Considering acrylic/plexi. case.

[yooniecorn]

I've been debating the purchase of a new case for quite awhile now. I love the look of an acrylic/plexi. case with colored LEDS, especially when they have a small form factor, but I'm concerned about temperatures, whether a cube fill fit my PCI-e (LONG) card, and other various tales I've heard.

Also, is it true that it will get dangerously hot because of the material? And what about scratches? Even my present metal case has them now, but will it be much much worse?

[mjc]

Plastic scratches much easier than metal. Acrylic/plexi cases are essentially just stiff plastic bags to stuff your components into...

Temperature control is more of a design/layout problem than what material the case is made out of. Often the plexi/acrylic cases are hotter, not because of the material they are made from, but rather the lack of a good fan layout (got to keep those ugly fans from being seen).

Size considerations are the same for any other case...you need to figure out if there is going to be adequate room, not only for your longest card, but is the 'depth' enough to provide enough space for the CPU cooler...