Desktop Cases

[Neil Purling]

Why is it so hard to get hold of a desktop case for a PC project in a shop?
They only seem have tower cases for sale.
The only desktop case I could find was one which had been totally stripped
out, which I am refilling.
Is there a technical reason why they are uncommon now?
A shop assistant proposed the reason of heat buildup.
So what item is the biggest heat producer in a PC. I thought of the power
supply.
I have bought a extractor fan to go in one of the back slots and I bought
IDE and floppy cables that are round in section because ribbon cables do
take up a lot of space.

 

[John]

Why is it so hard to get hold of a desktop case for a PC project in a shop?
They only seem have tower cases for sale.
The only desktop case I could find was one which had been totally stripped
out, which I am refilling.
Is there a technical reason why they are uncommon now?
A shop assistant proposed the reason of heat buildup.
So what item is the biggest heat producer in a PC. I thought of the power
supply.
I have bought a extractor fan to go in one of the back slots and I bought
IDE and floppy cables that are round in section because ribbon cables do
take up a lot of space.

Probably due to the idea that in tower cases cool air is sucked in at
the bottom and then as it heats it rises and is sucked out at the rear
top of the case. You dont have that idea going on in a desktop. Im not
sure if it makes that much difference though.

Its also fashion and the fact it takes up way too much desktop space
and would be silly to use on the floor since the floppy and cd rom
drives would be too low to reach. They have micro cube cases though if
you want a desktop case so badly and rackmount cases which seem to be
really really expensive.

 

[Clob]

I do believe they released a BTX desktop case not to long ago, not shure
from who though.

 

[R Murphy]

Why is it so hard to get hold of a desktop case for a PC project in a
shop?
They only seem have tower cases for sale.
The only desktop case I could find was one which had been totally stripped
out, which I am refilling.
Is there a technical reason why they are uncommon now?
A shop assistant proposed the reason of heat buildup.

I've thought of this too. To my way of thinking, a CPU fan sucking air off
its heatsink straight up and expelling it through a vent in the top of a
desktop case would work well. Admittedly, there's then a hole in the top of
the case, but a 'bent chimney' would stop things falling in etc.

I don't think most people need 6 external drive bays and 4 more internal
ones either, which is the only real advantage that a tower case has - the
ability to house more drives. Externally, a DVD burner, card reader and
front mount USB would be about it.

Rob

 

[General Schvantzkoph]

Why is it so hard to get hold of a desktop case for a PC project in a shop?
They only seem have tower cases for sale.
The only desktop case I could find was one which had been totally stripped
out, which I am refilling.
Is there a technical reason why they are uncommon now?
A shop assistant proposed the reason of heat buildup.
So what item is the biggest heat producer in a PC. I thought of the power
supply.
I have bought a extractor fan to go in one of the back slots and I bought
IDE and floppy cables that are round in section because ribbon cables do
take up a lot of space.

Horizontal cases are only used for rackmount servers these days. Rackmount
cases are optimized for server room use where you want to pack lots of
hardware into a minimal amount of space and noise isn't important.
Rackmount cases have more airflow than the typical tower case and as a
result are much louder.

Tower cases pack fewer components into a bigger case so you don't need as
much airflow so they are quieter. The tower, mid-tower and now mini-tower
also have a smaller footprint than a rackmount or the old style desktop
case. Back when 13" displays were common you could put the monitor on top
of a desktop case which was convienient because it brought the display up
to a comfortable height. Today's displays are much larger so you need to
place them right on your desk not on top of a 5 inch high box so there is
no place to put an AT style desktop case anymore.

 

[Spajky]

Why is it so hard to get hold of a desktop case for a PC project in a shop?

because has to be better made & so expencier (need to support a normal
17" monitor for example) & people tend to buy generally cheaper stuff
& so manufacturers went to cheaper production tower cases also to cut
expences few years ago. So now a Desktop case (since are made in small
quantities) are even expencier than should be & PC shops don´t even
order it, because it is hard to sell it!

I myself had big problems to get one quality one; took me a month
searching around to get a used Enlight one 4 years ago ..
http://nl.enlightcorp.com/products/pc/detel.php?kind=pccase&serial=70

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> "Neil Purling"

Why is it so hard to get hold of a desktop case for a PC project in a shop?
They only seem have tower cases for sale.
The only desktop case I could find was one which had been totally stripped
out, which I am refilling.
Is there a technical reason why they are uncommon now?
A shop assistant proposed the reason of heat buildup.
So what item is the biggest heat producer in a PC. I thought of the power
supply.
I have bought a extractor fan to go in one of the back slots and I bought
IDE and floppy cables that are round in section because ribbon cables do
take up a lot of space.

There are still a few cases that can be turned on their side (and can
mount the CD drives in either direction, although the floppy will
usually be on it's side one way or the other)