Do Large Computer Cases Still Make Sense?
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2019-05-06
·
888 words · ~4 min read
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So the ATX standard that's so common for motherboards came out all the way back in
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1995 and while modern ones have become packed with features, our technology back then was so primitive that not only did we have to
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clap our hands to turn our lights on and off, but sound chips,
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networking, drive controllers, etc often required separate adapter cards.
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Not only that but drives don't need as much space anymore both because
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single drives are much higher capacity than they were 20 years ago and
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because physically smaller SSDs have taken off in popularity. Plus
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internal optical drives are becoming rare on desktop PCs thanks to digital distribution of games, movies, and music.
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So why is it still so easy to buy large mid and full tower cases?
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I mean who actually
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needs
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these things?
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Well believe it or not there are still a number of reasons that you might want to consider an impressively sized case with perhaps the most
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obvious being that you're building a powerful rig that needs more components.
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Using your computer as a home server such as a NAS for storing video or as a big-time editing workstation can require multiple
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high capacity hard drives,
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especially if you're using a RAID array to back up your work or speed up performance.
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Video footage tends to take up lots of space and bulky hard drives do hold more footage more cheaply than smaller SSDs and
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more drives means you might need more drive headers to connect them to which will mean a higher-end motherboard with more of them built-in or
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more likely an
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inexpensive add-in card that has extra headers on it.
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But what if you're not video editing or running a server?
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Well
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even though many smaller cases can hold up to two
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graphics cards no problem, you might still consider a bigger case if you still need to add more adapter cards such as a sound card, a
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video capture card, PCI Express SSDs, that drive adapter I just mentioned, or
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legacy I.O. cards that can add older style ports to a new system for old devices you'd still like to use.
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Scientific instruments are notorious for this and even if none of this applies to you, you still may have components that run
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hot and a larger case may be able to help you cool things off.
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Not only will larger cases give you more room for both air and water cooling accessories like pumps,
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radiators, and fans, they can provide more breathing space for your components,
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especially if you're a tinkerer and you're into overclocking your CPU or GPU.
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On the subject of cooling, larger cases usually offer more
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flexibility in terms of how you configure them, with some of them allowing you to
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relocate your CPU or GPU to your PC.
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Some of them allow you to locate components like pumps or drive cages in a matter of minutes,
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with some even going as far as to allow you to move the graphics card to a
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flashier location next to the window, or even flip around the motherboard itself.
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But we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about two of the most straightforward reasons.
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One, large cases give you more space to work in, making building and upgrading easier.
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And two, aesthetics.
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Some people just like the look of an imposing,
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beefy case, and you'll get more room to trick it out with RGB fans, custom lighting, or even fancy designs etched onto the side panel.
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So while these behemoths of the battle station world aren't for everyone, there are definitely some cases
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where bigger is indeed better.
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Cases.
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