Page 96 - PCWorld (September 2019)

HERE’S HOW BUY THE PERFECT PC CASE

graphics cards, and a lot of
storage.

Full-tower cases are massive.
They often measure more than 20

inches in height and are longer
and deeper than mid-tower
cases, which makes them ideal if

you’re one of the rare people
using a massive Extended-ATX
motherboard. (Asus’ X399

motherboards for AMD
Threadripper chips [go.pcworld. Full-tower PCs are big.
com/tx39] are EATX.)

Also consider a full-tower case if you plan limited to basic system configurations.
on loading up your rig with extensive (or They’re great for schlepping to LAN

custom) water-cooling, storage galore, or parties, though!
3- and 4-way graphics card setups. Full-
tower cases often support more fans and

5.25-inch drive bays as well. And the extra
elbow room sure is nice during building.

Mini-ITX cases are the polar opposite of
full-tower PC cases, built for diminutive
mini-ITX motherboards (go.pcworld.com/

itxm). Some of these can be wondrously
small and even fit inside home theater

cabinets, but the tight quarters can create
compatibility issues with some hardware.
Don’t expect to use liquid-cooling or a big

honking CPU cooler in most mini-ITX cases.
Some mini-ITX cases don’t support full-

length graphics cards, either; confirm the
maximum length before you buy. Finally,
The Bitfenix Portal puts a unique spin on mini-ITX
there isn’t much room for extra hardware in
cases with a design derived from Valve’s beloved
these space-constrained chassis, so you’ll be Portal game.

94 PCWorld SEPTEMBER 2019