The PC case is a thin sheet metal enclosure that houses the motherboard, power
supply and various drives (HDD, FDD, CD, DVD).
- Cases are offered in two styles, desktop and tower. Today the tower type is predominant. It stands upright and is much taller than it is wide. It is usually placed on the floor next to, or under a desk. The desktop has a pizza box profile and usually sits on the desktop.
- Tower cases are offered in two basic sizes, one that can fit ATX (12" wide) motherboards and one that can accommodate ATX mini (8.5" wide) motherboards. The number of drive bays offered also varies depending on manufacturer.
- The motherboard and power supply mount to the floor at the rear of the case. The drives (hard, floppy and CD/DVD) mount in enclosures called drive bays at the front of the case.
- Cases run from $20 to $70 depending on size (ATX or ATX mini), number of drive bays and the wattage of the power supply.