This is question I have been asked many times throughout my career; but why can’t you just use a £20 case for a custom PC build?
Normally at this point I would banish the questioner from the room at this point to save me repeating the answers! However it is a serious question and I feel that this article will help address that question.
Looks
Cheap computer cases stand out like a console player on a Counter strike server. They are hideous. Just by looking at them you can tell that they are what they are, cheap! Stick on chrome parts and plasticky groves and curves may go far in the world of boy racers (ones with no taste I may add) but not in the world of computer cases.
Build Quality
If you stare at a naff case for too long it will get upset, fall apart, implode and burn down the room it is living in right before your eyes. I have come across many “cartons” in my time that are not only made of paper, but will shred your hand to a million pieces should you go to put your hand inside. On the rare occasion I have been able to do what I have needed to do inside a cheap computer case, no matter how much I would try the damn thing would no go back together as it was despite using various hammers, vices and cursing.
Size does not matter
Newsflash! It does. I have come across larger lunch boxes than some cases out there. Imagine the scenario, a friend has asked to fit an Nvidia GTX295 to his PC that a mate built him a few years ago. Being a nice fella that I am I would agree and ask said friend to bring along their case for me to fit the swanky new graphics card. Said friend would arrive, chat, have a cup of tea only to find what follows involves lots of WD40, a shoe horn and an elephant.
Performance
Some people can’t seem to grasp the concept of a chassis having any ‘performance’. These people tend to drive Nissan Micra’s, and grow spider plants. The rest of you probably already know that airflow makes a massive difference to a computers performance. The two phrases ‘Poor cases’ and ‘airflow’ never go in the same sentence, and for the eagle eyed amongst you, unless it’s this one.
For some reason cheap case manufacturers seem to think that there is no need to put any fans in their chassis and that the CPU fan is ample. For the few that have decided it might be a good idea, probably because someone at the factory ordered some fans by mistake and they needed to use them up, they like to stick them in daft places where nothing requires cooling or two that blow towards each other.
Airflow makes a massive difference to not only gaming PCs but any PC. It will help keep everything cooler and as a result allow everything to run at optimum speeds (or faster) and increase a components lifespan.
Design
I wonder if some of these guys that design some if these interesting abominations think to themselves, “I know lets move the mounting points 2mm in different directions” or “why shouldn’t we design it so the PSU could sit in between two hard disks?” Im still surprises me to this day how many daft ideas actually make it to the shelves.
UK Gaming Computers not only build the highest quality custom PCs but take great pride in choosing what computers cases to house their works of art in. Whilst we do hate low grade computer cases we sometimes daftly pick the odd one out that for some reason may actually pass the grade. All of them end up as rather oversized paper weights or door stops, which is no surprise. You can view our range of gaming cases by clicking on the link you have just read past.