Mine run with the sides on. However my main crunchers are in CM Storm Sniper cases with lots of room inside and fans galore. I even remove the dust cover off the front fan grill and run the vacumn over it about every 6 months :-)

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BOINC blog

Both my machines have sides on, the cooling difference with them on or off doesn't make much of a difference. It's purely aesthetic. If I needed to do hardware maintenance enough on them I needed the sides off I would replace the machine. With that said for simplicity both my machine are the non-screw type with handles to lock on or remove the side panels. This happens once a month at least to clean and do a general check on my components. Generally on my newer case it's not been needed each month since it has microfiber filters on the front of it. The older case has filters but it doesn't catch everything, it's just those fine meshed plastic filters.

When I was still overclocking though it was nice to have the case side off and on my desk so if I took something too far the cmos clear button was right there.

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Traveling through space at ~67,000mph!

All right.. the down and dirty of why people do, and do not, run their computers open.

When older computers were being home built, the cases really were a pain to take on and off. And those hobbyists getting in and out of there computer frequently for their latest upgrad often just got fed up with that. Screws got misplaced.. sheet metal did not fit without back bending exercise, and it was an over all pain. So.. they often just got left off. And as a result, desktop cases, heat rises.. they ran cooler. Case fans died, and it did not matter.

This of course did expose it to more dust, pet hair, and in some cases pets. People with store bought computers frowned on how silly it was. They were explained how the proper air flow through the case was important.

As computers evolve, It became more common for store bought computers to actually fit their needs. Heat produced inside the cases increased, airflow within those cases become more critical, multiple case fans became the norm,
and there became even more concern over air flow.

But still.. if you remove the case, the amount of air available, and the tendency for heat to rise continues. heat continues to rise (more of it, it rises faster through convection) and there can still be a valid argument for leaving it open. You still probably need some fans to help circulate that air, but over all if it is moved, it will rise.

And the dust problems(and pet issues) can continue. Filters added to the air flow can greatly reducing the dust accumulation, protecting against not only restricted air flow, premature failure of fans, but also against potential short circuits via foreign objects.

To complicate you could add liquid cooling. This still needs air flow over components (and of course the radiators) but can restrict the same if it is not properly laid out.

In the end, I do not believe there is a "right" or wrong answer. If it works well for you, that is probably the right configuration. If it does not, try something else.

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Janice

I have to keep the cases closed. My cats aren't as well behaved as msattler's. They love to play with and/or tear out the pretty colored wires.

In the end, I do not believe there is a "right" or wrong answer. If it works well for you, that is probably the right configuration. If it does not, try something else.

You right this isn't as simple as a right or wrong answer. It depends on application and environment I would imagine. Perfect example is looking around at some of the forums that talk about cooling and you will often see this debate get absorbed into a positive vs negative pressure debate. Which is better and why and all of that. Just like you said, if it works for you do it, if it doesn't try something else. Personally if I have kids or pets roaming around the case sides are on, and one other thing to think about, if your computer is over heating with the sides on it may be time to think about a different cooling solution or rethink your application to find a better solution.

With the sides off my case I see a slight decrease in temperatures, but not enough to warrant leaving it off, but I do have people around me that have to leave the side of their case off or their machines get way to hot. It's all about air flow.

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Traveling through space at ~67,000mph!

I really like this case ;) ...


Wish I had a couple racks full of these! *dreaming*

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"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but rather, 'hmm... that's funny...'" -- Isaac Asimov

My case has air filters built-in. All 11 5-1/4 bays on the front have an air filters. I pull them off about once a month (usually when I can't see the lights from the front fan anymore) and run hot water through them backwards. Let them dry on the counter for an hour or so, and pop them back in. The only dust that gets inside is the really fine powdery kind. Hit the inside with the air compressor about every six months.

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Linux laptop:
record uptime: 1511d 20h 19m (ended due to the power brick giving-up)

My crunchers are all bare bone skeletal systems with no case whatsoever. Of course they need cleaning once every couple of months but I don't mind that.
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looks good .. maybe before dreaming about one or even more racks-full of these, might be helpful to start with dreaming ´bout nuclear powerstation in your basement ;-)

Don't close the lid on the ol' Seti record player just yet.

It'll come....
Hold yer tiger....

Shellac was a wonderful thing.

And few could double strum like Les could.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Don't close the lid on the ol' Seti record player just yet.

It'll come....
Hold yer tiger....

Shellac was a wonderful thing.

And few could double strum like Les could.

huh? Whats up with you and music lately lol.

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Traveling through space at ~67,000mph!

Don't close the lid on the ol' Seti record player just yet.

It'll come....
Hold yer tiger....

Shellac was a wonderful thing.

And few could double strum like Les could.

huh? Whats up with you and music lately lol.

It's always been me and music.

Look at my post history.

When I am not commenting about the way things are working here, I am posting youtube clips.

I have been chastised for doing so here in the NC, but I was told by Fred on high, that if the posts had some relevance to the subject at hand, they were OK.

I best back off now........

You can access every post I ever made from my profile.

Listen and you can learn much.

Meow.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Let us try to get back on track (any track....)
One of my crunchers was running very hot, so hot indeed it was shutting itself down. Its side covers were off, and it was glowing inside. So one I day I was doing a bit of a clear up and decided that rather than using the covers to cut my shins I'd put them back on again, after all there was nothing to loose as that cruncher was going to be rebuilt if it continued to shut down every day or so. Since then the cruncher has run quite happily and is actually a lot cooler inside with the covers on than off. It would appear that the covers cause the less hot air to go where its supposed to and not avoid cooling the bits that are meant to be cooled.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

It might take you a bit of time to sort, but I have bared my soul and posted everything through the past years.

My birth, my desires, my loves, loves lost. My dreams, my eventual death, my work, my music, my lost musicians.
The death of my brother. The loss of my sight. And regaining same.
All the cars I ever owned. And wrecked.
Movies I love. And hate. All posted for you to either agree with or diss.

It is yours to peruse and abuse.

If I was not willing to share it, I would not have posted it.

What was the song??? Ronstadt....... The first cut......
I survived it.....still have the scar. Always will.

I am sure.....I will make it until the end.

But I know.......

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

If I have to take a panel off, typically it stays off for a few weeks until I get done with whatever project. Of course, every 2-3 months, I have to take the cover off and remove the fans/filters for a proper cleaning. Normally, all panels are on and everything is neatly put in its place. For me, this is conducive to getting things done without desk clutter.

Let us try to get back on track (any track....)
One of my crunchers was running very hot, so hot indeed it was shutting itself down. Its side covers were off, and it was glowing inside. So one I day I was doing a bit of a clear up and decided that rather than using the covers to cut my shins I'd put them back on again, after all there was nothing to loose as that cruncher was going to be rebuilt if it continued to shut down every day or so. Since then the cruncher has run quite happily and is actually a lot cooler inside with the covers on than off. It would appear that the covers cause the less hot air to go where its supposed to and not avoid cooling the bits that are meant to be cooled.

Depends on the rig, I guess.
Mine are all side-off.
It lets the ambient air get to whereever it needs to to cool things.

A well designed case with fans as needed can be good, I guess.

Just never worked for me. But few push things as hard as I do.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

BTW.....off topic or maybe not.

Please do take the time to read my posting history.

It is rather revealing.

Embarassing at times, but very real.

Over 22 thousand posts......

Yup......over 22 thousand sometimes simply insane comments on the world around me.

Ashamed? Not really, or I would not point you to it.

There are many bits of computer wisdom and experience buried within as well.

So, this is relevant to the thread.

Enjoy. It has been a wonderful experience here.

It really has.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Enjoy. It has been a wonderful experience here.

It really has.

Surely you mean "It is a wonderful experience here - it really is". The way you phrase it sounds like you are signing off, Mark, and that I very much doubt...

F.

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Enjoy. It has been a wonderful experience here.

It really has.

Surely you mean "It is a wonderful experience here - it really is". The way you phrase it sounds like you are signing off, Mark, and that I very much doubt...

F.

No, Fred. I am not going away.

Composing 101 was not my strong suit.

Don't read too much into my words.

If I intended to leave, there would be much more more rhetoric involved.

I will be here tomorrow. And the next day, and the next.

My statement stands tho.

I HAS been a wonderful thing. 'HAS' meaning past tense, as in I have experienced many wonderful times here. Not to say I may not experience many more.

Yes, it has been a wonderful experience here.
I'll say it again.

It really has.

Don't take that wrong, friends.

Because you are the ones who made it so.

Meow.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."