Looking for a Mini ITX case

[BHJohnson]

I'm piecing together a Mini-ITX computer for a portable gaming rig. My spare Ryzen 3 1300X, an RX 570 I bought off eBay, bolt a spare 22" monitor onto the back panel, it'll be great.

 

The cases I've been looking at are mostly Silverstone. I'd appreciate any input or insight into the Milo ML08, Fortress FTZ01, Raven RVZ01/02, Fractal Design's Node 202, or any other Mini ITX case that I haven't discovered yet that uses a similar layout, i.e. a graphics card that "lays down" next to the motherboard. I'm really just looking for a reason to commit to any one of them over the others. I'm, not really feeling the look of the RVZ01 or RVZ02, but a good enough technical reason will still sell me on them.

 

One question I have is what sort of AIO fits in the Raven RVZ03? Silverstone lists it as having AIO support in all their tech specs, but with only 1 fan slot in the CPU side of the case, only 83 mm of clearance for cooling, and that fan slot being directly over the CPU, I find it hard to believe that they intend you to try to shove a pump/block combo (40 mm more or less), a fan (25 mm for a pressure optimized fan), a radiator (25-45 mm, depending on the variety), and all the hoses and cables associated therewith into that volume. Even dropping the 15 mm fan that is included there and adding that height, you get 97 mm of space to shove a 100 mm pile of stuff. This would be pretty much the selling point for me. If the case can fit something like a Cooler Master H60 in it, I'll probably order it right now. If it doesn't, any case can fit an AIO if you own a dremel, and I do, and I'm not afraid of cutting into a 100$ case in the name of cooling. But it'd be nice if I didn't need to.

[KuJoe]

I'm a huge fan on the Node 202 (I own 3 of them). They are pretty solid cases but unfortunately it makes them a bit heavy for their size. It's a really tight fit also, I ended up using the two 2.5" drive bays to hide excess power cables (I wish I went with a modular PSU). My biggest advice for an ITX build is get a blower style card, my GTX 1080 and RX 480 can get pretty toasty even with 2x 92mm fans blowing on them and you don't want that excess heat staying inside the case.

 

Any reason for wanting an AIO for a Ryzen 1300X? Do you plan on doing a lot of overclocking? I recommend just picking up a Wraith Stealth (if it doesn't come with one) and you'll be fine for cooling.

 

Another good thing to invest in is some magnetic dust covers for the intakes. I don't know why but my Node 202s fill up with dust faster than my ATX cases did so these were an excellent buy so I don't need to open up the case to clear it out as often.

[BHJohnson]

I own the 1300X. I started with it in my first version of a Ryzen build, regretted it and upgraded to a 2600 in my main tower. So now when I replace this 2600, it'll go into the Mini ITX build, and I'll want to be able to push that a bit. It obviously won't get what my current full water cooling gets, but I'd like to get close. And I assume if the case fits an AIO for AM4, it'll have a good chance of fitting an AIO for AM5, or whatever they go to next. AM4+, maybe?

 

I already have a full modular 600W PSU that I found open box on Newegg for cheap. And the RX 570 I found was chosen because it is a blower style card for under 100$. Blower cooled cards are not as easy to come by as I remember them being. I definitely will be relying on the blower to help maintain the air circulation. Oh, and I own three Wraith Stealths. I'm not even sure where one of them came from. I think it's an AM3 mounting bracket, so who knows. And I also already have the magnetic filters, because I hate dusty heat transfer surfaces. Had major issues on my FX 8150, and have gone way high and right about it since.

 

When you say "heavy", what are we talking? Assuming I palm 45 pound plates with ease, will I need two hands to carry it?

[_Hustler_One_]

Would you even consider like this build to have?

 

[TVwazhere]

12 hours ago, BHJohnson said:

I'm piecing together a Mini-ITX computer for a portable gaming rig. My spare Ryzen 3 1300X, an RX 570 I bought off eBay, bolt a spare 22" monitor onto the back panel, it'll be great.

-snip-

Here's a google doc spreadsheet with a bunch of cases sorted by size. Note that not all of them will fit SFX PSU's or even GPU's in some cases but you can filter those out. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dzRY3LLsXcDX5Qt5PvQOrAJhw0EK9Cy7UtQPdyRp6PY/edit#gid=0

 

12 hours ago, BHJohnson said:

When you say "heavy", what are we talking? Assuming I palm 45 pound plates with ease, will I need two hands to carry it?

You wont need two hands to carry it. Your system should definitely be less than that. My computer with a 1080ti FTW 3, CPU air tower,ATX PSU and 2 3.5" HDD's doesnt weight 45lbs

[BHJohnson]

2 hours ago, _Hustler_One_ said:

Would you even consider like this build to have?

I'm not against it, but I'm not really a fan of square ish cases. To me, in my own little world, upright rectangular prisms that are longer than they are tall and foot prints closer to a 1:2 ratio are just more attractive.

 

And that is a pretty handy spreadsheet. I'll have to keep that bookmarked.

[Stefan Payne]

14 hours ago, BHJohnson said:

One question I have is what sort of AIO fits in the Raven RVZ03?

None with a decently sized GPU...

I have a similar RVZ-01

 

So the only Position for the Radiator is under the GPU.

And with a dual slot GPU, you have ~25mm space between GPU and Case...

 

14 hours ago, BHJohnson said:

Silverstone lists it as having AIO support in all their tech specs, but with only 1 fan slot in the CPU side of the case, only 83 mm of clearance for cooling, and that fan slot being directly over the CPU,

That's enough for the AMD Boxed Cooler, even the Big one or Noctua NH-L12S and NH-L9x65...

For obvious Reasons I'd rather recommend the NH-L9x65 with a 25mm thick Noctua fan.

 

But the NH-L12S is also a good option.

 

13 hours ago, BHJohnson said:

And I assume if the case fits an AIO for AM4, it'll have a good chance of fitting an AIO for AM5, or whatever they go to next. AM4+, maybe?

No, you don't need it.

And with a small formfactor you have to sacrifice some things...

 

13 hours ago, BHJohnson said:

I already have a full modular 600W PSU that I found open box on Newegg for cheap.

What unit is it?

Because most units don't fit inside the Case

And also "for cheap" means it might be garbage or worse than that.

[BHJohnson]

Corsair SF600. When I say "cheap", I mean relative to what it normally would've cost. It's an SFX PSU, non-L version, and it's full modular, so I'm hoping that fits in a case that claims to be able to take bigger. I'm aware that cable management is going to be a pain, but I managed to fit most of my current build with an extra graphics card into my old Antec Dark Fleet mid ATX, so I have faith in my cable abilities.

 

And if that's the intended mounting location, I will ignore using an AIO, at least until I get bored enough to cut clearance holes for running fan cables through the front panel to mount the fan outside the case to. That should buy me enough room, but I'll see what stock air cooling looks like first without an OC. It's just a 1300X, so I'm not in a hurry to get onboard the cooling train. For this computer.

[Stefan Payne]

15 hours ago, BHJohnson said:

Corsair SF600. When I say "cheap"

Ah, OK; something decent...

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I mean relative to what it normally would've cost.

Yeah, but most people mean with cheap like something for 20-30€ or so.

And that is like 95% or so...

So better be safe than sorry.

 

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It's an SFX PSU, non-L version, and it's full modular, so I'm hoping that fits in a case that claims to be able to take bigger.

Yes, but for the RVZ03 you are planning, you need an ATX Adaptor plate for that as ATX and SFX are two completely different things.

BUT; since SFX is the smaller ones, you can use a piece of metal to rectify it.

 

With SFX PSU you might want to look at the Milo ML07 or FTZ-01

 

RVZ-01 only if you like how it looks.

I myself regret getting the RVZ01 and not the ML07 or FTZ01

 

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I'm aware that cable management is going to be a pain,

With full modular SFX and not SFX-L its managable and not too bad...

Though a Silverstone PSU might be better because the Cables are made more for their Cases.

But you're fine and without a 3,5" HDD above the PSU.

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And if that's the intended mounting location, I will ignore using an AIO, at least until I get bored enough to cut clearance holes for running fan cables through the front panel to mount the fan outside the case to. That should buy me enough room, but I'll see what stock air cooling looks like first without an OC. It's just a 1300X, so I'm not in a hurry to get onboard the cooling train. For this computer.

Well, you have some Recommendation for Heatsinks from me.

And there aren't holes though you theoretically could. But then you need to do a custom loop...

 

Buttom line:
Get a good Air Cooler that fits inside the case.

[BHJohnson]

I was almost sold on the RZV03, but now I see that it's ATX rigged, not SFX. I have an extra EVGA ATX PSU from a while back, but that is rather eh. A bracket to convert the two is only 10$ though, so I can eat that cost.

 

And I'm definitely going with air. No reason to go with something else.