does an aluminum case help much?

[human2k]

is it really worth spending $150 for a aluminum case?

 

[TimeKeeper]

Not really, I hope!
I don't think it help any system run faster.
Run cooler? (some might claim) But I think extra $10 case fan may just do the trick.
But those extra $100+ definitely will get me much much faster CPU or Graphic card.

 

[B00ne]

Thats the same question as is it really worth spending $1000s for a rolex as compared to $100 for a swatch - both will measure the time but the rolex has more luxury image to it.....

 

[kly1222]

They are lighter than normal steel cases, so they make better lan boxes. Also, the aluminum helps to dissipate heat (imagine it as a big heatsink) better. As for your question whether it's worth it or not, that's up to you. What does $150 mean to you?

 

[B00ne]

I highly doubt the better heat dissipation:

1. air is the medium that has to transfer the heat to the case - not very efficient, actually pretty useless (pretty sure)
2. the surface area of a computer case is not exactly large (pretty sure)
3. the air is moving through ur case so fast that there wont be enough time for appreciable heat transfer (very rough guess)

these are just educated guesses, maybe Anand should make a scientific investigation

 

[Goi]

I doubt the heat disappation argument too. Aluminum is a better conductor, but within the case you're relying more on convection(the movement of air) to transport hot air out and draw cold air in. the Aluminum sheets of the case aren't in direct contact with any heat producing element such as your CPU, graphics processor or HDD, so its advantage as a better conductor(which relies on direct contact) is pretty much moot. What it excels in is its lighter weight, which might come in useful to people who want to move their systems around a lot. Rigidity wise I'm not sure if steel or aluminum is better. Another benefit of aluminum is also its resistance to corrosion and rust, especially in humid countries.

 

[Mavrick007]

Yep, aluminum cases will give negligible results in temperatures(maybe 1C overall). Your airflow matters alot more than the case material. It's really just a status symbol to have an "aluminum" case cause they cost alot more since they're relatively new and people like it cause it's light. It's just like when I saw my first aluminum frame bike, it was so cool and light but the frame alone cost more than the whole bike that I eventually bought (and now you can get a much better one for about half what I paid).

I am about to get my first aluminum case but I expect to keep it for several years and I want something that is partially modded out now. I will pay the premium but it will last me. I just saw the one that I like and which is worth the price (wish I had seen it before I just bought my new Antec case.. heh guess I'll just have to make another new puter).

 

[Alex]

i was about to spend $160 on one when i saw a green regular case with a window kit, 450W PSU and 2 case fans for $120... thats when i realised that its so not worth it!

 

[Whitney]

There is really no correct answer for every case.

In general tho, aluminum does conduct heat better, and the air inside your case is going to be hotter than the air outside the case, so some heat transferrence is going to take place, and aluminum is better at it than steel or plastic. However this is, or at least should be, a small part of the cooling picture, if you have very little airflow through your case it will make a bigger difference than if you have 5 fans going and good flow.

If you are going to carry it around, the aluminum case is usually a good bit lighter, which is nice, but the flip side is, that quite a few of them are also not quite as sturdy as steel cases, and if you are going to mod, it is easier to cut and sand and smooth, but you have to be very careful not to bend or tweak the softer aluminum. Also the panels are not as sturdy, and may not support some big windows or other mods that steel panels would support.

Since the panels are lighter than steel or plastic, they have a tendency to pick up more vibrations from the operating machinery inside, ie. they are usually louder than steel or plastic. A vibration dampener (not sound dampener) like Dynamat can be applied to quite this problem down some.

Otherwise it is a matter of looks and aesthetic. There are plenty of good aluminum cases around nowadays that are a lot cheaper than the Lian-Lis, adn qute well constructed. You can even buy the DRagon/Alienware cases in aluminum now. And as the market gets bigger, more people will tool up and the prices will come down.

 

[Mavrick007]

Originally posted by: franguinho
i was about to spend $160 on one when i saw a green regular case with a window kit, 450W PSU and 2 case fans for $120... thats when i realised that its so not worth it!

Dude, if you're still interested in getting an aluminum case, you can get a colored one (blue, green, silver or black) with a really funky window kit, 420watt psu and at least 2 case fans for $150. It's the Chieftec one that looks like an sx10xx case from Antec but it's "aluminum" with a plastic front bezel. Very very nice IMHO.. check it out at Newegg.

 

[Electric Amish]

Prestige is the only reason....except maybe weight.

Everything else is just BS that doesn't make any real difference.

amish

 

[DainB]

Not really. I bought a Lian Li PC-86 primarily based on looks. It's also very functional so it is an excellent case but you could get the same features(except maybe the weight thing) and more in a steel case for about half the price.

 

[paralazarguer]

I just got this case. It's alluminum. I had the Antec SZX1030B which is the same thing except made of steel and with no window. So, I went from the same steel case to an alluminum. I love the window and put a neon light inside. It's all about the style! I do go to LAN parties and the weight is the real reason. I swear that this case weighs less than my power supply. The steel version that I have it much, much, much, heavier. That's the only real difference. I moved all of the same components and cooling setup right from one case to the other. Again, they're basically the same case. There was no change in temp. Aluminum cases do not dissipate overal heat that well. According to SilentPC.com, most of the heat from a hard drive is dissipated through its side because of the aluminum plate on top. Having your HDD screwed into an aluminum case might help that one component dissipate hear a little bit but I should think that it's all pretty negligable. It's all about syle and weight.

 

[paralazarguer]

By the way, in the link provided, that price is in Canadian dollars.

 

[paralazarguer]

Dudes, follow this link. You'll understand what justifies the cost. Meet Genevieve

 

[McCarthy]

Aluminum cases are like designer jeans. Don't work any better than Levis (case temp the same given same airflow. Find an identical design in aluminum and steel, put the same parts in it, same conditions then measure and I bet you wouldn't even find that 1*C), not as durable, but there's a certain status thing to it.

They are a bit lighter which is the upside to the lan box idea, but they also are easier to damage so in that respect I'd stick with a steel case if I were moving a lot, unless I didn't care about looks, but then most people with aluminum cases do care about looks, and this sentence got to be rather long.

I like the IDEA of using the entire case as a heatsink. But some direct contact is in order, simply trying to exchange heat through a smooth aluminum surface with indirect airflow inside and little or none outside doesn't accomplish it. My old Realistic (yes, Radio Shack) cassette component used the chassis for the heatsink, transistors were mounted directly on it. Rather clever I thought, no little sinks stuck haphazardly inside, but rather the case and guts were designed to work together. PC's aren't, we have to use off the shelf parts and the designer of one never met the designer of another, muchless worked with her/him. Back in the Pentium days I was hoping for a new spec which flipped the CPU socket onto the other side of the board where the CPU would then contact the side (or bottom in a desktop design) of the case and use the entire panel as the heatsink. And I wonder if one could use the case to dissappate heat in a watercooling setup to reduce fan speed on the radiator, maybe even eliminating need for a fan except after periods of load, but that'd require big long waterblocks mounted to the inside of each panel, huge expense for little gain. So yeah, I like the idea, but it has to be implemented a lot more efficiently to do (any?) enough good to justify the price.

--Mc

 

[LordAccord]

One thing that ive noticed is that when I unplug my case fans and move from a warmer room to a cooler room, my temperatures decrease by about an average of 2 degrees celcius.... So its kind of an inverse reaction, the cold air is being conducted through the case and the inside airflow of the case is colder, even without any intake....

cool, eh?

I like my lian li aluminum case because generally, it is a lot better built than most cases because they had to justify the cost to sensible people (like you all) that realize how little the aluminum really does except for WEIGHT and LOOKS. But past that, I think that lian li is a fine example of good engineering on size, layout, and compatibility... I mean, there are like 20 thumbscrews in that case and thats 5 bucks right there.... you know what Im saying. How many of the cases that you buy now allow predesigned active cooling for HDDs, or reversible power supply installation....

So, I think that if you have the money to spend, they do have their advantages

ALSO/// since when does 1 or 2 degrees celcius not count??????... thats like saying that a penny isnt money... you have enough pennies here and there, and soon younhave a nickel or a dime. The question is how much do you pay for 1 or 2 degrees.

LoRdAccord

 

[Therapist928]

I have an aluminum case and it's great for lan parties and especially shipping/moving back and forth between college and home. The lighter weight of the case makes up for the difference in price vs. a steel case through shipping alone with just one transport across the country.

Also, isn't the power supply a major source of heat in the computer? and it's directly adjacent to the aluminum chassis - which means yes, the case does act as a big heatsink, in a way.

Damage to the case is negligible. Aluminum is a bit more pliable than steel but i'm one of those careful people who never puts my case in that sort of situation. Whatever damage that would be extreme enough to make an aluminum case unusable would do the exact same to a steel case. Cosmetic-wise, never had a dent in my case as a result of moving, and i've already moved from apartment to dorm to home or whatever more times than i can count.

 

[QTPie]

just like you have a Lexus case and I have a Corolla case.

It's sure lighter and look fancier, but I doubt about heat dissipation,

 

[galt]

I bought a case a month ago. I had an Antec SX830, and I loved it. VERY sturdy. Unfortunately, it was VERY heavy also. I dreaded having to move it from one place to the next. So I bought a Maxtop case. 32$. Blowhole and side hole. My new computer built with this case(complete with mobo+hdd+cdr+all other internals) is lighter than just the bare Antec case. It was very practical, economical and I love the way it looks. So it all comes down to the money. Like someone else said, would you have buy 150$ designer jeans or 30$ levis? They both do the same thing.