How to Buy a Basic Computer Case

Computer Case Information Power Supply: Most all power supplies are a standard size, some have an extra fan in the front of the power supply. Make sure you have enough room for the extra fan between the front of the power supply and the back of your DVD drive. Its not hard to figure this out. First we take the over all depth of the case. The average mid tower case is about 18" to 19" deep. The average depth of a DVD drive is 7" a few models are up to 9". Our average power supply has a depth is 5.5" to 6" So lets do some math, 19" - 7"(for the dvd) and - 6"(for the power supply), So 19"-6"-7"= 6" since a extra fan is only 1" that leaves us 5" for air space and wires. So we have a good fit. You can find the dimension of the parts on the website you are purchasing the parts from. Motherboard: Motherboards come in three basic styles, the size are average buy very close within an inch. They are Micro ATX, (H 9" x 9") Very common for basic system using onboard video and no add-on cards. Full Size ATX 3/4, (H 12" x 9") Very popular motherboard used for systems that need expansion slots. Full Size ATX Full Width (H 12" x 13") These boards are mostly used for servers, most of you will never use this size. Use the same math as above in our power supply section, take 19" depth of the case - 5.5" for the hard drive gives you how much free space you have for the motherboard and extra how much extra space for cables and air. Most case spec's will tell you what type of ATX boards will fit the case, however it can be a tight fit on smaller cases such as one that are only 17" deep and a full 3/4" motherboard. Always remember you must have room for air flow and cables at least 3", a little more is better.

FFD/HDD: Floppy drives are really not used much anymore, these slots are used mainly for Flash Card Readers and usually don't stick any farther than the case it self. Hard Drives are all a standard size, 3.5" wide and 5.5" long. The cabling can be a issue, some cases have the hard drives mounting front to back and the cables add about 2" more and add to the over all length.

Some cases now have the hard drive mounting from the side, you may have to make sure that you have enough room or make sure you have right angle cables, these cables have a right angle on the connector make it shorter when plugged in and allowing the side of case to be put on without damaging or breaking the cables.

Video Cards: Most computers built today use the onboard video card, but if you are planning on using a higher quality video card some of the higher one can be as much as 10" to 12" long and use extra power from the power supply. Make sure if you use one of these cards you have enough room in the case for the card and the FDD or Hard Drive.

Fans: Some cases come with fans in the front of where the hard drives go and cause the hard drive to stick out about 1" farther back, They also come with a fan back next to the CPU, make sure this fan doesn't interfere with the CPU fan. This may have to be checked once the motherboard and CPU fan is installed. Also check if there are any other guards or parts that may be in the way.

Bottom Mounting Power Supplies: It is becoming more popular for cases to have power supply that mount on the bottom of the case and not on the top. In my opinion this is a bad idea for two reason. One the power supply if its set on the floor with inhale more dirt and dust causing the unit to overheat faster. Second heat rises and this can cause the case to be hotter on the top and were the CPU is, this is bad thing, make sure you have enough fans that vent the hot air out of the case. Also if you choose a bottom mounting power supply, make sure your cables are long enough most standard power supply cables are to short, if you choose a better, higher quality power supply they can give you longer cables most of time.

Other Issues to consider: One of last thing to consider is air flow, some cases are really cool looking but have really bad air flow. Air flow doesn't always mean losts of fans and noise. Think of where you put the computer, if you put your computer in a desk and close the door, you have to make sure the desk doesn't hold in the heat, make sure there is air flow out of the case and out of desk.

If you choose a case with a lot of lights and fancy neon lights, this can effect a power supply, yes they are suppose to be low power but if they short out or have problems they can bleed inference the the power supply and into the computer. These kind of cases require more maintenance, check them at least twice a year.

After market CPU Heatsinks and Cooler, These units can really keep your CPU cooler and running fast, but they can be huge and take up allot of space, make sure to read reviews and consider there size and the amount of room in your case. Use a little math and you will be fine.

Now that we have gone over the basic of buying a basic computer case you can take a few minutes and look at what you want. don't over think it. It should not take more than 20 minutes to choose a case. Look at the specification and make a list and find your perfect case. Take a piece of paper and draw a diagram of the basic case and parts this will help you make sure when you assemble your machine it will all go together without a hitch.

Check out Newegg.com they have hundreds of case and detailed specification on each case.