Going Caseless?

[Maluno]

I am about to build a new computer and I have heard of people building without a case, leaving the components in open air, or putting them in boxes, etc.

Other than the obvious potential damage due to lack of protection provided by a case, what are some of the consequences that arise from keeping the setup open. Will this have an impact on cooling at all?

Also, my main reason for going without a case is that I wanted to wait for the upcoming antec p180 to see what it is like. Would I be better off buying a cheapo $15 case off newegg as a temporary refuge for my stuff, or can I save the few $$ and just leave it open?

Ideas? Opinions?

 

[IntegraGSR]

if you have no grounding problems, then it will work just fine.. people that build computers without cases are ususally hardcore overclockers and a case usually just gets in a way.

cooling should be better, since you are not restricted to your sustained ambient case temps..

it should be fine, and if you're going to be getting a case, i definetly wouldnt' worry about it.. as long as you can avoid spilling/dropping/bumping/touching :thumbsup:

 

[Budman]

I have been running my 2 boxes without a case just on a steel shelving with wooden shelves without no problems whatsoever.

It's a lot quieter too,no case = no case fans needed.

 

[Cawchy87]

I couldn't stand my computer out of a case, but that was because it was sitting on the desk beside me. So even with quiet thermaltake fans on the lowest setting from my fan controller it was still really annoying.

 

[Maluno]

Originally posted by: IntegraGSR
if you have no grounding problems, then it will work just fine.. people that build computers without cases are ususally hardcore overclockers and a case usually just gets in a way.

How do I make sure that this will be ok, do I have to set the motherboard on something like rubber or cardboard (I think I was reading about a discussion of this earlier somewhere). Sorry, I know next to nothing about electricity. :shocked::Q:disgust::frown::heart::disgust::|:beer::music::wine::lips::gift::moon::thumbsdown::clock::evil::camera:

 

[Navid]

All the components will be grounded through their connections to the power supply and through the power supply connection to the power outlet..
When you remove a component from a computer, you have to worry about ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) and grounding, whether there is a case or not!

Not every component has a fan on it like the CPU. One example is a hard drive. A hard drive with no active cooling (air flow) around it will operate a few degrees warmer.
A case with properly placed fans has an air flow through it that cools down all the components.

 

[S Random]

get a mobo back-plate, and mount it to that

 

[IntegraGSR]

Originally posted by: Navid
All the components will be grounded through their connections to the power supply and through the power supply connection to the power outlet..
When you remove a component from a computer, you have to worry about ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) and grounding, whether there is a case or not!

Not every component has a fan on it like the CPU. One example is a hard drive. A hard drive with no active cooling (air flow) around it will operate a few degrees warmer.
A case with properly placed fans has an air flow through it that cools down all the components.

i agree with the above.. just make sure none of the components are sitting on conductive surfaces (ie metal)..

earlier when i said coolign would be better with a caseless setup, i was assuming that you would use fans as you would in a case, of course

 

[Zepper]

You are responsible for limiting the radiation of RFI/EMI from your computer such that it won't interfere with your neighbor's (or even your other) electronic gear - very hard to do when caseless. Now if you live out in the sticks with a lot of room between neighbors, then that is not likely to cause a problem. Wouldn't want the FCC truck to be pulling into yor driveway...

.bh.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Zepper
You are responsible for limiting the radiation of RFI/EMI from your computer such that it won't interfere with your neighbor's (or even your other) electronic gear - very hard to do when caseless. Now if you live out in the sticks with a lot of room between neighbors, then that is not likely to cause a problem. Wouldn't want the FCC truck to be pulling into yor driveway...

Interference with the neighbor's appliances? Very unlikely! The power output required for that to happen is very high.

Interfering with other devices on the desk or beside the PC? That is a possibility. But, again, you have to be running the CPU at the right radio frequency. And, your motherboard must have been designed so poorly to radiate such a high power signal without an antenna!

I wouldn't worry too much about this.

Edit:
I read my own post and see that it is very generalized.
Interference caused by a PC is a reality. Many motherboards modulate the CPU clock frequency in order to spread the energy in frequency to reduce selectivity (spread spectrum).

So, what Zepper is saying is true! You will reduce the filtering that a metallic case would provide for radiation by building a PC without a case.
I'm just not sure if the FCC truck will ever bother!

 

[Tamale]

plugging cables in and out of components can be a bit of a trick without any mounting..

i recommend tearing apart an old case for the motherboard/pci slot hold if for nothing else

since PCI cards aren't locked down into place like AGP cards, they can slip out quite easily

 

[Elcs]

Would it be possible to mount a mobo onto a mobo backplate then mount it onto a wall allowing it to be detached for changing cpu?

This sounds interesting to me.

 

[Maluno]

Originally posted by: Elcs
Would it be possible to mount a mobo onto a mobo backplate then mount it onto a wall allowing it to be detached for changing cpu?

This sounds interesting to me.

 

[RalfHutter]

I've been using this bench-top rack to run my test systems for years now. I've had no issues with it at all, other than the occasional "ticking" sound on some models of cordless telephones.

 

[Zepper]

Neighbors with ham radios, world-band (shortwave) receivers and or scanners might be heard from re RFI...

.bh.

 

[Mrvile]

You might get some EMI yourself if you live near a radio tower or something, whihc might make you comp a bit choppy.

And about what everyone keeps saying about the air...

When you don't have case fans, the air around your comp just sits there. However, with case fans, the air is constantly moving across the motherboard, and it'll always have a fresh supply of air, this is the "wind tunnel" effect. If you have a CPU cooler that blows down, it will spread the hot air around your motherboard, and where will it go after that? Nowhere, it will just sit around. With case fans, they will exhaust the hot air, bring in cool air to your computer.

 

[Maluno]

What about using a small house fan to blow across the stuff. That should keep it cool, right? But is it entirely necessary?

 

[Mrvile]

It's not necessary unless your temps are really bad.

 

[CrispyFried]

Originally posted by: Mrvile
You might get some EMI yourself if you live near a radio tower or something, whihc might make you comp a bit choppy.

And about what everyone keeps saying about the air...

When you don't have case fans, the air around your comp just sits there. However, with case fans, the air is constantly moving across the motherboard, and it'll always have a fresh supply of air, this is the "wind tunnel" effect. If you have a CPU cooler that blows down, it will spread the hot air around your motherboard, and where will it go after that? Nowhere, it will just sit around. With case fans, they will exhaust the hot air, bring in cool air to your computer.

Heat rises. No prob. But with a proper case setup you may have more cooling because the air moves faster than the hot air just drifting up on its own.

 

[TGS]

I would say unless you are pushing a good amount of air through your case, having your board out of a case would provide better cooling. The biggest problem for case cooling is pulling in enough fresh air to get to the hot components and pushing out heated air. With cables, drives, various cards a lot of your air flow gets obstructed.

If you spend a good amount of time zipping down cables and providing a clear path for adequate air flow. though without a case you are not pushing heated air from component to component. My setup involves 2 front 80mm fans blowing air across two drives. So my air is getting added heat almost immediately when it enters the case. Without a case I could still aim a fan at the drives, though with an open air system I probably wouldn't need the fans to force air across the drives as my ceiling fan pushing a great deal more ambient air through my room than the case fans.

In all honesty, other than for connector reasons, logically you think that cases would be oriented to have fans at the bottom of the case, with hotter components towards the top, along with case fans on the ceiling of the case. Following the natural flow of heat upwards. I still don't understand why you would have an unnatural flow of air, that is sustained by large amounts of air pressure.

My main concern of open case setups is dust, and children(read spills, food, and other fun stuff). Dust is always an issue, even if you have filters, due to the fact you have to clean the filters though that is much simpler than dust out an entire case. Children, along with other non-electric device savvy people. Someone will do something, and short/break/knock anything and everything. That is my opinion at least.

 

[Blain]

I'm going to get mine in a case... some day. :laugh:

 

[Maluno]

Originally posted by: Blain
I'm going to get mine in a case... some day. :laugh:

Thats what I plan to do too.

 

[qbackin]

Originally posted by: Blain
I'm going to get mine in a case... some day. :laugh:

tifka

 

[Chode Messiah]

put the mobo in a noncunductive fluid(fluorinert(3M)):evil::beer:

 

[lestat0521]

If you had a large enough desk you could mount the mobo and stuff to it, that way you could constantly monitor heat. You could also stick a large room fan directly above the mobo and cool it