Any full tower owners here with kids...

...and leaves their side panel open?

I have a desk that only leaves my computer to be placed in an enclosed cabinet.

I was wondering if anybody here have problems with their kids messing with their rig when they leave it open lol...

Why wouldn't you have a side panel?

Only got a midi tower here and a kid... If I were to leave it open somewhere he could easily reach it, he would mess things up. That much I know. For airflow it is better to let side panel be there. Otherwise you mess up the airflow.

I wouldn't leave open pc to little kids to touch, because it's both dangerous to them and to the hardware

Not worth the risk.....to the Hardware I mean.

Kids fingers grow back anyway........don't they?

Half of the time, I don't close mine. Think about airflow with open side panel.

With an open side panel that's not really airflow, it's just.. air.. You want air to flow from the front of your case, across the different components, and out of the back/top (or however you have it set up). Leaving the side panel open just messes things up, and it's definitely not a good idea.

During some summer days I have to leave the side of a couple of the rigs I run and put blowers and extra fans in, because their cases are fairly small. The whole airflow argument really makes a small amount of difference, as open air cases and test benches are used in overclocking competitions, instead of the gaming cases.

You do however want to keep the side on, to keep foreign materials that could damage your components out. That includes small children, dust, insects, the wife who complains you spend way to much time playing Battlefield...

So if your machine is getting too hot with the side on, you should really think about investing in a either, a bigger case, or more cooling solutions for the case you already have.

I've never had any heat problems but half of the time, I switch stuff around and try new things out. It's like, I feel the need to keep working on my rig.. a bit of an addiction, I guess. I'm currently running my radiator through the front and I'm getting a bit better airflow. I do agree about dust, children, pets, etc. Whenever I'm not working on my rig and not experimenting/testing things my side panel is always on. I've already done a minor mod on my side panel but I was thinking about possibly adding a 200mm fan for the summer. Any opinions on that?

@insane_metalist: Cooler mobo and more dust.

Dont be a noob. Put your side on your case. i mean no offense but i thought it was common sense that having your case open reduces air flow to about nothing. A pressurized case is the way to go. So do your computer and your family a favor and put the side panel back on

Reason I'm wondering is because my room gets HOT during summers. My current build is a room heater! It will be its first summer. My previous build was alright in summers but it wasn't nearly as hot. Maybe I should consider an EK kit.

This is my setup:

When side panel is installed, the temp is averaging 34-36 degrees.

When it's off, it's averaging 29-30 degrees.

I have 4 total fans (1 back, 2 ceiling, and 1 front) and 1 cpu (cooler master v8 gts).

Like this?

I prefer this one.

Go on!!! And before you know it, you are water cooling that GPU of yours as well. Just so you know, it will heat up your room just as much as before, but the rig will stay cooler... A lot cooler.

@Bazooka_4ME said:

This is my setup:

When side panel is installed, the temp is averaging 34-36 degrees.

When it's off, it's averaging 29-30 degrees.

I have 4 total fans (1 back, 2 ceiling, and 1 front) and 1 cpu (cooler master v8 gts).

Just put the tower on top of the table. A gaming PC shouldn't be in there, it will overheat. (those desks are made like that just for normal workstations)

I have siblings running around, but I always shut my computer up. I would never, never, never trust them to leave it alone.

No kids, do have some pets, though. I'd keep the side panel on whether I had them or not.

I would only leave the side open if they can't get to it (it's in a cupboard, on top of a taller table, etc.).

Thank god I don't have my niece around and that I am the youngest child. :P

She'd be touching all over my acrylic window I bet.

Nope. I've gone over to microATX minitowers. My den usually has a nice cool flow from the air conditioner during summer. I don't even bother with a front inlet fan for the PC in the hutch. So long as I keep the hutch door open when I'm using the PC, it's fine. There's also a few holes behind the hutch.

Problem with kids? I tell em to stay away from my den in the ugliest voice I can muster. Works like a charm.