Computer Gaming Cases - In Depth
With todays complex computers, many feature various hardware components that require an adequate amount of space to house and maintain them in. Your "Case" or "Chassis," will define your system and its looks will establish a unique personal touch. Not only will your case fit your components, it will help determine the characteristics your components can have and ultimately where everything will be situated under the exterior. If you are planning on purchasing a new computer gaming case, then this article will be beneficial to helping choose the model you like the most.
How do Cases relate to Gaming?
A computer has a considerable amount of features to inspect, especially considering gaming purposes, and the case has certain aesthetics to distinguish a particular setup. Case construction, hardware demensions, chassis design, and cooling abilities are typical characterstics that we will discuss in this guide.
Gaming Computer Case Specifications
Size
For gaming computer cases, there are a number of loosely designed catagories that they fall into. The reason this is, is because your selection in a case must be closely related to how large it must be in order to store gaming associated hardware and keep in mind room for future upgrades. The case is usually determined by motherboard size. The ATX Form factor is the current case standard and features other ATX variants to serve their purpose, obviously other than gaming. The mid size tower and full size tower are appropriate for gaming cases, as their housing is spacious and more compatiabe with gaming associated hardware.
Midsize cases are the typical size gaming computer case for many average computers. They can have deminsions of 20 by 8 inches, for the purpose of housing the typical computer components. Full size cases have added features that benefit advance gaming systems. Many pre-built systems using mid-size case are more commercially available because of their cost and convience. If you intend on building your gaming computer from the ground up, it would be beneficial to invest in a full size case.
Fullsize cases have spacious interior for larger setups, that could include liquid cooling systems, multiple video cards, and come specifically designed for optimum air flow. I highly recommened getting a fullsize case, as future upgrades will be easier later on. Both case formats can be customized, each having unique designs options. Another thing to look for are the amount of bays and their associated sizes, that hold the hard drives and other optical drives, to accomodate larger storage setups. Aim for a case that has more bays than you will need.
Construction
The elements many gaming computer cases are built from today commonly use sheet metal and other similiar materials in their construction. If you intend on investing in a single case for some time, check out how the case is physically configured, piece by piece, to ensure you will be investing in a durable and reliable exterior. With todays suffering economy, manufactuers cut down on quality to compensate for price, leaving you with a difficult decision when initially selecting a chassis. If you intend on purchasing a pre-configured gaming system, then the case should already be designed for optimum performace, leaving you with a rather easy decision made by many vendors online.
The Power Supply
The case also houses the power supply and until recently in the past few years or so, vendors have actually payed more attention to quality. Since manufactuers have really begun to recongnize power supplies for their performance, their prices have increased significantly for systems that require a stable power source. Our advice would be to purchase a chassis that doesn't include a power supply, to understand exactly what you are getting. Unless you are going to purchase a case with its own PSU, then check it to make sure it is high quality and consider the OEMs reputation.With this in mind, look for PSU that have ratings of 750+, and moderate gaming systems in the range of 600+. Use this convient site to help determine the proper amount of watts your computer needs. Antec.com has a creative system to determine your computers minimum and maximum ratings. Also refer to our Power Supply Unit page for more indepth information.
The Motherboard Form Factor has a specific demension and is built using the ATX layout. The motherboard must accomodate for communications between various components and keep everything operational, so a larger board with more advance features may be needed. Also the I/O peripherials, extra expansion slots, and optional ports must be considered, as their design and layout differ between form factors.
Cooling your system is very important in advance computers, and needs a method of preventing possible damage to certain components. Most gaming oriented case should be designed to produce the most effective air flow patterns and accomodate an abudant amount of fans or other cooling factors. Even a liquid cooled system can be setup for a more efficent heat reduction method. Most cases include fans, but some come with install bays for installation of your own choice preimum fans. Another aspect to look atare how the cables inside the casing are being managed. Positioning cables together for better air flow for fans is extremely beneficial to hot gaming systems. You can apply cable ties, velcro straps, clips, sleevings and specialized tubing to help position all the extraneuos wiring.
Apperance is associated with serious PC gaming systems, as many gamers take pride in their physical case layouts. Flashy lights, external detail, and extra exterior features all have an impact on your own unique customization preferences. Though making your case visibly appealing, consider the $$$, as this option can require a large amount of cash. This characteristic isn't to important to function or performace, more of a personal touch for your to show off.
Overall, we discussed the many factors regarding gaming oriented chassis and important information you shoud understand before making a purchase. Online vendor such as TigerDirect.com have a variety of cases to browse at your leisure.