[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I'd like to apologize for a previous post. I posted on the day 1 article that I hoped that in the following days something other than large ATX cases would be covered.[/citation] But anything smaller wouldn't hold the test platform.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I must have read the article too quickly in my excitement for more case reviews. I misunderstood this series of articles to be about silent gaming cases.[/citation]Not silent, just quieted. Jumping back to Q1, that would be quieted cases that hold the test platform.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I read day 2 a bit more careful after seeing that all the cases in it were full ATX and realized that this is a series for the best silent overclocked workstation case.[/citation]See response above.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]It's hard to see what else it could be given that all the cases had to accommodate a $1k processor and all but require a $300-$400 ATX motherboards.[/citation]The processor was picked as a source of heat. The graphics card and CPU cooler were picked as sources of noise. If the tester had three GTX 580's, you might have gotten an SLI article with even more heat and noise.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I found two acceptable and one unacceptable micro-ATX option but they were all inferior to the ATX versions.[/citation]Doesn't that make the test platform appear more sensible?[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]I just built a gaming machine and from what I have read, I am WAY out of the norm for putting an i7 instead of i5 processor in my box as the i5 runs games almost as well as an i7 for much less money.[/citation] That's true, but there aren't any i5's that can produce this much heat without burning out quickly. The test processor was intended to be a little over-the-top concerning heat.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]It's almost always better to put more money into the GPU for pure gaming performance.[/citation]Yes, and SLI would have been picked if the tester had matched cards. That is, in spite of the fact that most users don't have SLI. Again, all in the effort to create large thermal and noise maximums.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]The requirement for a USB 3.0 port on the front of the case is so odd that I almost don't believe I read that correctly. Did I? I've always been a bit dubious of USB on the front of a case for several reasons but I didn't car that much as I don't think they cause problems unless used. However, to ONLY review silent cases with this feature seems like a needless way to eliminate potentially good cases for no good reason.[/citation]No good reason? USB 3.0 has been the current standard for 2 years, would you prefer to eliminate headset jacks as well?[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]Why not eliminate cases without front panel card readers[/citation]They're not standard.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]or audio jacks?[/citation]No need, all qualifying cases have them.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]Only cases with top mounted PSUs and transverse internal drive bays.[/citation]Those aren't standards.[citation][nom]grokem[/nom]While certainly a feature cared about by a lot of people other than me, it seems needlessly outside the scope of the article.[/citation]Exactly.