The definition of tempered glass PC cases is a simple one – these are standard PC cases whose sides (or just one side) have been replaced with tempered glass. Even though the tempered glass panels don’t provide any actual benefits when it comes to speeding up or cooling down the hardware, they have still managed to change the computer cases for good. And the main reason behind that is that they’re see-through, allowing you to look at your rig’s components while they’re working.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at these types of cases and talk about their weight, cost, fragility, performance, and resistance to scratches. If you’re planning on buying a chassis with transparent panels, head over to Cable Tech Talk, where you will find plenty of articles covering this interesting subject.
- Cost
Panels made out of tempered glass indeed aren’t cheap, which is precisely why these types of cases are more expensive than their plastic cousins. PC enthusiasts with lower budgets should stick with the regular cases and spend their money on faster components instead.
Another thing worth mentioning here is that saving money to get a budget TG chassis is not advisable. Many of the really cheap models use “tempered” glass just on the paper – their panels are actually made out of regular glass that is guaranteed to break all over the floor after only a light knock.
- Fragility
Fragility is one of the first things people think about when someone mentions glass – it’s the logical association. However, there is not much room for worrying here – the tempered glass used for PC enclosures is quite robust and doesn’t break that easily.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read reviews of the particular TG chassis you want to purchase, though – doing so would be asking for trouble. Furthermore, avoiding clumsy movements around your brand new TG case is advisable, since an accidental knock against the computer’s side could leave some ugly cracks.
- Scratches
Scratches and knocks are unavoidable – they’re a part of owning a desktop computer. This means that almost every chassis sustains a noticeable amount of aesthetic damage – and how does tempered glass fare in this category?
Even though there are no particular reasons because of which the tempered glass cases are likelier to be knocked into, questioning their resistance to knocks and scratches is indeed something that every potential buyer has in mind. In our opinion, these types of enclosures are more robust than the plastic ones, but that’s a double-edged sword – the damage that they sustain is far more noticeable than on the regular cases.
There are two reasons behind this. The first one is that scratches are a lot more noticeable on glass than on the dark plastic. The second is that people tend to spend a lot more time looking at the transparent panels than on the solid ones.
- Performance
When people talk about the performance of computers, they’re typically talking about how fast a particular rig is, i.e., the amount of RAM it has, the speed of its CPU, etc. In this regard, we can safely say that the TG enclosures stack up completely fine compared to regular aluminum or plastic models. There are absolutely no reasons why would panels made of glass have any noticeable effect on the power or speed of the internal components.
- Weight
Due to the fact that glass is heavier than plastic, a panel made out of tempered glass can add a significant amount of weight to a TG chassis. Whether this is a problem or not is entirely up to the potential buyer.
In case you travel a lot and always bring your computer with you, a tempered glass case probably isn’t your best choice. On the other hand, if you’re happy to leave your PC stay at one place at all times, the extra weight can’t really be a deal breaker.
Even though the issue of weight isn’t really a problem when it comes to desktop computers, it’s wise to consider it before making the ultimate decision.
In conclusion, all we can say is that these types of enclosures became popular for a couple of very good reasons. Even though they do come with a few drawbacks, they’re practically non-existent when compared with the sheer amount of both functional and aesthetical advantages they provide the users with.
