What Makes a Computer - Part 1: The Chassis

Desktop computers have quite a few advantages over your average laptop. They are designed with several different components cobbled together and working in tandem. Everything from the case on the outside to the hard drive is its own part with its own purpose. And each of these parts affects the performance of the whole machine.

A lot of these parts you know by name, but do you know what it is that they actually do? Some people refer to the whole box as the “CPU” or “Hard Drive”, but in actuality both of those are just components inside the computer. So to help clarify what may seem almost mystical to some, over the next few weeks we will showcase these components and how they work.

This week we will be starting with the component that houses all the others; the chassis.

A computer chassis (or more commonly; computer case) is simply the enclosure that contains all the components that make up your computer.

Sizes

If you’ve ever been shopping for a computer, you know that the towers come in different sizes and shapes. This is called, within the industry, the cases’ form factor. The form factor is more often than not determined by certain internal components of the computer. The difference in the components also defines what the computer will be most commonly used for. For instance, a micro ATX is a small computer and is usually used as a media centers or a small station for things like use in a kitchen. On the other end of the spectrum full-towers (or full-sized) are more geared towards high end gaming PCs or high end PCs used for more intense applications.

Appearance

Throughout the 90s, computer cases weren’t very interesting. They were, for the most part, ugly tan boxes with no interesting features. However, with the PC gaming revolution, it became very common to do heavy modifications to your case which birthed the concept of designer PC cases. These days, the visual appearance of the PC varies dramatically between manufacturers. And with custom designed computers, the potential case designs are as varied as the users that purchase them.

Overall, the chassis of your computer is the base for everything else to build off of. It defines how your computer looks sitting beside your desk, but it also defines the type of computer user you are in some ways.