Computer Building Basics: Part 5 (Computer Cases) [aboutcomputer99.blogspot.com]

Computer Building Basics: Part 5 (Computer Cases) [aboutcomputer99.blogspot.com]

Question by : What pieces of a Gaming computer build are the most important? From least to greatest, what the most important pieces of a computer build to the least important. Thanks! We're talking gaming PC Best answer for What pieces of a Gaming computer build are the most important?:

Answer by bored
1. Graphics Card 2. Processor 3. Motherboard 4. Fans 5. Power Source (needs to be adequate)

Answer by Ken
They are all important though you always want to start with the CPU aka brain of the computer and find a mobo that is compatible with it. From there you need to decide on GPU(s) and ram. The PSU will depends on how much power your GPU(s) require. You might only need a 500w in a smaller machine but a 1000w in a crossfire or SLI rig. What I suggest doing is build one on newegg to fit your price range and you will be able to see what you can spend a bit more (or less) money on.

Answer by Tyler B
They;re all important pretty much. But to define them you can kind of put them into two categories. Limiters and performers. A limiter decides what you can use. A performer is what will actually improve your gaming performance. I'll list them from most important to least important (again, all of them are important regardless. And the CPU and GPU are generally just as important as each other.) Performers: GPU CPU RAM Limiters: Motherboard Power Supply Then you have your add-ons like the case, DVD drive, fans for cooling, and hard drive and OS. While not important for gaming you obviously need a HDD and operating system for your computer to actually function, and a DVD/CD/Blu-Ray drive to read/write optical media. And a case to put it all in. The GPU often determines overall performance, followed closely by the CPU, generally you want each one equally as fast as the other. Then you have RAM, it's not quite as important as the GPU in terms of performance, but if you have weak RAM you'll see just as much of a drop in performance as if you had a weak GPU/CPU. The motherboard decides what components you can use, and if you don't have a good power supply you can't power all the powerful components anyway, so they basically limit the performance of your PC overall.

Answer by Goerge
First and foremost is why. Why is this computer being built? Is it going to be used for CPU intensive programs or GPU intensive programs or both? It's going to start with your CPU. Without the correct socket type it's a bit hard to dive into the deep end of motherboards. This is your brain. Heat-stroke needs to be the last thing on your mind. Looking at after-market coolers is next. Does their cooling power meet and/or exceed the max TDP of your CPU? Do you need air or water cooling and why is that? If it's CPU intensive do you want to go the SSD route? Next up is the HDD/ssd combo. SSD's haven't came to the point of being cost effective so a main drive usually no less than 120GB SSD would step in the utilize the board's SATA 6 connection(s) and offer a performance boost to the programs that rely on very fast read and write times. That brings in the motherboard to tie the CPU and HDD.How are you going to release that engine's power? It has a memory in the hard drives but only long term memory. Next up is RAM. Considering 1333,1600,1866,2100,2300... does the motherboard ask for dual or triple channel? What the heck is CL(Cas Latency)? Does it really matter if the timings are at 9 9 9 25 or 6 7 6 18. Let's give this beast some eyes. This would bring in the GFX card. Does the board support PCI express 2.0 x16 or 3.0x16? Do some of your expected programs on your HDD/SSD necessitate a ton of GFX memory but not so much that would bring in a Fire pro or Quadro. 2GB of VRAM or 3 or is 1GB going to cover things? Are some of your program still tethered to a disc? This brings in the DVD/CD/Blu-ray players, inscribers, label makers and burners. You now have your CPU,HDD,mobo,RAM,GFX card, disc player, many fans and other peripherals and they need food. How much food does your hardware need. Are you adding an extra helping of power to prepare for upgrades? Your body now needs a home. Bring in the case. It needs to have very good airflow and be roomy enough to feed the internal air breathers like your CPU cooler or GFX cooler and keep the passive coolers on the RAM, motherboard, gfx card(s) and the rest nice,cool and happy. Have you installed so much inside that you need some more air to keep them cool as they eat? After market fans to replace the stock fans are next. Do you need a controller to keep your temps and fans in check? After you get to this point there is so much that can be done to trick out your case that only your imagination and the bleeding edge of technology define.

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So, by now you're probably wondering which case you should get. While it isn't the most important part of a computer, it does protect all those valuable parts inside. Probably the biggest thing about choose a computer case though, just depends on your personal tastes. The case is what you're going to see when you look at your computer, and I'm pretty sure no one enjoys looking at ugly things.

Once you've found one that you think looks good to you though, you should be aware of a few attributes about them, and what really comes in handy. First off, make sure it has a front USB panel. It is a real pain if you have to climb to the back of your computer every time you want to plug in your digital camera, headset, flash drive, you name it. It's just unwanted and unneeded work you have to do.

How does the motherboard fit inside the case? If you can, try to find a case with a removable back-plane for mounting the motherboard (This is a nice feature, but in my opin ion, very optional.

Check what form factor your motherboard is. Many cases nowadays have multiple form factor holes to accommodate more than one form factor (a form factor is the screw formation your motherboard has. Pretty much the question comes down to, can you screw it in correctly?). The most common form factors are Micro ATX, Full ATX (often called ATX, no full), and extended ATX. Be sure you check both your case and your motherboard to make sure they will fit.

Check if your case includes a power supply. If it doesn't, make sure you get one. If it does check the wattage on the PSU that is included. Be sure that the PSU is powerful enough to keep up with the rest of the computer. More details can be found on which power supply you want in an earlier post I made.

Also, check out many device bays you are going to need. If you have two hard drives you are installing, make sure it has two hard drive bays (often 3.5" are the most common, though a lot of the new solid state drives are 2.5"). This also goes for CD ROM drives. Almost all cases come with at least one bay for each, but if you are going to have more than one, make sure your case knows that too.

Be sure to have the right sized computer for your needs. If you don't have much space to put a large computer, buy a smaller case. If you are planning on making a very powerful computer, you'll likely need some extra room for video cards, extra cooling, hard drives, etc.. Plan on getting a larger case to get in the extra power you need.

Lastly, but definitely not the least important, take a look at how much cooling it has. The airflow through your case is crucial to not letting your computer overheat, especially if you're intending on overclocking your machine. Try to get a computer case that has built in fans, if you can. The case fans will improve airflow throughout your computer drastically, and allow your computer to function smoothly. Remember, computers work better in cold temperatures (which is why a lot of computer labs are FREEZING, no joke).

There are three main sizes of computer case. The first being the mini tower. Mini towers are nice when space is a big issue for you. They won't take up a lot of room, but they also lack the power I mentioned you sometimes need before. These often have measurements around 5"W/12"H/14"D (Width, Height, and Depth, respectively).

The second size are mid-towers. These are probably the most common size you'll find in computers, as it's a nice hybrid between being a complete mammoth like the full tower I'll explain to you in a bit, and the under-powered mini-tower. These are generally around 7"W/17H/17"D, and can accommodate more drive bays and more cooling space than the mini tower.

The last case type is, as I mentioned before, the full tower. These towers can be huge, even mammoth in size. However, a lot of these towers vary greatly in size, so you'll have to really examine each one on an individual basis. These cases can probably take on anything you throw at them. With enough space to store multiple hard drives, video cards, and cooling units, these are probably the best bet to go if you want to fit the most power you can into one machine. If you have the space to get it, and you want the capacity to have as much power as you can, I would look into getting a full tower case. Just check the size, so you aren't too surprised when it shows up at your doorstep.

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