When it comes to this component, most people just get any old case they can find that's available and just plug everything into it and think it's OK. Well, let me tell you that there are companies out there who make really expensive cases. Where do you think they get all their revenue? How do they survive if everyone buys cheap cases? Obviously, there are people who buy their cases, and a lot of these people too! These people are smart and care for their computer parts. Buying a cheap case with a small power supply can not only create an un-stable computer, but can also damage those components due to overheating. So, what do you look for in a quality case?

The first thing you have to look for is what type of a power supply it comes with. Most OEM cases sold these days come with "generic" 235w-250w power supplies, which is usually adequate for a lot of people. If, however, you decide to go the new AMD route to get the extra performance and also go with one of the high-power video cards such as the GeForce256, that 250w of power will not do for you. So, now you say, fine, then I'll just go out and get a 300w power supply then. That might work, but in a lot of cases, that doesn't work either. What you need, if you're one of the unlucky ones, is to get an AMD-approved power supply (a list can be found here) and a 300w or bigger one also. This will ensure that you will not have any problems that are due to power problems if you get a power-hungry AMD processor.

The second quality you need to look for in a case is cooling. This quality is actually pretty much tied with the power supply issue, but I find that it's not as important as it is (I had wasted some money on a power supply that wasn't sufficient for my Athlon processor). When purchasing a case, make sure that there is a vent at the front for you to add a second fan to suck air in, and, if possible, a vent right underneath the power supply at the rear to suck hot air from the CPU out. This is, of course, following the specs for a mid-tower case. If you decide to get a full-tower case, expect to have even more places where you can stick fans to cool it down, and… because of this, the full-tower cases should provide a better environment for cooling. This luxury, however, doesn't come without a price. First of all, a full-tower case is a lot more expensive and can set you back quite a bit for a box made out of metal. Also, people (like me) don't like to have a 2-foot metal box sticking nowhere out of my room! So, usually I just stick with a mid-tower case 'cause they fit in with my room much better. =)

In terms of other cooling for specific components of the computer, such as the CPU, I really can't give you exact recommendations; that would take a few other pages (not that this guide isn't already long enough!).

On to: CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Drive