Computer case

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A tower case featuring a modern design. There is a DVD-ROM and a CD-RW drive along with a floppy disk drive below. The silver panels are covers which can be removed if fitting extra drives. The power button is located on the right, alongside the floppy disk drive.

A computer case (also known as the computer chassis, cabinet, tower, box or housing) is the enclosure that contains the main components of a computer. Cases are usually constructed from steel, aluminum, or plastic, although other materials (such as wood and perspex) have also been used in case designs.

Size and shape

A case with an ATX motherboard and power supply, for example, may still take on one of several specific shapes, also known as form factors. Common case form factors include towers (such as mini tower, mid-sized tower, and full-sized tower); desktops or pizza boxes (also called or horizontal); and slim desktops, which integrate the display into the housing. Tower cases are taller and typically have more room while desktop cases are more compact and are more popular in business environments.

Small form factor cases are a variety of cases that are becoming more and more common. Companies like Shuttle Inc. and AOpen have been producing such cases and Mini-ITX is the most common motherboard designed for these cases. Apple Computer recently announced its Mac Mini computer, which is around the size of a CD-ROM drive.

Function

A computer case opened up and stripped of its motherboard and power supply unit

Cases usually come with room for a power supply unit, several expansion slots and expansion bays, wires for powering up a computer and some with built in I/O ports that must be connected to a motherboard.

Motherboards are screwed to the bottom of the case, its I/O ports being exposed on the side of the case. Usually the power supply unit is at the top of the case attached with several screws. The typical case has four 5.25" and three 3.5" expansion bays for devices such as hard drives, floppy disk drives and CD-ROMs. A power button (and sometimes a reset button that can be turned-on and off using a remote control) are usually located on the front to turn the computer. LED status lights for power, hard drive activities are often located near the power button which are powered from wires that connect up to the motherboard. Some cases come with status monitoring equipment such as case temperature or processor speed monitor which appear on an LCD on the side.

A panel on the side, covers up and protects the inside of the computer when being used, which usually slides on and held with a screw. Most cases require a large amount of screws to put together. Recently there has been a move to "screwless" cases, where cases are held together with other methods than screws. Since the early 2000s, computers have begun to have clear side pannels so that the user can look into the computer while it is operating.

Appearance

The current iMac G5, famous for containing the entire computer in a two inch-thick screen—there is no tower.

Traditional designs were beige in color and were rectangular (often referred to as "beige box"), but they have evolved in style in recent years, especially after the introduction of the iMac in 1998. Beige box designs are now typically found only on budget machines; however some people still prefer the beige boxes even though they utilize "top of the line" components.

The term "case modding" refers to the artistic styling of computer encasings, often to draw attention to the use of advanced or unusual components, and sometimes to create the illusion of such use. Modded cases may include internal lighting, colored cable covers, clear side panels, or liquid cooling systems. Companies such as Alienware are known for unusual cases.

Stickers are a common appearance on cases. These often include the computer manufacturer's logo and the computer's specifications (CPU, RAM, Hard drive, etc). Other stickers denote the operating system (such as "Designed for Windows XP") and processor (such as the infamous "Intel Inside" sticker).

Brands

• HTPC Cases
• Acrylic Computer Cases
• AeroCool Cases
• Ahanix Cases
• Antec Cases
• Arctic Cooling Cases
• Asetek Cases
• Aspire Cases
• ASUS Cases
• Chenbro Cases
• Chenming / Chieftec Cases
• Cooler Master Cases
• Diablo Tek Cases
• HSPC Tech Stations
• Kingwin Cases
• Koolance Cases
• [IN WIN]
• Lian Li Cases
• Logisys Cases
• MGE / XG Cases
• [NZXT] Cases
• Raidmax Cases
• SilverStone Cases
• Sunbeam Cases
• Thermaltake Cases
• V-Tech Cases
• Xoxide Computer Cases

See also

• Small form factor

External links

• [Choosing a computer case]
• [Computer chassis examples]
• [How To Choose A Good Computer Case]

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