Test Bench

[Emmitt Jay DeLong II]

Planning on getting a Lian Li case BUT I had an odd thought. I have a few disabilities and it will make building and cleaning a bit more of an issue. I could outsource those but being disabled is already a little more expensive. Most of the videos I see of part testing and benchmarking is done on an open test bench. Are these viable options for long term use with both temp/dust considerations?

If it is viable, how do I go about keeping a 13900K and an as of yet undecided 4090 cool in that setup?

[RONOTHAN##]

Dailying a test bench is possible, you just need to keep in mind the dust and make sure to not drop anything on the computer. I've done it, there are people who do it, and a lot of higher end boards are specifically designed around being placed on a test bench for most of their life (EVGA's Dark series of boards, for instance). 

 

Dust collects more quickly on the system when doing this, so keep that in mind. It's generally a lot easier to dust a test bench, there aren't as many hard to reach spots to dust, but you will have to do it about twice as often than if you did a tower case. For keeping it cool, that's generally the easy part as test benches have the best airflow and are really easy to keep cool. You can water cool a test bench (that's what I've done), you can air cool it, the sky's the limit for how you'll go about it. If you want to see someone who actually runs a test bench daily go through how he set his up, AHOC's Buildzoid has a video running through his (though he does more focus on the overclocks he's running on it since that's a major reason you'd do this type of thing). 

 

 

Given your situation, running a closed system might be a good idea, since dusting it does have to happen about twice as frequently, but if you think it would be better in the long run feel free to do it, it is a viable method. 

 

[Emmitt Jay DeLong II]

Well, the dusting in tight spaces is less of an issue then bending over or moving the case around to dust. I can air blower so long as it's not a danger to the parts. My initial plan was a 360mm AiO for the CPU and just fans for the case but if a test bench is fine then perhaps a different approach is needed. My biggest fear/concern is running the higher end parts without a water-cooling system (too much maintenance and upkeep for me to do reliably) leading to damage. Also, are these types of cases cheaper. If not then I'll stick to the $130 Lian Li I was looking at. Probably should have mentioned the price up front, I forgot, my bad.

[ToboRobot]

As someone that used a system for months on a motherboard box in slightly janky setup while I saved money.  Dusting more, but easier is meh, I rather have less cleaning chores, especially if they are harder to do.

Thermals are also a wash as long as you build for it.

But space, and safety are the two losers for no cases.  It took more space to have the motherboard on a box with the PSU and stuff out and in a corner of my desk away from potential accidents.  Also it's nice from a stress perspective to have my expensive parts in a box for safety, from drops, spills etc.  Low cost insurance and peace of mind imo.

But you can do it, but you have to be careful.

[RONOTHAN##]

12 minutes ago, Emmitt Jay DeLong II said:

Also, are these types of cases cheaper.

They're generally a little on the more expensive side than a traditional case since they're a lot less desirable. There are some that exist though, the main one I can think of is the Bykski B-CE-X, it is a roughly $100 case after shipping and everything, plus they're pretty simple to make if you know a guy with a plasma cutter and you can get one for the price of the sheet metal. 

 

18 minutes ago, Emmitt Jay DeLong II said:

My initial plan was a 360mm AiO for the CPU and just fans for the case but if a test bench is fine then perhaps a different approach is needed.

You can do that type of thing on a test bench if you really want to. It's honestly the easiest method for cooling a test bench. 

[Emmitt Jay DeLong II]

37 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

They're generally a little on the more expensive side than a traditional case since they're a lot less desirable. There are some that exist though, the main one I can think of is the Bykski B-CE-X, it is a roughly $100 case after shipping and everything, plus they're pretty simple to make if you know a guy with a plasma cutter and you can get one for the price of the sheet metal. 

 

You can do that type of thing on a test bench if you really want to. It's honestly the easiest method for cooling a test bench. 

Make's things easier, that helps. Plus, it's not a scenario of high end overclocking or a lot of extra needed i/o. Just 4 USB and a USB type C for my phone. Looks like this is my next case. Thank's for the info.