Importance of Case Size

UndyingForce

UndyingForce

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Hello, Im a Newbie and Im building my first PC in a few months and it's time that i do my research. Im looking into getting a mid-tower case but now im wondering if even a mid size case is too big for my needs. i am not designing a portable machine but not a monster either. Small and quiet is my goal. I know air circulation is key. All i plan on doing with my PC is Gaming, Music, Movie Editing, Photos and Web surfing.

I need help deciding the size of the case. I plan on spending around $700 total for the PC, give or take. I dont yet have a mother board in mind. May be im going about this backwards but in any case (no pun intended)...

I need room for a DVD burner and front access to memory cards, USB and firewire ports. No Floppy. I hate wasted space. But if i must, i must. Now from my understanding, the size of the case directly effects motherboard capability (size) so i dont want to limit my self there.

If anyone could recommend me some websites i could check out. that would be great. I live 60 miles out from Chicago and i would love to save on shipping if i could.

So in summary im trying to decide whether i need a mini or mid sized tower and where would be the most reliable and cheapest place to obtain it.

thanks in advance

Also, the video card Im eying is geforce 7950 so i would be looking for a mother board that runs something like this or slightly better.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143090
 
If you ever plan on opening that case after the initial build, you'll want a larger case. Cleaning and upgrading (and building) are far easier of you have a little extra "elbow room." My case, which isn't small, is still quite cramped (could stand to be a little deeper) and it makes it difficult to work in there, not to mention that I wasn't able to cleanly route wires as I wanted to.

Newegg is probably as good a place as any I suppose. It's been a while since I last bought a case, but all of mine have come from www.directron.com. The selection, service, and prices were good back then. May be worth a look.
 
[quote name='UndyingForce']All i plan on doing with my PC is Gaming, Music, Movie Editing, Photos and Web surfing.
[/QUOTE]
Um.. can't get much more intense than that. Its gonna get hot in a small case, I don't know if that will affect you much if you're not going to push it further with overclocking, but it certainly won't help you with anything.
 
agree, you need elbow room... never ever by a mid tower... go for full tower instead. you have no idea how much air flow is disrupted when all those cables are dangling around.
 
It is my personal rule to always get a Full Tower Case, the extra is better to work in, more airflow and a better chance that newer parts will fit in it.
 
I have a midtower, but it's a p180b and has great cable management. So, cables aren't really an issue. The problem I forsee is upgrading to an 8 series video card. Those things are huge and might not fit in my case the way it is now. If you're doing gaming and stuff like that, you need a larger case.
 
What are your thoughts on shuttle cases? I've moved around a lot during the past two years and my tower has been a royal pain in the ass to ship or take with me.
 
[quote name='Serik']What are your thoughts on shuttle cases? I've moved around a lot during the past two years and my tower has been a royal pain in the ass to ship or take with me.[/quote]

While you won't have as much power as a desktop, it seems that mobility is a big deal for you. You might want to consider a laptop instead.
 
[quote name='Serik']What are your thoughts on shuttle cases? I've moved around a lot during the past two years and my tower has been a royal pain in the ass to ship or take with me.[/QUOTE]

I've had 2 Shuttle XPC before, and they had some of the worst airflow I've seen. Everything is so cramped that the system got hot really fast, and that's only idling on desktop.


Honestly, for $700, I can't imagine you will be stuffing heat-inducing parts like the Q6600 or the 8800GTS into it. So a mid tower is plenty for you. This CoolerMaster case should have enough airflow (1 front 120mm fan, 1 rear, and room to put on the side) for $50. For $80, this CoolerMaster case has at least 6 slots for 120mm fans around the case. You don't need a full tower to get good airflow or even room to work with. I have a mid tower, Antec P180, and there's more room than I really need, and I do pretty much everything you do on a computer. Just tie up all your cables neatly and you'll have plenty of room.
 
I'm running an SN25P shuttle, with an X2 4800+, an 8800gts superclocked, 2 hard drives, etc. The 8800 gts was a tight fit, but it fit, and the machine is running great. They have newer models that support all the latest intel processors.

It really depends on the what you want. Shuttles cut out all the "unnecessary" stuff so that your computer is using the most of it's space. Do you need 4 pci slots? This is good if the only add on card is a video card, but it limits you later add on options (like a good sound card), and it makes the case cramped and difficult to work on, even though they do a really good job of routing and layout. You can run some high end stuff on the shuttles (I know there are people running core 2 duos with 8800 gts'), but who knows what future limitations will come from power hungry video cards. Also the shuttles aren't a cheap option, you could stretch your money much further with a full tower, motherboard, etc, plus since parts like the power supply are proprietary, later changes could be more costly.

Even with the limitations, I really like the shuttle form factor. It's superficial, but it looks great on the desk, whereas a tower to me looks hideous, especially with the obnoxious windows and inside lighting that is the current trend. And I've seen some stress tests where they ran systems fully loaded for hours rock solid.

Check out the sfftech forums for more info on smaller form factors. There are other options besides proprietary shuttles too, like micro atx, which allow for more standard options (like a full power supply I think). But to me all the micro atx cases I have seen are ugly and not as well thought out as the shuttles.
 
I just finished my new comp. Its a Micro ATX in a Thermal Take LAN Box so its small. With the 6000+ it would run like 155F when gaming. Popped one of these in there...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835227001
it now runs about 100f and idles at like 77. and yes in a small ass lanbox. So build away you can keep it cool even in a small case. Throw a TEC between the CPU and the waterblock and you can take off another 20-30f off the temp.

http://cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154531
I just posted more specs in that thread...

EDIT: my pics
http://s232.photobucket.com/albums/ee149/KillerStephen/
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']I've had 2 Shuttle XPC before, and they had some of the worst airflow I've seen. Everything is so cramped that the system got hot really fast, and that's only idling on desktop.[/quote]
True, the shuttle gets pretty hot, but mine ran for 4 years flawlessly. I just upgraded because I was worried that it would konk out on me because it was on day & night acting as my DVR and game console (in my living room).

Recently I upgraded to the following:
* Asus M2NPV-VM MicroATX Motherboard with nVIDIA GeForce 6150 (Socket AM2) $97
* AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 6000+ 3.0 GHz Processor $180
* Corsair 2GB TWIN2X2048-6400C4 $103
* Hitachi 500gb SATA $110
* Ultra MicroFly Micro ATX Case w/ 400 Watt PSU $60

The case is microATX, but has PLENTY of airflow due to bigger size, front inflow fan, and back outflow fan. Not to mention that it has a thermostat for the CPU. Been running pretty good, and great (not perfect) size since it is a living room DVR/ game console.

Also, want to mention that the ASUS motherboard is a good value b/c it comes with onboard nVIDIA GeForce 6150 and supports both IDE and SATA interfaces --- as long as you update it with newest BIOS and drivers.

Thanks!
 
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