question for computer gurus

[Barad Simith]

I have too many components to fit into a case, and am short on (out of) funds.

So I have a plastic tub (the type used for storage) on my desk, and in the tub, resting on a few layers of bubble wrap, is my motherboard, power supply, 2 hard drives, CD drive, zip drive and floppy drive. When I'm finished using it, I turn it off and replace the plastic lid. Everything seems to be running just fine.

Is this a bad idea?

Can the plastic from the tub and/or the bubble wrap cause static electricity that can damage anything?

Is the power supply's fan designed to only cool the power supply, or is it designed to cool the rest of the components?

Are the components liable to stay cooler, due to the open-air effect? Or hotter, due to the fact that the power supply's fan is facing upward, and not in the direction of any of the components?

Thanks for any help you can give me. If this is a colossal mistake, I want to remedy it; but otherwise, I love my plastic tub o' computer parts.

[burythehatchet]

1. Can you make me a tupperware laptop?

jus kidding. and I have no special knowledge to help.

[teach1st]

2. This is a new and fascinating concept for me..

..I have no insight for you, but am looking forward to reading the responses from those who do.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. "question for computer gurus"

A box that would hold all that stuff..... is only somewhere between 29 and 70 dollars. The components should have ambient air drawn across them as they would have in a case with a fan or three. Rule of thumb... the more fans the better....

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=32

[Maestro]

4. Wow that is a first

First, I have to hand it to you for being novel in your approach but I feel it is unnecessary.

There are great aluminum alloy cases availalable on the cheap that keep components cool.

My only concern would be the hard drives, video card, area underneath cpu, heating up and melting some of the bubble wrap. I wouldn't worry about static electricity so much if you are not putting your hands in their much. How do you start it each time? From the back near the psu?

Power supply fans are designed to push air through the whole case, which you do not have so essentially I think that much of the air the psu fan generates doesn't reach the components, but again they are air cooled for the simple fact they are in open air. Most modern cases have several fans targeting key components and of course the video card and cpu and heat sinks and fans attached directly to them.

Anyhow, if only for aesthetic reasons I would look into some good, inexpensive, but good quality cases. Check these out. Aluminum is better.

http://www.newegg.com/app/manufact.asp?catalog=7&DEPA=1

[Barad Simith]

10. The switch that used to be on the front of the case...

...now rests on the CD drive (see pic below, upper-left corner).

I think the lack of aesthetics is a plus. I think a burglar would be much less likely to bother stealing this in its present form.

[BlueJazz]

5. Naw...I've seen "open air" computers run for years without any ...

...trouble.
If it was me though, I'd get something like an egg-shell divider or
a bath towell to put under the parts....something that will breath...
I put a computer in an orange crate once (when I was in I.T. at Kodak). It ran for 4 1/2 years. :)

[Barad Simith]

11. that's a good idea

WannaJumpMyScooter and Maestro mentioned the possibility of the bubble wrap being flammable, so a towel would be more practical (and in keeping with my fondness for Douglas Adams and South Park).

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

6. My biggest concern would be heat first, and dirt second

there is enough dirt in the air to wipe a HD out in a short time, being in a case helps a bit.
static should not be a problem.

All in all, as long as the hot bits are not physically touching anything flammable, ie, there is air all around them... you should be okay.

How about a picture. This is priceless.

[Barad Simith]

8. tub-o-computer.jpg

[Barad Simith]

9. so far so good on the heat

Nothing feels hot, though the hard drives are a little warm. No part of the motherboard, including the underside, feels warm. That stack to the left of the motherboard is, bottom-to-top, CD, zip, floppy, power -- and all of them, including the underside of the CD drive, are cool.

The bubble wrap is flammable, so that is something to think about.

Also, your warning about dirt wrecking the hard drives worries me, as they're both brand new. One is an 80 gig Western Digital, the other a 120 gig Maxtor.

[dweller]

7. don't forget to burp it....

so the seal is locked on it really tight.
:eyes:

offhand, i'd say a bad idea. Dust, lack of cooling, potential for spills, etc.

but maybe you are on to something?
dp