How to Choose a Computer Case

These cases are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and levels of functionality.
When it is time to purchase a new computer case for your computer it is always best to look at the many available selections and find what is right for you. All components within the CPU produce heat, especially the processor and the graphics card. Due to this the temperature inside the case—also called as the ambient temperature—increases. This in turn alters the temperature of the components further.

So what if the temperature of the component increases? Well, the components have a certain operating temperature range, exceeding which they start behaving weirdly. There can be computer crashes or the component dies completely. Hard drives operate just fine up to 55-60 degrees, beyond that they crash, taking with them your precious data. Same applies to processors and graphic cards.

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The bottom line here is that we have to keep the temperature inside the case as low as possible. For that we need good case ventilation i.e. hot air should be expelled and cool air sucked from outside. To do that we need at least two fans, one at the front sucking in cool air from outside and other at the back, exhausting hot air. The case should also be of a material that dissipates heat faster. For example Antec’s Super LANBOY case is an all aluminum case. Aluminum dissipates heat faster than steel.

Another factor one would need to consider is the noise made by fans. More the number of fans, more noisy the case is. You wouldn’t want your case to sound like a jet engine. There are two types of fans generally used —80mm and 120mm. 120mm fans move more air and are less noisy as compared to 80 mm fans. We consider it an ideal arrangement when a case has both, front and rear 120 mm fans.

So you see, you need to have the right balance— of fans that are fast but not very noisy, a good design and good build material. There are not many cases that fulfill all these criteria together. So to save you the trouble, we have chosen 6 cases across various segments. Enough of talk, its time to ogle.
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Entry-Level
For the entry level we have a Case-Power Supply combo. The combo will help eliminate the confusion as to which power supply to couple the case with. In fact its meant to be sold as a single item rather than two different components, although you can buy them individually too.

There are entry-level cases with a 400 watts power supply costing not more than Rs. 1500. But then again, the no name power supplies coupled with them will start giving problem as soon as you plug in a mid level graphics card, by not being able to cope with the power requirements.

Trust us when we say this—Even if you are making an investment of Rs. 20,000 to 30,000 for a computer, make sure you have at least the below mentioned cases with power supplies. You can also read about problems faced by an under-rated power supply and how to take care of it, here.

Antec SLK1650B with Smart Power 350 W PSU (Rs. 4300)

This one looks simple but do not being deceived but its humble exterior. It comes with a 350 Watts SmartPower 2.0 power supply with a 24 pin connector and is temperature controlled i.e. the second fan spins only when needed, for quieter operation. There are two USB ports on the front with shielded cables and rubber grommets for hard drive mounts to reduce vibration and noise—a very simple but nifty addition. Its advertised as a thermally advanced chassis and indeed so. It comes with a chassis air guide, a rear 120 mm fan and a simple to mount, slip-on bracket for a front 80mm fan (not included).

CoolerMaster Elite 330 with 350 Watts PSU (Rs. 3950)

It comes with a tool free design with easy mechanisms for installing CD/DVD drives and expansion cards like graphic cards without screws. It comes with front and rear 120 mm fans and a meshed front panel for enhanced cooling. For the front 120mm fan it has a washable air filter. It makes perfect sense because air from outside is pulled in by the front fan. The filter cuts on the dust coming inside the case.
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Speciality
If your looking for something that your neighbor doesn’t have, you can try one of these. Good looking and built to perform, they are not meant to be tucked in a corner. Besides, they also let you see what firepower you have stacked inside your case.

**Antec SUPERLANBOY (Rs. 5800)**

It’s one that will catch more attention than your girlfriend. Its built from anodized aluminum that will never wrinkle… oops, lose its finish even if you are living on the beach. Being aluminum its super light-weight making it easy to lug around for that occasional LAN party and just for that it also comes with a carry strap, no wonder its name—SUPERLANBOY. It also comes with a neatly crafted transparent side window to show all the muscle inside. Besides, it has all the trademark Antec features that include rubber grommets for vibration and noise free hard drives. And it comes with 120 mm front and rear fans with the front one with blue LEDs, making it the perfect bling thing.

CoolerMaster Ammo 533 (Rs. 5100)

If you live in an earthquake prone city, this one’s for you. This war inspired case, comes with red and blue power and reset buttons covered by a flip-open cover just like in a battle tank. It comes with a blue LED 120 mm front fan and a slot for a 120mm rear fan. The CoolerMaster features tool-less design and good build quality with 120mm fan at a prioce of Rs. 5100. The side panel has a meshed grill, keeping a low profile and letting a view only if there is something lit inside. And even though it comes with a handle, its 10 Kg weight (just the chassis) doesn’t make it very portable. But if your gear is dear to you, the Ammo would be its perfect guardian at a LAN party.
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HTPC (Home Theatre PC)**
HTPCs connect to your television set replacing the monitor. These are mainly used to record television, play games and watch movies on the big screen. Now, you wouldn’t want a humming vertical chassis sitting on your TV shelf. So just for that, we have the HTPC cases. They have a horizontal design and can be easily mistaken for a neatly crafted high-end amplifier. Its built for silent operation with low speed fans and can be powered on by a remote.

CoolerMaster Media 260 (Rs. 8950)

This neat looking case with a brushed aluminum front bezel comes with a fluorescent front display and can be powered on by a remote control. It comes with an innovative internal design of ease for installation, fitting all the components in the least possible space. In fact it supports full sized ATX motherboards. It doesn’t come with a power supply but can house any standard ATX PS2 power supply. Since its compact, cooling becomes critical and for that it has one 60mm side fan and two 70mm fans on the top with ventilation holes on the top and side. In case you want to mount a PCI-Express or an AGP card you will need a riser card, provided by CoolerMaster. Looking at the installation video will give you a better idea. You can have a look at it here.

Antec Fusion with high efficiency 430 Watts PSU (Rs. 14,000)

Antec Fusion was to be launched two years ago but was scrapped due to thermal issues. This time around the thermal issues was tackled by dividing the case into three individual cooling chambers. The chambers divide the power supply, motherboard and the hard drive and are cooled by two 120 mm TriCool fans used as exhausts. Both the fans are speed controlled with three levels—1,2 and 3.
It only takes Micro-ATX boards but is deep enough to normally accommodate add-in cards without the need of a rider card. Furthering Antec’s tradition, the HDD brackets come with extra soft silicone grommets to reduce vibrational noise.