Guidelines in Buying a Secondhand Computer Tower Case

You can actually use your computer just with the internal components alone but it will be a very big mess on your desk and they will be vulnerable to damage such as static electricity and dust. That's one of the reasons why they are encased in a computer tower. It makes it easier for us to install and utilize the internal computer hardware and of course, for aesthetic purposes. There are a lot of PC tower cases and some are cheap, some are very expensive, some look cool and some look very basic.

Well, there really aren't many who buy second hand computer towers unless it's a high end tower with special features that regular tower cases do not have. Those are really expensive and may actually cost a hundred dollars or more if bought brand new. And of course, not all of us can buy them and the only option is to buy a secondhand case. Just make sure that the description fits the actual item. Here are some of the things you may want to consider.

The most important thing to consider is the size of the computer tower case. If you have a full ATX motherboard, it won't fit in a micro ATX-only tower case since it won't be able to accommodate the length of the full ATX board. There are a lot of computer tower cases that can accommodate different motherboard form factors. You'll notice that the screw holes have different orientations that can fit different types of motherboards.

The next thing you need to see is if it has enough drive bays for your hard drives, optical drives or even a floppy drive (optional). The most common setup would consist of a single hard drive and an optical drive. Almost all tower cases can accommodate this basic setup. However, if you have 3 or more drives, you would need a bigger tower case. Nowadays, regular tower cases have at least 4 drive bays.

Computer tower cases usually come with their own power supplies. Even those high-end tower cases already have power supplies when you buy them. Most of them have generic power supplies though so I wouldn't recommend it especially if you have a powerful computer system. Check for any physical damage especially on the motherboard bay. The metal case should not touch the motherboard. There's a possibility that it might short and that will most likely damage your board.

The best thing to do is to try and set up your computer if everything is fine. See if it fits perfectly. See if your devices can be accommodated by the case. While you're at it, try to check if the special functions of the case are working. If it has front panel USB extension ports then try using them. Check the LEDs if they are working. Check the power and reset buttons.

The next question would be, "Do you like it?" Just like any other purchase, if you really like the item, then go ahead and buy it. If you buy something that you don't like, even if you like something else that you can also buy, there's a possibility that you might regret your purchase. Just make sure you're buying it at a fair price. Check the price of a new one and compare it while considering the quality and how old the item is.