UP TO DATE VERSION HERE
So you want to buy a new case?
Cases, they are a much harder choice to make than a graphics card or processor, you just buy the best in your budget and use reviews for to find out the best performer. With cases this it is not quite as easy.
Reviews for cases can be hit or miss; you need to get a reviewer doing a roundup who has the same taste in cases as you for any chance of getting a true reflection of what the case will be like from your perspective.
All cases you buy are a purely subjective purchase, you have to like the looks and the interior and whatever anyone else says about the case you like the look of it is safe to ignore it most of the time, you’re the one who has to live with the looks.
When you’re choosing your case it comes down to four areas in the sub £500 case category.
• All aluminium cases with subtle styling.
• Gaming cases with outrageous looks that make them the centre of attention.
• Low noise solutions
• Value Cases
All of these choices for your case are perfectly good ones, and are equally capable of holding a computer at comfortable temperatures with reasonable noise levels, whichever you buy.
Aluminium Cases:
Firstly I will deal with my personal favourite area of cases, the subtly styled all aluminium cases. I will make this as fair as I can for each; although I am only human as some of you seem to imagine my house being made of aluminium, I assure you it is not!
Aluminium cases are designed to make a statement, same as gaming cases are, they sit in a room with the pc in them chugging away complementing almost any styling. They very rarely stand out to much from the surroundings. They will fit into living rooms, kitchens or bedrooms perfectly fine – they just complement their surroundings well due to the subtle styling.
The cooling on them is usually of a high standard, and the build quality is second to none from the likes of Lian Li and Silverstone.
The downside with all aluminium cases is that sometimes they resonate, but this can be easily sorted and it has been covered quite a few times in the forums.
The pricing of these cases is typically higher than that of the others, due to the all aluminium designs. They hardly ever have more than one new innovation per case and like to play things safe, so you are sure to get a good case, although there are some turkeys out there.
The manufacturers and the case ranges you should be looking at are:
• Silverstone Temjin (TJ) & Lascala (LC)
• Lian Li PC & V series
• Coolermaster ATCS, Praetorian & Wavemaster http://www.coolermaster-europe.com/index.php
Gaming Cases:
Gaming cases are also made to make a statement, they sit in a room and are the focal point, the aim in their design is to get the ‘look at me I am different’ factor, and with this most of them succeed.
The cooling in these cases can be hit and miss, as long as you buy a good one then you're set for the best cooling possible with air in a pc case. You need to make sure you look out for at least two 120mm fans. Aluminium construction is a possible plus point for weight, but don’t buy into the helps the cooling, as it really does not help that much at all.
The downside with gaming cases is that the construction is sometimes more prone to being suspect, with cheap plastics and sharp edges a common feature in these cases. The plastic however can be a plus point, as it can aid the designers in making colourful and standout designs.
The manufacturers you should keep an eye on for gaming cases are:
• NZXT
• Chenbro
• Thermaltake
• A-Tophttp://www.a-top.com/main.html
Low Noise Cases:
These are perhaps the hardest type of cases to choose from, as any case can be made silent, but these are the cases which out of the box strive to make the system they hold as quiet as possible.
They are great for the living room, or for if you just don’t like noise at all and don’t have the time to modify a normal case by choosing specific cooling to make it near silent; these cases generally make the best of a bad situation.
The cooling in these cases can come second, but usually a happy medium is reached. They may be heavy depending on if they have any noise dampening material fitted (sometimes available as a pre-cut aftermarket kit).
The downside with these cases is that they usually cost slightly more for the noise privileges and can be heavy; the build quality on these cases is generally very good with very few cases having sharp edges as a hazard during construction.
The manufacturers you should take a peak at are:
• Antec (Sonata and P series)
• Artic Cooling
Value Cases:
These are the low end of the case market. Ideally you should avoid putting any seriously high powered rigs in these. They can be good, but a large proportion of these cases are not suitable for most modern systems.
You have to be careful as almost all of these cases have sharp edges, its how they keep the costs down.
If there is one thing you take note of out of this FAQ for cases, it is this; when buying a cheap case with a power supply bundled, be very wary of it. The case costs £22 with a 500w power supply for example, seems like a good buy doesn’t it! Its not, the power supplies that come with these cases under any strain will fail and take most of the pc with them, although for a old Pentium 3 or below system they should be fine.
These cases are what you would class as your typical cases that everyone has, nothing special but get the job done. Very few cool well without making modifications. and very few are quiet without adding in aftermarket solutions.
You are most likely to find these beasts in the own branded case sections from online retailers, and of course OcUK stocks a range of these, from the cheap and cheerful £20 upwards.
However I will stress, buying a specialised case over a value case is a worthwhile investment, as is a mouse, keyboard and monitor. It is these that you interface with, and a good case enables you to use your pc and overall promotes that your pc is a expensive piece of equipment. Non-technical people make their assumptions on the power of the pc from the box.
The link to the best value cases, as they are almost all the same:
• Overclockers UK
If you need to see some other cases, or ideas check out the Cases Gallery
Hope this can be of help to some people. ~Yewen
With thanks to Noxi for the help with idea of adding a value section.
So you want to buy a new case?
Cases, they are a much harder choice to make than a graphics card or processor, you just buy the best in your budget and use reviews for to find out the best performer. With cases this it is not quite as easy.
Reviews for cases can be hit or miss; you need to get a reviewer doing a roundup who has the same taste in cases as you for any chance of getting a true reflection of what the case will be like from your perspective.
All cases you buy are a purely subjective purchase, you have to like the looks and the interior and whatever anyone else says about the case you like the look of it is safe to ignore it most of the time, you’re the one who has to live with the looks.
When you’re choosing your case it comes down to four areas in the sub £500 case category.
• All aluminium cases with subtle styling.
• Gaming cases with outrageous looks that make them the centre of attention.
• Low noise solutions
• Value Cases
All of these choices for your case are perfectly good ones, and are equally capable of holding a computer at comfortable temperatures with reasonable noise levels, whichever you buy.
Aluminium Cases:
Firstly I will deal with my personal favourite area of cases, the subtly styled all aluminium cases. I will make this as fair as I can for each; although I am only human as some of you seem to imagine my house being made of aluminium, I assure you it is not!
Aluminium cases are designed to make a statement, same as gaming cases are, they sit in a room with the pc in them chugging away complementing almost any styling. They very rarely stand out to much from the surroundings. They will fit into living rooms, kitchens or bedrooms perfectly fine – they just complement their surroundings well due to the subtle styling.
The cooling on them is usually of a high standard, and the build quality is second to none from the likes of Lian Li and Silverstone.
The downside with all aluminium cases is that sometimes they resonate, but this can be easily sorted and it has been covered quite a few times in the forums.
The pricing of these cases is typically higher than that of the others, due to the all aluminium designs. They hardly ever have more than one new innovation per case and like to play things safe, so you are sure to get a good case, although there are some turkeys out there.
The manufacturers and the case ranges you should be looking at are:
• Silverstone Temjin (TJ) & Lascala (LC)
• Lian Li PC & V series
• Coolermaster ATCS, Praetorian & Wavemaster http://www.coolermaster-europe.com/index.php
Gaming Cases:
Gaming cases are also made to make a statement, they sit in a room and are the focal point, the aim in their design is to get the ‘look at me I am different’ factor, and with this most of them succeed.
The cooling in these cases can be hit and miss, as long as you buy a good one then you're set for the best cooling possible with air in a pc case. You need to make sure you look out for at least two 120mm fans. Aluminium construction is a possible plus point for weight, but don’t buy into the helps the cooling, as it really does not help that much at all.
The downside with gaming cases is that the construction is sometimes more prone to being suspect, with cheap plastics and sharp edges a common feature in these cases. The plastic however can be a plus point, as it can aid the designers in making colourful and standout designs.
The manufacturers you should keep an eye on for gaming cases are:
• NZXT
• Chenbro
• Thermaltake
• A-Tophttp://www.a-top.com/main.html
Low Noise Cases:
These are perhaps the hardest type of cases to choose from, as any case can be made silent, but these are the cases which out of the box strive to make the system they hold as quiet as possible.
They are great for the living room, or for if you just don’t like noise at all and don’t have the time to modify a normal case by choosing specific cooling to make it near silent; these cases generally make the best of a bad situation.
The cooling in these cases can come second, but usually a happy medium is reached. They may be heavy depending on if they have any noise dampening material fitted (sometimes available as a pre-cut aftermarket kit).
The downside with these cases is that they usually cost slightly more for the noise privileges and can be heavy; the build quality on these cases is generally very good with very few cases having sharp edges as a hazard during construction.
The manufacturers you should take a peak at are:
• Antec (Sonata and P series)
• Artic Cooling
Value Cases:
These are the low end of the case market. Ideally you should avoid putting any seriously high powered rigs in these. They can be good, but a large proportion of these cases are not suitable for most modern systems.
You have to be careful as almost all of these cases have sharp edges, its how they keep the costs down.
If there is one thing you take note of out of this FAQ for cases, it is this; when buying a cheap case with a power supply bundled, be very wary of it. The case costs £22 with a 500w power supply for example, seems like a good buy doesn’t it! Its not, the power supplies that come with these cases under any strain will fail and take most of the pc with them, although for a old Pentium 3 or below system they should be fine.
These cases are what you would class as your typical cases that everyone has, nothing special but get the job done. Very few cool well without making modifications. and very few are quiet without adding in aftermarket solutions.
You are most likely to find these beasts in the own branded case sections from online retailers, and of course OcUK stocks a range of these, from the cheap and cheerful £20 upwards.
However I will stress, buying a specialised case over a value case is a worthwhile investment, as is a mouse, keyboard and monitor. It is these that you interface with, and a good case enables you to use your pc and overall promotes that your pc is a expensive piece of equipment. Non-technical people make their assumptions on the power of the pc from the box.
The link to the best value cases, as they are almost all the same:
• Overclockers UK
If you need to see some other cases, or ideas check out the Cases Gallery
Hope this can be of help to some people. ~Yewen
With thanks to Noxi for the help with idea of adding a value section.
Last edited:
Its been stickified thanks to baddass, hes also done the case gallery so its now viewable. Incase nobody has noticed hes been doing a lot of work in cases cleaning it up. So nice one mate