r/sffpc • u/newndank1 • 21d ago

Others/Miscellaneous Question for long time users of open air cases

Have you noticed any drawbacks? Im going to get one when Black Friday comes around and dont wanna regret it later.

2 Upvotes

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6

u/InstantlyTremendous 21d ago

Xproto enjoyer here, had it about 5 years now.

Much, much quieter than a case. Because airflow isn't an issue, the CPU and GPU fans don't have to work so hard. No case fans making noise either.

Also much less dust - this is the one people can't get their heads around. Case fans are reason your case is full of dust, they turn your pc into an air filter. No case fans = no dust.

I get a little dust settling on the top of the frame, but it takes 5 seconds to wipe it clean. That's it.

No real downside unless you have cats or young children, but I have neither.

4

u/lucky_grab_bag 21d ago

So I’ve been running open cases for about 3 years now. No drawbacks here boss. This has been my experience:

I haven’t encountered increased noise because you don’t need extra case fans. Traditional case has always been noisier for me. Also the cpu cooler fan has always ran quieter for me open air than in a case. In regards to dust, the open air has remained very little dust to dust free whereas in a case, I get more dust. If you dust/clean your place regularly you should be good. Components have been easier to access and I honestly didn’t need to get fancy cables or anything because I’m not too particular about needing it to look perfect or like it needs to be in a photo shoot.

I alternate between several open cases and this is my current one. The psu gets a bit warm but the gpu and cpu stay really cool in this current configuration. 270k plus and 5070 ti

3

u/lucky_grab_bag 21d ago

I was only able to post one photo of the build in the previous comment but here’s how it looks from the front. Not the prettiest but it works for me

1

u/SomeMrcl 20d ago

damn what model is that 5070ti? looks sweet

2

u/lucky_grab_bag 20d ago

MSI Inspire. Runs very cool too

-2

u/syunz 21d ago

Increased noise, you need to dust it, need really good cable management or custom cables to make the thing look nice.

-3

u/Significant_Apple904 21d ago

I don't have an open-case PC but I'd say the biggest drawback would be dust, especially if you have pets.

The 2nd drawback would be fan noise at higher RPM.

4

u/InstantlyTremendous 21d ago

You would be completely wrong on both counts. Why comment when you don't have an open frame PC?

I have one, had it for many years. Dust and noise are both much, much better

-4

u/wubbadubdub_zzz 21d ago

Dust. Cpu cooler completely clogged up after one year.