When is a case no longer a case? (was Re: scorpions vs dust bunnies

[Alan Dayley]

Yes, you can.

Cases are metal to prevent electronic emmissions from bothering other
equipment.  But, the main reason for the case is to protect the electronics
of your computer from outside damage.  Walk into any engineering lab and
you will find exposed computers all over the place.  I am writing this on a
computer with the cover off and cables spilling out on the anti-static mat
on the desk of my cubicle.  And it is right next to my test computer with
no cover.

The cover, in my opinion, provides several purposes:
- reduce interferance emmissions
- protect the computer components from damage/dirt
- protect the user from shock (safety)
- provide mounting surfaces for all the parts
- and, in some cases, specific airflow channels, and a few PCs have this
need but not usually

As long as you don't have kids to poke a paper clip in the board and you
don't care about emissions, hang it on the wall with a fan blowing accross
it.  In fact, that sounds kind of cool!

Alan

At 02:02 PM 4/23/01 -0700, you wrote:
>Jason wrote:
>
>> [...]
>> I used to have a giant 286 case (it had a 486 in it) that I had cut a
>> huge hole in the top of. To this I mounted a very large 120VAC fan,
>> which made very little noise pumping about 60CFM. Around the fan was
>> an automotive air cleaner.
>
>I've been watching the cooling trends over the years with some amusement. I
>can still remember when do-it-yourselfers built systems inside wood cases.
>It's been fun watching cases go the way of the bikini. But I do have to
>wonder at what point the benefits of a case are outweighed by cooling
>concerns.
>
>As things warm up and the weather report is invariably 10 degrees shy of the
>actual temperatures, I'm concerned about my three server boxen jammed under
>my desk. Already I can feel the warmth rolling out from under there and I'm
>considering a few alternatives.
>
>Isn't part of the function of a case to shield outside devices from
>interference, thus requiring metal? Don't those big lexan view windows and
>fan openings negate that somewhat? Can I just mount my motherboard on a nice
>oak board with suitable backplane support and stick it on my wall as art?
>
>- Bob
>
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/------------------------------------------
|Alan Dayley             www.adtron.com
|Software Engineer       602-735-0300 x331
|ADayley@adtron.com
|
|Adtron Corporation         
|3710 E. University Drive, Suite 5
|Phoenix, AZ  85034
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