"Perils" mostly meaning the spill of say a drink straight into the innards of my computer. A side concern is whether my cats will discover the warm spot though usually my tower has a few bits of crap on top.
I'm not naturally particularly clumsy, but I am mindful of the one time I had a spill; it went onto the front of the computer and caught the USB ports which don't work any more on my current case. I'm limited for options with my next build because I have two optical drives (the BR writer doesn't seem to be as fast as it ought to be for reading and seems to be slightly less compatible than the DVDRW), and the case I've found which seems to suit my needs has an air vent at the top (2x 120 fan grilles), which makes me a bit nervous.
With this case I can think of the following options:
1 - Relocate PC so it's less vulnerable. The problem with that is the room my office is in limits my options.
1a - With my first point I was thinking about another location on the floor, but the PC could head up to desk height. However, system noise is easier to perceive especially if it has two walls for the sound to bounce off.
2 - Cover the vent completely. I would have preferred not to have one in the first place, right? Water is tricky though, and might still find its way in through the top. Also, increased air flow seems like generally a nice thing to have.
2a - Cover the vent completely until I'm doing something particularly system intensive?
3 - Cover the vent partially. I was thinking or something similar to a small amount of air ducting which would cover the vent from above but still allow air to vent out the side of the 'duct' that isn't covered up, pointing away from my desk.
4 - Sit some kind of small bit of furniture on top of the case (like a monitor stand which has room for a keyboard to slot beneath).
My train of thought went out the window after briefly thinking I had miscalculated the width of the new case and the room available where the current case is.
Has anyone else here had a similar quandary and did you come up with any other solutions?
I'm not naturally particularly clumsy, but I am mindful of the one time I had a spill; it went onto the front of the computer and caught the USB ports which don't work any more on my current case. I'm limited for options with my next build because I have two optical drives (the BR writer doesn't seem to be as fast as it ought to be for reading and seems to be slightly less compatible than the DVDRW), and the case I've found which seems to suit my needs has an air vent at the top (2x 120 fan grilles), which makes me a bit nervous.
With this case I can think of the following options:
1 - Relocate PC so it's less vulnerable. The problem with that is the room my office is in limits my options.
1a - With my first point I was thinking about another location on the floor, but the PC could head up to desk height. However, system noise is easier to perceive especially if it has two walls for the sound to bounce off.
2 - Cover the vent completely. I would have preferred not to have one in the first place, right? Water is tricky though, and might still find its way in through the top. Also, increased air flow seems like generally a nice thing to have.
2a - Cover the vent completely until I'm doing something particularly system intensive?
3 - Cover the vent partially. I was thinking or something similar to a small amount of air ducting which would cover the vent from above but still allow air to vent out the side of the 'duct' that isn't covered up, pointing away from my desk.
4 - Sit some kind of small bit of furniture on top of the case (like a monitor stand which has room for a keyboard to slot beneath).
My train of thought went out the window after briefly thinking I had miscalculated the width of the new case and the room available where the current case is.
Has anyone else here had a similar quandary and did you come up with any other solutions?