Why you shouldn't go cheap on PC case?

Today we will talk about PC cases. I sometimes scroll through some groups and messageboards, where people ask for help with making a parts list for their new rig. And there's a lot of "good guys" ready to "help out" dropping their lists like crazy. And I look at those and wonder if I should burn my eyesockets inside out, or just disconnect from the Web forever. "But why?" you ask? Well, about cases that are in those setups. It looks like Zalman Z3 Plus is just a perfect case for every rig out there. Don't get me wrong, Z3 Plus is a decent chasis. In it's price point. In line with the budget for a rig. But it's not a good choice for a 5 000 USD setup! And that kind of "advice" are all over Polish web, everyday! 

Zalman Z3 Plus [zalman.com]

I think that those "advisors" have their low-end rigs in those Zalman cases and that's the only case they know. Apart those before-2005 grey bricks. And there is nothing wrong with their rigs. Case is matching the rest of parts, they got something of better quality than before, so they recommend it. They are happy with it, after all, so why not to recommend it? In the same way, if someone drove a falling-apart, old car for most of their life, and now got a Smart, they will recommend a Smart to everyone. They like driving their new car, it has it's perks - so it has to be the best car ever, right? And here's the core of this issue, because when he gets into a real car ;) it will open his eyes. I think it's the same with computer cases.

Anyone still has one of these? ;) [overclock.net]

Therefore in situation I described here, we have parts for a lot of cash put into a 30$ case. Most expensive part will be a GPU, for sure. And the most surprising about it, is the fact it's the fastest part to age. But things that will age longer and you should invest your money in is usually ommited. Quite literally, becasue when you look at those part lists, you will see that the case is on the end. Usually there's 25-35 bucks left in the budget, so they slap that Z3 Plus or plastic Gladius M20 and post it, the faster the better, because there is bunch of "helpers" like that, who might post a part list with a GPU from a manufacturer I don't like! 

Corsair Graphite 760T Arctic White [corsair.com]

So why you should care and invest into better cases? I'll start with a point I have mentioned already - you will have to swap your GPU once per 2-3 years, to keep up with new games. CPU? Once per 5 years, maybe longer. Similar with the RAM. Storage drives? PSUs? You can use them as long as they don't show any sign of incoming failure. Especially PSUs - some come with 7 years warranty, for free. And today's post hero - a case. That's a piece of hardware that won't get used up, if it's decent quality. Worst case scenario - case fans will fail and you will have to swap them. But, truth to be told, first thing to do when you get a Z3 Plus, you will have to dish out 15-30 bucks to get some decent fans. Unless you want to piss off your family a bit with the noise. 

Corsair Carbide 900D [corsair.com]

I won't get deep into aesthetics - it's a matter of taste. Everyone will like something else. One thing is universal - the better quality of materials used, the better case will look like. And that's a fact. 

The easiest flaw of cheap cases is building comfort. I built rigs in Gladius M20, Z3 Plus. I've built some in Fractal Design Define R4 and Define S. I had some better SilentiumPC or Corsair cases in my hands. There is a lot of detail, which will make building a rig in a cheaper case a horror. Things like location of cable grommits, space behind motherboard tray, way of assembling some parts or cable management elements.

NZXT H440 [nzxt.com]

Other topic is build quality and durability. It's simple - some cases will bend when you put parts in them. A 100kg guy fell on my friend's Define R4. They glued the front panel back in place (hooks broke off) and... he got back to using his PC. Steel structure and thick steel sidepanels protected his rig just fine! 

Fractal Design Define R5 Black Window [fractal-design.com]

On top of all those points there are details that have impact on the overall work comfort with your PC - case stability, sound dampening, anti-vibration. You won't find those things in a cheaper case, and it's hard to appreciate it, if you haven't experienced it before. 

To sum this up - buying a better case is basically one of the best investments you can make when you buy a new rig. A good case will serve you for years to come. For example, it's better to rather take that 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB, but get a better case, instead of having to replace it in two years. And you can always get more RAM with the next paycheck! ;) Sure, that advice is not applicable if we're talking about low-end systems. There are limits of performance-per-dollar which you should not cross, especially for lower end systems. In those events you will have to save some money on a case for example. Just be considerate and keep a healthy performance-per-dollar balance :)