Mid-Tower Madness: 5 Midsize Cases Compared

Posted 04/02/2010 at 6:10am | by Nathan Edwards

21

Comments

Print

Making a Case for Change

From beige to bling, how PC enclosures have evolved through the ages

Since 1995, ATX has been the de facto standard for motherboards, power supplies, and cases. The aging formfactor has informed the past decade-and-a-half of case design, from the bland beige-box era to today’s enormous water-cooled, windowed monstrosities. While the formfactor has stayed the same, enthusiast parts and attitudes have propelled cases to new heights of usefulness and blingitude.

Cooler Master’s ATC aluminum chassis series, starting with the ATC 200 in early 2000, was the kiss of death for the beige box. With four 8cm fans, six hard drive bays, and a removable motherboard tray, the ATC series proved that the chassis wasn’t just a commodity part to hold your real hardware, but an essential part of your rig—one you could be OK spending $250 on.

Cooler Master ATC 110

Soon, case manufacturers realized that builders could be just as proud of their rigs’ exteriors as their interiors, but not everyone wanted to manually cut windows and add LEDs to their stock enclosures, so the race to add acrylic windows, LEDs, and fans was on. NZXT’s first case, the 2004-era Guardian, exemplifies this trend. It features a molded plastic and “chrome” case door in the shape of an armored mask, red and blue lights that emit illuminated patterns, a side case fan with flame décor, a chromed dragon emblem, and tricolor LEDs.

NZXT Guardian

It wasn’t all about looks, though—the Guardian’s interior featured ahead-of-its-time toolless PCI expansion card holders, optical drive bays, and hard drive bays. Many modern cases eschew the LEDs but keep the toolless interiors.

Both the ATC 201 and the Guardian have their modern descendents—the ATCS 840 and Guardian 921, respectively. Despite a brief flirtation with BTX in the middle of the decade, modern PCs still use the ATX formfactor, so case design, while hardly stagnant, has remained consistent for years. Thermaltake’s Level 10 concept chassis (reviewed December 2009) maintains ATX compatibility while mounting all components in separate boxes hanging from a central pillar. It’s one of the most innovative cases we’ve seen recently.

Thermaltake Level 10

So what’s the future of case design? All indications are that ATX will remain the dominant formfactor for the build-your-own set (at least in the near future), while smaller formfactors gain in popularity. Maximum PC expects nettops, all-in-one machines, and Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX formfactor HTPCs to increase market share in the kitchen, living room, and media center, while full-size PCs reign in the enthusiast market. Antec representative Veronica Feldmeier says, “Mini-ITX continues to advance as the next big thing.” Both Feldmeier and Cooler Master’s Bryant Nguyen say that future cases will feature greater airflow and cooling—witness Cooler Master’s HAF high-airflow series, including the upcoming HAF X, and Antec’s Skeleton and upcoming LanBoy Air cases. Nguyen adds, “As systems continue to grow in power, Cooler Master’s chassis must continue to innovate, to include ample cable management, increased expandability, and excellent cooling.”