Advice on building a PC

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Mike A:
A PC case doesn't have to stop bullets. ::)

Howard_Casto:

--- Quote from: Grasshopper on May 14, 2020, 05:04:51 am ---I guess I'm swimming against the tide here, but what irritates me about modern PC cases (apart from the chintzy build quality) is the lack of external drive bays. I realise not everyone wants an optical drive anymore, but they're still useful for things like trayless hard drive racks, and for adding extra USB ports, card readers etc.

That's one reason why you'll have to prise my beige case from my cold dead hands.

--- End quote ---

USB 3 kind of killed that argument. I've got an optical drive in an external enclosure. When I need one (which is usually only to install vb 6 when I first install windows) I plug it in and when I don't it's out of the way and not eating up power and prematurely killing my power supply. I used to want all kinds of crap on my computers in terms of add-on ports but I've come to the realization that all I actually use are the two usb ports and the headphone jack. Even for sd cards I typically use the little usb adaptors that come with hardware as It's quicker than trying to hunt up a sd-mini to standard sd card adaptor.

I agree with Mike btw. I don't mind spending more if I think I'm getting more value, but I just got a case with tempered glass on the front and side for 50 bucks and I think it looks nice. If I spend more than that I would feel obligated to keep using the case after this new pc needs replaced and by then I'm sure styles will have changed and I'll want something new.

Osirus23:

--- Quote from: Grasshopper on May 14, 2020, 05:04:51 am ---I guess I'm swimming against the tide here, but what irritates me about modern PC cases (apart from the chintzy build quality) is the lack of external drive bays. I realise not everyone wants an optical drive anymore, but they're still useful for things like trayless hard drive racks, and for adding extra USB ports, card readers etc.

--- End quote ---

Yep. I still need external drive bays. Not just for an optical drive but for other accessories that go into them. My current case has 2 and it's built to last so I should be good.

Cakemeister:
Have you checked out commercial products? A lot of times there are hidden costs, like operating system, that you need to take into account.

Grasshopper:

--- Quote from: Howard_Casto on May 14, 2020, 02:11:23 pm ---
USB 3 kind of killed that argument. I've got an optical drive in an external enclosure. When I need one (which is usually only to install vb 6 when I first install windows) I plug it in and when I don't it's out of the way and not eating up power and prematurely killing my power supply. I used to want all kinds of crap on my computers in terms of add-on ports but I've come to the realization that all I actually use are the two usb ports and the headphone jack. Even for sd cards I typically use the little usb adaptors that come with hardware as It's quicker than trying to hunt up a sd-mini to standard sd card adaptor.

--- End quote ---

The points you make are perfectly valid. But ironically, you’re actually making the case against using a full size ATX case. If you choose not to populate the drive bays, then you’re basically left with an unnecessarily large and mostly empty box.

Full size towers are a throwback to a previous era of computing. And if I’m honest with myself, the main reason I keep using one is nostalgia. It just feels more like a real computer than my laptop, tablet, and phone. But I have to admit, it’s a bit of a dinosaur. Even if you need/want a high end graphics card, there are more convenient form factors available.

With regards to an optical drive, my attitude is that there’s plenty of spare room in my case, I’ve got loads of sata connectors available, and the drives themselves are dirt cheap, and use very little power when not spinning. So why not fit one?

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