Which PC case size should you get?
Budget gaming PC case
For a cheap PC build, the best option is usually Micro ATX.
This form factor and motherboard type will have less space and feature availability than ATX/E-ATX.
But you’re not going to care about losing these things in a budget PC (e.g. high PCIe slots and cooling options that would be excessive for a cheap build).
mATX hits the sweet spot between being smaller, but not too small that they lack compatibility with major parts and require “specialist” hardware like many mITX towers.
One of our favorite “all-around” recommendations for a cheap gaming PC case is the Cooler Master Q300L.
It’s popular for a reason; offering impressive utility, build quality, and design for its price range.
Looking for something else? All our PC case articles provide the best budget choices for their category, whether it’s a silent build, the best overall cases, or the cheapest cases we recommend.
We’ll also add that there are also plenty of very affordable budget ATX options if you do want something a little larger/easier to build in.
Mid-range gaming PC Case
If you happen to like the compactness of an mATX, you can still use that form factor for a mid-range PC.
But as we approach a more “typical” gaming build, our recommendation would be to go for a mid / ATX tower.
Even if you don’t necessarily need every hardware allowance a case offers, working with a larger unit provides better airflow/ventilation, cable management, and overall ease of build.
There are a ton of great options out there in this range, but our pick for the best mid-tower case easily goes to Lian-LI Dynamic O-11 and the Fractal Design Define R6. The latter is for you if you are interested in noise reduction.
If you want something a little more flashy, we highly recommend the NZXT H710, but there are so many beautifulcases around if aesthetic is important to you.
Powerful gaming PC Case
What about those less focused on budget, and are instead asking: “how do I build the best gaming PC possible?”.
We don’t want to “gatekeep” the top-end PC builds, you can get a lot done in a standard ATX case (including SLI/decent cooling for overclocking).
But for the best performance possible, you’ll often want to look at full / extended-ATX towers.
This form factor will offer you incredible options for fans, water cooling, multi-GPU, cable management, and muchmore.
Because they’re focussed on high-end builds, they tend to come with fantastic build quality and awesome designs.
One of the best full tower cases is the Thermaltake View 71.
This monolith supports up to 9 fans, 4 water cooling radiators (all of impressive sizes), and plenty of expansion slots/vertical graphics card installation options.
Between this space and cooling utility, you’re going to achieve incredible overclocking potential on a multi-GPU build.
We also feel compelled to include a runner-up pick for those more focussed on style than build in the Thermaltake AH T600.
Take on look at the product and you’ll see why!
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still more than capable of building a very powerful PC, you’re just paying a little more for the aesthetic.
Whether it’s a PC for video editing, server stand-up, some other high-end production build, or of course gaming, the space of a full tower will give you incredible utility.
Small PC / HTPC Case
Finally, there are those after a lightweight PC case.
If your goal is to build something for portability, a home theatre, or simply because you like a tiny aesthetic, then you should definitely be looking at a Mini ITX case.
We would highly recommend checking out our horizontal PC case article which includes a lot of great options.
But for a top pick: you can’t go wrong with the Thermaltake Core V1.
For its price, the V1 offers great build quality and features considering its limited space, which is why it’s one of the most featured towers on What in Tech.
If money is less of an obstacle in your small PC build, check out the InWin A1 Plus.
Other tips / FAQ
Motherboard compatibility
The best identifier of a case’s internal size compatibility is what type of motherboard a case can support, which should be one of the main factors of your decision.
We’ve included the common “mini/mid/full” form factor definitions in our chart but know that these terms are not as accurate as motherboard compatibility.
For example, you may run into a full tower case which is really more the size of a “large mid-tower”.
There’s also a huge variance in what is considered a “mini-tower”.
This is why a “case with ATX support” is more reliable than a “mid-tower case”, so always check the motherboard compatibility in the product listing.
EATX vs ATX / Full Tower vs Mid Tower
Hopefully, our feature has explained the differences between these two form factors. But as this is a popular question, we thought to provide just a little more context.
ATX/mid towers, while being a tad smaller (typically), will usually have the greatest amount of options given they are the most popular pick on the market.
E-ATX/full towers are larger, more expensive, and will usually give the absolute utmost capability you can get for space and motherboards. It’s just worth being clear that this extra space when comparing E-ATX vs ATX is usually only going to matter for very high-end production builds or enthusiasts who want to max out their cooling and performance as much as possible.
Short answer:ATX is great for a large majority of builds, consider E-ATX if you really want the most power possible and aren’t too concerned about keeping to a budget!
If you’re after ATX, our best PC case feature covers many great options.
If you’re leaning towards E-ATX, we have a separate feature for that form factor.
Can my MicroATX motherboard fit in my ATX case (and similar questions)?
Yes.
As per the comparison chart, nearly all cases will fit motherboards smaller than their main form factor.
So you could also fit a Mini-ITX mobo inside an ATX tower, an ATX mobo inside an E-ATX tower, and so on…
That being said, there isn’t really much point in putting a smaller motherboard in a larger case (unless you wanted a large space for airflow and had low build requirements).
In nearly all cases though, you’d be better off getting an ATX case for an ATX motherboard, an mITX case for an mITX motherboard, etc.
Super Tower vs Full Tower PC Case?
“Super Tower” is a bit of a marketing term without a very clear definition of what size it represents (not unlike “XL-ATX”).
Typically, this form factor is going to be on the larger side of a full tower case.
So if you’re looking for the largest computer case possible, then this term is a good sign.
But we wouldn’t recommend excluding full towers in your search, as there are a lot more options available and plenty of these are just as spacious as the super form factor.
If you’re simply looking for the largest PC case size possible, we’ve got a separate feature for just that!
PC Case Size Dimensions
We’ve chosen not to include specific “typical” dimensions for each of the form factors in this article because they’re simply too varying from model to model.
We’d highly recommend you look at the dimensions of specific cases you’re interested in, as opposed to relying on “typical” dimensions.
