If you replace computers instead of upgrading them, you spend a lot of extra money. You also miss out on the fun Š well, OK, more like the agony. Problem is most cases make you take almost everything apart when all you want to do is change a component.
My old PC case stood between me and my upgrade path. I'd already spent contorted hours disassembling it enough to change a drive; changing a motherboard was unthinkable. Then I found JDR's Case-175, a tower "designed with upgrades in mind." And so it is external and internal drives mount on slide-in brackets, allowing you to install the mounting screws before you put the brackets into the case. The motherboard swings down, so you can change its RAM and processor, reset its jumpers, or even replace it altogether without taking out the drives first. A delight! The case is set up for the usual eight-slot motherboard, and it holds nine drives: five on the outside, four on the inside. The case even has a built-in fan to supplement the one in your power supply.
The front panel's styling may not impress you, but it sports a key lock, a reset switch, and an on-off switch. (Most cases have just one or two of those features.) The only glitch is the push-button on-off switch: it's not supplied, and those on many power supplies (including mine and even some of JDR's) won't fit. If your switch is a rocker or paddle type, you might want to order JDR's with the case. RadioShack has nothing like it, but I found one for US$10 at a local electronics store that carries computer parts.
Case-175: US$79.95 plus shipping. JDR Microdevices: (800) 538 5000, +1 (408) 494 1400, on the Web at www.jdr.com/JDR.
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Quick-Change Case
