Computer

Glass front vs mesh front, what kind of box to buy?

The designs of modern PC cases include many small modifications of one with respect to the other, but with tempered glass as a common denominator we must bear in mind that its use usually has more disadvantages than advantages, and especially if this material is integrated into the front of the box. Let’s see it in detail.

Advantages and disadvantages of a glass front on your box

Corsair 680X

There is no doubt that the great advantage of having a case with a glass front is aesthetics, since it allows you to see the fans that are placed behind this glass and especially if they have RGB lighting, giving the whole a awesome aesthetic (if designed properly). Beyond that, we really don’t see any additional advantage to it.

However, there are a number of quite notable disadvantages, especially when compared to a mesh front. To begin with, we must talk about the cooling capacity and the thermal performance of the box: having a glass front, there is no grille through which the air can pass and therefore we will be obstructing the air flow out of the box, reducing its thermal performance.

To solve this, most manufacturers place the glass only subject to two or even only one of the sides, so that there is a space through which air can enter and thus the decrease in thermal performance is not so pressed. However, this raises other problems, such as the fact that, as the glass is only supported on two sides, it is vibrations increase and therefore the noise that the box emits, something that is increased even more because, let’s say, the fans are not “closed” inside and they are heard more.

Glass front case

On the other hand, this also makes the amount of powder that enters is greater, and for more INRI as normally these crystals on the front are not removable, it greatly hinders their cleaning (for example, in a CORSAIR Crystal 680X you need to disassemble the entire front fan block and then the dust filter to be able to access to clean the glass from the inside, having to put your hand from inside the box and with little or no access to the two lower corners).

As if this were not enough, and continuing with the issue of cleaning, the area through which the air enters the box (almost) is always the front and therefore it is the one that gets the most dirty; When the front of the box is made of glass, this is much more noticeable than if it were a mesh front or even a smooth metal or plastic front, since being transparent, any speck of dust is immediately noticeable, more even if the lighting from the fans behind it gives you greater visibility.

So, is the glass on the front not recommended?

Glass front case

If you are a connoisseur of PC aesthetics, of course a case with a glass front will attract your attention, but what we recommend is to take into account the disadvantages that we have mentioned in the previous section. However, it is not that because it has a glass front the case is going to be bad (they tell the CORSAIR 680X that it is excellent, for example), but in reality it does have a series of functional disadvantages with respect to those with a mesh front.

Now, if what you are looking for is a better thermal and acoustic performance to the detriment of a better aesthetics in your box, then without a doubt the best thing for you would be a box with a grille front, since it is the best result for you. to give.

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