I think it has a lot to do with living situation. Most of us don't have basements or many square feet to spare anywhere. I built a system on one of these open

I think it has a lot to do with living situation. Most of us don't have basements or many square feet to spare anywhere. I built a system on one of these open frames back in 2015 when I was living in New Mexico and kept it in my grad student office: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009RRIP86 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009RRIP86 . It was great (especially for swapping components), but then I moved. Living in a small apartment here in CA, that thing was pretty annoying. One time, I got egg on the motherboard. Long story, but I projected the first Trump-Hillary debate onto an old bedsheet on the wall, had friends over, and supplied eggs. Let's just say I was surprised at how far an egg can splatter. I did my best to clean it, but I had recurring issues with the ram slots following that incident. Last week I finally got rid of the whole system after its long and prestigious career. Also, I kept it under my desk for a while and had a bad habit of sticking my feet in there and causing problems. So, advantages of a closed case besides small footprint: - Raw egg does not splatter into the ram slots - You can't put your feet in the computer