Stage 1 building a computer

the ancient one

Honorable
Jul 13, 2013
8
0
10,510
I am in the earliest stages of building a computer. I am looking at a computer case first of all and the following is a list of the various manufacturers that I have come across so far: Antec, Apevia, Azza, BitFenix, Cooler Master, Corsair, Cougar, DIYPC, Enermax, FractalDesign,Irwin, Lian-Li, NZXT, Rosewill, Sentry, Silverstone, Thermaltake, Xclio, Xigmatek, Zalman. Each of these manufactures have cases that fit my needs (ATX Full Size) I would like feedback on which manufactures are good, bad, or indifferent.
Price is not a major concern but other things are. I don’t want a built in PSU (unless I can be assured that is of the highest quality and will meet my needs) and do not need a liquid cooling device or one that is liquid ready (not being liquid ready might eliminate too many choices.) I do have several concerns: 1) I am concerned that if the depth or length of the case is larger than average, this might cause a problem connecting a cable from a modular PSU (bottom located) to the upper most external bay. 2) I have read differing views concerning a side fan. – A) side fan will cool major portion of mother board, video card, etc B) side fan will interfere with airflow from front intake to rear and upper exhaust fans. Or is the total amount of intake vs exhaust a more important consideration as far as airflow. 3) Should all intake fans have filters and if so ease of getting to and cleaning or removing filters would be a concern. 4) I am planning on mounting and securing the case to a wood board that has 4 casters for ease of movement. Do you see any problems with that? What are your thoughts on this?
 

the ancient one

Honorable
Jul 13, 2013
8
0
10,510
Though I don't currently have any devices that need USB3, I probably will in the future. If the case that I finally settle on doesn't have USB3 port, I will install a USB3 PCIe card with 4 ports.