It would seem that Coolermaster has made a change to the Centurion 5 model that makes it unsuitable for me. I was unable to find a model for sale without a side panel window. Several reviews I found on-line including SPCR were of the early models that had no side panel window, but after checking at Fry's and several on-line vendors, it seems that all of them have the window now.

I would assume market forces are speaking and Coolermaster is responding. Am I just an old man with outdated tastes, or are there others who hate side panel windows? I don't like the looks, and they can screw up your ability to cut in a cpu duct.

Why have a side window when I have two or three towers packed next to each other under the desk?

I'm a staunch supporter of the plain-jane Evercase 4252.

side windows are great. you can see if fans are spinning if you have light inside that you can turn on, you can see error messages on digital readout boards, you can also see BLING.

IN addition, plastic windows dont transmit more sound than metal. I am guessing they actually are faintly quieter if their metal contact/frame is not vibrating at all.

Personally, I see acrylic cases as being a quieter system. a tin can sounds like a.... tin can. I havent tested this yet but besides thermal insulation problems, I cant see how it wouldnt follow this rule.

i like my window because it lets me know when one of my watercooling tubes/blocks is leaking it also shows off the uv-lit green coolant i have flowing around.

one thing that surprised me about fitting a window to my case was that it actually made the side panel heavier and much more rigid. i guess this is down to the flexibility of the materials.

i think it's totally a matter of personal preference. if you have something to show off, then show it off

Hey chylld put up a link to your rig thread in your sig. It was a pretty nice window IIRC.

WRT side windows on the centurion 5 there is a new model w/o PSU that is 62 dollars shipped from chiefvalue.com that has a cpu duct (new) and no side window. Check it out.

You are not alone.

I don't want them either. Why would I want to be constantly checking my machines insides? I would hate it if I had to worry about sth like leaking water cooling, things should *just work* in my rig. I don't want to see inside my other electronic gear either. It just sits there to do what it's meant for.

I stripped my sonata of all those front panel lights, and those that are in the fan controller are luckily behind the door. I'd hate to have the thing glowing in the dark when I sleep.

In general I'm very much anti-bling

I'd hate to have a PC with a huge RFI passing plastic covered hole in the side of it, and that's what it does. I have two cases which are plastic all-round, but they are either a metal chassis with an additional layer of plastic and perspex on the outside (Nexus iStyle) or they have a metallic panel fastened onto the plastic side which then joins with the main chassis (Fong Kai FK604). I have a hi-fi sat literally 30cm from my PC and get zero problems on FM or AM stations with the PC on and the side panels closed. I can swap the panels over on my FK so that the unshielded panel (since the motherboard tray panel serves this purpose) is on the hi-fi's side and guess what, it swamps out all AM stations and makes FM stereo extremely hissy.

For that reason I've avoided cases with windows since I suspect that they are prone to the same problems.

They don't look cool either - drive cages are plain ugly and power supplies aren't exactly the most attractive things ever made are they.

tay: i don't think my rig is worth linkage in every single post i make but here is the thread documenting my window mod.

i think if you're in Chris.Day's situation and have rf-sensitive equipment near your pc, then a window is a no-go. but my computer is my hi-fi (or substitution thereof) and i don't listen to the radio.. so no problems for me

i agree that drive cages are really not worth showing off at all.. which is why my window is cut out to only show the motherboard really. some of the flashy 'bling' cases go to great lengths to position huge windows right over your beautiful... drive cages.

thankfully i haven't had water leaking problems for a year or so now (faulty cpu waterblock was dripping coolant onto my video card (but no damage)) but i guess another big reason for a window is the show-off factor. one of my friends brought his girl over a while ago, she was absolutely jaw-dropped at my rig (even though she knows next to nothing about comptuers). so yeah.. picks up chicks i guess

*Goes out to buy some Acrylic in the middle of the night*

I recently changed my Sonata case for a CM Stacker case.
I suited my demands more, but it was louder. So i replaced the round grill and mesh with a window. So now i've got a round window on my case.
Thought i'd be too old for it. Anyways, it's quieter and a bit more unique.
No other general opinion on windows though.