Aluminum vs. Steel

[moosey]

Does steel have any real advantage over aluminum in keeping a PC quieter?

 

[Ayah]

Steel is more resistant to vibrating.

 

[Gautama2]

Originally posted by: Ayah
Steel is more resistant to vibrating.

 

[enz660hp]

indeed. But if you worry about that, you should already be mouting all of your fans, hdd's with rubber screws, or other soft materials.

 

[pcy]

Hi,

Originally posted by: Ayah
Steel is more resistant to vibrating.

I'm not convinced about that. After all they make steel drums out of .... (wait for it) ... steel.



More generally, one may be marhianlly better than the other, but both are atrocious.

If you want a material that block or absorbs noise you have various choices.


We use composite aluminium sandwich in teh PaQ case the "filling" is plyethelene, with (on average) 13mm serious acousticc foam inside that.


Any laminate - two or more layers bonded togeterh wit a slightly elastic glue - works well. and MDF is actually good; so a DIY solution would involve sheets of MDF and lots of doublesided adhesive tape.


65mm (or 1/4") of end grain bolsa with hevlar cloth laminated to the inside and carbon fibre laminated to the outside would also work well. Not cheap, but it would incredibly strong, very light and look stunning.



Peter

 

[moosey]

Where can I get rubber screws and HDD mounts?
Thanks

 

[Susquehannock]

Steel more resistant to vibrating? Perhaps because of extra weight, but otherwise I do not agree. If anything the softer aluminum will help inhibit transfer of vibrations.

-edit
Rubber screws & HDD mounts can be found here
~ http://www.xoxide.com/sharkoon-pc-vibration-dampening-kit.html
~ http://www.xoxide.com/nexus-disktwin-dampener-black.html

 

[Praxis1452]

Steel IS less prone to vibration. thickness for thickness it will not flex as much. If anything is vibrating it will probably be the fan against the case and not the steel itself.

Softer= more energy transfered through the piece. With a stronger metal it will be spread throughout the entire case limiting the vibration.

 

[Rike]

It's not so much about the material as it is about the mass. The more mass, the more energy it takes to vibrate it.

To quiet a case from vibration you can:
a) isolate the vibration source from the part that will vibrate audibly or
b) increase the mass of the vibrating part until it vibrates at an inaudible level

If you're going for quiet, you should pursue both strategies at the same time.

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: pcy
We use composite aluminium sandwich in teh PaQ case the "filling" is plyethelene, with (on average) 13mm serious acousticc foam inside that.

Any laminate - two or more layers bonded togeterh wit a slightly elastic glue - works well. and MDF is actually good; so a DIY solution would involve sheets of MDF and lots of doublesided adhesive tape.

65mm (or 1/4") of end grain bolsa with hevlar cloth laminated to the inside and carbon fibre laminated to the outside would also work well. Not cheap, but it would incredibly strong, very light and look stunning.

But... that has nothing to do with the steel vs. aluminum question by the OP. Most cases are going to be made out of steel, aluminum, plastic, or a combination. I've never heard of cases being made of the materials you're talking about, so it's irrelevant.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
...it's irrelevant.

Um...

I tend to agree with that declaration... then again, us Northwood owners tend to stick together!

 

[slatr]

I hope you are cold natured if you work with an aluminum case in a small office or bedroom.

My wife now uses my last aluminum case. She likes how it keeps her feet warm.

Aluminum is light, easy to move ect.. but I couldn't handle the space heater feel.