August 24th, 2004



GeekTech: On the Case


Alexandra Krasne
There's nothing worse than a bad PC case. Okay, there are probably

worse things, like getting eaten alive by a swarm of angry piranhas or

being forced to watch endless reruns of "Full House"--but working with

a poorly designed case is right up there with the worst of them. If

you've ever cut yourself on sharp edges, fought to remove an unwieldy

side panel, or struggled to get around rails so you can install

components, this column is for you.


Of course, what you want in a case is a completely subjective matter.

Maybe you have money to burn on a fancy aluminum model with a custom

paint job; or perhaps you crave something a bit more modest and

utilitarian. Cases run the gamut from the cute and fuzzy to the cool,

and they even come in designer models. Below are links to specs and

pictures for some of the more unusual cases I've run across.


Kitty:

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/722428/0/


Fuzzy:

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/722429/0/


Artistic:

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/722430/0/


And like most things, you get what you pay for. I learned that lesson

the hard way when built my last PC and got a $50 no-name case. Sure,

it looks cool; but the side panel is difficult to remove and trying to

slide it off is truly infuriating. Plus, the back panel doesn't fit

properly, the motherboard mounts don't line up, and the rails prevent

easy access to drives and the motherboard itself. Other than that,

it's great.


Case Considerations


When you buy a case, you should look for one that provides enough

space to house your components with room for upgrades, but isn't so

big that the beast has its own Zip code. Unless you really want the

extra room, there's no need to buy a tower with ten drive bays if

you'll only be using two.


No matter how large the case, it should be well-ventilated, ideally

with air ducts and room for fans. The inside needs to be free from

dust bunnies, dirt, gravel, and pet dander--even if you end up buying

a furry case. Aluminum is a good way to keep things cool because it

conducts heat more effectively, in essence acting like a giant heat

sink. It's also lighter than a typical steel chassis; and it resists

corrosion, too.


After I'd performed all sorts of hand gymnastics around metal barriers

in the world's worst PC case, imagine my excitement when I found a

model sporting a removable motherboard tray. This baby from Antec

offers the aforementioned motherboard tray, LED temperature displays,

room for ten--count 'em, ten!--drive bays, rubber mounting grommets in

hard drive trays to keep things quiet, and even a built-in washable

air filter:

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/722431/0/


Antec thought of everything, didn't it?


Shut Up Already


Another important consideration is cooling. You probably don't want

your PC to sound like a jet airplane. It's a little different for me:

I've decided against quieting down my system because the noisy fans

are a very effective way to drown out my roommate's chatter on the

phone.


There are plenty of ways to silence a system. I'm not going to delve

into them, though, because my buddy Stan Miastkowski already did that

in his March 2004 Step-By-Step column:

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/515944/0/


Some Expert Opinions


Elliott Kirschling, a senior performance analyst at the PC World Test

Center, is no stranger to building and disassembling PCs. He says that

one of the most important considerations is the power supply. Most

cases include one, and you can buy them separately as well. But be

careful out there: Some of the cheaper no-name power supplies with

high power ratings can cause more problems than a good-quality power

supply with a lower official rating, Kirschling says. Luckily, Tom

Mainelli's December 2003 installment of GeekTech provides some good

information on that topic:

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/722432/0/


The case manufacturing business is a strange maze of rebranding,

according to Eric Dahl, a PC World senior associate editor. It's hard

to tell who designed a case and where it's manufactured, so you'll

often see companies selling cases that bear a striking resemblance to

one another. But this can work to your advantage, he says. For

example, online retailer Directron was selling a high-end case from

Antec in a less-expensive version from Chieftec. (The Chieftec model

was made of aluminum and lacked a power supply.)


So once you select a case, it pays to shop around for the best deal.


"Add a high-quality power supply, and you've got a great case/power

supply combo at a discount," Dahl says. "Just be sure to read online

reviews of the cases carefully ... sometimes the cheaper versions

skimp on build quality."


It may be tempting to buy a cool-looking case with glowing neon lights

and see-through windows, but take my advice: The best PC cases aren't

always the prettiest ones.


For more on choosing cases, read "Your Ideal PC":

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/722433/0/


Have a question or a comment? Write to GeekTech:

geektech@pcworld.com


Read Alexandra Krasne's regularly published "GeekTech" columns:

http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/201858/15377828/364536/0/



==
"Politicians are the same all over: They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river."
-- Nikita Khrushchev