Gaming Computer Cases
Buyer's Guide
This article provides you with information on choosing good gaming computer cases. The computer case is an important yet often overlooked part of any PC.
The computer case houses and protects all your expensive, high-performance components so you shouldn’t skimp on getting a good case for your needs.
Size Matters
The first thing you need to know about computer cases, is that they differ in size. You will need a case that is large enough to store all your components, with room for future upgrades. It is wise to choose all your components before buying a case. You will have an idea of how big your case has to be to fit all your components comfortably. An important thing to look out for is the number and size of bays. Computer cases come with a differing number of bays. You will need 3.5” bays for floppy drives and hard drives, and 5” bays are required for your CD and DVD drives. So make sure you have enough bays for all your drives.
Motherboard Compatibility
Your case must be able to fit your motherboard. All motherboards and cases have what is known as a ‘form factor’, which is a size standard that the manufacturers follow. The most common form factor is ATX. So if you have an ATX motherboard, which is more than likely, then you must choose a case that supports an ATX motherboard.
Power Supply
Without power your computer would be useless. You will need a large enough power supply to handle all the components in your system. For most gaming computers, I recommend at least 500W, or more if you have many extra components. Some gaming computer cases come with their own power supply. Although, if you're building a gaming computer I would recommend buying a seperate
computer power supply to make sure you get a quality one.
Cooling Issues
Your case should hold enough fans to cool down your gaming computer. You don’t want your precious components to overheat and risk getting damaged. The best gaming computer cases are equipped with multiple fans to effectively cool your system. If you have many components, or you like to overclock them, you will need more fans than the average user. Also, be sure your case is properly vented in the front and back.
Customizing Your Case
Some people are happy with a basic, plain looking case. Others take pride in their gaming case’s appearance, and customize them with extras such as glowing lights, fancy colors, see-through sides, and a number of other features. It is usually passionate gamers who do this sort of customizing to their gaming computer cases.So if you have the extra money to spend, consider buying a
custom computer case or customizing one yourself if you know what you're doing. However, if you’re building your gaming computer on a tight budget, you should consider investing your hard-earned cash on something more important, such as a better CPU or graphics card.
Conclusion
In this article we have looked at the various factors you should consider when choosing good gaming computer cases. The size, motherboard compatibility, power supply, cooling, and appearance are all important things to take into account whilst choosing the best computer case for your gaming computer.
