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The form factor of the power supply that the chassis is designed to support. The form factor of the PSU is indicated by the type of motherboards for which the block was originally “sharpened”; however, many form factors are mutually compatible.

— ATX(regular). Form factor designed for full-size cases, mainly Tower and Desktop types (see "Form Factor"). The motherboard is powered by a 24-pin (in older versions — 20-pin) connector; in addition, such power supplies usually provide an additional power plug for CPU (4-pin, 8-pin, and sometimes both at once).

— FlexATX. The FlexATX form factor provides a miniature size of the motherboard (in terms of size and location of the mounting holes, such boards are compatible with microATX). Accordingly, the power supplies for them are compact in size and have increased efficiency characteristics. They are compatible with many miniature motherboards, including the mentioned microATX and mini-ITX, and the main connectors are the same as in ATX (minus the 20-pin version).

— TFX. The abbreviation TFX comes from Thin Form Factor — i.e. "thin form factor". This is one of the varieties of compact power supplies used in miniature form factors systems; similar in compatibility to the microATX described above, and in terms of connectors — ATX.

— SFX. Another type of po...wer supply with reduced dimensions, used in compact systems (S — from "small", i.e. "small"). In terms of connectors, it is considered completely interchangeable with ATX, it fundamentally differs only in size.

— External. Cases that do not have space for an internal power supply at all and are designed to connect an external power supply unit. This design is found mainly among the smallest cases (in particular, for mini-ITX and thin mini-ITX motherboards). Note that in this case, not every case with an external power supply is meant, but only models that do not have built-in converters (see below) and are designed for motherboards with their own connector for an external power supply.

— External with converter. Enclosures designed for external power supplies (see above) and equipped with built-in converters. The converter outputs power from an external PSU to a number of "computer" connectors, in particular, a standard 24-pin motherboard power connector. Thus, in such a case, you can install a "motherboard" that has a traditional "ATX" power supply in 24-pin format.

Possible length of the PSU that can be installed in the case.

The maximum length of a graphics card that can be installed in this case.

Modern mid-range and top-end video cards with high performance often differ in considerable length, which is why such a card can not fit into any case. So before collecting components, it is worth evaluating the length of the proposed graphics card and choosing a case in which it is guaranteed to fit. This forethought is useful anyway, but it's especially true if you're building a system that requires a powerful graphics adapter, such as a high-end gaming PC or 3D design workstation.

The highest cooler height allowed for this case.

In this case, we mean a cooler used to cool the processor — such a component is found in the vast majority of modern PCs. Height is measured relative to the motherboard.

The location of the power supply (or seat for the power supply) in the case.

The traditional option is the top location of the PSU, this is a familiar and familiar option for many. However, heated air from other system components accumulates in the top of the case, reducing cooling efficiency. Cases with a lower location of the PSU are deprived of this drawback, however, a lot of dust and other contaminants get into them if the system unit is installed on the floor. However, this difference becomes critical only when using high-performance systems with appropriate heat dissipation; for an ordinary household PC, the location of the power supply unit as a whole is not important.

Also note that in miniature cases like mini-Tower (see "Form factor"), the PSU installed on top can overlap part of the motherboard, which further worsens the cooling efficiency and makes it difficult to install large CPU coolers; however, it all depends on the layout of a particular case.

The number of internal 2.5" bays provided in the case design.

Such bays are mainly used for installing internal hard drives and SSD modules; The 2.5" form factor was originally created as "laptop" form factor, but recently it has been increasingly used in components for full-size PCs. At the same time, when evaluating the number of these bays, note that drives are recommended to be installed through a slot; so in Ideally, the number of bays should be twice the planned number of drives.

Also note that some cases use combined bays: initially they have a size of 3.5", but if desired, they can be converted to 2.5". These bays count towards both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch slots. In fact, this means that the total number of available slots is not always equal to the sum of the number of both. For example, a case with 10 3.5" bays and 6 2.5" bays can have 4 combined bays, and the total number of slots in this case will not be 16, but only 12.

The number of slots for expansion cards located on the rear panel of the case.

The expansion card itself (graphics card, sound card, TV tuner, etc.) is installed in a slot on the motherboard, and an external panel of such a card with inputs and outputs is attached to the hole on the back of the case. The more holes are provided in the case, the more expansion cards can be installed in it. Note that some boards can occupy two or even three holes at once; this is especially common in powerful video cards. On the other hand, you have to pay attention to the number of holes mainly if you are building a powerful high-performance system. For an ordinary household PC, in most cases, one opening is enough for a graphics card; and in many configurations, the openings on the rear panel are not used at all.

The more fans provided in the design, other things being equal, the more intense the cooling will be and the more powerful (and, accordingly, “hot”) hardware can be placed in the case without the risk of overheating. For everyday tasks, a case with one, two or three factory fans is enough. At the same time, when comparing, it is worth considering not only the number, but also the performance characteristics of the fans (diameter, speed). Also note that there are cases without fans on the market with free space for fans, which allows, if necessary, to supplement the cooling system and improve its performance.

The number of fan slots on the sides of the case, as well as the size of the fans that these slots are designed for. The presence of the fans themselves in the kit should be specified separately.

The larger the fan, the more advanced it is considered: a large diameter allows you to work efficiently at relatively low speeds, which reduces the noise level and energy consumption. Case fans are available in several standard diameters, and the seats for them can be designed for both one and several sizes — for example, 120 / 140 mm. At the same time, in some models, the available number of seats also depends on the chosen size: for example, there are gaming cases where you can install either one 180 mm fan or four 120 mm fans at once.