Open case?

[Dooling37]

Just curious if anyone else here leaves their case(s) completely open on the side. I have three computers running right now (2 with old, junk parts), and I leave all three cases open on the side cause I'm always tinkering with something, and it's a pain to have to keep taking them apart. Plus, the cases are ugly as sin to begin with, being hand-me-downs.

Is this maybe a bad idea as it invites dust and all sorts of other junk into the parts? On the other hand, even with the case on, all my parts always manage to get covered in dust anyways. I'm not worried about spilling anything or kicking anything as I'm always very careful around them and keep them tucked away in a corner when I'm not messing with them.

So what do you think - am I alright leaving them all open all the time, or should I suck it up and slap the side covers back on each and every time?
Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated...

 

[Lalakai]

I've got a tower case on top of my desk that I keep open. A can of compressed air helps control the dust. If you have a newer case that seals tight, you're better off keeping it closed and adding another fan to help the air circulation. If it's an older case, they aren't tight to begin with and the air circulation is pretty poor, so you might be better off keeping it open.

to help with the dust issue, keep it off the floor and away from any air ducts and ceiling fans.

 

[jimmygates]

I upgrade and tinker with my computer constantly so I just keep the case open since I'm a lazy b!tch. Keeping the case open kills airflow and collects dust on parts. I have to dust the computer everyday =(


-Jimbo

 

[toph99]

unless they are good cases with fans in specific places to encourage airflow, then no, there's no reason not to leave it open(so long as you don't mind dust)
thats the one good thing about Dell cases, they don' thave any screws or anything, just push the button and off comes the cover

 

[NutBucket]

Leave the sucker open. That way ppl can see all the goodies, like RAID, Gorbs, SLI Voodoo2s, etc. My dos pesos.

 

[Stephen24]

I would leave my case open but my hard drives are so damn loud. When I close the case it dampens the sound a good bit.

 

[wjones]

My case is always off. You can get 3-can pack of compressed air from Costco cheap.
Dust on the board and parts is not a problem but the power supply. I tried to use the compressed air to clear the power supply dust, most of the dust just got off and dropped INSIDE the power supply case. Now I use my vacuum cleaner to suck out the power supply dust (of course, i use the vacuum cleaner tube)