Is it worth getting a Tempered Glass Computer Case?
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Valantar
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- Aug 26, 2014
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What exactly do you mean by "are they worth it"? The whole point of windowed cases are prioritizing looks and showing off hardware. So if that's a priority, I'd say go for it. Glass is far more transparent than plexiglass/acrylic, more resistant to scratches, looks better, and transmits less noise (/is less likely to rattle). It is heavier, though, and more expensive. Also, there's always the (tiny) risk of shattering.
If what you want is an efficient, silent system with functionality first, windowed cases are silly.
If what you want is a cheap-ish* case with some level of flash, a plexi/acrylic window is the way to go.
If what you want is a premium case with build quality and looks to match, tempered glass is the way to go.
*of course, there are wildly expensive cases with plexi/acrylic windows out there too.
If what you want is an efficient, silent system with functionality first, windowed cases are silly.
If what you want is a cheap-ish* case with some level of flash, a plexi/acrylic window is the way to go.
If what you want is a premium case with build quality and looks to match, tempered glass is the way to go.
*of course, there are wildly expensive cases with plexi/acrylic windows out there too.
OlyAR15
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Cappuccino
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Valantar
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BonzaiDuck
Lifer
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As opposed to Acrylic, Lexan or Plexi-Glass plastic, does the tempered glass window provide the same EMI/RFI shielding of a perf-steel or solid steel case side-panel? If my bet is on "yes," it's just a guess.
On cases in general.
Except for appearances and conveniences like tool-less fittings, a case (for me) is just a steel box with ventilation possibilities. I won't buy a case priced at more than $120 if I can get the ventilation options I want and need. If I buy a case for $200 or more -- or a $250 case for $100 less than that, I'll find some way to recycle it into the building of a new system.
We just threw away an old case for a system that was running fine up until a month ago. The case was a Gateway full-tower circa 1998 "IBM-beige" steel box with the "inverted-U" shroud. It had been used for some three successive systems, the last of which was a C2D Wolfdale E6700 with 2x2GB of RAM. After removing the "value" parts like the SSD, ODD and RAM, we simply chucked the whole enchilada.
squirrel dog
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BonzaiDuck
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Although the glass is a hard surface, I'd think it would reduce noise from inside the case. And that is just a guess. And -- sure -- you don't want a case like that knocking around in your SUV cargo bay, for a weekend of different gaming venues.
I have to be just as cautious or even more so with my LG Macho cooler and Skylake rig.
I wont hesitate for a sec if i have to choose between tempered and ordinary 
Just for the looks at least
Just for the looks at leastMy current case (In Win 303) is my first tempered glass case, and I'm probably going to go tempered glass in the future. I've had too many where cases with easily scratched plastic for side panel windows, or that were impossible to remove all the dust from. The tempered glass panel on this case (especially because it has a bit of a smoky tint) is worth it. The full glass panel shows all the components very nicely and it does give the case a more premium look without compromising in other areas by much or at all.
The glass isn't so delicate that I think it would break from moving it around - and I've transported it around in my car just fine - but it might in a drop. If you are in the habit of dropping desktop PCs, though, you probably have other components to worry about and wouldn't likely consider a case with a glass window, anyway.
Looking on Newegg, there are a few tempered glass cases in the ~$100 or under range. So it doesn't necessarily cost an arm a leg to get a tempered glass if you want one.
The glass isn't so delicate that I think it would break from moving it around - and I've transported it around in my car just fine - but it might in a drop. If you are in the habit of dropping desktop PCs, though, you probably have other components to worry about and wouldn't likely consider a case with a glass window, anyway.
Looking on Newegg, there are a few tempered glass cases in the ~$100 or under range. So it doesn't necessarily cost an arm a leg to get a tempered glass if you want one.
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I've never owned a tempered glass case, but I recently bought a mid-range case that has no tempered glass, and I regret it. It has a plastic window in the middle of the main side panel, and there are slight fissures all around its perimeter through which air will pass (I am a novice about cooling, but I doubt that's a good thing?); in other words, the plastic window is not seamlessly integrated with the steel/aluminum material that surrounds it as part of the same panel.
Even worse, the side panel material is cheap, flimsy and of low quality. Before I bought it, I thought that my new case - since it is mid-range - would finally spare me from a problem that was driving me nuts for over 10 years with my previous case from Antec: the main side panel of that Antec case became warped out of shape, so that to close it properly was impossible. I foresee that same problem reoccurring with my new Corsair case because its side panels are likewise made of flimsy metal that I expect can also easily be warped out of shape.
If I could make the decision of what case to buy over again, I would have either bought a case made entirely out of tempered glass, or one with a tempered glass side panel. Then my case would look much better and also I wouldn't have to worry about that warping & not-closing problem.
That might be another option for you too, OP. If you want, then you can go for a side panel of tempered glass attached to a case that is not glass. The decision need not be all glass or no glass.
Even worse, the side panel material is cheap, flimsy and of low quality. Before I bought it, I thought that my new case - since it is mid-range - would finally spare me from a problem that was driving me nuts for over 10 years with my previous case from Antec: the main side panel of that Antec case became warped out of shape, so that to close it properly was impossible. I foresee that same problem reoccurring with my new Corsair case because its side panels are likewise made of flimsy metal that I expect can also easily be warped out of shape.
If I could make the decision of what case to buy over again, I would have either bought a case made entirely out of tempered glass, or one with a tempered glass side panel. Then my case would look much better and also I wouldn't have to worry about that warping & not-closing problem.
That might be another option for you too, OP. If you want, then you can go for a side panel of tempered glass attached to a case that is not glass. The decision need not be all glass or no glass.
I think they are stupidly impractical for a PC build. Glass is not the quietest option. Solid panels with sound absorbing foam are quieter. They aren't the coolest cases either. Having your pc glow multi colors is an unneeded distraction. You aren't looking at the pc components when you are looking at the monitor using it. Everyone that looks at it will just think you are an immature jerk.
People who assume having a glass panel case makes you an "immature jerk" are foolish to jump to conclusions (I'm guessing these are the same people who think everyone has to own a minivan because practicality). I'll gladly take the slight impracticality - it really isn't that big a compromise, my i7-6700k build runs cool enough under load and is very quiet - because I like being able to see the components in my PC, especially with a quick glance seeing if a fan has failed or is running slowly or if there's excess dust accumulation. It's more impractical to be opening up the case all the time to look, though scheduled cleaning can be done regardless.
And I do have RGB lighting in my case, and it's not a distraction at all. Maybe it is for the gamer who sits in a dark room all the time, but since when are gamers a practical bunch anyway?
Having splashes of color here and there is good for your mood, especially in winter.
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People who assume having a glass panel case makes you an "immature jerk" are foolish to jump to conclusions (I'm guessing these are the same people who think everyone has to own a minivan because practicality). I'll gladly take the slight impracticality - it really isn't that big a compromise, my i7-6700k build runs cool enough under load and is very quiet - because I like being able to see the components in my PC, especially with a quick glance seeing if a fan has failed or is running slowly or if there's excess dust accumulation. It's more impractical to be opening up the case all the time to look, though scheduled cleaning can be done regardless.
And I do have RGB lighting in my case, and it's not a distraction at all. Maybe it is for the gamer who sits in a dark room all the time, but since when are gamers a practical bunch anyway?
What does a minivan have to do with anything. If anything that would be the exact opposite of practical unless you have 5 kids or something. If you want to look like an idiot that wasted money on led lights and tempered glass be my guest. I would rather put that money towards more nand flash, a better gpu, better fans, better cpu, better cpu cooler, better tim im sure i could find something on your build you could upgrade that would help performance. Don't know how lights can improve your mood. All they do is piss me off. I put black electric tape on any LED indicator lights, I don't even want to see them. Your fans die on you? I wouldn't know of that problem. I use all noctua fans and I've never had 1 die. I got a pc with 8 year old noctua fans still running like new. Maybe if you spent less on LED lights you could buy fans that aren't garbage.
If you care about lights putting you in a better mood get a salt crystal lamp. At least those are known to have some therapeutic benefits.
The minivan is an analogy. It may not be the best analogy, but feel free to substitute whatever vehicle class (e.g. pickup trucks, performance cars, etc) you want. My point is it isn't "immature" to skew towards design, even if you don't agree with the design choices.
I don't knock your choice of performance over aesthetics (or perceived aesthetics, as much is subjective in that regard) and I have made that choice most of the time. There are, however, diminishing returns in any area of spending when it comes to the budget of a PC build, and saying someone looks like an idiot or an immature jerk for having spent a few shillings on design choices isn't exactly a mature statement to make.
Even if you perceive it as being silly, taking a few dollars from a case choice or LED lighting - which is dirt cheap, by the way - and putting it toward Noctua fans (and I happen to like my be quiet! HSF and Noctua NT-H1 thermal compound combination, even though I've used Noctua fans in other builds) versus high quality but less expensive fans from other vendors isn't guaranteeing performance or reliability gains, except perhaps a few points in benchmarks or anecdotal evidence. If you've built dozens or hundreds of PCs, fans will fail eventually in some of them; forgive me if I actually prefer a window partly (and admittedly only partly) for the ability to easily see if it happens in some of my own rigs rather than just trusting a name brand to be the be-all and end-all of my salvation.
I have no problem with anyone spending more time and money to eke out every last MHz out of a chip, but it's ironic for someone who does that to call out those who spend a few dollars more for a tempered glass case or case lighting as doing something "impractical" or "immature". We're all enthusiasts here... much of what we do is considered wasting time and money to others who don't partake of the same hobby. One's person's trash and all that.
LED indicator lights do bother me too, by the way, but internal case lighting doesn't, especially since my desktop isn't in my bedroom (where it could interfere with sleep) and since I can set the color to not be a harsh, bright blue like most offenders happen to be.
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You don't need to see fans to know if they broke. If your temps go higher than they usually are you check the fans. If a fan breaks and your temps don't change then it won't matter if you dont notice it till your yearly dust cleaning. It's just pointless to spend extra on lights and tempered glass. Upgrade your tim to coolaboratory liquid ultra to reduce ur temps 3-5 degrees. Or get you cpu delidded by silicon lottery to reduce temps by 10 degrees. Or upgrade the fans to more reliable ones. Or get a better heatsink or get a 50-75 dollar more gpu. Or go from an i5 to an i7. Or get the next motherboard up for more features. There has to be something better you can put the money towards. Or get a slightly better monitor if you spoent 320 on a monitor get a 400 dollar monitor. Upgrade your mouse or keyboard. Get an extra game or 2 to play. Or put it towards something totally different like getting a 128GB phone instead of a 64GB. The lights and glass is so unimportant.
Nobody is saying that having tempered glass or lights in your case is important, but you're labeling those as immature for wanting to add aesthetics to their setup. It's their money, so what should you care what they do with it? If there wasn't a market for tempered glass or in-case lighting, then those things wouldn't exist, but, lo and behold, there is a market and they do exist.
Do you normally seek out strangers on the street to let them know that they spent their money incorrectly, and that they're immature for doing so? Somehow, I doubt it. I mean, how can you define whether something is worth anything, to someone else, especially when it comes down to something subjective like design and aesthetics? The simple answer, is that you can't.
However, you also assume that someone doesn't already have the best hardware in their setup, and then also wants to add in glass and/or lighting. If they have nowhere left to upgrade to, then what's the issue? It also sounds like you assume that someone is on a strict budget of some sort, but they may very well have plenty of disposable income, and therefore don't care one bit how much the premium for glass or lighting costs—they just want it because it looks nice, but that certainly doesn't make them immature.
There are plenty of people who want/like windows (glass or acrylic) or lighting in their case, and you're certainly not going to convince anyone that they're wrong (or immature) for wanting that. Whether it's "worth it" or not, is subjective, and entirely up to the person spending the money.
If they have nowhere left to upgrade (find that very doubtful, can always add more storage) buy a surf and turf dinner. Even that's more enjoyable than annoying lights distracting ur peripheral vision while looking at a monitor.
You're just making more assumptions...
You assume people want to de-lid their CPU and void their warranty, and that they even own a CPU where the heatsink isn't soldered to the chip itself. (from your prior post, but I wanted to add it)
You assume people like to spend their money on eating out, and that they'd find it more enjoyable than some other food which can be made at home.
You assume people have more room, or the need, for additional storage, and want petabytes worth of it before they're satisfied.
You assume people are setting up their machine right next to where they play, and that they're distracted by a glow coming from inside of their case.
You assume people are setting their in-case lighting to the brightest, most vibrant color, and then setting it to the fastest, most distracting mode, so that it's noticeable from across the street.
My current case has lighting in it, and my secondary machine, which is being upgraded right now, will also have lights in it, as well as... wait for it... tempered glass
. Neither of my machines sit on the same desk where I both game and work, so it would never be anything other than a subtle glow from inside of the case when I happen to look over to it. And you know what? That gives me a nice warm feeling inside.So, with that said, you cannot convince people with an argument based off of endless assumptions and name calling, that putting lights inside of, or having glass be part of someone's computer case, as being immature or worthless, when, in fact, having the top-of-the-line hardware, as you suggest one should upgrade toward rather than any aesthetics, is usually more worthless when it comes to regular upgrades and actual needs.
Finally, here's some advice - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0la5DBtOVNI
I grabbed the IN WIN 303 as my first tempered glass case as well. I moved from a Corsair 500R. What I've noticed is my CPU temps went up, but my GPU temps have gone down; slightly. I really like the look of the case and for the low cost of $89, I had to have one. No regrets.
I really like your biuldI grabbed the IN WIN 303 as my first tempered glass case as well. I moved from a Corsair 500R. What I've noticed is my CPU temps went up, but my GPU temps have gone down; slightly. I really like the look of the case and for the low cost of $89, I had to have one. No regrets.
)) Very very nice. What are the specs ?
nitromullet
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It does look good, but I was disappointed that NZXT didn't go with a tempered glass front panel, like iBUYPOWER did with their s340 http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Special-C
MongGrel
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