How important is a case?

[crazy032]

How important is it to have a good case? I've run out of space in my current tower and was thinking of getting the Thermaltake Armor VA8000. Is case selection important, or should I save some $$ and get a cheaper case. I've never spent more then $40 for a case before.

 

[nobly]

It depends!
You could get a so-so case for cheap, but if it doesn't have adequate ventilation, it might overheat your computer.

If noise bothers you, the case is one of the most important things you need to consider. If you can put up w/ 7 fans running and your computer sounding like an airplane, then I'd say get a cheap case and a good power supply.

Just make sure whatever case you get will have adequate airflow for your components.

 

[crazy032]

I actually had to take the side panels off of my current case because the airflow was so poor. Beliieve it or not, my sound card actually ended up overheating.

 

[frozenlead]

I'm a huge cooling freak, with my aspire x-dreamer II loaded with 11 fans that can be louder than my vacuum cleaner (6700RPM cpu fan? what?)

I highly recommend big airy cases with lots of fan holes, especially those with chimney fans.

I also highly recommend the aspire x-dreamer and x-navigator case, which you can purchase for around $50 (x-dreamer) to $150 (x-navigator with 120mm side fan)

I can get colling numbers round 32 overclocked to 2.6GHz with my athlon xp 2800+

a case is one of the most inportant parts of a pc.
but of course, the pc with the best cooling are those without a case.
ahahaha

so if you want cooling (and aren't going anywhere with your pc and don't fear damage to it) just take the entire assembly out of teh case, set it on a desk or shelf, and power it up.

 

[jokersgrin]

It depends on what you want your ring to do!

Important things to consider

#1 AIRFLOW: you must have good airflow 92mm to 120mm fans are best (my opinion)
2. small ,medium or LARGE!!!! This really depends on what you building the computer for! Overclockers like roomy cases to add liquid cooling and lots of quiet fans. Case Modding! again med to large space required to make that certain look your going for..etc. Or just plain school, internet surfin, maybe a few games here and there ( small case with basic componets )

#3 design: here is where you must do enough research to decide that the case will fit your needs for the planned build.

Other go with lots of drive bays to add a large # of HDD's or add lcd screens, light buses, fan controllers, cig lighter...etc you get the picture

What ever the case plan your build and try and match the case to fit your needs. But whatever you do DO THE RESEARCH FIRST!!!

good luck

 

[bulkypc07]

The tricks is when you buy a bulky tower (Ahhemm...) you will have more space for HDD, nice air flow and more..
If you need to save space in your room you might want to build X shuttle box and micro MOBO.

Ventilation is also important in choosing the right case for you.. More fan is better...

If you can afford H2O cooler go for it!!!
but think it will consume more WATTS..

 

[ashiplikethat]

i have had the thermaltake armour case for a week now and the ventilation is the best i have ever had. there is masses of room inside the case but you pay for that when it comes to moving it around. if you get the black one it weighs loads and is a pain to take to lan partys but if its just going to sit under your desk all the time then i highly reccomend it.
its perform alot better than my old tsunarmi dream when it comes to cooling.

 

[chuckshissle]

Go with Tt armour case, it has very good air circulation. Lots of space and frame is lightweight aluminum. I have the Tt kandalf, it's basically the same as the armor and I have no problem with overheating in my air-cooled rig.

 

[Maxiius]

Just like to chime in and say, I have a TT Armor case also 8)

 

[luminaris]

The case IMO is the most important aspect of your system. It not only houses your system, it protects it, keeps it cool and for the most part, looks cool. Think of it as your house and how you would want to live. Do you want to live all hot and sweaty in a non air conditioned house with no airflow? I don't think so. You want to live nice and cool and have great airflow. Think about how much better your system will run when it can dissipate the heat well.

That case looks pretty decent to me. I use Chieftec Dragon cases because they have such high airflow. You can buy them under the Ultra name from Tigerdirect much cheaper than from Chieftec themselves.

 

[Rustol3um]

IMO there are a couple of things I look for when buying a case...For me I don't like busy cases with all kinds of molded plastic pieces all over the place. Fit and finish is very important as sometimes you need to stick your hand in the case and you don't want to cut the hell out of yourself. Another factor for me is the cooling aspect of the case. How well will it keep your expensive componants cool? airflow and thermal dynamics are improtant for this. IMHO I like Lian Li cases. they are generally a little more expensive but you get what you pay for. their cases tend to be clean and have really good heat dissipation along with a very nice fit and finsih to them......thats my story and I am sticking with it..