So far, we’ve reviewed two important aspects of case selection: form factor and cooling. What other considerations must be given when choosing a great PC gaming case?

One aspect that can be easy to overlook is noise. Gaming cases are much more likely to generate higher decibels than a standard desktop case, primarily because of the additional fans needed to keep a gaming system cool. Gaming systems have hotter running components than non-gaming systems, even if they’re not overclocked. For example, a GPU processor can generate temperatures well in excess of 150 degrees Fahrenheit, and CPU cores are not far behind. Throw in a couple of 10,000 RPM hard drives, and you’ve got at least four components all pumping out 100 degree plus temperatures inside of a metal enclosure less than three cubic feet in size. Without proper cooling, this can quickly add up to an ambient temperature over 120 degrees inside your PC. In order to combat these temperatures, most high-end case manufacturers have added more and bigger fans, spinning at faster speeds, than found in your typical desktop system. Larger fans and higher rpm mean more noise, and when you’ve got four or five 120mm fans spinning at 1,000+ rpm, it can sound like a jet about to take off.

Fortunately, manufacturers have taken measures with fan technology in recent years to help mitigate the noise factor. Most quality fans now run on smooth ball bearings, and many can dynamically adjust their rotation speed based on real-time temperature data gathered from sensors attached to heat-generating components. There are even 3rd party kits that allow you to manually monitor and adjust fan speeds yourself, so that you can dial down the noise when you’re just cruising the Intarweb and not fragging bad guys.

Some vendors offer special insulating materials that are supposed to help reduce noise as well. You can buy noise reduction kits from some case manufacturers or through online modding outlets like http://www.frozencpu.com/. If you buy a case from them, they will even install the kits for you (for a fee, of course).

Case features are another thing to look for. In addition to cable routing, good airflow design, cooling, and noise reduction, case manufacturers try to distinguish their products by offer that little something extra. Many brands offer something called toolless design, which means that no tools are necessary to install or remove most major components. toolless designs usually include two specific features: a rail system for drive bays and a screwless bracket for holding expansion cards in place.

In the old days of PC building, you had to mount your hard drives and optical drives inside the drive cage by securing them with screws. This often meant having to devise some clever ways to get a screwdriver inside your case at the right angle to hit those tiny screw heads. For me, it also meant a lot of stripped threads. With a rail system, on the other hand, you simply screw two plastic rails to the drive itself (while it’s outside of the PC) and then slide the drive into the bays, where they lock into place. This is a really nice feature, especially if you find yourself having to pull drives out of your case with any frequency.

Screwless brackets hold in your expansion cards (video, sound, network, etc.) via a plastic or metal bracket that simply hinges and unhinges like a door latch. This means you don’t have to screw your cards into place (although some like the added security when moving their PCs around). The only downside to screwless brackets is that the bracket releases ALL the cards at once — you can’t choose to add or remove individual cards — and often all the cards will have to be adjusted slightly before the bracket is closed again.

Other case features can include built-in passthroughs for water cooling tubes (so that you don’t have to use an expansion slot for this purpose), easy to remove side panels with thumbscrews instead of regular screws (no screwdriver needed), and a wide variety of aesthetic considerations like see-through side panels and lighting (see below).

If you’re going to be taking your case to LAN parties or moving it around regularly, construction quality should be a major concern. Most mass-market manufacturers build their cases of hard molded plastic around a steel frame. This is the worst possible combination of elements for a travelling case: the steel frame makes the box heavy, and the plastic affords it little protection from bumps. A better option is a case built with an aluminum frame and outer casing. Aluminum is just about as strong as steel but much less heavy, and won’t crack or break if you bump or drop your case. The only downside to aluminum is that screws threaded into the material tend to strip it much more easily. For this reason, many case manufacturers have decided to use steel construction in the back plane of the computer (the back side that houses the fan exhaust ports, expansion card access area and peripheral connections).

The last thing to mention about case consideration is aesthetics. Gone are the days of the plain beige box for DIYers. Today, there are plenty of options to trick your case out and make it your own.

Many mid- to high-end cases now come with windows built into the side of the case. These are designed to provide a peek into the guts of your chassis, so that onlookers can marvel at the technological wonders within. This is especially nice if you have other mods going on inside the case, such as cold cathode lighting or neon liquid filled water cooling tubes. Other options include black light enabled parts, case decals, custom airbrushing, and lighted or glow-in-the-dark cables. Some people really enjoy adding these kinds of mods; others are more, well, moderate. I’m not sure yet where I’ll fall in this category. My case did come with some minimal lighting on the fans, so there’s that. We’ll see how much further I take it as the build progresses.

Next time (for real): the complete low-down on the Gigabyte Aurora 3D 570…complete with photos!