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You're trying to save a few bucks on your computer build, but instead of skimping on

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your GPU, your RAM, or your storage, what if you just didn't bother buying a case?

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Think about it, it doesn't really do anything for you in terms of performance, so is it

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really that bad just to leave your parts out in the open, or just stick them into a cardboard

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box instead of shelling out for a fancy case with tempered glass and RGB?

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Well, it could be that bad. Cases do a lot for you other than just enclose your parts and look nice, and some of those

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things may not be super obvious. Let's first talk about physical protection, and while you probably don't need me to explain

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that cases block your components from liquids and pets and hammers, they also keep your components

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from being damaged by static. It's pretty easy to short out an exposed motherboard just by touching it if a static

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discharge occurs, especially if you live in a dry environment.

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But if you happen to zap just the outside of your case, the excess electricity should

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just harmlessly find a ground instead of frying your expensive parts.

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And a case is cheaper than hiring a dedicated security guard to slap the hands at anybody

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who wants to poke it. A good case will also keep dust away from components, which is important as dust buildup

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can cause overheating by insulating your components and impeding airflow.

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Running your computer without a case can cause significantly more dust buildup, and it isn't

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just because you don't have a big side panel blocking it out.

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If you're not using a case, you probably have your motherboard lying flat, meaning

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it'll naturally collect more dust, and that dust could potentially settle into your PCI

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Express slots. But possibly even worse, any components that have a fan on them, such as a graphics card

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or CPU coolers or PSU, will collect a lot more dust when exposed than they would if

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they were nestled inside a case. Although case fans can obviously get choked up with dust as well, it's better to have

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these act as a line of defense against dust instead of having the dust directly attacking

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your power supply. And even better, if you have your case fans configured properly, they'll create a positive

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pressure in your case that'll keep even more dust out, meaning you could go a long time

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without needing to clean inside your computer.

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So you get it by now, cases keep the bad stuff out, but let's say you never touch the inside

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of your PC while it's on, and you vacuum so compulsively that your house has less dust

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than an Intel fab. Is it still worth using a case?

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Well it might seem like just putting your motherboard on a flat surface and plugging

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things into it is pretty safe, many PCs have heavy components that could easily damage

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the whole system if they're jostled just a little bit.

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The most obvious one is the graphics card, as higher end models are often beefy enough

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to completely rip out a PCI Express slot if it topples over.

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And if you just leave the card unsupported without screwing it into something like a

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test bench, you're probably going to at least see it wobble precariously.

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All the one coolers and power supplies can also tip over the whole works if not properly

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secured, so at the very least, don't put your setup near the edge of a table.

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But beyond safety, cases offer other benefits. They reduce noise, especially if you opt for a model that features acoustic dampening instead

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of a side panel window, they also make your system a heck of a lot more portable and give

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you extra connections on the front panel. But is there ever a good reason not to use a case?

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Well, as long as you have a proper test bench or other open air setup that correctly secures

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heavy components, going caseless can be a good idea if you do a lot of parts testing,

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or if you need to connect lots more storage than your case will support, or if you have

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a specialized use case like running a bunch of mining GPUs.

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But for most of us, just pony up and get a cheap case.

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The messy hackers den look is only cool until you've lost a week's worth of coding because

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of a mishap involving late night pizza delivery and an exposed CPU socket.

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Dangerously cheesy. So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video, hit like, hit subscribe, and hit

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us up in the comments section with your suggestions for topics we should cover in the future.