and price. For example, the midtower case shown in Figure 15-13, from In-Win
Development (www.inwin.com), provides five external drive bays and can
accommodate either ATX or full AT form factor system boards, which should
be room enough for most applications.
Miditower This case exists somewhere between the midtower and the
minitower cases. By definition, a miditower is smaller than a midtower and
larger than a minitower. However, typically what you will find advertised as
a miditower is either a small midtower or a large minitower or, as is available
from one manufacturer, a mini-midtower. Regardless of the case’s style name,
if it fits your needs, it’s the right one.
Minitower This case size is probably currently the most popular. It provides
slightly more expansion capacity than desktop cases and is small enough to sit
on a desktop next to the monitor. If you are considering converting a desktop
case to a tower, this would be an excellent and economical (they run around
$25 or less) choice. Figure 15-14 shows a minitower case.Chapter 15: The System Case^355
Figure 15-12. A full tower case featuring six external drive bays. Photo courtesy of
AOpen America, Inc.