Selecting the components for your PC is similar to selecting the components for your car. Although some people, mainly enthusiasts, place importance on appearance, you primarily want your computer to function as it should. Choosing the casing, however, is far more like to shopping for clothing than choosing the rest of your computer. You’re largely focusing on aesthetics as long as your motherboard and other components fit within the case. There’s nothing wrong with that, by the way. It all begins with the case, and there are some genuine works of art out there.
Table of Contents
Case Size
Even if this one is simple and clear, it shouldn’t be disregarded. The size of your PC case should be taken into account initially. A full tower, a mid-tower, and smaller cases for mini-ITX and micro-ATX motherboards are among the several sizes of PC cases. Since mid-towers aren’t too big, are readily available, and are designed for regular ATX motherboards, the vast majority of PC builders choose them. Smaller motherboards can also fit in a mid-tower, but depending on the case, it can start to look a little funny.
The extended-ATX motherboards fit whole towers since they are substantially larger. These cases are typically chosen by ardent hobbyists with lots of experience who need space for custom parts or a large number of components. The mini-ITX and micro-ATX cases, which are all about tiny PCs that must fit into a small place like the entertainment center in your living room, may be really irritating to deal with if you purchase parts that don’t fit.
If you’re building a PC for the first time, stick with a mid-tower, which will let you to stay within your price range while still providing you with a variety of options.
Cooling
Not every PC case is made with the same capacity for airflow. Everything relies on the size of the case, the quantity of fans, and the number of carefully positioned vents. At least two fans must be present in your case (many cases also come with some stock fans included.) A fan for intake should flow fresher air into the casing, and a fan for exhaust should move hot air out.
Vents are another option to consider if you want to add more fans or passively bring in more air. Some have filters built in, which is a huge aid in keeping your PC from being overly dusty. The goal of everything is to keep the case calm. Most people will succeed if they merely look for the aforementioned qualities. However, it is well worth looking at case evaluations to discover which cases perform best for cooling if you want to build an overclocking monster or you live in a particularly warm climate.
Cable Management
One of the most annoying aspects of any PC build is the cables. If you don’t plan where you want them to run, they are unpleasant, frustrating, and ugly. The majority of cases have some cable management features, some of which are superior than others.
Ideally, the enclosure should have cutouts or grommets that make the cables readily disappear from the front, as well as some rear cable lines and tie-downs. Even though some PC builders dislike them, a power supply shroud is ideal to keep everything looking neat.
Front Panel
When it comes to the front panel, PC cases vary greatly. Here, you’ll typically find a headphone connector, sometimes a microphone jack, a few USB ports, and other forms of communication. What you need and how many devices you intend to use that require quick access to USB ports will determine what you desire in this situation. The connection wires for the front-panel headphone jacks are run the entire length of the chassis, rendering them completely useless. As a result, they can detect any interference that is passing by the motherboard before the music reaches your ears. You should use the motherboard’s headphone jack or a separate audio device like a sound card or external DAC instead.
Drive Bays
The ideal option for your primary drive is not an outdated 3.5-inch hard disk (that honor belongs to M.2 NVMe drives.) These outdated junkers are nevertheless excellent for storing data, and because they are so inexpensive, you can simply add a few terabytes of storage to your PC for a reasonable price.
Most PC cases have drive bays to house drives, but if you intend to install multiple drives in your computer, you could require a case with additional bays. Don’t forget to provide a case with mount points for 2.5-inch SSDs as well.
Clearance and Length
Even while “plug-and-play” universal compatibility is the main focus of PC construction, there are still circumstances where some components will flat-out not function. The clearance height of more expensive components is the reason behind this.
For instance, aftermarket air CPU coolers are frequently very large and bulky items that occasionally do not fit. The same is true for specialised high-end graphics cards, which might be longer than standard graphics cards and take up more space. You should make sure that any of these will fit in the case you choose before making a purchase.
All-in-one liquid cooling systems that are ready to be installed are also linked. AIOs normally only require a place to attach additional fans. You should be prepared for an AIO if you have that kind of space. You must, however, confirm that the case can support the size and number of fans.