mini, mid, or full tower case ?

Size- Mini, Mid, Full tower case vs. Drive Bays

The number of storage devices you plan to install determines the type, or size of the case you need. All devices are standard in width, either 3-1/2"', or 5-1/4" across, and are mounted in bays located internally, or externally.

The internal bays are all 3-1/2", and hard drives are mounted there. You must remove the case cover to access them.

The external bays allow front access for devices with removable media, such as floppy, Zip, CD-rom, or tape drives.

Here's where it gets tricky. There are no set standards for computer cases. It's up to the manufacturer to arrange the various components, and arrive at a final configuration.

Desktop cases vary so much, it's best to check the manufacturer's specs. They're usually limited in the number of bays, but can be an alternative to tower cases for a "designer computer case" look.

Tower cases are available in three sizes, mini, mid, or full. Again, there are no set standards, but generally the variations are listed below.

DRIVE BAYS	MINI TOWER	MID TOWER	FULL TOWER
External 3-1/2"	1 to 2	1 to 2	1 to 2
External 5-1/4"	2 to 3	3 to 5	4 to 6
Internal 3-/2"	2 to 3	2 to 4	2 to 8

One way around the problem of mounting extra 3-1/2" drives externally is to use a 5-1/4" bay adapter kit.

At or ATX computer case... which one do you need?

Desktop, or tower case... which one for you?

The computer case power supply.... the critical component.

Computer cooling... is yours a "cool" case? ( and we don't mean looks )

Computer case maintenance... don't get reminded the hard way.

Back to Computer Case Guide