Open or closed

[Mazza]

Just one side

[Wii]

Closed.

[legoalex2000]

closed, better for airflow, and overall cooling.

Ramos

[a1]

Open


8800 is heating things up inside when closed. Getting better ventilation soon.

[Groundbound1]

Open, open, and open. (three machines) I find that it can be a little noisier, and machines with two or more hard drives close together usually need an extra fan to cool them, but overall open seems to work better for me.

[beaky]

Closed... and confirmed mouseproof.
Both rigs have big fans in front and back. I don't have the duct and fan in place on the side of the newer case (doggone Zalman "doughnut" is too big), but I never have temp issues, because the 120mm rear fan is right there to carry that heat away from the CPU cooler.
As long as the fans/filters are kept clean and the case is not up against something where airflow in and out is restricted, I find the "flow" method rather than the "radiant" method works just fine.

Food for thought: aircraft engines are not just cowled to reduce drag- they are designed to maximize air flow over the cylinders and sometimes the oil pan. And that's not just for ground ops- even in flight, the air flow can and should be improved.  The same physics apply to the guts of your computer.

[NickN]

Closed with the right design (or modifications) for airflow based on the components being used



http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 157891/1#1