luckybob wrote on 2024-02-21, 00:50:the only thing that actually matters is airflow.
+1
Socket A CPUs don't vary much in power consumption between idle and load states. As such, they tend to throw out quite a bit of heat, regardless of CPU load. So for two of them, I definitely suggest a case with lots of airflow - at least 1x 120 mm exhaust fan and good intake airflow.
I've seen plenty of low-end builds with Duron / low-clock Athlons back in the day stuffed in a beige case with no rear exhaust fan or with only a single 80 mm exhaust fan or with two of them but terrible air intake. Despite many of these being low-end and thus usually lower power consumption, the result was still almost always systems that ran miserably hot.
So in short, anything socket A needs good airflow. (Not that Pentium 4 doesn't. 😁 )
luckybob wrote on 2024-02-21, 00:50:The whole damn point is to showcase the hardware.
The question is, to whom? 😉
PCs aren't what they used to be, now that most people have moved onto a "smart" phone. As such, I've come to the sad realization that no one has really looked into any of my builds in the last 15+ years... or pretty much since LAN parties died. Only way anyone sees my builds is when I take pictures of them and post them on the internet. So getting a windowed case just for that has become pointless to me. Most systems these days, I just slap together without any regards to aesthetics and call it a day. As long as they work and cool well, I don't bother any further. Cable management? -Forget it! Just shove the excess wires out of the way and put the cover on... if the case even has one. 🤣 (Most of my PCs are/were dumpster / trash can finds.)