Desktop computer cases come in various designs and styles, including desktop form factor, pizza cases, tower cases, slimline cases, and small form factor cases. Tower cases are the most popular, with mini, mid-size, and full options. Slimline and small form factor cases are compact and energy-efficient, while pizza cases are ideal for home theater systems. Each type has its own limitations and advantages in terms of expansion bays, hard drives, and expansion cards.
Desktop computer cases have come a long way since the days of the flat desktop with the monitor perched on top. There are a myriad of designs and styles available to suit any home office or performance need, whether you are looking for a minimal office production system, a custom gaming setup, a space and energy efficient server, or a desktop computer. use with a home entertainment system. Among the different types are desktop form factor cases, small form factor (SFF) cases, pizza cases or home theater personal computer (HTPC) cases, tower cases of various sizes, and slimline cases.
The desktop form factor, once the most popular case style, is still produced in a variety of configurations. Desktop cases are wider and deeper than they are tall and only provide one or two expansion bays for disk or optical drives. Often, the system monitor is placed on top of the case because it takes up a significant amount of desk space. Internally, desktop cases can accommodate one or two expansion bays and two hard drives. They can accept a range of expansion cards, such as sound or video cards.
A variant of the table case is the pizza case or HTPC. Slimmer in size, the HTPC case is highly desirable for home theater systems, because its low profile fits well with home theater and stereo equipment. HTPC cases, due to their lower height, can only use half-height expansion cards and are limited to one disk drive and one hard drive.
The most popular cases by far are the desktop tower computer cases. Tower chests are taller than they are wide, though they can be deep. They lend themselves well to flexibility, expandability, and customization. Tower desktop computer cases come in mini, medium, or full form factors, each expanding the amount of available expansion slots and room to work.
Mini tower desktop computer cases are usually limited in the size of the motherboard that is able to fit inside them. They contain space for one or two hard drives and two or three expansion bays. Mid-size tower cases offer space for full-sized motherboards, two to four hard drives, and three to four expansion bays. They can also use most full-size components, albeit with space restrictions.
Full tower desktop computer cases can be configured to hold three or more hard drives and four to six expansion bays. They are the most flexible in terms of internal space for components. These cases can also be used as complete server configurations.
Slimline cases are variants on towers, being very thin and having a small footprint. They may only have integrated graphics options, depending on the motherboard, although some may accept a half-height video card. Slimline cases offer room for a docking station and hard drive and are designed to run on low power.
Similar to slimline desktop computer cases are small form factor cases. These are usually small cubical or rectangular cases that provide enough space for a hard drive and one or two expansion bays. They make use of specialized motherboards and can typically accommodate a full-size video card that doesn’t have many frills like big cooling fans. SFF computer cases use ducts and heat exchangers to stay cool while maintaining a small footprint.
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