ClearPC, C3 and BeanTech: The Clear Chassis Comparison
by Kristopher Kubicki on March 15, 2003 3:14 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
Looking at clear enclosures over the last few months revamped our original opinions on clear cases. It is very clear that these cases are not geared for the beginner system builder, even with ClearPC’s online configuration. They require a lot of work to keep clean, a lot of care as to not fracture the housing, and a lot of time to put together. On top of that, they cost a lot!
But, as the advocate would argue, they provide a unique enclosure that really can not turn heads like a traditional metallic case. Once we had our cases together, we had no complaints about noise, performance or versatility. Cleaning does get annoying, but if you assemble your case properly with few fingerprints, and keep the case high enough off the ground to prevent dust build up, the frequency to clean the case is diminished.
All three of these cases provided something a little different to the acrylic market. Overall, however, we decided to choose the BeanTech BT82 as our clear champion for the following reason:
- The BT82 provided a slightly easier installation than the ClearPC. Even though the motherboard was not as easy to install as the C3, the drives, power supply, and fans were.
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The BT82 used standard 82mm fans throughout construction. The ClearPC employs 82mm fans as well, so we should mention them as well. The C3 annoyed us slightly for only have three fan mounts, two of which require odd sized fans. Perhaps had they included fans we would have thought differently.
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Front panels; the BT82 comes with all of the front panels, rather than leaving any missing.
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Finally, the BT82 provides the best blend of sound and thermal reduction as noted in our benchmark.
The BT82 is not a perfect case; the EMI shield in the rear is particularly annoying. The C3’s thumbscrews laid waste to small Philips screws on the BT82, and the ClearPC really provided better thermal properties (at the cost of louder noise). Furthermore the BT82 did not have forward sound connections.
All in all, we hope our clear chassis shootout provided a fair amount of insight for any future acrylic modders out there. Special thanks to ClearPC.ca for supplying us with the ClearPC, Case-Mod.com for providing us with the C3 case, and finally Directron.com for providing us with the all around leader BeanTech BT82!
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