What to look for in a case

[genelite]

i am building a new computer and don't know exactly what to look for in buying a case. I want it to be as cheap as possible but are there some essentials to look at?
thanks

 

[jrayx]

You'll want to look at the construction quality of the case. In cheap cases sometimes the panels are flimsy and the material of the case feels like cheap plastic/metal.

And the internal layout of the case is important for cooling and cable management, (For example some cases still have the Power Supply mounted on top, but most new cases put the PSU in the bottom facing down with a dust filter) And some cases put cable management holes to route cables behind the motherboard tray to improve cooling and helps to have a clean looking case.

 

[TheBigTroll]

-lots of steel or aluminum. and thick panels
-good grommets for cables
-lots of cabling room in the back (preferably 0.75 or more inches of room)
-weight. generally the more weight for a given size, the better. but thats not always true
-look at good brands. if you want something cheap, antec and bitfenix make pretty good cases. id suggest something like a a antec one for 54.99

 

[genelite]

would this case be fine for a gaming pc build, i dont want to spend money so what if i used an old cast that came with my dell vostro 200 http://www.trustedreviews.com/Dell-Vostro-200_Desktop-PC_review

 

[jrayx]

Probably but it's very small. The main problem is the video card size, it may not fit in that case. You'll be limited to low profile gpu's. You could buy a nice cheap case from antec, cooler master, bitfenix or zalman that will fit everything nicely without clearance problems.

 

[genelite]

the video card is a radeon 7850, im not sure. i guess i will measure it and if that is the only problem and it fits then ill just go with the dell case i have but if it doesn't i will def look into some of those cases