SEPTEMBER 2004AUGUST 2004 MA XIMMA XIMUUMMPPCC 4353
L
ike leg warmers, Cabbage Patch Dolls, and poignant
soft saxophone solos, the beige PC is dead, and has
been for years. In its place: a thousand different PC
enclosures. Some are big, some are small. Some are
light, some are heavy. Some are flashy, some are classy.
Some are chrome, some are colorful. And some are
downright ugly. But none of them are beige.
With such a wide variety available, it’s tempting to
grab the first cheap or attractive case you see. We deem
this a bad idea. We’ve found that we hold onto our cases
longer than our hard drives, videocards, CPUs, and even
motherboards, which means that choosing the right case
is a crucial decision.
The tricky thing about buying a PC case is that every-
one has specific PC-building needs. With this in mind,
it’s important to consider the type of computer you’re
building before you buy the chassis. Even with the rightmentality, case-hunting can feel pretty overwhelming.
Hence this story—our most daring PC case roundup yet.
We requested, tested, and reviewed the best cases on the
market today to make things easy for you. All you have
to do is decide which one is right for you, and you’re set.
And—on the off-chance none of these enclosures floats
your boat—we’ve also included a detailed reviewer’s
guide that readily illustrates what the Maximum PC Lab
experts look for when evaluating cases.
One final note: We’ve been talking about the new BTX
formfactor for some time now, and while we’re still excit-
ed about it, it will take at least a few years before this
standard becomes prevalent. For now, ATX remains the
formfactor of choice, and will for some time.
Now, let’s get on with the roundup!—E. WILL GREENWALDCASE STUDIES