Welcome back for the fifth part in our series on the key hardware components in a computer. If you missed Part 1 on CPUs,  Part 2 on RAM, Part 3 on Graphics Cards, or Part 4 on storage options, you can go back and check those out. This week we are taking a look at Computer Cases.

Now that we’ve run through CPUs, Graphics Cards, RAM and Storage, there are a few parts left that make your computer work. The Power Supply, Cooling, Motherboard, and Case are all vital pieces. They are also pieces that you aren’t likely to see listed on a pre-built machine. That said, selecting the correct options to work with the rest of your system is vital. We’ll start from the outside, with the Case.

COMPUTER CASE

The Case is likely to be the first of these components that you chose. It will determine if you need a specific sized Motherboard or Power Supply, and what Cooling options will be optimal. If you aren’t looking at buying something like a Dell or HP, you’ll find that the aesthetic options you have, even in a prebuilt machine, go far beyond black boxes.

There are a range of sizes and styles that you can select, especially if you build your own computer. That makes it possible to choose a computer that melts away into the room. Or you can choose one that is a perfect accent piece for your personal style. While the selection of a case can be daunting, as there are a lot of manufacturers, sizes, and styles, there are ways to make picking one simpler. I tend to first look at what size is going to work best for the user.

COMPUTER CASE SIZE

Cases come in a range of sizes. A mid-sized tower is probably the size you think of a computer being. They are generally in the area of 7-8” wide, and 17-19 inches tall and deep. These are pretty common, will have a wide selection, and are available in a wide range or prices.

You can also go slightly smaller with a mini-tower, which will be generally the same 8” wide, but a few inches smaller in other dimensions. These cases will be pretty competitively priced as well as they are getting more popular. They do however, require smaller motherboards to use, which will have an effect on how wide of a selection you will have to chose from. It will also limit features you can get, as I will discuss in the article about Motherboards.

You can also go with a small-form-factor PC. These are often used for Home Theater PCs. Sometimes people will use them because they want to make their tower both accessible and visually unobtrusive. These require smaller motherboards and power supplies, and generally are also more difficult to build in and they are more expensive due to the exacting design needed.

If you need something really powerful, or with lots of expansion for a server, or even to build two PCs in one box for streaming or server use, you can also go with larger towers. These tend to run more expensive than the mid-sized towers, but not as expensive as a small-form-factor PC.

AESTHETICS

Once you have an idea of what size case you want/need, then you can start down the road of aesthetics- do you want a PC that will disappear, one that will match the style of your workspace, or some that will be a showpiece? Everyone has different preferences on this, which is part of why so many companies make multiple cases with such varied looks.

I would look at the size you want, and the general aesthetic you like, and then pick a handful of cases you like. Try not to get too attached to any one case, because A) the prices of cases you like could vary widely, and B) just because a case looks good doesn’t mean it works well. This is also where you want to think about if you want a computer you can see into easily, with a clear glass side, or a little more subtly, with a tinted glass panel, or not at all. And how you want those to pair with the potential of lights inside your system to make either the components for visible, or to make the system itself have a little pop of visual interest that can be turned on or off to suit your needs.

CASE COOLING

This is a step where you want to do some research into professional reviews of each case. People like Gamers Nexus and Jayz2Cents do a great job of looking how well a case works. That can both be if it is easy to build in, and also how well it does at its other main jobs- keep your computer cool and free of dust. Some cases actually restrict the airflow needed to cool your computer components, potentially affecting their lifespan. Other cases let air in easily, but through unprotected vents that will end up filling your computer with dust, which can shorten the lifespan of fans as well as potentially cause shorts on your components or in your power supply.

For instance, I aesthetically LOVE the Era series of cases by Fractal Design. However, some reviewers, like Jayz2Cents, looked at it and found that there just does not seem to be enough airflow through the system. This problem could be fixed by removing the panel on the top, but that takes away a key design element. There are other more difficult modifications you could do, but hey come at an investment of time and effort and at a risk of damaging your case. At the end of the day, you need to think about if the trade-offs you might need to make are worth the look you want, and only you can make that decision.

If you really love a particular case, and won’t settle for anything else, it may mean you need to use different hardware that won’t be as fast so it won’t get as hot, or you may need to spend far more on cooling to offset the airflow restrictions. It isn’t an impossible problem to fix, but it is one you definitely want to know about before you start buying.

PRE-BUILT SYSTEM CASES

In pre-built systems you generally don’t have a choice in case unless you find a different manufacturer altogether. The case should have sufficient, if not amazing, airflow and cooling, and as long as there is room and fan connectors open you can help that later if you must. But what you see is what you get, so it is something to keep in mind.

CONCLUSION

With cases there are really four things to consider- the cooling, how well built it is, the size, and the looks. The first two things take an experienced eye, and ideally a trusted reviewer doing some testing, to verify so that you know how well a case will cool, and how well built and designed it is. It’s pretty difficult to tell how easy or hard it will be to build in a given case, so ideally you want to find someone who has tried that case and let them tell you. The second two are things only you can determine what is best for you.

You might luck out and find the perfect case for you, that is the size you want, has a look you like, is good to build in, and that cools well. Or you might be in the position of needing to pick a case that doesn’t cool well but it’s the size and look you want. Remember that there are hundreds of cases available, and you can modify cases if you need to, so you should be able to get what you need, even if it does require sacrificing here and there.

Your case cost could be as low as $50-$60, or hundreds of dollars, and it’s all down to how exacting your aesthetic and space desires are..

With the CPU, RAM, Graphics Cards, Storage and Case taken care of, next time we will look at Motherboards.

Do you have a question about any of the information I’ve given, or about something I haven’t addressed? Let me know in the comments below or contact me on my About page! I’ll try to answer your question, and I may even turn it into more content- There are things I won’t realize I need to talk about until you tell me. Thanks!