ClearPC, C3 and BeanTech: The Clear Chassis Comparison

Introduction

Clear enclosures have stirred a following in our forums and retailers around the internet.  Some of these people have legitimate uses for a clear cases; educational examples, demonstration products, etc.  However, the majority of people who seem to really jump all over the clear cases are the enthusiasts.  More specifically, they are ultra enthusiast; also known as the small breed of users that are completely infatuated with any gadget that gives that “Wow! Cool!” impression.

No less than half a dozen clear chassis debuted at places like COMDEX, and after a few months there seems to be two or three that set the trends for this highly specific market.  The first clear case we will be looking at is ClearPC.ca’s ClearPC tower.  This case has been one of the first to market, but also one of the cheapest available.  Since it is not a kit, and you can customize the case right on the ClearPC.ca website, a lot of people have been using it as a one stop shop for modding.

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Our second contender in our clear chassis mach-up is the C3 case, also known as “Clear Computer Case”.  C3 has a little more variety than ClearPC, but we will only be reviewing their base model case.  The C3 has been called the more “high end” acrylic case on the market, so we have a lot of expectations for this case. 

Last but not least, we obtained a newer revision of the BeanTech enclosure.  Even though this case may have a funny name, it carries a very practical and intricate design.  With a street price somewhere between the C3 and the ClearPC, we designated this as the “middle of the road” clear chassis.

Clear enclosures have not attracted many reviews, but the elements discussed in this review are similar for many clear enclosures on the market.  Even if you are not considering any of these enclosures, you may find some of the things to look for in your clear case to be similar.  You may notice we did not review any kits in this review.  Since the kits are retailing for about the same price as the already constructed units, we decided to pass them up this time around.

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