a PC case is recommended for noobs and people who will want to be bother with the PC after set up. these people aiyo feel that if the case can hold everything proper not hazrds accident okay why not case better.
however a PC case is important becasue:
it holds everything inplace and tidy up the hardware to prevent possiblilty of the components inside coming into contact and shocking one another. it also prevents the user from coming into contact and got shock of spill water or liquid on the parts inside. it makes transportation of the setup pone place to another convenient. it tidies up your desk and slow down duct collection on the cards.
very importantly a metal PC case grounds out all the components in the computer and prevents emi leakage and thus interference to all class B home appliances. without a pc case, the computer parts if place near to a tv or other household applicances may interfere with their operation.
a case also hold the opticcal drive firm and flat on the table to minimize shock and vibration which may affect the spindle action. unless your optical drives are those vertical loading type you may not want to play around with a setup as shown by gordon's peektures.
modders out there prefers stacked open trays like this

because it makes swapping of components and hardware easier and maintenance on the fly. just unplug all the cables and bring it put doors with a good spray to dust off the dirt.