Aluminum PC Cases?

[wulf109]

Do aluminum PC cases actually run any cooler than a steel case?

[Soopafresh]

It sure feels like it from the outside of the case, but airflow through the case influences internal temps much more. I do like the look of aluminum cases.

[budz]

I also thought that aluminum pc cases would be cooler than a steel case. But my ANTEC LANBOY case has high internal temps so I had to buy a better 120mm rear fan. I have a COOLERMASTER RC-330-KKN1 for my core2duo computer that runs cooler than the ANTEC LANBOY case that has a INTEL P4 3.0C NORTHWOOD processor. As Soopafresh mentions the airflow in the case will determine the internal temps. But with the core2duo conroe processors they do run cooler than the Northwood processors. I have my 2coreduo processor overclocked a bit as well with the temp going up to 30c when doing video encoding.

[Krispy Kritter]

The only benefit is weight. The case itself has nothing to do with cooling.

[SCDVD]

Regardless of what your case is made of, if it feels warm when you touch it, it's probably too hot inside. It's a good idea to provide for more air moving through the case with more or bigger fans etc.

[Des]

My Coolmaster Wave Master case looks cooler than my Antec did

Internally it seems to be just as hot, added better fans and it runs cool now.

CPU cooler fan is so important I have a enough room for the Thermaltake Typhoon which keeps things very cool and is ultra quiet.

--dES

[Ron B]

They do look cool. Does the surface oxidize? I'm by the beach, some of the metal parts of my Antec cases, as well as fan grilles and, especially, floppy disc drives get rusty.

[redwudz]

I've never noticed any aluminum corrosion, but haven't had any rust in a steel case either. The steel cases are somewhat quieter and muffle some hard drive noise better. And they should have slightly better RF shielding. I have a full tower steel server case with 8 hard drives in it, and I can definitely tell you they are a lot heavier.

[CogoSWSDS]

Folks, there's a reason why you might see corrosion on steel cases but not on aluminum ones. When steel oxidizes, it's the iron that's oxidizing. Iron oxide is commonly known as rust. Rust does not stick to much of anything, it flakes off, which is why when your car starts rusting, it doesn't take long (a few years) and the body is eaten with rust. Aluminum oxidizes even faster than iron, however, Aluminum oxide sticks like glue to the aluminum, so the outer layer of Aluminum oxide is (a) very thin; (b) looks the same color as the aluminum; and (c) serves as a protective coating for the aluminum underneath!

CogoSWSDS

[RabidDog]

I thought ally cases actually conduct some heat away, better than Steel cases, so they might feel warmer, but are actually running cooler. I was going to say that Ally doesnt rust but....
Maybe magnesium cases would be best of all, or why not thin-walled cases with water cooled panels eg like radiators?

[Ron B]

Perhaps "oxidation" of aluminum in a salt environment is not exactly the correct term, it is more of a galvanic reaction.
We use some aluminum camera housings for heavier movie cameras in the ocean, even with careful washing and storage, a whitish-yellow precipitate(powdery goo) will form on the surface, anodized or not. The salty air also dissolves the radiator on my truck every few years. Salt is nasty.
I'm not saying this is an everyday issue, it would be for me. I still think a black anodized case would be cool. Better still, how about a carbon fiber paneled case with aluminum, or better still, titanium trim and hardware?

[adam]

I think the whole cooler aluminum case thing is just a myth, based on the fact that aluminum cases feel cold to the touch. The reason is because aluminum is a very good conductor so when you touch it the heat from your skin rapidly transfers to the metal, so you sense cold. This would happen on the inside of the case too but its pretty irrelevant because regardless of case material it shouldn't take that long before the inside case material reaches the same temperature as the air heating it. Once that happens the only way to cool the inside of the case is dissipate the heat it or force it out of the case, and the conductivity of the case material shouldn't speed or slow this down either way.

In other words, the inside of the case will reach the same temp as the air at different speeds depending on case material, but once that happens its all relative. And regardless of what material you use this is going to happen relatively quickly anyway.

[enstg8er]

The only benefit is weight. The case itself has nothing to do with cooling.

wrong.

all things being equal, the aluminum case is cooler. it is just simple physics. aluminum transfers heat better than steel, much like steel transfers heat better than wood. it is most beneficial for hdd's. the case becomes a large heatsink if they are attached securely.

this is the key reason cpu heatsinks are not made of steel.

[SCDVD]

While it is true that aluminum conducts heat better than steel, if a case feels warm to the touch, you don't have enough air flow through the case. A warm aluminum case is just a warning that it's too hot inside the case. If it weren't too hot inside the case, it wouldn't feel warm.

[Krispy Kritter]

The only benefit is weight. The case itself has nothing to do with cooling.

wrong.

all things being equal, the aluminum case is cooler. it is just simple physics. aluminum transfers heat better than steel, much like steel transfers heat better than wood. it is most beneficial for hdd's. the case becomes a large heatsink if they are attached securely.

this is the key reason cpu heatsinks are not made of steel.

While technically correct, in pc use it isn't enough of a difference to matter. One of the OC'ing sites (as soon as I can find the link, I will post it here) performed a test using identical versions of the same case (aluminum and steel). Both cases were loaded with the exact same hardware and stress tested to load the hardware. The temp inside each case was within .xx of a degree.

So there is basically no difference in cooling properties.