(Edit: I eventually bought this beast, it has gushing reviews everywhere and very spacious, for £35.24 total: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silv...nce-case-with-usb-30-side-mesh-window-w-o-psu) What's the difference between a £15 case and a £40 case? Never bought a case before, always just figured a case was a case. But now I know things like that my motherboard is micro ATX form. So I ask should I therefore look for a micro atx case, or would an ATX-sized/mid-sized case be a safer bet so I know everything else will fit, or for better cooling air flow perhaps? That kinda thing. BTW, my motherboard is Micro ATX Form Factor 24.4cm x 22.0cm, video card is a Zotac GTX 780 (AMP! edition), CPU cooler is a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, and I have 3 120mm fans and an 80mm fan to use.
Usually everything improves as you crank up the price, from build quality and aesthetics to materials, cooling power and features. Personally I can't see the point in using a full ATX tower with anything other than an ATX mobo. A smaller mobo deserves a smaller, better case. In my experience £60-£80 is usually a very good sweet spot for a case.
What case is right for you depends on your budget, what sort of styling you like, whether you're prioritising quietness or cooling, and what sort of kit you're planning to put inside the case (and what you might want to add at a later date). Don't forget that a lot of cases will only realise their cooling potential if you fit some extra fans, so you may want to set your budget accordingly.
Well, the £60-£80 price mentioned above was a lot more than I expected to pay, I was thinking more £30 - £40. All I wants is something that cools well, of course isn't loud (but what is 'loud'?) but I'm not expecting silence, and that I know will fit my graphics card and all those parts in. It can look like an IBM from 1990 for all I care.
Depends what else you're putting in it, but in no particular order my criteria are: Space (Room for watercooling etc) Aesthetics (do you like a plain box or an 'aggressive gaming machine' type look) Cost - You can get a perfectly serviceable case for £30, don't sacrifice another aspect of the build for the sake of a case. Something like an NZXT Source 210 is a nice mid size tower which will have room for a full atx board should you decide to upgrade in the future.
Yeah, I had a quick browse on Scan.co.uk for all types of cases and even the cheap £20 - £30 ones have multiple 120mm fan bays, external and internal drive bays, usually a usb 3.0. I'm left wondering what the catch is or if I'm missing something. Edit: I bought this beast, it has gushing reviews everywhere and very spacious, for £35.24 total: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silv...nce-case-with-usb-30-side-mesh-window-w-o-psu
Windows, better included fans, space for big radiators, grommetted holes for cable management. Nothing essential, but all nice stuff.
That case will need more fans to keep your gear nice and cool, I wouldn't just rely on one intake fan as your PSU alone will generate a fair bit of heat and you will get hot air were your CPU is located. Just seen that you have extra fans but how old are they, don't forget that fans age and it's a shame to have a new case with old fans that are showing their age, nothing worse than that little rumbling noise that keeps on and on day after day.
I've been learning of the science of fannage. The fans have only been used for an hour apparently, I got them on this forum.
CPU, motherboard, GPU, storage, other media devices and RAM. Jokes aside, depends on the criteria and build your looking for. You could go ATX and mod it to allow numerous water-cooling, you could get a basic case to allow for just air cooling. So long as you have enough bays for your storage and the air flow is deemed reasonable you cant go far wrong. Most of the corsair and Antec range will satisfy here and if you want something a little more off the wall theres always Zalman.
