Chassis or pc case

When looking at PC Cases, or also as chassis, every user needs to know in detail the measures of the same or the basic characteristics. Not all hardware is the same, both in size and quantity, so we need everything to be compatible and that we at least have possibilities for expansion. In this post we will talk about everything we need to know about a PC case, it seems obvious, but you will discover that we must look at many details before buying one.

Index of contents

When do we need the PC cases

The most normal way to call it will be box, for obvious reasons, but there are somewhat more technical names like chassis and more traditional names like towers. They all have something in common, they come to define an element, usually in the form of a rectangular metal box where we can install in an organized way all the hardware that makes up a desktop or desktop computer.

We are only going to need boxes if we plan to buy a piece -rate desktop computer. The reason is obvious, if we buy all the components by parts, we will have the need to install them in a suitable enclosure. Equipments already assembled almost always come with designs specially adapted by the manufacturer, for example, the Corsair ONE range or the MSI Trident. In fact, these teams will not be able to move them to a generic enclosure, since their hardware organization system is specially designed for that space.

Generic PC case sizes

At this point, it is essential to know the generic sizes of chassis available on the market. Our possibilities of hardware expansion or cooling will depend on them.

Full tower

This chassis is the largest of all, and is designed for enthusiast-level gaming mounts or server administrators when the cabinet system is not in use. The size of these towers is greater than 60 cm in depth and height, admitting XL-ATX, E-ATX plates, in addition to the smaller designs of these. They typically have up to 10 expansion slots on the rear panel.

With them we will obtain the maximum available capacity of hardware and ventilation, so it is the one that offers us the most options. Instead, they will be the heaviest (some exceed 20 Kg), the most expensive (more than 150 euros) and the ones that occupy the most space (up to 75 cm in height).

Middle tower

The following chassis is by far the most widely used by users for almost any configuration. Medium tower PC cases are designed for ATX type boards, but many of them support E-ATX boards, and the vast majority Micro ATX and Mini ITX boards. This is where the biggest competition in the market is located, and we have sizes, designs and models for all tastes.

These chassis can measure up to 50 or 55 cm depending on their capacity, and have between 7 and 8 expansion slots, and even support vertical GPU mounts with two other slots. Perfectly suited for high-end graphics and high-rise heatsinks, and even custom cooling systems. It is long the best option.

Mini tower

These types of towers are designed for mounting with 244 x 244 mm Micro-ATX plates. In this way we have a tower almost equal in size to the compact ATX, with about 30 or 45 cm, and with a hardware capacity almost always cut in cooling and storage.

They have 4 expansion slots and are honestly not a huge space-saving advantage over the middle tower. In addition, Micro-ATX boards are not a favorite option today, and in almost all cases they have been replaced by the Mini ITX that we will see below.

Small Form Factor or HTPC

We can call it directly ITX tower, being the smallest generic boxes available. They only have space to install 170 x 170 mm ITX boards, although their size can be larger to house GPUs and gaming components. They have two expansion slots normally, so we must be careful if we have a GPU that occupies 3, such as the MSI RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio for example.

Obviously they are not characterized by their ability to expand hardware, but they are ideal for mounting small multimedia equipment and even gaming. With very striking and decorative designs such as Silverstone LD03 or In Win A1.

SFF or thin tower

It is not common to see these types of PC towers for sale to the general public, since they are designed for workstations in the business field, education or even servers. They are very thin towers with little hardware capacity, although there are models like the Silverstone Raven RVZ03B that are worth it, but not for gaming, due to their low cooling capacity.

Exterior design: finishes and structure

Once we make sure we know the size we want, it's time to see which design is best for us. And in the market we have an endless number of them, from the most normal, to the most extravagant like those of In Win on many occasions.

The finishes are important, taking into account whether we have a metallic, plastic or glass front, removable or modular, and of course with or without RGB lighting. RGB is one of the great claims of current PC cases, nobody wants to be left without one of them. RGB stands for " Red - Green - Blue " and corresponds to lighting systems capable of reproducing the entire visible spectrum of colors by means of configurable LEDs in power, color, and animations (addressable LEDs).

If we want to show off our hardware, the least we can ask for is a tempered glass on the left side. We recommend those installed on hinges or with metal frames and rear fixing. The most basic ones are held with 4 screws in the same glass, worsening the aesthetics.

Another important issue will be the strength of the chassis, so we must ask for at least an SPCC steel construction that provides rigidity and quality to the structure. The best and fastest way to verify that a chassis is going to be strong is to see its weight, if we are above 6-7 Kg we have talked about something good.

Modularity

After looking at the sizes and designs of the PC cases, we have to look at the size of our components. Almost all current chassis are divided into three zones:

• Main space: where the motherboard is located next to the graphics card. The least we can ask for is compatibility with the plate format that we are going to buy. Also, we need to make sure that the CPU and GPU heatsink fit. We must opt ​​for a capacity for heatsinks with at least 160mm high and graphics cards at least 280mm long. PSU Cover - Almost always located just below the main compartment, using a removable or fixed metal cover that separates the power supply from the hardware. Its function is to hide the wiring and prevent hot air from the PSU from reaching the CPU. We will need at least one space for PSU ATX format with more than 150 mm long. Cabinets for mechanical hard drives with at least two holes are also located in this area. And on the top brackets to install 2.5 ”SSD drives. Space for cables: this area is just behind the main compartment, and serves to fix and distribute all the cables without them being visible. In cheap chassis, we do not have routing systems, and we only have to use clips to fix them. In others with the most careful design, we do have gutters to pull the cables, or even cabins with covers to isolate them as much as possible. 2.5 ”SSD storage units with two, three, or even four available slots will almost always be installed in this area.

Cooling a box: the main thing for gaming

One of the main reasons for a user to buy a PC by parts is to be able to mount it on a chassis that supports different types of cooling. In this way it will be optimized for high performance parts, something that is always a great limitation than towers already assembled with custom designs by the manufacturer.

Fan capacity

If we plan to buy a tower to mount a complete fan cooling system, we must pay attention to the optimal way to place them. There will be two:

• Vertical flow: it is the most recommended always, since the hot air weighs less than the cold and will tend to go towards the ceiling of the box. This mode consists of placing fans at the base to draw air and fans above to exhaust it. Unfortunately there aren't many ATX chassis that support fans in the background, an example might be the Cooler Master MasterCase SL600M. Horizontal or Cross Flow - This is the most generic configuration for chassis that have a cover for the power supply. We have a panel of fans on the front that will take in air, and a rear fan that will take it out. Similarly, the upper area also supports fans to exhaust hot air

The minimum that we must demand of a chassis is that it has two spaces for fans of 120 mm in the front, or 140 mm. Space for two 120 or 140 mm fans in the upper area, and one 120/140 mm in the rear area. In addition, we should opt for chassis that already have fans pre-installed, unless we plan to buy higher-performance ones on our own. Some even support 200mm fans, a trend already being followed by manufacturers like Thermaltake with their Commander or Level series.

Liquid cooling capacity

If we plan to install liquid cooling then we will have to know what the most recommended configurations are:

• Radiator in the upper area: from the point of view of efficiency, it is the most recommended place. Cold air enters from lower holes, while the upper fans in exhaust mode will perfectly cool the radiator. Radiator in the front: assuming that we only put one and it is located in the front, in most of the chassis, it will be in hot air expulsion mode. But of course, we need a way to get cold air, and the best way will be from the bottom area for the above. If we cannot, we will need to insert it from behind or from the upper area. Experience tells us that not forcing an air intake will cause a build-up of hot air inside the PC cases.

The most common sizes of a liquid cooling all-in-one (AIO) system are 120mm, 240mm, and 360mm. This corresponds to 120mm wide radiators and space for one, two or three 120mm fans installed on them. Only the largest towers support 480mm configurations, but there are virtually no such AIOs. A 120mm AIO doesn't make much sense except in an ITX chassis.

Does it support custom systems?

The third option is to opt for PC cases that support custom liquid cooling system. These systems, unlike AIOs, must be assembled by hand, with tubes, radiators, tanks and fans. Examples of these are the Corsair Hidro X system or the Thermaltake CL360 Max, C240 ​​DDC and C360 DDC kits.

A chassis compatible with such a system needs a very important gap, in which we will install the pumping tank. Custom systems consist of radiators, fans, hardware cold blocks (CPU or GPU), tubes, and most importantly, a liquid reservoir with a pump. The latter needs at least a 90 x 180 mm space (depending on the model) to place it and a compatible slot, for example, the fan slot. The adapter will normally be included in the deposit.

The case is that in the chassis that only have the main compartment with the right size for the motherboard, it will be impossible to fit one of these. However, there are wider chassis such as the Corsair Crystal 680X, which support this deposit in the rear compartment for cables, and it is not the best either.

A second very important question will be to think about the circuit that we are going to mount, but the dual radiator configurations require a large space in the chassis so that both do not collide. And is that the front and top areas are normally designed for a single radiator with fans (about 50 mm thick) and when we put two at a time they collide not having contemplated this possibility.

Dust filters

Last but not least, there is the matter of filters. Currently, carefully designed PC cases have meshed filters that prevent dust from entering the fan installation holes. But not all filters are capable of retaining the smallest specks of dust.

We recommend as far as possible to opt for chassis that have fine mesh filters. This mesh is usually made of very thick plastic or metal to retain the smallest particles. There are other filters, such as metallic hole filters, which are normally installed in the upper area glued by a magnetic strip, and which are less efficient.

Smart PC cases: RGB or PWM microcontroller

Since we decided to invest in a mid-range or high-end chassis, the least we can ask for is RGB lighting or a relatively advanced fan control system. How does this help us? Well, in acquiring more customization and control of the quasi. Let's focus on several aspects:

• Lighting controllers: there are two types, controllers with pre-set animations and which have a button to select the one we want. It will be the example of the basic drivers of NOX, Corsair, Thermaltake and many others. And smart controllers, which can be connected to internal USB to manage them from Windows, for example, NZXT Smart Device, Corsair iCUE, and others. Compatibility with the lighting technology of the boards: normally the first most basic type, support connection directly to the motherboard, through a 4-pin RGB header. The usefulness of this is to be able to synchronize the lighting of fans or chassis with that of the board, either Asus AURA, MSI Mystic Light, Gigabyte Fusion or ASRock Polychrome. Fan Controller: Unfortunately, only the most advanced chassis now have controllers that support lighting routing and fan control. One of them is precisely Smart Device. In this way, through software or a button on the chassis, we can control the RPM of the fans connected to it. In this way we would not have to use the plate, saving cables in sight.

The best way to mount hardware in PC cases

When you assemble boxes regularly, there are usually certain compatibility problems or problems when pulling a cable or inserting a component. That is why we are going to put the steps that we consider as the best way to assemble a chassis without having to go back in the related work:

1. If it brings instructions, look at them: there are always details that escape from a lot of experience that we have, so relax, and look at the options we have to install fans, hard drives or other components. Verify that the board enters and clears the expansion slots: many mid and low range chassis have the slot plates welded, and it is a real inconvenience to remove them with the board already installed. We must exert force to take them off and we could damage the plate. In this way we also verify that the plate fits perfectly and all the screw holes are well placed. Put the power supply in: many chassis need to move the hard drive cabinet to get the power in, so the best way to do this is with it still empty. Others even promise a certain size and then it turns out to be smaller. Make the distribution of cables: with the source inserted, identify the holes and put the necessary cables for the board, ATX connector, one two for CPU, PCIe cables for powering the GPU and hard drives. Install the board: with all the cables already inserted, it will be very easy to put the board in and connect it. Possibly we discover that some cable holes are covered, and we would appreciate having put the source before. Connect all the cables that the chassis brings: we are talking about USB ports, fan headers, RGB, F_panel, and what we see. Install the hard drives and then connect them: since they are small and manageable, it is convenient to put them near the end to avoid cables from the start. Finish with the graphics card and test that everything works before closing it.

Guide with the best PC cases

After seeing the keys to choose a PC case according to our needs and its capacity, it is time to see our guide to the best chassis on the market.

• Guide with the best PC chassis on the market

conclusion

We hope that this little text has found the main idea that we must carry preconceived in our head when choosing from the hundreds of PC cases on the market.

We recommend always placing ourselves in a price range, and also choosing well-known manufacturers that offer reliability and quality. After this, we will choose the appropriate size and designs that will catch our attention. Doing this filtering, in the end there will be less chassis where we will need to look at its capacity and specifications.

What chassis do you have? What do you think is the best manufacturer or the best chassis? Tell us about your experience with them and tell us if you see that we have missed an important point.