Steel vs Aluminum

[Wolf_10]

Does anyone have measured information on steel/aluminum temperature comparisons? My main question is, if all things are equal, except for the case material, will the components in the aluminum case run cooler, and if yes, by how much?

My secondary question is, if my components are cooler, should I expect my compnents to last longer? If yes, by how much? I know that there is no simple answer, but is there any documented testing information out there? Thanks much for reading and commenting.

[Siberian Bear]

Aluminium does conduct heat better than steel, however I would imagine that at these relatively low temperatures you wouldn't see much of a difference (in fact I'm not sure if you would see any). It would also depend on the type of steel and aluminium. The clear advantage that aluminium has is that it is lighter than steel.

[Yuanji]

aluminum has a lower specific heat? then steel so it will take in and release heat easier then steel.

[PMich]

Assuming you aren't abusing them in some way, your components are generally going to last longer than they will be useful as long as they are at a reasonable temp.

[Designer]

Just throwing my 2penneth in,

If your planning to do any modding, then Aluminium is a lot more of a pain to work with than steel, as it clogs dremel discs, it's a pain to weld back up if you make a mistake and finally the dust from working ali is carcenogenic. Just beware of that if your planning on any case modding in the future.

[Trent Steel]

How how much energy that is dissapated through the walls of your case, it basically does not matter what matterial its made out of (in terms of heat dissapation). I would not base a choice between aluminum and steel for its thermal conductivity but by weight and cost issues. Or if your modding, steel is easier to work with.