PC Hardware A Beginner’s Guide

Y our PC’s system case is probably high on the list of components you think about theleast.However,inspiteofthefactthatthesystem ...

supply, and motherboard, because these components must fit together to supply protec- tion, power, and safety. You may be surpri ...

Case Components As shown in Figure 15-2, not all system cases are identical in size or shape, but most con- tain components and ...

frame can twist and bend, especially when the PC is on, the fragile electronic traces on the motherboard could break, or the mot ...

(^344) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide The Cover Speaking of mounting things to the chassis, there are many ways to attach the c ...

Chapter 15: The System Case^345 Single-Screw Cases Many name brand PCs feature a case that has a single large knobby screw on th ...

(^346) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide Some screwless cases have an indentation at the bottom of the front panel so you can gras ...

Chapter 15: The System Case^347 Figure 15-5. A unique front-panel design by ColorCase that should appeal to cat lovers. Photo co ...

Here is a quick overview of the front panel’s LEDs:
Power LED Typically green in color and illuminated when the PC’s power is ...

Chapter 15: The System Case^349 Power Button On older PCs, the power switch was a part of the power supply and extended through ...

keylock is locked, the PC will not boot. The keyboard lockout keylock was intended to be a first-level of security for PCs in la ...

Originally, disk drives required a drive bay that was 3.5-inches in height. As technol- ogy was able to reduce the size of the o ...

(^352) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide Mounting Rails There are two methods to mount a device in a drive bay, internal or extern ...

Chapter 15: The System Case^353 Desktop Cases Although this case style is not as popular in recent years as it once was, desktop ...

There are variations on these sizes between manufacturers, as there are no standard sizes associated with these three case sizes ...

and price. For example, the midtower case shown in Figure 15-13, from In-Win Development (www.inwin.com), provides five external ...

(^356) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide Figure 15-13. A midtower case. Photo courtesy of In-Win Development, Inc. Figure 15-14. A ...

System Case Form Factors Theform factorof a PC case defines its style, size, shape, internal organization, and the componentstha ...

(^358) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide  AT The IBM PC AT, while not much different on the outside, was quite different on the i ...

Chapter 15: The System Case^359 I/O Templates Each motherboard form factor also defines the location and placement of the ports ...