Wood case Magnetic insulation?

[syx]

I was thinking of modding my old/ugly Aopen case, removing all panels and the front bezel and replacing all that with wood or anything i can think of. Here is my question, i heard that the case is forming some sort of electromagnetic shield to protect the components, will it be risky to remove the panels?

BTW i use 2 200W speakers on the side of my desk, one right next to the case.

[Wiggo]

Actually it forms a shield to protect the user from electromagnetic radiation.

[Dyck15]

So is it safe to have a 90W subwoofer right beside my case?

[Thoric]

So is it safe to have a 90W subwoofer right beside my case?

probably not with all the vibrations and everything.

[Fatguy3]

No, get that subwoofer away from anything electronical thats worth money, as subwoofer's are barely ever magnetically shielded. You can easily destroy your hard drive by putting a subwoofer next to it. Most desktop speakers are shielded though, so they're fine to stick next to towers and monitors.

[DaemonLee]

If you got your product, it should say weither it was Shielded or not...Just check the Manual or the Box.

[Black Rain]

I have an old HP with plastic sides- on the inside it has very tihn metal panels. I guess that you could get some thin alloy, and put it on the inside of the wooden panels, and then you would have some shielding.

[JayTeague]

I doubt that it would pose a real issue. Look at all of the Acrylic cases that are out there now, I do not see any metal shielding inside of them.

[AMD2NR]

The metal in your case does protect the user from radioactive fields but it actually is mostly intended to protect the inards of your pc from outside interference. Things like speakers, radio waves, wi-fi, ect can interfere with your comuter components and monitor. The components invulantarily pick up these outside frequencies known as EMI. The metal is also used to ground the components. Even the cases made out of platic have to have some kind of metal inside of them to ground compnents. If they did not have this the slightest static discharge could foul your entire system. Having the metal allows any electronic dischage to typically pass through your compnents and into the metal minimizing any damage.

[AsianBatman]

No, get that subwoofer away from anything electronical thats worth money, as subwoofer's are barely ever magnetically shielded. You can easily destroy your hard drive by putting a subwoofer next to it. Most desktop speakers are shielded though, so they're fine to stick next to towers and monitors.

That would explain why my computer restarts..when my subwoofer is on...how far do you think i should put my subwoofer away from the computer? :spam:

[Dyck15]

I stuck mine about a meter and a half away. Check the manual for your system. Mine said something like 8 feet, so I figure a meter and a half should be good. Cost me $50 for wire extensions, but its better then $150 for a new HDD or Mobo.

[AsianBatman]

Mine is like 3 feet away..but then i barely use my full sound system...most of the time just head phones...so to lazy to move it..i guess i have to buy extensions..later..

EDIT: Sorry about hi jacking thread..i will shut up now.

[amd_man2005]

Odd how I keep my Z-640 sub within a foot of my PC and it's never caused any problems at all..and its not shielded

[AMD2NR]

As long as you are like a foot or so away you are typically going to be fine. As I said in a prior post above the metal that is on the outside of your computer helps to sheild everything inside from interferences. Modern components have gotten much better than they used to. Just remember though that all your storage inside your system is very delacate. Im referring to your HD and RAM. Both of these storage devices are 100% magnetic and when you start putting things close to them that are magnetic you are going to loose data integrity and possibly that big presentation you have been doing for work. Use good judgement. An easy way to tell if you are loosing integrity is that your system will start to feel unstable like when you overclock the ram too much. :thumb:

[Wordbiker]

I agree, but only on certain points. IMHO, with the way modern components are designed, this magnetic sensitivity issue has grown to urban legend status. It is true that cases are designed both to protect the user from ElectroMagnetic Interference as well as the components themselves from outside interference, but the components are also sheilded from one another. Everything that uses electricity emits EMI to a certain degree (and EMI is also a natural occurrence), and depending on a given components' tendency to fail under EMI, it is shielded accordingly. That is the function of the metal caps over certain components on the mobo and in other electrical devices. This can also be done with plastics and other synthetic materials. Current harddrives are sheilded quite well, otherwise you would hear stories of them failing due to HD coolers with fans, which contain magnets. I have also seen RAM coolers with fans, and have yet to hear of data loss or failure due to either of these accessories. Regarding the bass speaker, I'd wager it has more to do with the vibration the speaker produces causing electrical components to dislodge and lose contact than any EMI interference, much like when you transport a PC and cards become dislodged. I have seen this failure many times myself. Perhaps in the days when users were soldering their own motherboard and components weren't modular and individually sheilded and grounded, EMI would have played a much more signifigant role. If you've seen any cases to the contrary, please link me to them, but I can't find any documented.
:cheers: