PC cases have grown to be very advanced and offer a lot to the performance of your PC. These cases come in all sorts of sizes, and you must have some insight about them before you buy yourself one.
The main difference between Mid Tower vs Full tower case is the size of your motherboard, optimal airflow, spacious interior, reduced noise output, cable management, LEDs, front panel connections, and so much more.
The debate today is amongst the Full Tower and Mid Tower cases. If I have to be honest with you, the case you’ll be selecting depends entirely on your needs. If you’re going all in to build the strongest PC, then you’ll find endless possibilities with the Full Tower case.
However, the Mid Tower case can also house many features and will suit many PC users better than the Full Tower case. So, let’s head in and break down the features of both cases so you can make the best choice possible.
Contents
Insight Of Case Form Factors
The following text contains a brief discussion of Mid Tower and Full Tower cases to give you an insight into what you’re dealing with.
Full Tower Cases
A Full Tower case is basically a full-sized case. It may be more than 20 inches tall and will have enough room for multiple cooling fans, 7 plus 3.5-inch drive bays, many expansions slots, and so much more. Some Full Tower cases might even have enough room inside to build an entire secondary PC in one chassis. How crazy is that?
Full Tower PC cases may be optimized for expansion or cooling, depending on the type of case you choose. Full Tower cases lay focus largely on raw performance and expansion, without considering slimming down their size.
Mid Tower Cases
The size of a Mid Tower case is usually less than 20 inches (17 inches average) and provides less room for hardware compared to a Full Tower. However, it may have enough room for up to 4+ 3.5-inch drive bays, 3 intake fans, and expansion slots to suit an ATX motherboard. So even though a Mid Tower case is more compact, it still has enough room for powerful hardware and is way more spacious than a small form factor case.
Although Mid Tower cases may compromise some aspects of performance compared to a Full Tower, they will still prove to be ideal for the majority of PC users. The Mid Tower case provides decent options for upgradability, so you can keep upgrading your PC to getter better performance. In addition, these cases provide room to move up if your work demands higher performance.
Both Mid Tower and Full Tower cases have their own pros and cons, and we’ll tackle them in the best way possible to give you a clear insight on which form factor to go with. So fasten your seatbelts, and let’s head in.
Mid Tower vs. Full Tower Cases
We will now discuss some of the major differences amongst various features of Mid Tower and Full Tower cases along with some disadvantages of both.
Why Choose a Mid Tower Case?
Features
The following are some of the key features you’ll be getting with a Mid Tower case.
Perfect Size and Weight
The first and most obvious comparison is that Mid Tower cases are more compact and lighter than the Full Tower cases. Therefore, if you want your case to occupy less desk space, or if you plan on carrying your PC regularly from time to time, then the Mid Tower case will suit you best.
On top of that, the Mid Tower cases will cost you much less compared to a Full Tower case. So the money you’ll be spending to load up a Full tower case will be high above that for a Mid Tower case.
Excellent Drive Storage
A Mid Tower case usually offers up to 3-4 3.5-inch drive bays. In addition to that, 3-4 2.5-inch drive bays are also usually present. These bays are very well sufficient to provide multiple HDDs, SSDs, or even both on a single PC.
These are great storage options and will suit the majority of PC users well. Consumers and gamers will be happy with the number of internal storage facilities available in a Mid Tower case. However, these might not be sufficient compared to the highest-end storage setups, especially if you’re dealing with servers.
Wonderful Cooling Options
If you plan on maximizing your airflow, the Mid Tower cases will serve to be an ideal option to go for. You can get a fully air-cooled PC with a Mid Tower case. Even though full tower cases can do great in this regard, a Mid Tower case provides a more compact blueprint, making it easier to push the hot air out. In addition, you can easily get a positive pressure airflow on a Mid Tower when compared with a small factor chassis.
Besides air cooling, liquid cooling also functions ideally in these cases. Compared to a smaller chassis, cooling becomes much less of a headache, and things can be easily put into place.
A Mid Tower case also houses more room for work and shows compatibility with much larger AIOs/radiators compared to a smaller chassis.
GPUs and Expansion Cards
The Mid Tower cases can feature 2+ GPUs and expansion cards. However, these days, users are turning away from using a multi-GPU setup.
Gamers who actually benefit from multi-GPU setups have been turning away from it as most games do not support a multi-GPU setup.
Most PC users will find a single, powerful GPU enough for their setup. A single GPU will definitely serve the needs of many enthusiasts out there. However, if you’re a professional, a multi-GPU system can drastically enhance performance and can greatly alter render times.
Some Cons Of A Mid Tower Case
The following are some disadvantages of a Mid Tower case:
- Fixing various issues or making changes inside a Mid Tower case might cause some hurdles in the way. For example, in order to install some components, you might have to remove others. Other than that, the cable management is worst in a compact case, making it difficult to trace certain cables with faults.
- Even though 3 GPUs can be fitted into a Mid Tower case, you’ll be facing certain cooling issues. Due to the lack of room for a proper liquid cooling system, your setup might face overheating issues which will certainly affect your performance.
Why Choose A Full Tower Case?
The most obvious feature of a Full Tower case is the spacious interior. You’ll have loads of space to put in all sorts of hardware inside. Moreover, there will be plenty of room for upgradations. Other than that, upgrading and cable management will be much easier with a large PC build.
Highest Drive Storage
If you plan on building the highest-end PC with a multi-drive setup, then a Full Tower case is what you should go for. Especially in cases of building servers, you’ll be needing up to five or more 3.5-inch bays, which can only be featured on a Full Tower case.
5.25 bays for card readers and disc drives are very rare in the PC market. However, if you’re looking for one, you’ll find them available on a Full Tower case.
If you plan to feature RAIDable, scalable, and stackable storage for the future, you should go with a Full Tower case.
High-End Cooling
If you want the best cooling for your PC setup, a Full Tower case can easily be achieved. A Full Tower case can easily accommodate a large radiator or even two. A large case is recommended if you want to cross the edge and do something extreme, like custom loop cooling your CPU or multi-GPU. This is where a Full Tower case comes in handy.
Air cooling is also perfect on a Full Tower case; however, you’ll have to use more cooling fans compared to a Mid Tower case. This will allow hot air to escape with ease and will prevent hot pockets from developing in certain areas.
GPUs and Expansion Cards
Although multi-GPU setups have lost popularity in recent years, they still serve as useful for the professional PC enthusiast. And to get the perfect multi-GPU setup installed, you’ll need a Full Tower PC case to get the job done. This case can support more than three GPUs and Expansion cards to get you rolling.
A tip for our readers: blower-style graphic cards function better in a multi-GPU setup compared to an open-air graphics card.
Dual-PC Builds
Even though a few Mid Tower cases have dual PC build configuration, this feature is best suited on a Full Tower case. The reason for a dual PC build depends entirely on your needs and purpose and will come in handy for some users.
Some professional applications can benefit from a dual PC build configuration. At the same time, content creators can also benefit largely from a chassis like this.
A Dual PC build will offer you a standard or extended ATX PC build, with an option to add an additional Mini ITX motherboard at an alternate location inside the case. As a result, you can spend much less on an ITX PC, and it can be fully dedicated to rendering or streaming videos without interfering with your gaming or editing work.
However, if you plan on opting for a dual PC build, then you must also be prepared to take your cooling system up a notch too. This way, you can get rid of the extra heat your secondary PC might be generating.
Some Cons Of A Full Tower Case
The following are some of the main disadvantages of a Full Tower case:
- A full tower case is pretty heavy. If you plan on moving your computer from time to time, a Full Tower case might be a pain in the back.
- If you have space restrictions, a full tower case may be of disadvantage to you.
- Airflow might be a problem with a full tower case. Due to its large size, the air-cooling system might not work efficiently to reach hot spot areas. You’ll have to spend extra money on a high-end cooling system to make things work.
- A Full Tower case is pricier than a Mid Tower case. This is sort of obvious considering the size and functionality of these cases. So, if you’re on a budget, you should skip on to a Mid Tower case.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Is a mid-tower enough?
Absolutely! You can achieve almost anything with a Mid Tower case. In fact, you can build a very powerful high-end PC that can suit almost any task, including high-end gaming, content creations, and so much more. So even though a Full Tower case offers more, it may not be necessary unless your workload demands it.
Will a full-size motherboard fit in a mid-tower?
Yes! A Mid Tower case can accommodate any standard full-sized motherboard. However, it’s best to check your Mid Tower case against your ATX Mobo, ensuring it fits perfectly well.
Does a PC case matter?
A PC case is not an essential component of a PC. Although it holds everything in place, you can even build a PC without a PC case. However, the PC case does provide protection to your components and holds all the components in place.
When should I consider a Micro ATX or Mini ITX case instead of a Full or Mid Tower?
If you want to save maximum space, and you are sure you can build a powerful PC in a small compact case to meet your needs, a small case will serve you great. Other than that, if you’re not a fan of multiple drives and GPUs, a Mini ITX or Micro ATX will be decent options to go for. However, small cases have their own disadvantages.
Are Mid-Towers good for gaming?
Definitely! A Mid Tower case is ideal for gaming if that is your only concern. It can house powerful components and has great cooling capabilities to provide the ultimate gaming experience.
Does a computer case affect performance?
A computer case can definitely affect performance. A spacious case will provide room for better hardware, complementing your performance. Other than that, airflow is a major factor that comes into play when considering cases. Airflow can greatly affect performance.
The Final Verdict
Unlike GPU or CPU performance comparisons, you don’t really have a clear winner when it comes to PC cases. AS WE HAVE DESCRIBED, the PC case you’ll be choosing depends entirely on your needs and the features it can mount. It is completely possible to build a super-powerful machine with a Mid Tower case as it is with a Full Tower case.
In the end, it all comes down to your use, your needs, and your budget. If you plan on building a powerful PC that occupies less place, and gets your job done perfectly, then the Mid Tower cases will suit you best. However, if you plan to go all in and build the highest-end PC to achieve every limit, then a Full Tower case is a suitable option for you. But, remember, you’ll be spending a lot more to build a Full Tower PC compared to a Mid Tower one.
We have laid down various aspects of each case with their advantages and disadvantages. The final judgment is based on your preference and purpose of use. So, you can decide whichever PC case suits you best.
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