Bothering to upgrade computer case

[HagarTheHorrible]

Does anybody ?

 

I've pretty much had the same computer case for the last 10 years. It's the absolute last thing on my mind when it comes to spending money on my computer. I want Oomph, not a self congratulatory warm hugged Aaaahhh !!!

 

I just don't get all the razzmatazz, why would somebody compromise performance for bling and yet,if you look on tech sights, they're constantly promoting or advertising the latest and greatest flashy waste of money.

[Jade_Monkey]

Depends on the case and what you want to do with it.

 

Some cases have better airflow, some have more room for more radiators or HDDs.

 

If you have a decent case and you only want to have a pretty standard cooling solution then most upgrades are unnecessary.

 

Some cases offer analog controls for fans for those who are very picky with the fan noise and rpms.

[BeastyBaiter]

I ran with the same case since around 2002 until earlier this year. The power button on it finally broke. As an interesting side note, that old case was a full tower ATX back in the early 2000's, it is both narrower and shorter than my new "mid tower ATX" case. Seems pickup trucks aren't the only things that grew over the years. The new case does have the advantage of newer USB standards on the front panel without having to use an internal USB HUB in a CD/DVD/BlueRay drive slot.

[SCG_Space_Ghost]

Yes, I've upgraded cases before.

 

I started my current build (see signature) in a Fractal Designs R4, was really unimpressed with the airflow/temps and upgraded to a Corsair 450D AF Edition. 

 

It was definitely a win-win, although I felt bad tossing a case that was only a couple months old.

[Jaws2002]

Not all case upgrades are done for "bling".

 

I have this Phantom 820 for about eight years and when i got it i wanted something big, with plenty room for expansion. I had a mid tower before that and the upgrade was 100% worth it from the performance point of view. I used really big video cards and monstrous coolers, but space and cooling efficiency was never a problem with this case.

Higher end cases will come with a bunch of cool features that are good to have, like air filters, cutouts for water cooling if you plan to go that route at some point...

Edited August 21, 2017 by Jaws2002

[Gambit21]

One giant Cooler master case, and my computer always looks like the same computer...even when I throw a new video card in or upgrade something else.

This is important for covert ops when you have a frugal wife.

[Dutch2]

Get an PC case that does have intake filters, so it will reduce dust in your components.

[kestrel79]

Have had my Antec 902 v3 for over 7 years now. Good cooling, drives snap in pretty easily, washable filters. Only reason I could see getting a newer case is for some of the more modern features like I mentioned. If you have a case that does not have some of these features it really saves time as is recommended to make swapping parts and cleaning easier.

[Gambit21]

Get an PC case that does have intake filters, so it will reduce dust in your components.

 

Easily mitigated with a can of compressed air, and less trouble that cleaning filters.

[TG-55Panthercules]

I ran with the same case since around 2002 until earlier this year. The power button on it finally broke. As an interesting side note, that old case was a full tower ATX back in the early 2000's, it is both narrower and shorter than my new "mid tower ATX" case. Seems pickup trucks aren't the only things that grew over the years. The new case does have the advantage of newer USB standards on the front panel without having to use an internal USB HUB in a CD/DVD/BlueRay drive slot.

 

Just ran into the same thing with my new build a couple of weeks ago. I liked and wanted to keep my full tower case from years ago to put my new machine in, and I figured my son (to whom I will be giving my old PC) might not have room for such a large case in his apartment, so I ordered a new case (that said it was a mid-tower) to put my old PC parts in for his machine.  When it got here, it turned out to be just as big as my old case.  Fortunately, I think he will have room for it, but I was surprised by the size bloat of the cases over the last few years.

[Jade_Monkey]

One giant Cooler master case, and my computer always looks like the same computer...even when I throw a new video card in or upgrade something else.

This is important for covert ops when you have a frugal wife.

Quite correct. I did a full GPU (with waterblock) upgrade on the spring when the wife had a weekend shift at work). Worked like a charm

[Jade_Monkey]

Just ran into the same thing with my new build a couple of weeks ago. I liked and wanted to keep my full tower case from years ago to put my new machine in, and I figured my son (to whom I will be giving my old PC) might not have room for such a large case in his apartment, so I ordered a new case (that said it was a mid-tower) to put my old PC parts in for his machine. When it got here, it turned out to be just as big as my old case. Fortunately, I think he will have room for it, but I was surprised by the size bloat of the cases over the last few years.

Around 2011 they satrted to focus more on airflow and cable management. The latter meant that they are now building about an inch more in the back to route all the cables and keep it tidy while helping airflow.

 

Then the whole watercooling thing went more mainstream with 120mm and 240mm radiators becoming the standard in for the closed loops like Asetek, Corsair and now every brand in the market. So most cases are providing room for the radiators while before you had to make room for it by compromising or modding the case.

 

I do like the trend but i agree that this added bulk and the medium sized cases are now large.

 

For those looking for a small footprint tower look for MATX sized mobos and cases.

[Guest deleted@30725]

Does anybody ?

 

I've pretty much had the same computer case for the last 10 years. It's the absolute last thing on my mind when it comes to spending money on my computer. I want Oomph, not a self congratulatory warm hugged Aaaahhh !!!

 

I just don't get all the razzmatazz, why would somebody compromise performance for bling and yet,if you look on tech sights, they're constantly promoting or advertising the latest and greatest flashy waste of money.

 

If you like your case and have no overheating or space issues then no point changing, but like anything it can be fun to buy something new just for a different look. But if it's just a pc you're not trying to show off then who cares. Even if you do have a decent case most people probably won't care anyway. Make sure what's inside is good first.

Edited August 22, 2017 by deleted@30725