A chassis (pronounced CHasē) is another word for a computer case, aka tower. The chassis holds most of a PC’s components. This doesn’t include peripherals like the keyboard, mouse or monitor.
Chassis comes in different shapes and sizes. Some can even hold more than one motherboard. When shopping for a chassis, you’ll see chassis identified by one of the terms below. This refers to the type of motherboard these cases are designed to accommodate:
- Mini-ITX
- MicroATX
- XL/EATX
You might also see chassis categorized by the following terms. There are no exact measurements for these case sizes:
- Desktop – horizontal design, sometimes monitors sit on top of a desktop chassis
- SFF – small form factor, for accommodating mini-ATX or smaller motherboards
- Mini-Tower
- Mid-Tower
- Full Tower – usually 18 inches tall or more
When buying a chassis, it’s important to note which parts you have or want in order to determine which size fits your needs. Note that PC building is more challenging when working with a Mini-ITX chassis and that you probably don’t need an XL/EATX chassis unless you’re building a workstation (or just like the look of a big tower).
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