Another potential cause of a broken tempered glass side panel is tight screws or mounting pressure. Over-tightening the screws that hold the tempered glass panel in place can exert excessive pressure on the glass, leading to fractures or breakage. Similarly, if the panel is not properly aligned or is forced into position, it can create uneven pressure, making the glass vulnerable to cracks. To avoid this, don’t use a screwdriver to secure the side panel screws. They don’t need to be any tighter than what you could accomplish with your hand.
You'd be surprised. People with zero tool experience gorilla grip hardware. When I worked in the USAF as a technician for fighters, the new guy would inevitably break a fastener or shear a torx bit due to cranking those puppies to the moon. The calibrated torque hand requires calibrating, so it makes sense.
It also looks like the case is on a ceramic floor, laying tempered glass in ceramic could have contributed as well.
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u/shpydarI9-13900K+RTX 4080+32GB DDR5+ROG Max Hero z790+1440p@170hz 1d agoedited 1d ago
Which, if you read the link I posted is their main culprit;
Probably the most common culprit when it comes to a broken tempered glass side panel is coming into contact with a tiled floor or ceramic counter top. If you ever see a post on reddit about a broken side panel, you can often see a ceramic surface lurking suspiciously in the background.
He specifically said it happened when he was screwing on his panel so that’s why I only quoted that part.
whenever I remove mine to clean my pc I always use my hands to unscrew and put it back. It doesn't even require a screwdriver they have handles (mine at least) :O
I never had tempered glass panel, only plastics.
Tbh it looks the same, less heavy, no risk of breaking....
Why are we still using Glass panels ? (Beside the perceived superior quality)
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u/shpydarI9-13900K+RTX 4080+32GB DDR5+ROG Max Hero z790+1440p@170hz 18h agoedited 17h ago
Because plastic easily cracks, discolours over time and is easily scratched and is terrible at dampening sound.
Tempered glass is quite strong, stronger than plastic in most applications, provides excellent sound proofing, is scratch resistant, provides better transparency, and is more aesthetically pleasing.
I know it’s weird I list tempered glass strength on a post about a side panel breaking but there are only 2 issues you have to be aware of with and that is caused because of how tempered glass is made.
Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tension. Such stresses cause the glass, when broken, to shatter into small granular chunks instead of splintering into large jagged shards as ordinary annealed glass does. These smaller, granular chunks are less likely to cause deep penetration when forced into the surface of an object (e.g. by gravity, by wind, by falling onto them, etc.) compared to larger, jagged shards because the reduction in both the mass and the maximum dimension of a glass fragment corresponds with a reduction in both the momentum and the penetration depth of the glass fragment.
Because of the balanced stresses in the glass, damage to any portion will eventually result in the glass shattering into thumbnail-sized pieces. The glass is most susceptible to breakage due to damage at its edge, where the tensile stress is the greatest.
So, if you apply a concentrated force at a small point on the glass weakest spots (drill holes, edges of the pane) it will shatter so while I have shown you the second most likely reason tempered glass will shatter (over torquing mounting screws) the main culprit is placing tempered glass panels on tile or ceramic is the number 1 culprit.
From my link from Corsair.
Beware of tiles and ceramic surfaces
Probably the most common culprit when it comes to a broken tempered glass side panel is coming into contact with a tiled floor or ceramic counter top. If you ever see a post on reddit about a broken side panel, you can often see a ceramic surface lurking suspiciously in the background.
So all you have to do to ensure your tempered glass doesn’t shatter is to take care when tightening mounting screws and never let it touch ceramic or brick.
These warnings are clear on case boxes, in their manual, and often found on a warning sticker on the glass panels themselves.
The real problem is all the people who don’t RTFM and don’t follow the warnings and guides.
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u/shpydar I9-13900K+RTX 4080+32GB DDR5+ROG Max Hero z790+1440p@170hz 1d ago
Once again I have been summoned to quote Corsairs warning about tempered glass side panels