Sneak Peek: I built my own PC case

So I've been working on a number of projects over the past few months, but the first one was that I attempted to build my own PC case.

If you saw my setup tour, you'd know I started rocking a horizontal PC case on my desk. And while that made things a lot more convenient, there were always things that didn't quite work about the case I was using.

Firstly, it was a tad higher than I wanted. It only just fit underneath my monitors, and honestly it would have been nice to use it as a little extra shelf space (I could fit a Wii sensor bar on top, but couldn't fit much else like my audio interface, which I had to awkwardly shove to the side).

Secondly, it was only micro-ATX which meant I didn't have room for all the expansion cards I needed (I had to swap motherboards to fit my PC in this case at all). I could survive without them for a while, but eventually I really needed them back.

What I learned was it was almost impossible to find a case that fit both of these criteria; almost all horizontal cases that could fit a full ATX motherboard were a whole inch taller, meaning they wouldn't fit in the space I had.

What I wanted was something low and wide, to both fit under my monitor and fit several expansion cards. But I realize this is a very uncommon scenario. Horizontal cases are rare enough, let alone an odd form factor that takes up a lot of desk space for the sake of being easier to stack stuff on top of.

Most people probably wouldn't want this, and PC cases, like most computer parts, are built to the lowest common denominator so they appeal to as wide of an audience as possible. There's not going to be much in the way of niche form factors, and if there is, it's going to be incredibly expensive to compensate for the lower sales as a result.

Eventually I realized, what if I just made my own? A few pieces of aluminum from the hardware store costs almost nothing, and I could tailor it to suit exactly my needs. All the measurements are widely documented and standardized too, so honestly how hard could it be?

To find out just how hard (and how the end result was), stay tuned for the video...