People who are about to build their first computer will start by doing a bit of daydreaming. Their minds will conjure visions of the perfect machine, that blend of CPU, motherboard, and hard drive that will give them blistering speed, conquering the toughest tasks effortlessly. They see it sitting on their desk, the case a thing of beauty, an artwork belonging in an exhibit of modern design.
Then, they check their bank account. Reality sets in. Corners will have to be cut. They will scour the earth (well, the internet) for bargains. Perhaps, with a lucky find or two, they can still pull it off.
After a bit of looking, it seems they are in luck. A well known parts supply house is selling one model of case dirt cheap. But is it a bargain? Or is it the worst piece of luck they've ever had?
To decide, the builder must first prioritize their needs. The first, and most obvious, is the case's form factor, or size. Most of the computers I build are full sized ATX's, and I build them in a mid or full tower case. But you might have your heart set on building a microATX cube. Smaller cases tend to have more problems with cooling, but this can be overcome.
Second, is the power supply. Does it come with the case, or must it be purchased separately? If it's included with the case, will it be big enough? To decide, please reference my ezinearticles.com story "Computer Power Supply: How Much Is Enough?". As a simple point of reference, if you are building a gamer with a super fast chip, and monster AGP card, figure on a 450 watt supply.
For the unit we assembled in my book, we were able to get by nicely with a 300 watt supply, by doing some careful planning.
Next, are there enough fan ports? The more ports available, the better off you are. A standard configuration will have two in the back, one for the power supply, one about midway, and one in the bottom of the case. Some cases are now coming out with three ports in the back.
Another feature I always look for are USB and IEEE 1394 Firewire ports in the front. This is very handy if you have a digital camera, and want to download photos, or video. Of course, if this isn't available in a particular case, retrofit kits are available for use in a 3.5 inch bay.
Michael Quarles is the publisher at Monkey See Monkey Do Books.