Choosing a Case

[SneakyStuff]

Didn't see anything like this on here, so, this is my take on it, enjoy
-Updated 10-7: Added bay fan controllers as a link

Choosing The Right Case

- There are many types of cases out there, and all have their own unique attributes, features, and accessories.
- When choosing your case, it is important to factor in your individual needs into the buying descision. What do you do with your computer? Do you want to conserve space? Overclock? Show it off? Make a server? Or mabye you just want a quiet computer?
- Picking a real winner will provide you with years of use, and an easy upgrade path.


Definitions

- Form Factor = The specification of the motherboard, such as ATX, Micro ATX, and the upcomming BTX, different cases support different form factors, so it is important to take this into consideration when purchasing.
- ATX = The extention of the AT form factor, This is the most common specification for motherboards today, you will also see this defined as "Full Sized ATX" See here: ATX
- Micro ATX = A smaller form of the ATX spefification. Usually has fewer expansion slots compared to standard ATX, but is smaller in length. See here: Micro ATX
- Baby ATX = Another smaller form of the ATX specification, usually fits into micro ATX cases.
- BTX = " Balanced Technology Extended formfactor" The purposed new set of specifications for motherboards and cases. Think of it as a reversed ATX formfactor, for better cooling.
- Tower = A full sized case, with many expandability options, and generally good airflow. See here:
Tower
- Mid-Tower = A slightly smaller case compared to a tower (height-wise anyway) which will offer a good amount of space. See here: Mid-Tower
- Small Form Factor = A case that houses specialized motherboards, or Micro ATX motherboards, with the goal of consuming minimal space. See here: SFF
- 60mm, 80mm, 90mm, 92mm, 120mm etc = The size of the fan being used in the case. The majority of cases use 80mm fans.
-60mm
-80mm
-90mm
-92mm
-120mm

-And for those of you who want to quiet your 3 pin fans down, try something like this. Zalman
-And for those of you with multiple fans, that want to control the speed they rotate at, and want to do it often, should look at something such as this: Vantec

What Package To Buy?

- Most cases come bundled with a fan or 2, and a generic power supply. This is generally fine for the average user, but if you are an enthusiast, you will want to put a little more thought into your purchase.

- Here is a list of reputable PC case producers, that can be purchased easily off such sites as newegg.com, zipzoomfly, mwave, or even your local hardware store.

-Antec, Chenbro, Cooler Master, Kingwin, LIAN-LI, Silverstone, and Thermaltake. To name a few.

- Do you want to buy a case with a power supply and fans? Or buy them each seperately? I myself own an Antec case, that came with a power supply and fan. If you purchase your case from a well-known manufacturor, you shouldn't have any problems. Remember, Google is your friend Don't forget to ask others how they like their cases before you buy, this forum is FULL of people who are incredibly knowledgable about every aspect of their case.

- A helpful hint. When looking for a quiet case, you should look into 120mm fan setups. Those fans tend to push more air, and be considerably less noisy than their 80mm counterparts.

- If you're a power user, you should look for a case that offers at least 3 or 4 fan options. Better cooling is a great perk to add along to overclocking.

- If you're planning on building a small PC, look into barebone configurations by companies like Shuttle, and Antec's new ARIA

- If you're building a PC for looks, don't forget the window!


Case Material And Expansion Options

- Cases today are made either out of steel, or alluminum. Steel is cheaper to produce, and muffles sound better than alluminum, but it is heavy. An alluminum case can be louder than a steel case, but is a lot lighter, this comes in handy if you plan on moving your PC around a lot.

-Steel case
-Alluminum case

- Different types of cases, offer different drive bay options. For instance, a tower will give you almost 2x the amount of drive bays than a mid-tower desktop will.

- Take your future needs into consideration when purchasing your case.

Well, that's all for now, this is a work in progress, and anything you'd like to add would be greatly appreciated

 

[Mik3y]

that's booty full. i like! great job.

 

[TheGeek]

great job

 

[Degrador]

Great idea SneakyStuff - hopefully they'll make this a sticky. Just a couple of additions I'd make:

E-ATX form factor: this is for server motherboards with dual (or quad) cpus.

Tower is often called Full Tower.

Perhaps a definition of removeable motherboard trays? They're becoming quite popular.

Powersupplies that come with cases are often very poor quality. However, Antec make great powersupplies that they ship with their cases, and some other reputable companies (such as the ones you listed) put Fortran or other good powersupplies with their cases. Basically, if you want a good powersupply, either buy a good brand case, or buy the powersupply separately.

That's all I can think of. Actually, the only other thing I'd suggest is to strongly emphasize (bold perhaps?) that case selection really must be based on what your needs are. There is no case that serves everyone's requirements. So you really need to actually get in mind what you plan to put in the case / where you plan to put it / what you want out of it before you purchase.

 

[pirred908]

Sticky?

 

[prometheusxls]

Great thread!

My $.02 is that the case is probabbly the second major consideration when assembleing a PC. You need a motherbaord you don't need a case. I have put together a PC wiht out a case before for a short time. The motherboard dictates which form factor case you buy, not the orther way arround. From there you decide what size case, what sort of PSU, etc...

 

[stevennoland]

Originally posted by: prometheusxls
Great thread!

My $.02 is that the case is probabbly the second major consideration when assembleing a PC. You need a motherbaord you don't need a case. I have put together a PC wiht out a case before for a short time. The motherboard dictates which form factor case you buy, not the orther way arround. From there you decide what size case, what sort of PSU, etc...

Your logic is sound, but function has always followed form. A mother board might look cool, but your case is the first impression! Besides, most good (ahem) cases will fit most boards sold. I would also bet that more system builders choose the case first as this sets the foundation for the rest of the system. I'm shopping for a new case right now (eyeing the Lian Li PC-V2000b), but I'll still be waitnig for the new Intel i925xe mobos (the ones that'll support 1066 FSB). True, you can build a system without a case, but why keep it as such?

 

[SneakyStuff]

bumpidy

 

[Degrador]

No Sticky? It should be... Any chance you can update the original message with the other stuff Sneaky?

 

[SneakyStuff]

I'm working on version 1.1 Just haven't had a lotta time on my hands as of late.

 

[whovous]

I think two other points are worth mentioning:

1. Some cases and systems are much louder than others. You need to decide how much noise means to you.

I have taken steps to make my Antec Sonata even quieter. This works for me, but it might not work for someone planning to wring every ounce of performance out of a system. Folks need to decide where they stand on the performance versus noise issue. First time case buyers do not need to ultimately resolve this question, but they do need to know it exists.

2. Cases, like monitors, can last a long time. If you choose well, either one may carry over into your next system. This does not hold true for CPUs, RAM, or video cards. It is worth spending a little extra to get the case right. There is a good chance your case will still be around for the next system.

 

[Degrador]

Originally posted by: whovous
I think two other points are worth mentioning:

1. Some cases and systems are much louder than others. You need to decide how much noise means to you.

I have taken steps to make my Antec Sonata even quieter. This works for me, but it might not work for someone planning to wring every ounce of performance out of a system. Folks need to decide where they stand on the performance versus noise issue. First time case buyers do not need to ultimately resolve this question, but they do need to know it exists.

2. Cases, like monitors, can last a long time. If you choose well, either one may carry over into your next system. This does not hold true for CPUs, RAM, or video cards. It is worth spending a little extra to get the case right. There is a good chance your case will still be around for the next system.

Both are very good points. I would say that when buying a case you need to weigh up what matters to you, between performance, noise, and functionality. Many cases cover all three of these (although not to the full extent of each), such as the Lian Li V series, or the Cooler Master Stacker, however these are large cases, so the first step probably should be to pick the size case you want, and work from there to see what sort of performance / noise / functionality in that size.

EDIT: Forgot to mention looks can play an important role, depending on how important they are to you .

 

[Tab]

- Most cases come bundled with a fan or 2, and a generic power supply. This is generally fine for the average user, but if you are an enthusiast, you will want to put a little more thought into your purchase.

Umm, no. Those POS power supplies are not worth it by any means..

 

[Degrador]

Yay, sticky .

 

[stevennoland]

Originally posted by: whovous
I think two other points are worth mentioning:

1. Some cases and systems are much louder than others. You need to decide how much noise means to you.

I have taken steps to make my Antec Sonata even quieter. This works for me, but it might not work for someone planning to wring every ounce of performance out of a system. Folks need to decide where they stand on the performance versus noise issue. First time case buyers do not need to ultimately resolve this question, but they do need to know it exists.

2. Cases, like monitors, can last a long time. If you choose well, either one may carry over into your next system. This does not hold true for CPUs, RAM, or video cards. It is worth spending a little extra to get the case right. There is a good chance your case will still be around for the next system.

Good points! I wish I could say I carried my Lian Li PC60 over for my second build. It seems every time I'm looking to upgrade, there is a case that just screams 'YOU NEED ME"! This probably has something to do with me not upgrading but instead doing a whole system build.

 

[Zepper]

All else being equal, a steel case will be quieter than an aluminum one.
.bh.

 

[grrl]

Nice job.

>>- A helpful hint. When looking for a quiet case, you should look into 120mm fan setups. Those fans tend to push more air, and be considerably less noisy than their 80mm counterparts.

It also depends upon the fans you use. I have a Chieftec mid-tower with 4 80mm Panaflos in the case, a regular Sunon 80mm running at 7v on the heatsink, a Northbridge fan and an 80mm Panaflo on the PSU. This set up is no louder than my old case with just one 120mm running at 7v and 2 Panaflos.

 

[SneakyStuff]

True, but keep in mind, MOST people aren't too keen to volt modding, but I agree 7V is a big difference, on any fan.

 

[Degrador]

Perhaps we should suggest fan controllers for people who are noise concious - relatively easy to set up, just plug and play really .

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: Degrador
Perhaps we should suggest fan controllers for people who are noise concious - relatively easy to set up, just plug and play really .

added

 

[mpct9]

Great job Sneaky Stuff. This is very informative.

I've been building system for over 5 years, and used lots of different cases. Antec and Chieftec are good, but they are very expensive.
For me, case is only a metal box. I just don't feel worth to spend more the a hundred bulks for the box only. I visited Hong Kong the beginning of this year and guess what, I found the same Antec Sonata case with a non-brand 450W power supply cost me $25.00 only. I wish I can bring more back to US.

My point is, nowadays those case manufacturers paying too much for advertising and reviews, thus transfered the cost on us. Does it worth?

I want to share my experience on cases that I recently use, they are good price and worth to try. Like Athenatech, Dynapower, and Rosewill. I think the price match their quality. Cheap case like Powmax, don't even try, you will regret. Their power supply is a PSIII size one, very cheap, weight like feather.

So instead of spending a hundred bulks on the metal box, I rather save $50 to get a larger hard drive.

 

[TommygunAngel]

Comprehensive guide. Bravo.

And of course, modding can compensate for some those lacking in appearance and functionality.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

So forget it. I'll move the contents if they were in the wrong place after all.

 

[prometheusxls]

Originally posted by: mpct9
Great job Sneaky Stuff. This is very informative.

I've been building system for over 5 years, and used lots of different cases. Antec and Chieftec are good, but they are very expensive.
For me, case is only a metal box. I just don't feel worth to spend more the a hundred bulks for the box only. I visited Hong Kong the beginning of this year and guess what, I found the same Antec Sonata case with a non-brand 450W power supply cost me $25.00 only. I wish I can bring more back to US.

My point is, nowadays those case manufacturers paying too much for advertising and reviews, thus transfered the cost on us. Does it worth?

I want to share my experience on cases that I recently use, they are good price and worth to try. Like Athenatech, Dynapower, and Rosewill. I think the price match their quality. Cheap case like Powmax, don't even try, you will regret. Their power supply is a PSIII size one, very cheap, weight like feather.

So instead of spending a hundred bulks on the metal box, I rather save $50 to get a larger hard drive.

Very true. There is no need for a guide if the only real advice is you get what you pay for. I want a guide to how do I save money w/o losing features. Cases like pad Compucase LX-6A19 are amazing cases w/ cheap price tags. These need to be highlighted as the case to get for a high effectivness low cost solution. Same is true for PSUs like the Zalman Noiseless 300W ZM300A-APF and Enermax 350W EG365AX-VE. Both are under $50 and look to be great for the uses of quiet computing or more power user tasks respectivly . These are exactly what most people should be getting and have enought watts and amps for 95% of all users and High efficiency and Active PFC to boot.

 

[vskagentsmith]

My two cents:

1. If temps are a concern for you, you may want to look for a case that comes with a thermal monitoring deck, or consider getting one for your existing case. It's a good investment if you like to easily monitor your system temps without requiring any special software and can easily check it anytime. It's also nice being able to check temps and detect problems before they become, well, a problem. The adjustable fan speed controls are great too, you can adjust your fan speeds so your case doesn't dance across the floor like an unbalanced clothes washer...

2. If ease of installing is important, look for case kits that use tooless installation. They typically come with guide rails that easily snap onto the sides of your CD/DVD-ROM drives and harddrives, and usually come with thumb screws on the sides of the case to make it easy to open and close. These cases are great if you swap hardware in and out a lot, or decide to work on your PC when you don't have access to tools. They may cost you more, but they can be a huge time saver.

3. Keeping people off your PC can be a problem, especially if you have sibblings that like to sneak around on it while you're away. A lockable case might be a good solution for you. You can also sometimes lock the side panels so people can't open the case.



~fin~ (my two cents)