Why are most cases black or darker colors?

back in the day black was rare. people wanted them because somebody thought it was cool. now the manufacturers don't really give us many choices. I had to paint my last one the color I wanted.

Black shows stains scrathes less, appeal to everyone whereas a green or blue case might not, a corsair graphite 760T or corsair 900D or coolermaster se cosmos will do

I think the reason most manufacturers have switched to primarily black cases is for aesthetic reasons. Back in the day, owning a computer was a statement of status and beige, desktop models stood out. Now, it's more a matter of workspace (and still aesthetics). We now have the tower cases so they're not as readily seen on your desktop and the black color makes them generally even harder to see as it sits underneath your desk.

-Wolf sends

The real reason black cases took hold was because the old 80's beige color plastic would yellow when near sun light. Look around, you can find some crazy color cases out there. One problem I have seen over many years of building systems is you will never find a case with every feature you want. There will always seem to be one or two things missing from that oh so perfect case.

I believe the beige desktops of old were more a product of necessity as it was the cheapest plastic at the time of the Apple Macintosh release, then it came to be expected as that's "what a computer looked like" in the IBM clone era.
Reason why most cases are black now is because black is whats in, its the current design trend. 2yrs ago, extremely aggressive looking cases were popular given the success of the Coolermaster HAF series, now everyone is emulating Corsairs aesthetic and going for sleeker looking cases.

Its just trends. Just look at the 80's and try to find a good reason for that fashion.

gotta add since I get the impression OP is up there in age.............. it's hard for old eyes to see in the "darkness". It's a bitch trying to work on some of these machines without a lot of light anymore. let alone being somebody who swaps out hardware often. I think it would be okay for the outside but the interiors need to "pop" more. maybe somebody will brighten them up and we might start to see a new breed of nice cases come along.

One word - Marketing.
Just like "Extreme", "X", "Gamer RAM", etc, etc, etc

I can remember way back when all you could get were white and beige. people just got tired of looking at it. somebody came up with a different plan.,.. here we sit........ colors are starting to show up but last case I saw was yellow on the outside and black on the inside. it had lots of bends and twists shapes on the interior support structure. should be shown off not hidden by dark paint.

There are manufacturers that still make light (often white) cases like for instance these,
http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/117-source-210-elite-case
or more colored on the inside (kinda pops out),
sharkoon,
http://www.sharkoon.com/?q=en/node/2517
or aerocool,
http://www.aerocool.com.tw/index.php/strike-x/chassis/39-case/strike-x6/855-strike-x-xtreme-devil-red-gallery
the last two manufacturers often make these with led fans in them so i think not really your taste.




I dont think you can compare the heat coming from components that is in movement because of the fans with sunlight that pounds on a peace of metall outside.These are imo two different kind of heatsources.I don't think you will see much difference in reviews between cases with a white or black interior looking at the temperatures.
It's hard to find reviews to compare though because of differences in components and testing methods or more how the results are displayed.

I've gotta say, you are unlikely to find a case that fits the overall look of the old Lian-Li cases these days. Most manufacturers are well aware that CD/DVD/BLURAY drives are nowhere near as prevalent as they once were, and that even people who do still use them generally only have one, with possibly another bay needed for fan controllers etc.

You can still find plenty of cases that have 2 or 3 drive bays in front, though not many that are silver in color, just as you aren't overly likely to find a popular company mass producing beige boxes anymore. That said, Lian-Li do still exist and are still producing cases not too different to what you are looking for, though you may have to forgo the massive amounts of drive bays unless you can increase your budget.

i think its cos black cases cool quicker or is it white not sure.
it could be just cos most people like black cases though or something

At these temps, color has nothing to do with it.
Marketing, and 'looks cool'.

Computers used to be status like that guy said. Beige, White, Black. Strictly professional. It meant you had money.

This is as retro as I can find LOL

HEC 7106WW Beige White Steel ATX Desktop Computer Case

But sadly newegg doesn't have it in stock any longer.. perhaps you could contact the manufacturer? Their site doesn't look like they have it, but maybe they have some in inventory somewhere.. lol

Back when pc's were beige, they were in offices. It was the 70's and 80's, business was still 'old school' and 'boring'. Beige went with everything and wasn't a visual eye sore. It was 'blah' which is what the office setting was back in those days. Now offices are 'modern' and 'sleek', seeking to be 'bad' so they push the envelope with edgy things - black makes a statement and it's not out of place anymore. Back in the old days, kids and gamers didn't use pc's - business people did. People who wore pantsuits and suits with a jacket and tie (tied properly).

Now it's 'cool' for men to go to work in an office with a loose tie and the top button undone (what a rebel). Or no tie at all. Or for women to get away with wearing things like black jeans. Geeks and gamers wanted something 'rebellious', something that didn't say 'moms or dads old office puter'. Windows in cases became popular. It's true, the old beige looked like hell and yellowed badly due to sunlight exposure.

Many things are trends. Side windows, no side windows. Water cooling used to be the 'elite' thing to do, now everyone does it and cases come off the line built for it. Just like led's got added to pc cases and in the 90's and early 2000's the cases looked like carnival rides with color changing led strips up front. Now people want more classy looks like two tone white/red, white/black, black/green etc vs the rainbow effect.

Lian Li set themselves apart by having high dollar all aluminum cases. The thought process was it's aluminum, it must cool better. Look nice, sure. But the cases don't act like a giant heatsink, by the time ambient air has a chance to saturate an aluminum case and 'radiate' through it, the intake and exhaust fans have already circulated the air several times.

Old tv sets and stereos used to come in wooden cabinets, made to look like furniture. Now they're typically silver or black to fit with 'modern' electronics. Go to an old person's house sometime who still has all their old electronics. You'll probably see wood paneling in at least one room of the house, shag carpet and a station wagon in the garage with fake wood panels on the side. I can recall years ago my parents even had a microwave with a fake wooden cabinet. It was the shiz.

This is the closest I can find in your price range that's similar to your previous case.

There's a review here - it's in Russian, but there are enough pictures to give you an idea of what you'd be getting.

It looks like it comes with blue LED fans, but if you don't want it lit up you can replace them.

Something like this maybe (another lian li) http://www.xoxide.com/lianli-pc-60fncase-silver.html

Or this silverstone http://www.xoxide.com/silverstone-fortress-case-silver.html

Another lian li, midtower (only 3 external 5.25 bays) but has side vents (no window) - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/20907/cst-1427/Lian_Li_PC-9N_Essence_Series_Aluminum_Mid_Tower_Case_-_Silver.html?tl=g1c295s739#blank

Black ABSORBS light, so a black case would abosrb sunlight if any in the room, thus increasing temperatures slightly
Whereas White obviously reflects light, so a white case would keep the heat away, but if the interiors are white then it would keep the heat in, so you would want black interior, white exterior, such as most cases, but the difference in temperature would not be noticeable ever, so it doesn't matter. Think of a thermos flask, always white/aluminium on inside to keep heat in.
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