How to find proper PC case

If you treat your computer as the centerpiece of your home office, buying the right PC case matters.

You want to pick a PC case that’s the right size and has room for all your hardware and USB devices. But some PC cases offer much more, such as: Spacious innards, lower temperatures, extensive water-cooling support, and fancy-schmancy tempered glass panels or RGB lighting.

Size matters for PC cases

Before anything else, decide what size case you need. There are three major case sizes: Full tower, mid-tower, and mini-ITX.

Full-tower and mid-tower cases both fit standard ATX motherboards—by far the most common motherboard size out there. Both can also fit smaller micro-ATX motherboards. Exact sizing varies from case to case, but most mid-towers run up to roughly 18 inches high and 8 or so inches wide. Mid-tower PCs are probably the most common form factor and have enough room to fit systems with a closed-loop CPU cooler, a couple of graphics cards, and a lot of storage.

Full-tower cases are massive. They often measure more than 20 inches in height and are longer and deeper than mid-tower cases.. 

Mini-ITX cases are the polar opposite of full-tower PC cases, built for diminutive mini-ITX motherboards. Some of these can be wondrously small and even fit inside home theater cabinets, but the tight quarters can create compatibility issues with some hardware. Don’t expect to use liquid-cooling or a big honking CPU cooler in most mini-ITX cases. Some mini-ITX cases don’t support full-length graphics cards, either; confirm the maximum length before you buy. Finally, there isn’t much room for extra hardware in these space-constrained chassis, so you’ll be limited to fairly basic system configurations. They’re great for schlepping to LAN parties, though!

Price considerations for PC cases

Once you’ve decided how big of a PC case you need, the next step is figuring out your budget.

If you’re spending $50 or less, you’re probably going to wind up with a bare-bones, nondescript case with few extra features. It’s recommended to pick one that has two fans, one in the front of the case and another in the rear, for maximized air-flow, which helps cooling.. Air-flow is necessary for cooling graphic cards without built-in cooler as well. Also, high-end graphic cards produce a lot of heat and need good ventilation for maximum performance such as gaming, video conference, streaming, video editing, etc.

Things open up in the $50 to $150-ish price range. You’ll find a lot of variance in both design and construction in the midrange. As always, be sure to check measurements to ensure your desired PC case can fit all your hardware, and you’ll also want to keep an eye on extra features.

PC case aesthetics 

Make sure you like the look of the PC case you’re buying! You’re going to be staring at it for years to come, so this is not a superficial consideration. Every online retailer shows PC cases from multiple angles on their store pages, so there’s no excuse for buying ugly.

PC cases come in all sorts of colors, materials, and designs. If you don’t want to spend time neatening up your interior cabling, pass on cases with a side window.

Buy a PC case: Features to watch for

Aside from the basic dimensions and price, feature support is the biggest differentiator when you’re buying a PC case. The more you spend on your case, the more goodies you’ll receive for sure. Here’s a quick rundown of many of the features you’ll find in modern PC cases:

Drive bays and SSD mounting points: As we’ve mentioned a couple of times before, make sure a PC case has enough 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drive bays to house your storage drives. Some cases include mounting points for SSD on the rear of the motherboard tray, too. And if you need a 5.25-inch bay in the front of your PC to house an optical drive, fan controller, or whatever, confirm your case includes that. A number of cases have been ditching 5.25-inch bays to improve airflow from the front-side fan(s)—most notably several Corsair cases.

Tool-less design: In ye olden days, practically everything in a PC case required a Phillips screwdriver. No more. Tool-less design is nearly universal in mid-range and high-end cases, with thumb screws for internal fastening and twist-on, snap-on, or otherwise tool-free mechanisms in drive bays. This is practical, fast and easy way to open case sides for dust cleaning and checking hardware if there is need for that.

Cable management: Look for a case with cut-outs in the motherboard tray, which allow you to route your cabling through the rear of your case. Out of sight, out of mind. Budget PC cases tend to have simple giant holes punched in the motherboard tray, while mid-range options frequently include rubber grommets in the holes to tidy things up even more. Some cases include tie-off points or even wire covers behind the motherboard tray to keep your cabling clean.