Well writen article. I especially like the fact that he used the term "ricey" as a descriptive.
However, there are a few points that i would like to adress.
even a full coat of peel off plastic to protect the case from scratches. It’s good to know that Logysis cares about their product
It should be noted that all sheet acrylic, is recieved in this fassion. And often times machined out with the protective film still on it. Asembled, and shipped out this way. THis is why he had such a hard time getting it out of the cracks and crevases. Becuase its not supposed to be there. It would be nice, though a pipe dream. To have Logisys individually cling wrap all of their cases to prevent the frustration of peeling the protective film out of the nooks. At the very least, partially pull back the film in butt jointed areas so it doesnt get stuck before assembly. I guess at least they didnt epoxy any butt joints together with the film still in place. Which i have seen done on poorer quality acrylic cases.
Seconedly, and this to me is the biggest issue. Acrylic cases are not properly grounded. and allow for static charge buildup. And acrylic is a thermally insulative material.
The biggest issue here is of course the grounding. The motherboard is grounded in part to the chassis of the case, and the power supply casing is also part of that grounding loop. WHen you remvoe the interface material from the power supply and motherboard for grounding purposes, you greatly increase teh risk of damaging hardware. Seconedly, this problem is compounded by the fact that acrylic builds up a static charge. So does metal...but not at such a high rate, and its grounded to help prevent it from beciming a problem, becuase its in direct contact witht he grounded casing of the PSU. You could (hardware removed) take one of the cases side panels, rub in on the carpet, and have it pull at your hair from static charge. This is a very serious issue becuase most people put their cases on the floor, and most of the time that floor is carpet. WHich also means residual static charge in the carpet can transfer to the case. Again, this would happen in a regular metal case, but becuase the case itself is grouned, its not an issue. It simply passes through the case, throught he PSU cord, to the ground in your home. In an acrylic case, the change of a static spark jumping to a hardware component that is not properly grouned, would cause that charge to run through the hardware over the common grounds, which they are not specificly designed to handle. And that can cause hardware failure in many different forms.
Alot of people have raved on about how acrylic cases are safe, and how its not that important. But ive seent he fried hardware, ranging from HDD's, to motherboards, to PSU's. All in Acrylic cases, with power infistructure failures, with no other direct link, then an acrylic case.
And finally, Acrylic cases do not allow for the wicking of heat. Yes the case temps with adiquate cooling are respectable. However, unlike a metal case, it can not absorb the heat, and wick it away. It will eventually built up the heat, and turn the case into a mini green house. In the unfortuante event that a fan should fail, or you live in a hot climate, or have your case in direct sun, your hardware would literally cook. With not even a small amount of heat soak to pull the hot air away. Leaving what coolig is active, to fend for itself.
With these issues. I can not, could not, would not, and will not even recemend a Acrylic case to anyone for building a PC. Aside from the "cool" factor, they have absolutely zero benefit. And IMHO, should be avoided.
