Looking for a suitable mITX case

[silk186]

I'm in the process of gradually upgrading my computer and I'm looking for a suitable case that will fit on in a carry on bag.

• i7-6700k w/ Noctua NH-L9i (25mm Noctua fan)
• ASUS Z170i Pro Gaming
• Corsair Vengeance LED 16gb (2 x 8GB) 3000MHz C15
• Samsung 830 256GB + 3 x 3tb HDDs
• Gigabyte RX 480 G1 Gaming 8G (232mm)
• Corsair RM650 (150 mm)
• CM Storm Enforcer

What now?
I will be keeping an eye out for a suitable case that fits 3x 3.5" HDDs.
I was hoping for 32GB DDR4 so I will keep an eye out for some on the marketplace.
I'm also looking for a cheap 500GB M.2 NVMe drive like the Intel 660p
Upgrade cooling to allow overclocking after I get a case sorted.

Case:
I have had some offers but I'm looking for something that can fit everything

• Storage: 1x2.5” + 3x3.5”
• GPU: 232mm
• PSU: 150 mm

According to this SFF PC Cases my best options are:

• Fractal Design Core 500
• Fractal Design Node 304
• Antec ISK600

Have I missed any cases that I should consider?

[emilsobo]

From what i can see the Fractal Design Node 304 is your best choice. You should also check out pcpartpicker to find any other cases that fit your criteria

[pp05]

Have a look at Kolink Sattelite. It's an ITX case that can accommodate 3 x 3.5" drives.

[silk186]

I haven't heard of it before. It seems to be an mATX case.

[Pob255]

You're going to have some issue with small & full sized ATX PSU
most of the smaller ITX cases use SFX or FLEX psu's

Something like the coolermaster elite 130 is a "small" case that uses full atx psu & space for a full height dual slot gpu https://www.scan.co.uk/products/cool...30-w-o-psu-(st
the Phantek evolve I've always liked, costs a bit more https://www.scan.co.uk/products/cool...30-w-o-psu-(st

There's still the Bitfenix Prodigy which is still a solid option https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfe...ca-073-bx.html

Riotoro CR280 is a another to look at https://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...ase/cr280.html

Almost forgot, Raijintek Metis https://www.overclockers.co.uk/raiji...ca-010-rt.html really solid option

[Andy00900]

The Thermaltake Core V21 Compact Cube is a popular case, plenty of dust filters and room for AIO if you wanted to.

[silk186]

The Coolermaster elite 130 is on my list.
The Phantek evolve is very nice.
I recently did a build for my sister in a Bitfenix Prodigy because she wanted a green case. It's nice but it isn't very compact.
The Riotoro looks interesting.

[Pob255]

Here's another cheap option https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06WGRLGM7
I did a build with it a at the start of the year https://forums.hexus.net/chassis-mod...lite-plus.html
Not the smallest, but nice.

To get around the lack of dust filters I swapped the rear fan over (also replaced it with a pwm fan) then fitted a fine mesh 120mm fan filter to the back of the case.

It's roughly the same size as the Raijintek Metis if it was on it's side, and both are smaller than the elite 130 or 120

And I would look at getting a SFX psu rather than full ATX, the reduced size does help. I'd also think about dropping to a single 3.5" drive if you can
You'll never get super small if you want high levels of performance, high end cpu&gpu need cooling, which needs space.
eg the Lenovo ThinkStation P320 Tiny, the top end model of that has an i7-7700t and a Nvidia Quadro P600, seriously meaty specs for something so small, however the moment you start putting some load on it, both cpu&gpu start thermal throttling the cooler and fan just isn't large enough to cope.
Strangely enough the new P330 tiny no longer has an i7 version

[pp05]

I haven't heard of it before. It seems to be an mATX case.

It's a M-ITX case. I have it. Very few MATX boards that will fit in it.

It's a coolermaster 130 copy with a little bit extra room for about the same price. You also can choose vented front or plain aluminum.

[Pob255]

It's a M-ITX case. I have it. Very few MATX boards that will fit in it.

It's a coolermaster 130 copy with a little bit extra room for about the same price. You also can choose vented front or plain aluminim.

This case is basically the same as the one I used, except they's blatantly ripped off the elite 130 external style, personally I'd much prefer the aluminium separate side panel version I got
The internals are exactly the same.

Oh and it's a chunk smaller than the 130, that has more overall room but is more cramped in other areas
Satellite = 260 x 190 x 280
elite 130 = 240 x 208 x 399
The elite is a bit narrower, but a bit taller and a good chunk longer, however the elite has the psu above the cpu massively limiting cooler height.
The Satellite is more cramped with more drives fitted (esp 3.5") and full ATX psu in the front limits space a bit.

Honestly I'd rather pay the extra £6ish to get the aluminium panel Satellite Plus over the basic steel panel Satellite.

The motherboards are actually mini-DTX form factor, but seem to be called mATX even though they are not, a mini-DTX should fit into any mini-ITX case that has two rear slots
It's slightly larger than ITX, the dimensions are 203 × 170 mm, it was an open standard form factor created by AMD back in 2007 for the small form factor market, but was never widely adopted.
It's backward compatible with ATX hence it will fit into an mini-ITX case that has 2 pci slots.
mini-ITX is is 150 x 150 mm btw

EDIT: I went through all this when I was putting together my small build at the start of the year.

[pp05]

Pob I grabbed the plus too. Can't believe how small it is.

Is your rear fan used as an exhaust?

I'm considering having it blow the air towards the front at the PSU which can act as an exhaust.

[Pob255]

Pob I grabbed the plus too. Can't believe how small it is.

Is your rear fan used as an exhaust?

I'm considering having it blow the air towards the front at the PSU which can act as an exhaust.

I flipped it over so it intakes at the back and added a dust filter, psu fan still faces the front.
It exhausts through the side panel vents, by pressure.
So basically I've swapped it over to be positive pressure, to minimise dust.

For cpu cooler . . . I don't remember, I wanted to reuse my old thermalright Ultima90 but that only had socket 775 mounting.
I did pinch a cooler off an old HP, I was going to use the mounting parts from that and other bits I had kicking about, to make a mount, but I think I ended up just using the HP cooler as is.
It was one of the heat pipe & fin ones from a SSF case not stock intel style.