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Green Mesh open-air PC case is magically dust-free

Instead of being fully enclosed, with fan ports for proper airflow, unusual mesh PC case relies on the "chimney effect" to deal with dust.

Aloysius Low Senior Editor
Aloysius Low is a Senior Editor at CNET covering mobile and Asia. Based in Singapore, he loves playing Dota 2 when he can spare the time and is also the owner-minion of two adorable cats.
Aloysius Low
2 min read
Holes everywhere. Aloysius Low/CNET Asia

TAIPEI, Taiwan--We stumbled upon YoungYear Electronics' new fanless PC case made of mesh here at Computex and did a double take. Instead of being fully enclosed, with fan ports for proper airflow, the Green Mesh Computer Case does away with all that in favor of an open-air approach. It looks nothing like your usual PC chassis.

That's right. There's nothing to stop the dust from accumulating inside the case, not even a filter. But according to the Taiwanese manufacturer of power supply units (PSUs), this open-air design is actually the reason dust will not magically accumulate inside the case. In fact, the company claims it will have three to four times less dust than a normal PC tower.

The reason is simple. Instead of relying on a fan to suck dust-laden air into the innards to cool the PC, the Green Mesh's openness causes a "chimney effect" due to the fact that hot air rises. This actually acts as a barrier against dust. We're told that if the case is placed in sunlight, you can actually see dust speckles being pushed away.

Green Mesh PC case
There's also a bracket for video cards that you mount to your motherboard. Aloysius Low/CNET Asia

There is a major downside with the Green Mesh case, however -- higher-voltage PSUs (which generate a lot more heat), won't be able to use this method.

That means you're stuck with a 300W PSU at the most and those hoping for a new dust-free gaming machine will have to contain their disappointment. Right now, it seems the system is limited to rigs that don't require much power. It may be possible to use your own PSU, though the YoungYear spokesperson disagreed.

The Green Mesh case will only be available in another two to three months. YoungYear is targeting the U.S., Taiwan, and German markets first, and will be pricing the Green Mesh competitively with current cases.

Visit our Computex 2012 page for more news and product announcements from the trade show in Taiwan.

(Source: Crave Asia)