quiet acrylic case, possible??

T.J.(iceman) · Post by **T.J.(iceman)** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:28 am

is it possible t have an acrylic case and still keep it cool`n quiet?
im thinkin acryan or sunbeam cases (cant find other brands in this country)

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:38 am

Acrylic cases are actually very quiet. The material has very gopod self-damping; ie, acrylic doesn't resonate, its softness makes it inefficient at transmitting viubrations / noise.

The main issue with them is that they proivide no RF shilelding at all, and the vent holes are usually terribly restricted. You could solve both of these by...

1) adding a layer of aluminum sheeting on the interior (or just not worrying about it unless the RF from your PC actually interferes with something)

2) cutting out the "grills" completely and replacing them with wire fan guards.

Al · Post by Al » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:45 am

MikeC wrote:1) adding a layer of aluminum sheeting on the interior (or just not worrying about it unless the RF from your PC actually interferes with something)

Would this not partially defeat the point of having an acrylic case? All the ones I've seen use primarily clear acrylic, which I imagine wouldn't look so great with a slab of aluminium on the inside.

Al

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:49 am

Cosmetics are of no concern to me. I simply answered the poster's question.

swivelguy2 · Post by **swivelguy2** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 9:24 am

You could use metal screening, or something like modder's mesh, to provide decent EMI protection while retaining transparency.

pcy · Post by **pcy** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:57 pm

Hi,

You can get acrylic which has improved acoustic damping - it's made of two layers laminated together. The lamination changes the way the material distorts as sound passes through it. I'm not currently aware of anybody making cases out of this stuff though.

Does the lack of RF shielding actually matter?

Peter

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:29 pm

Al wrote: Would this not partially defeat the point of having an acrylic case?

I think it would completely defeat the point. Unless acrylic is quiter and or lighter than steel, then there's another point.

Even then, I haven't seen any acrylic cases that allow fans bigger than 8cm. Although I have seen acrylic cases with 5 inch bays going all the way to the bottom, that's useful for suspension.

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 5:00 pm

mathias wrote:Unless acrylic is quiter and or lighter than steel, then there's another point.

It is quieter, surprisingly. Weight is not much different. But you have to think of it as a total DIY project, because there are no acrylic cases that are well thought out for thermals & good airflow. We'll do a project on this next month.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 5:22 pm

pcy wrote:Does the lack of RF shielding actually matter?

It interferes with radio and the like. Not sure if that's a con.

It could actually be a pro. If you go to lan parties, if you use wired LAN, if other people use wireless lan, and if EMI significantly interferes with wireless lan, then tweaking a computer for high EMI would sabotage other people's connections. Buahahahaha!

Or if other people want to watch TV or listen to the radio nearby and you don't want them to, that's another use for an EMI generator. Maybe there's a lot more uses.

BadAim · Post by **BadAim** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:17 pm

This link might help you in bending your own.

http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000167053984/

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 8:11 pm

My wood case has no shielding at all, and I can't get it to significantly interfere with cordless or cell phones. AM radio held within a couple feet picks up a lot of static, but that's true of a great many things. I wouldn't sweat RF shielding unless you can actually identify a problem.

T.J.(iceman) · Post by **T.J.(iceman)** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 5:59 am

does the RF interfer with cable 2?
and about the fans, i could just use some 80-120mm fan brakets.

thanks for the replies all

Gorsnak · Post by **Gorsnak** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 3:58 pm

My computer's about 8' from the TV, and doesn't make a lick of difference to the picture. It might be an issue if it was right next to it, I don't know. As I said, the only RFI effect I can find is AM radio noise within a few feet (as in, less than 3). But my LCD monitor is noisier in that respect than the computer itself is. There are some theoretical issues that could arise due to lack of shielding, but I simply can't see any practical issues, at least in my case. I certainly am not about to go to any lengths to shield my computer unless some real, identifiable problem arises.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 4:33 pm

There's a heirarchy of life things:

A) sexiness
B) usefulness

A always wins. Acrylic can be very sexy and so can, in a sort of odd, gnome-like cloistered way, silent systems.

The aluminum wanting to be silent is just that, its not about 1 degree heat dissipation its about swank.

The suggestions of plating the acrylic case are horrifying to someone who enjoys the A quality of fashionable case bling.

I think I will make my new case out of acrylic to smite thee.

mathias · Post by **mathias** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:40 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote:There's a heirarchy of life things:

A) sexiness
B) usefulness

I don't know what you're talking about. Here usefullness wins. And elsewhere, in between those two are miscellaneous gimicks and advertising, and above all of those is bragging rights.

~El~Jefe~ wrote:The suggestions of plating the acrylic case are horrifying to someone who enjoys the A quality of fashionable case bling.

Outraging and confusing people is exactly what would be great about an acrylic case with acoustipack.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:49 pm

for you B wins. but that is your issue.

acousti pack in a acrylic case could possibly look cool. it is grey and a foam/plastic, it might look svelt.

CX23882-19 · Post by **CX23882-19** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 10:46 pm

My old case, a Nexus iStyle (aka Suntek Vivid etc.) was thick steel chassis with coloured acrylic panels. It was very quiet in this respect; better in fact than my current Evercase with Nexus Damptek. The problem however was that there was hardly any front intake ventilation.

pcy · Post by **pcy** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 5:13 pm

Hi,

You can get acrylic which has improved acoustic damping - it's made of two layers laminated together. The lamination changes the way the material distorts as sound passes through it. I'm not currently aware of anybody making cases out of this stuff though.

Does the lack of RF shielding actually matter?

Peter

Psyber · Post by **Psyber** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 5:46 pm

Why bother? It looks like public wanking!

Effective power and quietness are cool, flashy and "in your face" is just being childish! If you have to shove it up people's noises to show them what you have you haven't got much.

Performance is a positive - flashy hype shows your inadequacy.

nici · Post by **nici** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:57 pm

I quiete like the idea of an acrylic case, now read carefully children, a acrylic case wich is tinted with 5% black tint film like used for tinting car windows, and then has cold cathodes of preferred color inside! Cathodes off= sleek looking very very shiny black case. Cathodes on= Look at my crappy wiring!!

No seriously, i like this idea, and have always thought acrylic would be a pretty good material for a case. With some good cablemanagment it could look really cool

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 10:12 pm

heck yeah nici, it is. and anyone that says it's compensating for something lacking, and has to point that out in a forum, is the one truly lacking!

smoked glass (like Nokia right? doesnt that mean smoked?" yes that would be great. Polycarbonate at like 1/4 inch or even 3/8 inch would be really powerful vs sound. WHy? well its bulletproof type of plastic, it has a rubbery quality to it that I would assume, resonates less and is more gum like yet resists scratches.

it also resists cutting and is kinda annoying to work with in long strips. I used to use it for making full size toys for disabled people. was like drilling through metal, acrylic plexiglass was so easy.

Another reason why acrylic is great case idea is that you could make your own as well as modify your own rather easily. It sands, carves, screws well, drills perfectly without shavings and burrs, and most importantly, it Glues so easily together forming extremely strong bonds that can be rather clear.

SUnbeam used to have a really nice one with gold trim all around its perimeter.

Hows life nici! i havent talked to you in months!

(btw, sexiness and bling rules all)

wim · Post by **wim** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:15 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote:for you B wins. but that is your issue.

geeze, what's wrong with someone having a different opinion? i'm going to have to go with mathias on this one. and i bet you'll find a majority of members on this forum having B as priority. it's ok for you to prefer the bling and (s)wank, personally, but to say A always wins and it's some hierarchy of life is just inane. if you insist that sexiness and bling rules all then i reckon that is, ahem, your 'issue'

T.J.(iceman) · Post by **T.J.(iceman)** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:53 am

im just getting the acrylic case for the looks, not 2 beat my friends.
and i also want it 2 be quiet, with a acrylic case i can teach my stupid non-computer friends how a comp works

nici · Post by **nici** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 11:17 am

Jefe--> I forgot to install AIM after i installed a new OS on a new HDD... And i havent been wisiting this site much either, i´ve been too busy being bored to death...

Nokia is a place in Finland, noki is soot. You know the black sheit that builds up in chimneys, so Santa Claus gets all dirty when he goes down the chimney

I typed a longer message for this thread, but spcr stopped working for a while and i lost the stuff. And i dont have any brain-capacity left to use for acrylic cases, the whole brain is occupied with cars. cars.cars.cars.cars.cars. F*CKING CARS! i cant decide what i want. check the car thread in off topic for more details if interested.....

Click the link to see my stage of frustration.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ ... 1049vn.gif

EDIT: Linked the picture

vertigo · Post by **vertigo** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:30 pm

That picture in the post above is disturbing. I would like a moderator to remove it.

andywww · Post by **andywww** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:57 pm

So Jefe, would you say that acrylic would make an easier DIY case material than wood?

How does acrylic cases' acoustical properties compare with the wood cases you've seen Mike?

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:37 pm

Oh heck yeah it is. much easier. plus you can see what you are doing.

now to make it look pretty is difficult, the glue can fog up the plastic, even the contact clear stuff can make little air pockets.

when you go acrylic I suggest getting a skeleton of something, like say get some acrylic 1/2 inch square long pieces, stuff that can be bought from plastic places. ny city is an awesome place for plastics but all can be bought to specification rather inexpensively. I had this idea that the 1/2 long pieces i would use as an L bracket like thing where the case walls join. Now, the drive bays... i have suggestions for ONE of them, just make little plastic ledges with screws underneath for support, very simple, and its easy to level and measuer plastic as its clear so you can eyeball most of the work without having to guess where to cut. its very cool to work with plastic, plus, if you get yourself a hot air gun, you can make curved pieces depending upon the substance you use (polycarbonate wouldnt be used for this)

A circle cutting tool on a drill is really good, but the best thing for all of this is a Drill Press. The cutting of regular acrylic inexpensive hardware store stuff is done with a knife and then you snap it clean. very safe to work with, but it can cut you when freshly broken. the easier it is to snap the more like ly it will shatter. polycarbonate is the best to use but you ahve to jigsaw or better yet, Band saw it. then you take medium and fine garnet sandpaper to make that factory look to the edges before glueing. I wish i could show people how to work with the stuff and how to glue it as well.

It really is awesome if you get some good PLUMBING tips and mix up the acryllic with polyvinylchloride PVC tubing.... can make some sick watercooling setups, no drips ever.

darthan · Post by **darthan** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:21 pm

RF actually isn't a factor for acrylic cases you can buy (at least in the States and probably elsewhere too). The case makers paint the inside of the acrylic with a conductive compound that absorbs sufficient RF for the case to meet the legal requirements to be sold in the US. Also, you kind of want the inside of a case to be conductive. It gives everything a backup ground as the PSU chassis is grounded and so grounds any conductive case.

I'm willing to bet that if you held an AM radio by a nice steel case you would discover a good amount of static too.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 8:09 pm

conductive what? thats really odd never heard of that at all.

the sunbeam one is cool.

But i would want one with 120 mm holes in front and back not 80's.

i duno why anyone would want 80's still in 2005, kinda pointless.

T.J.(iceman) · Post by **T.J.(iceman)** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:24 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote: A circle cutting tool on a drill is really good.

You Could just use the circle cutting tool 2 make a 120mm hole

quiet acrylic case, possible??

quiet acrylic case, possible??

Transparent cases???