Definition: tower case

A vertical computer cabinet. A common design for servers and high-performance workstations, tower cases have more room for storage and card expansion than horizontal desktop cases and all-in-ones, the latter having the least expansion capability (see all-in-one).

In contrast, server cases are housed in horizontal cases to fit in server racks (see rack mounted), and home theater PCs (HTPCs) are also housed in horizontal cases to slide into a cabinet shelf (see HTPC).

Three Towers

Prior to 2014, Alan Freedman, author of this encyclopedia, used these towers daily (left to right: custom-built PC, Mac Pro, HP PC). The Mac was replaced with the next-generation Mac Pro, and the HP was retired.

Cases Galore

Micro Center offers a huge variety of tower cases for the computer builder. This photo was taken in the Wayne, Pennsylvania store in 2014.

They Can Be Very Fancy

Thermaltake makes tower cases with some pretty exotic designs. For computer enthusiasts who want something out of the ordinary, there is bound to be a model that pleases.

$100,000 Tower Powerhouse

In 2026, Dell's 7875 Tower Workstation starts around $7,000 but can be configured to over $100,000 with a 96-core CPU, 8TB of storage, 1.5TB of memory and dual graphics cards. (Image courtesy of Dell Inc.)