Crazy Idea No. I

[desertfox04]

I was looking for heatsinks and noticed that alot of them were copper. I said to myself, if copper is so good for heat dispersion, then why don't they make an entire case out of it?

Photochopped "Copper" case

Come on, you've got to admit that a copper case with matching mouse and keyboard would be sexy.

 

[Tiamat]

Copper is much more heavy. The main point of aluminum is its Lightweight not its better heat conduction. If you are relying on your case to dissapate heat, your computer has already burned to a crisp.

BTW, lian li has a copper/champagne colored PC60

 

[wkwong]

a copper-colored aluminum case would be better than having an all copper case in most cases.

i guess if you making a case that dont use fans like the Zalman TNN500A, then your copper idea would probably work. except that copper is a bit softer then aluminum.

 

[hifisoftware]

I agree with Tiamat.
Cases are not good heatsinks, because they have too much air inside. Air insulates hot components from the case. Eventually case gets hot because air transfers some of the heat by convection, but very, very slowly (compared to how fast CPU generates it). Some very small portion of the heat is radiated (I think mostly in the infrared range), but again this is a slow process.
If you separate air into small volumes (to cut down on convection) you got yourself a very good heat insulator. The opposite of what we need.

Cooling via case is a myth for most cases. It might work only if case is directly connected to the heat generating modules (via heat pipes and such).

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: hifisoftware
I agree with Tiamat.
Cases are not good heatsinks, because they have too much air inside. Air insulates hot components from the case. Eventually case gets hot because air transfers some of the heat by convection, but very, very slowly (compared to how fast CPU generates it). Some very small portion of the heat is radiated (I think mostly in the infrared range), but again this is a slow process.
If you separate air into small volumes (to cut down on convection) you got yourself a very good heat insulator. The opposite of what we need.

Cooling via case is a myth for most cases. It might work only if case is directly connected to the heat generating modules (via heat pipes and such).

Exhibit A

And copper for a case would be a bad idea. Sure, copper's a very nice color, but it'd look like crap after a little while, as it tarnishes easily. Every single fingerprint will seem to be etched into the metal.

D'oh - now I see that that link was already posted. Yeah well.

 

[desertfox04]

You've all made very good points, but I still like the color of copper.

Any idea on how to achieve that color/shine without actual copper?

 

[wkwong]

i'm pretty sure you can find copper color spray paint from auto parts stores. and if not there, try a hobby shop.

 

[MDE]

Copper also holds onto heat a lot more than aluminum, making it harder to dissipate the heat that builds up.

 

[Tab]

Not only would the case be hella expensive you'd also have to deal with oxidization.

 

[oldman420]

Originally posted by: wkwong
a copper-colored aluminum case would be better than having an all copper case in most cases.

i guess if you making a case that dont use fans like the Zalman TNN500A, then your copper idea would probably work. except that copper is a bit softer then aluminum.

oh my god i have to have that case it is soooo groovy. man
and if you were a clever modder then you could glue copper sheeting "thin mind you" to any case and make it look cool. but hey thats coming from a guy that just fell in love with a case.