Before you dash out to the shops and spend all your money on the shiniest looking case you see, it is worth asking yourself what you want out of a case. The modern case needs to perform these functions:

Cool your PC

Make sure that any case you buy has sufficient fan locations in appropriate places, or be prepared to get out the Dremel and take matters into your own hands.

It used to be the norm for even high-end cases to not include any case fans, keeping the price of the case down and leaving fan choice up to the buyer. It seems this trend is over, with 8 out of 10 of the cases in this roundup including a full compliment of cooling fans. Some case manufacturers have opted for cheap generic brands, but some of the more expensive cases come with high quality branded fans.

The focus of cooling solutions has moved from the noisy high airflow systems which were so popular when overclocking was in fashion, to low noise solutions, utilising speed controlled 120 mm fans. This follows the general industry trend towards quiet cooling solutions for even the fastest systems.

Accommodate Your Hardware

It goes without saying that you will need a case that has room for all your present hardware, as well as room for future expansion. You may end up keeping your new case for two or three years, so anticipating your future plans will save money in the long run. High performance hard drives often need space around them for cooling, so it is a good idea to have a case with enough drive bays to allow you to leave gaps between them. If you have a particularly wide motherboard, or lots of CD-ROM drives, you will want to check that the case is deep enough to give plenty of clearance. Remember that a case with plenty of free space is easier to cool, and easier to work on. It is also worth looking up the weight of the case if you need to move your computer often. Anything over around 7kg will be unwieldy and hard to carry.

Protect Your Hardware

A good quality chassis is essential for a case that is moved around or tinkered with a lot. The main decision you have to make is whether to opt for steel, or aluminium.
Aluminium cases are now more popular than ever, but what are the pros and cons? Aluminium makes for a very light construction, which has its benefits for the LAN goer. Unfortunately, aluminium cases are just not as tough as a high quality steel case. Aluminium scratches much easier and makes for a generally flimsier case unless much thicker material is used. Since aluminium is softer it cuts cleanly, meaning you are less likely to find sharp edges in a case. It has often been claimed that Aluminium cases are better for cooling, since aluminium is a better conductor of heat than steel is. This is exaggerated, since the vast majority of heat inside a PC is insulated from the chassis and exits via the airflow from the fans. Improvements in cooling gained by using aluminium are small and aluminium construction is no guarantee of good cooling.

Aesthetics

Most computer enthusiasts like to have a good looking case and just about every modern case makes an effort to look nice. The looks of a case are of course all a matter of personal taste, but it is worth finding plenty of pictures of any case you are considering buying, or visiting a shop to see it first hand, especially if you are considering spending a lot of money on a case you can brag about.

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