Question When is it finally time to retire a computer case?

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I have 3 mid tower computer cases that I used to build PC's back around 1995 - 1998. The plastic is a little bit yellowed on them, but the metal is really thick and heavy compared to other cases I've seen from later.
I've updated the power supply every 6-8 years, added new drives, swapped in different motherboards, etc. over the years.

At what point would I need to consider retiring the computer cases?
(or can I get by with replacing the power supplies and maybe the front power switch for another few decades?)

 

[JackMDS]

At a point that new needed hardware can Not be installed into it.

 

[Ken g6]

Also consider replacing your case if it doesn't provide enough cooling. I have an old case from '02 that has only a single 92mm exhaust fan. CPUs actually haven't increased in power use much since the Pentium 4 (up to 115W TDP!), and there are some tower coolers that will fit in that case, so a single CPU or APU could work. But we didn't have GPUs back then. A 575W RTX 5090 would surely cook everything in that case!

If your parts tend to get clogged with dust, also consider that many modern cases come with dust filters.

 

[mikeymikec]

Older cases often came with a solid motherboard backplane, whereas newer cases often have a cut-out around the CPU area, AFAIK partly for ventilation purposes and partly to make it easier to install/remove some HSFs.

I just sold my old Haswell setup to a customer but because my current case is rubbish for 2.5/3.5" mounting, and partly I think because that old case has been with me for a long time, I'm tempted to ask the customer that when they're completely done with that computer then can I have it back

 

[mindless1]

I find it easier to use old cases, including OEM cases, than ever before, because I'm seldom putting more than one, if any, HDDs in the case, nor any optical drives.

I'll cut holes for larger fans which you can do on those old cases with thick sheetmetal, adapt PSU mounts to standard ATX if it was proprietary, and more. The biggest hassle is if it's an OEM case and the rear motherboard I/O is stamped into the case wall instead of swappable I/O plate. That will cause me to abandon a case faster than most other factors, but I've converted a few of those too, just not in a long time.

I don't usually take pictures, but here's a few of a circa '99 case, pretty small for taking standard mATX motherboard and full ATX PSU:

Question - Old School Gamer Style Case Recommendations

How's it going everybody. So, i'm old. The cases I like are more from late 2000's to 2015 (i think) era. I currently have an Antec 900 which I have a special bond with, but it has some issues that i need to figure out if it's worth fixing. So, to start, the Big Boy 200mm fan on it started...

forums.anandtech.com

I don't build gaming systems in old cases, and filtered intake, I accomplish by putting an intake fan on the front wall, then mount a filter panel in front of that, under the front bezel. I usually get window A/C unit filter panels from a hardware store, has enough area to do multiple systems, then hold them on with rare earth magnets, then don't screw down the plastic front bezel to the case frame interior side, so it can just be popped off to remove and clean the filter panel.

I don't have the case power switch go out often, but sometimes do add a USB3 dongle to the front, that plugs into a motherboard pin header, though these days a USB3 hub is about as inexpensive, less work, and that can be plugged into a rear USB port and allows shoving the system under or next to a desk but having the hub on the desk.

When it's under a desk, I don't care what it looks like.

On the other hand, I still need to get rid of about a dozen old cases that don't have any unique qualities to redeem them. I'll throw some old parts in, and take them to staples when I'd going anyway, and get a store coupon for recycling them.

 

[mindless1]

Here's another one, showing some of the things mentioned in my prior post... cut out bezel for better intake area, put foam around to help seal cracks, a piece of filter panel, and involve magnets. The purple goop is plain old PVC cement.






Here's a '97 Gateway case, put the front intake through an added cutout to the bottom of the bezel and put taller feet on it for more intake clearance, filter panel not installed yet.



Oddly whatever plastic gateway was using towards the end of the 90's, it must have been higher quality than some, because none I had, had yellowed much and they weren't hidden from light. Same with some old Samsung printers I had, didn't yellow at all.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

I really like how you did that aluminum work to fit the power supply into that case.

 

[GregGreen]

1. When you're tired of looking at it and have the energy to switch to something else.
2. When it no longer meets your needs.

 

[BoomerD]

I bought a Coolermaster HAF932 back in...2010-2011. There was a lot I liked about the case...tons of room, 230mm fans front, side, and top. Did a great job of moving air...BUT, it wasn't made for 140mm fans except for the rear exhaust, and I wanted a 280mm AIO (or possibly a 360) mounted in the top. Neither would reallly work. 120mm fans only, so I COULD have used a 240mm, but the 3rd fan in a 360 would have been half way covered by the plastic chingada shown on the left side of the pic. Just didn't seem ideal to me...so I sold it to a young fellow whose dad had had one back in the day and he wanted one for himself.


(plastic cover removed)

 

[sandorski]

20 years ago. 80mm-->120mm is all the reason needed. IMO. Better Cable Management, Drive mounting, Power Supply mounting options, size/styling, and more. All reasons to upgrade.

If you still like them, whenever you want.

 

[WilliamM2]

This one served me well from 2001 to 2021, back when you had ti install your own window. Last build in it was a 6600K.


I still have it, but wanted something new, it would still work fine. Probably never use it again.

I'm sure this one should last 20 years as well, unless I get tired of the weight.

 

[mikeymikec]

My Fractal Design Focus G case has grown on me a smidgen once I've managed to make it run virtually silent. It irked me for a while that I got its predecessor (Cooler Master Elite 330) to run virtually silent, the changing over to a noisier setup when I pursued noise reduction for years.

 

[WilliamM2]

My Fractal Design Focus G case has grown on me a smidgen once I've managed to make it run virtually silent. It irked me for a while that I got its predecessor (Cooler Master Elite 330) to run virtually silent, the changing over to a noisier setup when I pursued noise reduction for years.

That's why I went with the Define R6. The whole case, except the window, is lined with sound deadener. Drawback is that it weighs a ton. 28 lbs. empty if I recall.

 

[WelshBloke]

I've just retired my Silverstone TJ09 from about 2005ish (I think).
Mainly retired it because it's set up to cool a lot of hard drives and I don't have any so there was a lot of wasted space.
It's sitting next to my new case until I can think of something to do with it!

 

[WilliamM2]

I've just retired my Silverstone TJ09 from about 2005ish (I think).
Mainly retired it because it's set up to cool a lot of hard drives and I don't have any so there was a lot of wasted space.
It's sitting next to my new case until I can think of something to do with it!

Drive cooling, a thing of the past. I still have a 1TB drive in my build. My TV tuner writes to the drive constantly when watching TV for time shifting (about 8GB an hour). It probably would have worn out an SSD by now, been using it since 2016. It's also a great place to write my system image to as well, backed up to another 1GB drive (external eSata mechanical).

When my employer closed, I was told I could take whatever I wanted out of our spare parts stash. I think I have 2 1TB's ans a 2TB still sealed. They also had a few new 19" monitors, but I didn't think about the fact I could sell them. A month later the owner called me and asked if I wanted any of the 40 or so used 2014 era computers and monitors. They couldn't even give them away! This was in 2023.

 

[WelshBloke]

Drive cooling, a thing of the past. I still have a 1TB drive in my build. My TV tuner writes to the drive constantly when watching TV for time shifting (about 8GB an hour). It probably would have worn out an SSD by now, been using it since 2016. It's also a great place to write my system image to as well, backed up to another 1GB drive (external eSata mechanical).

When my employer closed, I was told I could take whatever I wanted out of our spare parts stash. I think I have 2 1TB's ans a 2TB still sealed. They also had a few new 19" monitors, but I didn't think about the fact I could sell them. A month later the owner called me and asked if I wanted any of the 40 or so used 2014 era computers and monitors. They couldn't even give them away! This was in 2023.

I have 4 1TB SSDs in raid 0 (I know!) for my Steam library and a 1 TB nvme and a 2 TB nvme as system drives.

There's a bunch of old HDDs on my desk that I use for back ups or transfering files if I swap OSs that I have a USB caddy for (there's a couple of IDE ones that I have no way of accessing that I'm curious about the contents of!)
I fine with HDDs they either die pretty quickly or last forever!

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

This one served me well from 2001 to 2021, back when you had ti install your own window. Last build in it was a 6600K.
View attachment 131268

I still have it, but wanted something new, it would still work fine. Probably never use it again.


I've never understood the whole 'window in the side' thing. If I want to look at the stuff inside, I'll just take the side off of it. If I want to know specs about the hardware, I'll just look at it with software. Then again, blinking LED's always bugged me. I remember on Star Trek: The Next Generation, how stupid I thought it was when they opened up Data's head and had a whole load of blinking LED's in there.....

 

[WilliamM2]

I've never understood the whole 'window in the side' thing. If I want to look at the stuff inside, I'll just take the side off of it. If I want to know specs about the hardware, I'll just look at it with software. Then again, blinking LED's always bugged me. I remember on Star Trek: The Next Generation, how stupid I thought it was when they opened up Data's head and had a whole load of blinking LED's in there.....

Then don't get a case with a window.
BTW, there are no blinking lights, or RGB in my computer, or previous computers. And leaving the panel off would be an issue with cats, and dust.

How do you tell the specs from looking at the parts?