Flex means cheap metal?
Ah... weird! Who thought that up? ^^
Click me for Nerd Food! Heheh...
Moderator: Akira
Cheap metal = thin gauge steel.
Not cheap as in it's made from inferior metal or lower purity steel. (Thought it could mean that.) Thinner cases mean you can stamp out more product from raw material and require less pressures and less expensive machinery in doing so.
Consumer grade cases should use no less than 0.8 mm thick steel.
Server chassis nearly double that and use 1.4mm steel. They know it's very important to eliminate flex. With motherboards sandwiching many layers of circuits together the slight flexing can weaken or destroy these circuits. You don’t want that when you’re installing RAM or a PCI card or pick-up the case to move the computer. Chassis flex = very bad thing. It’s harder to cool a thick case, so there is trade-offs.
Some aluminum cases use 0.8 gauge materials. You're looking for 1.0 mm there. Just because a company doesn't want to re-tool its bending line doesn't mean that you should suffer.
The inside of a high quality case finds every edge rolled to protect the technician during repairs and stiffen the chassis even further. It's costly to roll every edge, so to lower the price a manufacture could simply roll the edges near the drive cages. This provides good protection in the areas where the technician is expected to perform the most repairs. But seasoned builders want every edge rolled. Cuts hurt our delicate and fragile geeky epidermis!
Inside high quality cases also display more bends on the tray to reduce flex. For example:
(click image to enlarge)
This case pictured above has a very similar impression where you mount the motherboard. But it adds a second reverse impression to stiffen the tray even more. Every corner is rolled. The case is boxed similar, but uses two rivers in each corner to ensure a stiff chassis. And the case is made from the same 0.8mm steel, making it around 12 lbs in actual weight.
Take all of this with mind that not every case is right for you. The one that you selected might meet your budget which is likely the most important thing. It may even offer features that other quality cases do not. This information might go beyond what you're asking for, and it's simply an education in what is out there. I don't want to make you feel that you're picking the wrong products to buy simply because they are not at the pinnacle in their class or most expensive.
Not cheap as in it's made from inferior metal or lower purity steel. (Thought it could mean that.) Thinner cases mean you can stamp out more product from raw material and require less pressures and less expensive machinery in doing so.
Consumer grade cases should use no less than 0.8 mm thick steel.
Server chassis nearly double that and use 1.4mm steel. They know it's very important to eliminate flex. With motherboards sandwiching many layers of circuits together the slight flexing can weaken or destroy these circuits. You don’t want that when you’re installing RAM or a PCI card or pick-up the case to move the computer. Chassis flex = very bad thing. It’s harder to cool a thick case, so there is trade-offs.
Some aluminum cases use 0.8 gauge materials. You're looking for 1.0 mm there. Just because a company doesn't want to re-tool its bending line doesn't mean that you should suffer.
The inside of a high quality case finds every edge rolled to protect the technician during repairs and stiffen the chassis even further. It's costly to roll every edge, so to lower the price a manufacture could simply roll the edges near the drive cages. This provides good protection in the areas where the technician is expected to perform the most repairs. But seasoned builders want every edge rolled. Cuts hurt our delicate and fragile geeky epidermis!
Inside high quality cases also display more bends on the tray to reduce flex. For example:
(click image to enlarge)
This case pictured above has a very similar impression where you mount the motherboard. But it adds a second reverse impression to stiffen the tray even more. Every corner is rolled. The case is boxed similar, but uses two rivers in each corner to ensure a stiff chassis. And the case is made from the same 0.8mm steel, making it around 12 lbs in actual weight.
Take all of this with mind that not every case is right for you. The one that you selected might meet your budget which is likely the most important thing. It may even offer features that other quality cases do not. This information might go beyond what you're asking for, and it's simply an education in what is out there. I don't want to make you feel that you're picking the wrong products to buy simply because they are not at the pinnacle in their class or most expensive.
Neophyte[CotC]
Member since 1996
Member since 1996