Computer Tower Cases

By far, the most popular cases are computer tower cases. They are the easiest to work in, because of the room, and they are easy to place under a computer desk. When you are getting ready to purchase a computer case, here are a few things that you should take into consideration.

Airflow

The airflow of a case is extremely important to the life of your computer. Poor airflow will trap heat inside the case which will reduce the life of your components. This is especially important in gaming computers, as the higher end components they use will produce more heat. Things you should take into consideration for good airflow:

• Case Fan Placement - The location and orientation of case fans is the best way to ensure good airflow. The best setup of computer tower cases will include fans that both pull air into the case, and exhaust air out. Higher end cases will have anywhere from 1 to 3 fans on the front of the case that pull fresh air into the case. These fans will typically blow over the hard drives and optical drives and force the air into the interior of the case. Along the back of the case will be the exhaust fans that pull air from inside the case and exhaust it out the back. Some computer tower cases will even include an exhaust fan on the top of the case.
  
• Component Placement - The location of components can have an effect on the airflow of your case. For maximum cooling, you want the air that is pulled in from the front of the case to blow over your hard drives, flow through the middle of the case, and out the back. Expansion cards such as graphics cards, and sound cards can block airflow in the case, so careful positioning of these components and the fans is important to good airflow.
• Cabling - Keeping your cables neat inside the case will help with proper airflow. A mess of cables in the middle of the case will interrupt the airflow of the case and help to trap heat inside. There are a few things you can do to help this. Routing your cables along the edges of the case and keeping them out of the center helps keep the middle free of obstructions. Using round cables instead of flat ones for any IDE drives will also help to keep air flowing through the case.

Size

Determined in part by the form factor of your motherboard, you will want to ensure that the case you get ha sufficient size to handle all the components you want to install. For a home office computer, you may not need a full tower case, and can go with a smaller form factor such as mini-ATX or micro-ATX. With smaller form factors, you can go with a smaller case. For gaming computers however, you will need to ensure that you have room for a few different components.

Today's graphics cards can measure as much as 12 inches long, so you will need to ensure enough room from to back, keeping in mind that the drive bays will also take up room in the front. If you are planning to use an aftermarket heatsink for improved CPU cooling, you'll want to ensure that you have enough room from side to side. Some heatsinks can get quite tall, and you may need as much as 8 inches of clearance from the top of the motherboard.

If you will be installing multiple drives, make sure that you have enough drive bays to install them all. You will also want to take into consideration room for running your cables. Some computer tower cases will include room behind the motherboard to run cables to the various locations within the case.

For gaming computers, take into consideration the placement of the fan mounting locations. You will want to make sure that you have enough locations, and that they are in the right place to provide proper airflow.

Material and Weight

Computer tower cases are made from a few different materials, with steel and plastic being the most common. If you need portability however, you may want to look at aluminum. Aluminum cases tend to cost a bit more, but are much lighter then steel, and much more sturdy than plastic. Aluminum cases will also help to keep heat levels down inside the case, as they conduct heat much better than steel or plastic. For a home office computer, this is not that big of a consideration. For a gaming computer, especially one that needs to be portable, you may want to seriously consider aluminum, even with the cost increase.

Conclusion

Take all these things into consideration when looking at computer tower cases. You will find that prices are going to range from $25.00 on the cheap side, to $300.00 for the top end cases. Some cases will come with an included power supply. For a home office setup, this may be the most cost effective way to go. For a gaming computer however, the included power supply will usually not be able to power your system sufficiently. Taking airflow, layout, and weight into consideration will ensure that you purchase a computer case that will perform well for years to come, and will last through multiple upgrades.

Return to Computer Cases from Computer Tower Cases

Return to Homepage