This is one of those problems you run into and then learn to check for moving forward. I did. I ended up buying a new case and then checking the dimensions of any new hardware I bought.
My buddy took a dremel to his HDD cage.
Both are valid.
this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2025
16 points (94.4% liked)
Buildapc
5258 readers
22 users here now
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
If you aren't using the drive bays, a hacksaw is cheaper than a new case or GPU.
Mine just barely fits, I have to take out the gpu at a weird angle if I need to access the drives.
I am using them, however Im able to move the drives completely out of the way. Would it be safe to keep using the (cut) bay?
As long as you have enough screw holes to hold the drives, sure. You just don't want them to fall out while they're spinning.
Also take a file and smooth out the edges. Else the next time you're fumbling around in the case you'll slice your hand to hell on the sharp edges.
And just to be clear , don't do any of this with anything in the case. You really do not want metal bits in your electronics
I made the same mistake with my first build. I grabbed the metal shears from the garage and snipped the metal of the drive bay to make room.
Yep, I did this lol. My case isnt small either!
Soo... GPU too big for the case?
Yep, missed that! What a mistake...
I think you can actually edit titles on Lemmy
Pics of your setup? If it were me, I'd be saving my money for games and try to take out that drive bay, as long as you're confident that doing that would give you enough space. Old cases depreciate quickly, there's really no reason to try to preserve it. Just my opinion though
By "depreciate quickly" we in fact mean "become worthless instantly." I have various cases from the era where the power supply still went in the top rear corner rather than the bottom, and at this point they're only of any interest as the foundation of a truly retro PC build for ironic purposes, or as a butt-to-ground adapter. You can't even give the fuckers away because any computer nerds who would theoretically be interested in them already have a basement full of the damn things themselves.
So I would not lose too much sleep over hacking out a drive cage if it's never going to be used. OP may even find that it's riveted into place, in which case a few strategic drillings is all it'll take to entice it to fall off.
Wait hold on PSUs on the top is considered outdated?
Maybe it's where I live but I've never seen a computer with a PSU on the bottom
Where are you where they’re still at the top? They’ve been in the bottom in basically everything for at least 15 years.
I was going to ask the same thing but it’s also been 15 years since I’ve built a computer so I have no idea what’s current on that.
It's the thing now.
I still rock my case from 2003, but you do get better airflow this way.
Demel!