- Dec 1, 2013
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Many variables effect the decision of what case to get for your PC build. Most of which are- Aesthetics, Space, Compatibility, and price. The purpose of this tutorial is to help guide those who just don't have a clue, or want to get some help on what case to choose. This tutorial will cover all of the variables except for aesthetics, because that is very opinion based, so you can choose what looks good in your mind.
First Step: Finding what size case you need.Case sizing all depends on what you are going to be putting into your case. If you see yourself adding custom water loops, or really long graphics cards, or even duel PSU's, you would be looking at a full tower. However if you like small and compact, and don't need that much hardware in the case, you might want to go mid or mini tower. The following paragraphs will go a little deeper into each case size.
Mid Tower
The most commonly used case size is Mid or ATX sized case. This case will have enough room for ATX sized motherboards and anything smaller than that, i.e Micro ATX, Mini ITX and so on. Most people use this size because it has enough room for everything they need. Motherboard, GPU, PSU, Hard Drives and SSD's, Optical drives, fans, and all that good stuff.
Full Tower
Next is Full tower cases. Full towers can essentially fit anything and everything. From mini ITX to extended ATX motherboards as well as in some cases, duel Power Supplies, and optimized cable routing hardware as well as plenty of room for custom loop liquid cooling setups. These cases are not used as much as Mid towers because most people don't need all the room for radiators and large water cooling setups. However if you are going to have a custom water loop and maybe another need for such a big case, full towers will hold anything you need.
Here is a picture of a full tower.
Mini Tower
The next size case would be Mini tower. The smallest of he three, the mini tower allows you to build a very compact build. These cases can fit Mini ATX and micro ITX size motherboards, for the most part you get a mini tower for portability, if you are a heavy LAN gamer and or travel a lot and need a small PC, mini tower is the way to go. For the most part you will still be able to fit decent sized graphics cards and power supplies as well, so you aren't that limited.
Here is an image of the average mini tower.
Step 2: Price range For the most part we have already covered compatibility so we will move onto price. Most mid tower cases will cost anywhere from $30-$120. Full towers range anywhere from $90-$300+ and mini towers go for ~$25-$80. As you move up with the price in each category, you will find that the case will be made of better material, have more customizable hardware, and better cooling. The lower you get you will be getting mostly worse airflow, plastic instead of aluminum/steel, and less custom hardware.
Step 3: Aesthetics. Like I said before, aesthetics are something that you will want to figure out for yourself. But I can give you some suggestions. When you are going for a very beutiful look, I would suggest looking at NZXT, Fractal Design. When you are going for more durable and less eye candy, I would suggest corsair cases, very rugged without looking too bad. That's about as far as I can take you on looks, the rest is up to you.
So to rap this up, if you are an average gamer or person that wants to build a gaming PC, you will probably go with a mid size case, if you are a gaming enthusiast or enjoy future proof setups, you may want to go the full tower route, and if you like a compact and travel friendly PC, mini tower is the way to go. Once you find your category simply choose your price range and get searching for the case that looks the best for you.
Get building!
First Step: Finding what size case you need.Case sizing all depends on what you are going to be putting into your case. If you see yourself adding custom water loops, or really long graphics cards, or even duel PSU's, you would be looking at a full tower. However if you like small and compact, and don't need that much hardware in the case, you might want to go mid or mini tower. The following paragraphs will go a little deeper into each case size.
Mid Tower
The most commonly used case size is Mid or ATX sized case. This case will have enough room for ATX sized motherboards and anything smaller than that, i.e Micro ATX, Mini ITX and so on. Most people use this size because it has enough room for everything they need. Motherboard, GPU, PSU, Hard Drives and SSD's, Optical drives, fans, and all that good stuff.
Full Tower
Next is Full tower cases. Full towers can essentially fit anything and everything. From mini ITX to extended ATX motherboards as well as in some cases, duel Power Supplies, and optimized cable routing hardware as well as plenty of room for custom loop liquid cooling setups. These cases are not used as much as Mid towers because most people don't need all the room for radiators and large water cooling setups. However if you are going to have a custom water loop and maybe another need for such a big case, full towers will hold anything you need.
Here is a picture of a full tower.
Mini Tower
The next size case would be Mini tower. The smallest of he three, the mini tower allows you to build a very compact build. These cases can fit Mini ATX and micro ITX size motherboards, for the most part you get a mini tower for portability, if you are a heavy LAN gamer and or travel a lot and need a small PC, mini tower is the way to go. For the most part you will still be able to fit decent sized graphics cards and power supplies as well, so you aren't that limited.
Here is an image of the average mini tower.
Step 2: Price range For the most part we have already covered compatibility so we will move onto price. Most mid tower cases will cost anywhere from $30-$120. Full towers range anywhere from $90-$300+ and mini towers go for ~$25-$80. As you move up with the price in each category, you will find that the case will be made of better material, have more customizable hardware, and better cooling. The lower you get you will be getting mostly worse airflow, plastic instead of aluminum/steel, and less custom hardware.
Step 3: Aesthetics. Like I said before, aesthetics are something that you will want to figure out for yourself. But I can give you some suggestions. When you are going for a very beutiful look, I would suggest looking at NZXT, Fractal Design. When you are going for more durable and less eye candy, I would suggest corsair cases, very rugged without looking too bad. That's about as far as I can take you on looks, the rest is up to you.
So to rap this up, if you are an average gamer or person that wants to build a gaming PC, you will probably go with a mid size case, if you are a gaming enthusiast or enjoy future proof setups, you may want to go the full tower route, and if you like a compact and travel friendly PC, mini tower is the way to go. Once you find your category simply choose your price range and get searching for the case that looks the best for you.
Get building!
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