Getting a cabinet

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cst1992

cst1992

Splendid
Nov 8, 2013
3,903
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Hi, everyone!
Thinking of getting a cabinet for my PC, the old one is very noisy, and only has one back fan, no space for front or side fans, although it has a large mesh on the side for air intake.

What I want to ask is that what should I be looking for when I get a new case? If someone could explain in detail things like form factor, motherboard support, dimensions, noise ratings, no. of fans supported, front/side/top fan space, cable management, fan controller, top/bottom PSU mounts, and wire gromits it'd be helpful.
 
Solution
B
For factor:
1. ATX is the standard form factor
2. m-atx is smaller than atx, allowing for smaller cases
3. ITX is even smaller
4. M-ITX the smallest
5. XL or E-ATX are the largest and are often for servers


Cases will say which form factor of motherboard they will accept, but generally there is full tower, mid tower, m-atx, and itx cases going from biggest to smallest.

Noise rating is very VERY subjective, but generally 32dba is about the highest you would ever want from a case. Also remember that all case fans can be replaced with higher quality, more silence optimized fans. The more fans you can put in a case, the better, though this means that noise isolation will be decreased due to the sheer amount of holes in the case (can...
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Brantyn Gerik

Dignified
Sep 18, 2013
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For factor:
1. ATX is the standard form factor
2. m-atx is smaller than atx, allowing for smaller cases
3. ITX is even smaller
4. M-ITX the smallest
5. XL or E-ATX are the largest and are often for servers


Cases will say which form factor of motherboard they will accept, but generally there is full tower, mid tower, m-atx, and itx cases going from biggest to smallest.

Noise rating is very VERY subjective, but generally 32dba is about the highest you would ever want from a case. Also remember that all case fans can be replaced with higher quality, more silence optimized fans. The more fans you can put in a case, the better, though this means that noise isolation will be decreased due to the sheer amount of holes in the case (can affect how much you hear components like cpu fans or gpu fans). you never want a case with less than capacity for 4 120mm fans in my personal opinion. this means 1 on the back, 2 on the top, and one at either the front or bottom. cases will also state what size of fans fit where, usually with a nifty little diagram.
many cases have a fan controller built in that can control up to 2 or more fans. while these are nice for controlling some of your fans, a discrete fan controller is usually a better choice for controlling more fans.

most cases these days use a bottom mounted psu configuration. the best way to go is with a psu that has a bottom dust filter, and have the psu drawing air in from the bottom and exhausting it out the back. this leaves little to extra heat from the psu in your case.

cable management is usually determined by the spacing of holes on the motherboard tray, as well as the actual width between motherboard tray and back panel. you generally want at least a full inch of space between the two to allow you to more easily route things like the 24 pin and the 8 pin connectors to the motherboard. Check for a hole at the top near the back as it allows for easier routing of that 8 pin to your motherboard. Wire gromits are pretty much for making things look nicer as it is not likely you would otherwise cut a cable on the "unprotected hole"


side panel intakes are great for reducing gpu temps as well.
 
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Brantyn Gerik

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Sep 18, 2013
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cases "should" specify what length of gpu they fit, if not in the spec sheet on the website, then within the dimensions listed in the pdf manufacturers manual that can be found on many manufacturers website. Most atx cases have no problem fitting gpu up to 12 inches.

airflow should always be from bottom to top, and front to back doesnt matter nearly as much. personally i use front intakes, bottom intakes, and back intakes and then very strong top exhausts. this creates positive pressure within the case and actually helps reduce dust buildup
 
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Brantyn Gerik

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Sep 18, 2013
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I highly recommend the cougar challenger case if you like different looking cases. I used to have one but then upgraded to a full tower purely because of epeen reasons :p

the cougar challenger is one of the most customizable cases on the inside with the removable HD bays and such. not to mention the case is virtually silent with a great 200mm fan in the front, and a great 120mm fan at the back with options for many more fans. The case comes in all black, orange, or white i believe :p just something to look at.

 
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