What is an atx case for a computer?

why are they good?


explain pleaseWhat is an atx case for a computer?
it's just the box that all of the hardware goes in...atx refers to the mother board size that fits inside of it...





there's nothing really good or bad about it, either it fit's what you need or not...it's more about style of the case and one that fit's the mobo that you want to use...What is an atx case for a computer?
When you buy a motherboard you have the option of buying a form factor style. For motherboard that use Intel processors newegg.com lists


ATX : 182 types


Micro ATX: 114 types


Other form factors: 10 or less types for each


http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.鈥?/a>





ATX motherboards are preferred over Micro ATX and other form factors for motherboards as they are more common giving you more choices and have more slots for future upgrades.





For a motherboard I recommend:


ATX style not Micro ATX


One that has 2 ea. PCI express x16 slots


(some dual slot cheap ones are wired internally as x8, avoid)


1000 MHz FSB or faster


8 channel integrated audio


Support 8GB or more of dual channel ram


If Intel processor: 775 socket and support for Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad processors, and Core 2 extreme processors.


Rated 5 stars with a lot of reviews at


newegg,com





For Cases new egg.com lists


ATX Mid Tower 525 types


ATX Full Tower 93 types


Micro ATX 49 types


Micro ATX Mini Tower 25 types


ATX Mini Tower 25 types


And other types


http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.鈥?/a>





Obviously if you buy an ATX style motherboard you will need to buy a ATX style case.





Assuming you have a ATX motherboard I recommend an ATX Mid Tower. If you are going to have more than 2 internal hard drives get a full tower case. Avoid the ATX Mini Tower as these sometimes have problems with air flow for cooling fitting components in it, especially between a high performance video card and the power supply.





ATX Mid Tower Cases


Only pick ones rated 5 stars with a lot of reviews.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLis鈥?/a>





Some cases include a power supply. Most of the cases that include power supply often include a poor quality powor supply that is underpowered for todays video cards and should only be considered if you are trying to build a very inexpensive (budget) system.





I prefer a plain solid case without plastic windows and plastic doors over the removable drives. Most games prefer the exact opposite, the most extreme looking case available, sometimes internally lighted, lighted round cables with see through case windows, and more.





For cases:


http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.鈥?/a>


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/鈥?/a>


http://www.xoxide.com/allcases.html


=======================


Processor : If you are building a computer





My opinion for a new computer processor to run Vista:


For non gaming a Rendering Time of 1:59 or less


For gaming a Rendering Time of 1:33 or less (1.20 or less preferred)


Refer to:


http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.h鈥?/a>


===============================


Processors





Rendering time, lower number is faster per


http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.h鈥?/a>





AMD Athlon 64 X2 Processor 4000+ $69.99


Rendering time = 2:08


AMD Athlon 64 X2 Processor 6000+ $159.99


Rendering time = 1:27


Core 2 Duo E6550 2333 MHz $157.39


Rendering time = 1:27


Core 2 Duo E6750 2666 MHz $175.39


Rendering time = 1:17


Core 2 Duo E6850 3000 MHz $279.99


Rendering time = 1:09


Core 2 Quad Q6600 $279.99


Rendering time = 0:47


Core 2 Extreme QX6850 $1034.99


Rendering time = 0:39





I recommend you use a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad.


======================


Video Cards


My opinion for a new video card:


For playing the latest games a FRAPS (frames per second) of 50 or higher


For moderate games a FRAPS of 30 or more.


For no games a FRAPS of 18 or more


Refer to:


http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.h鈥?/a>





FRAPS per


http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.h鈥?/a>





NVIDIA 8400GS ($47) FRAPS=12 Est.


NVIDIA 8500GT ($59) FRAPS=17.5


ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro ($85) FRAPS = 33.6 est.


ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT ($100) FRAPS = 47.7


NVIDIA 8600GTS ($133) FRAPS= 53.6


ATI Radeon HD 2900 PRO ($280) FRAPS= 88.1 est.


NVIDIA 8800GTS ($270) FRAPS=102.2


ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT ($375) FRAPS = 108.6


NVIDIA 8800Ultra ($550) FRAPS=116.9





All cards above support DirectX 10. Prices per


http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLis鈥?/a>





8600GTS 256MB


http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.as鈥?/a>


Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amp Amps.





8800GTS


http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.as鈥?/a>


Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.with +12 Volt current rating of 26 Amps.





8800 Ultra


http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.as鈥?/a>


Minimum of a 500 Watt power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 34 Amps. Two available 6-pin Molex hard drive power dongles.





ATI Radeon HD 2600 Series


http://download.hightech.com.hk/manual/H鈥?/a>


A 550 Watt or better power supply. For a list of certified poer supplies see


http://ati.amd.com/online/certifiedpsu/i鈥?/a>


=========================


Graphics card gaming performance charts:


http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.h鈥?/a>


http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=399鈥?/a>


http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option鈥?/a>


=================


CPU gaming performance charts:


http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.h鈥?/a>


CPU Benchmarks


http://www.cpubenchmark.net/index.php


==================


Higher performance cards require more current from the 12 volt leg of the power supply that supplies the video card. Pick a power supply that will handle the most extreme card(s) you ever will want to install on your computer; preferably a power supply certified by the video card manufacturer to work with those card(s).





How to Buy a Power Supply


http://www.wikihow.com/Buy-a-Power-Suppl鈥?/a>





Nvidia SLI Certified Power Supplies


http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_bu鈥?/a>





ATI Radeon Crossfire Certified Power Supplies


http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/鈥?/a>





Diamond Video Cards Certified Power Supplies


http://www.diamondmm.com/certified.php


=====================


Fairly extreme gaming computer





$80 Case


$319 Power supply SLI certified for Nvidia 8800ultra


$180 Motherboard ATX; LGA 775 ; 2 PCI expess x16 slots


$280 Core 2 Quad Q6600


$80 2GB Dual Channel 800Mhz RAM


$249 Nvidia 8800GTS (1 ea,)


$35 CD/DVD 20x Burner


$120 500 GB SATA II Hard Drive


$180 Vista Ultimate OEM


$45 Logitech MX518 or Logitech G5


$58 Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard


$83 Logitech THX Z-5300e 280 Watts RMS 5.1 Speaker


$270 SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22'; 2 ms


Widescreen LCD Monitor


=================


$1979