The Computer Case - a fashion statement or a box ?

You may think that the computer case is just a box to house all of the parts that go to make up the computer, and in a sense it is. However there are a few things that are worth considering if you are about to venture out and build your own system. Such things as style and ease of access to USB ports may spring to mind, but it is also worth considering just a few other aspects of the computer case – read on.

The days of any color as long as it is beige are long gone. Just take a look at the computer case above available from a supplier such as Tiger Direct. This one comes with matching keyboard and mouse and comes with a large variety of colors to choose from.

If you are building your own computer I would advice that you take a look a midi tower computer case.

Midi Tower Case - The midi tower computer case provides ample working space when assembling a computer and has the ability to hold the majority of the computer parts that you will want on your system. The full tower case, unless you have the need to house a very large amount of additional hardware, is just too big. Whilst the mini tower case, although compact, can make things a little difficult if you ever wish to upgrade and also when building the computer system. It may even entail purchasing a mini ATX motherboard because of the size constraints.

ATX - The ATX case profile is the type that you are most likely to use when you build your own computer. This refers to the general physical layout of the case, such that an ATX motherboard will fit into an ATX style case and that all of the motherboard's connectors will match up with the cut out of that case. There are other types of profile but ATX is presently the way to go for the home computer builder. So just remember ATX case, ATX motherboard for compatibility.

USB Port - Many expansion devices today are connected to the computer via a USB port. The USB 1.1 port has now been superseded by the USB 2 port that is several times faster and backwardly compatible. Most cases that you buy today will have the facility to let the motherboard expose its USB ports at the rear of the case to the outside world, but many of the USB devices that I use, such as the WI FI USB wireless network device is shared between two or more computers. Having USB ports available on the front of the computer case is a real bonus.

Internal Access - In the days before YOU used to build computers, internal access to the case was rather a unimportant factor. But now that you are a computer builder, access to the inside of the case becomes more important. For this reason I prefer the type of case that has removable side panels. It is no longer necessary to remove the whole top and sides to gain internal access. And if you have any ongoing work the side panel can easily be left off and the computer can still be used.

What is supplied with a computer case?

Usually a computer case, even one from the cheaper end of the market, is supplied with a power supply unit also known as a PSU – but this is not always the case, so check.

The PSU (Power Supply Unit) - The PSU is a switch mode device that takes the electrical power from your home supply and converts it down to, a very safe, 5 volts and 12 volts suitable for the logic circuitry of the computer.

The PSU is rated in Watts. This is the maximum power that the PSU can supply to all of the electronics of the computer. Typically a 300 Watt PSU will be provided with a computer case, especially with a cheaper computer case. But a PSU of 350 Watt and 400 Watt are available for computers that are likely to be heavily loaded with many expansion cards. Even USB ports can supply power to external devices, so as you can see the PSU is a very hard worked device that is quite often forgotten, but when it fails the computer is a dead duck. The worst scenario is when a PSU is not quite up to the job, the voltage sags under a heavy load and this will cause intermittent computer crashes.

However if your intention is to build a modest system, then the 300 Watts PSU will suffice. But bigger is better.

The PSU will have a control on the back, which MUST be set to the electricity supply setting for your region. This varies from country to country and is normally supplied set to the correct setting for the part of the world in which it is being sold.

The output of the PSU supplies the motherboard and other devices such as the drives via the red, black and yellow wires coming from it and ending in plugs that match up with the various equipments.

One last thing to consider for the PSU is to buy one that has been approved by both Intel and AMD.

Screw and Panel Pack - A pack of screws, mounts and blanking plates will also be provided. The screws are used to mount other devices like hard drives into the bays provided for them and to hold panels and expansion cards in place. The mounts are used to attach and to support the motherboard to the case. The blanking plates fit to the back of the case and there are two types. The first type blanks of the AGP/PCI sockets holes. The second type comes in a variety of forms so as to match the motherboards input and output connector layout.

Lets Take a Look at a Typical Computer Case

The case shown here is an Avis-Titanium and is typical of a low-end (cheap) case from Tiger Direst. A case such as this would cost approx $30.

The case has front slots available for a floppy disc drive and up to four large devices like DVD drives and CD re-writers.

Inside a Computer Case

Inside the case top left is the PSU or power supply with its power leads bundled up.

The back of the case (left hand side) towards the lower half has long knock out panels that are taken out when you install a PCI card such as a graphic card. This gives external access to the expansion cards connectors.

Slightly above this are removable panels that allow the motherboard's connectors to be accessed externally. These are for the parallel port, USB port, serial port etc. A variety of panels are provided to match up with differing layout motherboards.

The two boxes or bays mounted to the inside of the front panel (right hand side) are carriers for the drives. The top one supports DVD, CD or removable hard drives for example. The front panel is taken out to give external access for the device.

The lower carrier is slightly smaller and is designed to carry the smaller floppy drive and your internally mounted hard drives.

All the above devices are simply mounted using the slotted holes and four screws for each device.

Inside the front of the case will be a few straggling wires that disappear into the front panel. These are for power and hard drive indications - the little lights that flash on the front of your computer. The power switch and reset controls are also carried on these wires back to the computer motherboard. Each wire ends in a little plug with an identifying word on it so that you know where to plug it on the motherboard.

My Computer Case Recommendations

After reading the above you will see that my recommendation is for –

A midi size ATX case with at least a 300 Watt approved PSU. The case would ideally have removable sides with the facility of having at least two USB 2 ports on its front panel.

That's all for now folks.