Do the plastic parts on modern cases get discolored by time?

[Black Panther]

I remember the old beige cases and CRT monitors. Parts of their plastic used to get discolored to a brownish shade as a reaction to light.

Does this also affect the plastic parts of more modern cases, specifically where such cases are white?

 

[de.das.dude]

depends upon the atmospheric composition.
nowadays, i think it will take you a long long time before that happens. more than 5years.
here in calcutta i havent seen any white case parts turn yellow, apart from dirt, which can be cleaned with warm soapy water.

 

[bmaverick]

Yes it can still happen. Black, silver and charcoal tend to be the most resistant against aging and discoloration.

Typically, if you stay with a named brand case manufacture, you should be safe. Much of the gaming cases are made with better plastic vs. the older business cases that Dell and Compaq once used.

 

[Black Panther]

Yes it can still happen. Black, silver and charcoal tend to be the most resistant against aging and discoloration.

Typically, if you stay with a named brand case manufacture, you should be safe. Much of the gaming cases are made with better plastic vs. the older business cases that Dell and Compaq once used.

I'm asking because I have a NZXT Switch 810 on the way, and I ordered it white.

Otherwise I'll change the color to black before it's too late.

 

[de.das.dude]

NZXT is good. to go.

 

[MT Alex]

I'd ask our resident NZXT rep about it, but I can't see color changing on a newer case like the 810. As I remember, most of the beige plastic that used to turn color wasn't as glossy, either. The Phantom has been out almost long enough that I think you'd hear people complain about discoloring, since the front of it is plastic, too.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

The composition of the plastics used by NZXT, versus that of older business based models, is completely different.

You do have to worry about age discoloration, and becoming brittle, but only after several (read 5-10) years. The polycarbonate is miles ahead of the extruded and formed crap that use to pass for a case.

 

[de.das.dude]

yes now they use ABS right? and thats good.

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Well I have a case that has been in constant use for the last ten years and is still going strong. It hasn't discolored at all. I have a few of the same cases still in boxes in the closet and happen to use one in a recent build. The color between the 2 match perfectly.


In this pic the one on the left has been in use for ten years or so. The one on the right was just taken out of it's sealed box.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I'll just point out a bunch of random things on this subject...

1. Ultraviolet radiation (largely from the sun) breaks plastics down (we're talking decades of exposure).

2. At the same time, we're mostly talking about the dyes and not necessarily the plastics themselves. I do believe white plastic is literally undyed (white/clear is their natural color) so it is receptive to other colors (e.g. tobacco smoke in the air, dust, dirt). I can't say I've ever seen a black plastic change color.

3. Also, keep in mind that a lot of earlier computer tech was (up to about 2000-2003), in fact, beige in color, not white. It could be a matter of perception how everything electronic went from beige, to white, to black (or other dark colors). In the collective psyche of man (and woman), beige was deemed "out" and repulsive just like the mullets of the 80s. It's easy to forget that this is how things were.

 

[de.das.dude]

yes ford is right, most things were indeed beige and not completely white.

i have seen a 400mhz running intel comp with a white plastic. case

the metal parts were rusted but the plastic was white (and blue).

 

[NC37]

I'll just point out a bunch of random things on this subject...

1. Ultraviolet radiation (largely from the sun) breaks plastics down (we're talking decades of exposure).

2. At the same time, we're mostly talking about the dyes and not necessarily the plastics themselves. I do believe white plastic is literally undyed (white/clear is their natural color) so it is receptive to other colors (e.g. tobacco smoke in the air, dust, dirt). I can't say I've ever seen a black plastic change color.

If you've seen cars with black plastic runners along the bottoms of the doors then you've seen black plastic change color. It goes from a matte black to a very cloudy grey in time. Which varies depending on exposure. Yeah that is mostly sun and weather related. Don't have to worry about that much with a PC case. But I imagine if you left one outside for some time it might start to react the same.

 

[Batou1986]

Unless the case is frequently exposed to sunlight ie next to a window or you smoke in your house it shouldn't discolor at all.

 

[Hayder_Master]

yes, specially with me, cuz my country have hot weather and dusty most of times, im try something useful it's work but it will be like new but looks very well.
for white plastic i use Toothpaste with high Fluoride and Rough brash, looks shiny after after try it.

 

[Retell]

The plastics are indeed ABS. I have had my white pre production switch next to my window in sunny California since November with no noticeable discoloration.

 

[radrok]

If the plastic is of good quality you won't likely get any discoloration, some say white tends to become yellow but that happens on cheap cases only.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

What a lot of nonsense in this tread. The old beige cases used to discolour (go yellow) because of the LEGALLY MANDATED FIRE PROTECTION COATING that degraded, especially when exposed to sunlight/UV. The plastic parts that weren't coated were fine, indeed, scrubbing off the coating returned it to the original colour, e.g. the toothpaste trick.

 

[Phusius]

Yes, it will also eventually turn to dust, in a million or so years.

 

[nleksan]

Modern windows block almost all UV rays...

 

[DigitalHardcore]

My NZXT = Nicotine Yellow!

Hi there, I know it's a bit old but I just came across this thread whilst searching google to see if other people had discolored NZXT cases. I have the Phantom case in white and it's about 1.5 years old. The plastic on the front looks awful, almost like a beige computer from the 90s and it was only about 6 months after I bought it I noticed it starting to discolor. I don't smoke around it, I'm also a hermit and hardly ever open my curtains. To be honest I'm pretty p****d off with considering it's really not a cheap case. Also a case fan broke in the first week and I don't know if it's Asus or NZXT to blame here but the motherboard wouldn't line up with the back-plate at all, I had to use washers to heighten the standoffs. I'm not saying they're all like this, I know NZXT have lots of happy customers but I'll be looking elsewhere for my next case... And probably avoiding white as well.

 

[DigitalHardcore]

Having said all that above... I just bothered to read the whole thread and tried that "toothpaste" trick and it seems to be working! Perhaps the UK versions still have this fire protection stuff on them, we do like our rules and regulations.

 

[micropage7]

yes, specially with me, cuz my country have hot weather and dusty most of times, im try something useful it's work but it will be like new but looks very well.
for white plastic i use Toothpaste with high Fluoride and Rough brash, looks shiny after after try it.

yep, i do the same way but it works when the dust or the color not changing too much
if its too much it wouldnt give you the same white level, the brighter and cleaner looks is yes

 

[TheMailMan78]

I'm asking because I have a NZXT Switch 810 on the way, and I ordered it white.

Otherwise I'll change the color to black before it's too late.

Do you smoke? Or live in a heavy smog area?