp does? Does it crash when it overheats? Do you read the temps from the BIOS? This is not a very good comparison...

Anyhow, the fins do not absorb more heat due to more contact with the air. They dissipate more heat by being in contact with the air. That's how heatsinks work. A large block of copper or aluminum sits on the CPU then transfers the heat it absorbs to fins at the top of the heatsink. The more fins the heatsink has, the more heat can be dissipated into the surrounding air.

The bottom line is that aluminum cases (outside of examples like the Zalman case mentioned above) do absolutely nothing to cool your components, and I agree that you are wasting your money if you get an aluminum case for reasons other than weight, features and subjective reasons like appearance, you are wasting your money.

\Dan

 

[yipperzz]

i had a old school steel case and didn't cool too well. i replaced it with a aluminum enermax case with more fans. the temps are lower because of better circulation (not because of the case, but because i made the wires more clean so it allowed better flow) and more fans. i doubt that aluminum cases alone will drop the temp, but when you purchase a new case you will need to redo everything which then forces you to make the wiring cleaner and increasing flow. and while you have your new case, you then purchase new fans that can also decrease temps.

i like my new aluminum case because it's A LOT lighter than my old steel one and it looks a hell of a lot better. mine doesn't dent because i don't carry mine around that often, but i can see why people say that. i doubt it will dent that easily unless you throw your case around which nobody does. if you have a decent case, i wouldn't upgrade. but if you had a 7 year old case like me then i would say upgrade.