High End SFFPC or High End Mid-Tower?

[Jaxseven]

I recently built a HTPC from spare parts and a $200 1070 TI last winter and have sort of fallen in love with it. It's nearly on par with my 4 year old desktop. My desktop is a NZXT Manta which I think is a nice case, although the curved design didn't age too well in my opinion. There's just a little voice in the back of my head telling me to transplant my rig into a smaller mini-ITX case, but it seems a little silly. I think if I was building today (or rather during more normal circumstances like last year) I would probably build my dedicated gaming desktop into a small case. What does everyone else think? What's your preferred case size/shape and why? Also as a side question, do you upgrade your case and when?

[Fasauceome]

do you have a cpartpicker spec list? What parts do you want to keep?

[Haro]

5 minutes ago, Jaxseven said:

I recently built a HTPC from spare parts and a $200 1070 TI last winter and have sort of fallen in love with it. It's nearly on par with my 4 year old desktop. My desktop is a NZXT Manta which I think is a nice case, although the curved design didn't age too well in my opinion. There's just a little voice in the back of my head telling me to transplant my rig into a smaller mini-ITX case, but it seems a little silly. I think if I was building today (or rather during more normal circumstances like last year) I would probably build my dedicated gaming desktop into a small case. What does everyone else think? What's your preferred case size/shape and why? Also as a side question, do you upgrade your case and when?

If I went with a new form factor 

I personally like itx/ micro atx just because it's the sweet spot and fits pretty much all the hardware that you would need 

My opinion though lol

[TVwazhere]

-Moved to Cases and Power supplies- 

 

I've gone from Full Tower to "big" SFF case already, and I absolutely loved the transition. The only problem is, like you, I have a voice in the back of my head saying "Go smaller" but I'm FAR too attached to the Corsair 380T since other than it's size I love everything about this case.

If I wasnt so bonkers about the 380T, I'd get something like the Node 202, Dan Case, Ncase M1, Sidearm T1, etc. 

[Jaxseven]

4 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

-Moved to Cases and Power supplies- 

 

I've gone from Full Tower to "big" SFF case already, and I absolutely loved the transition. The only problem is, like you, I have a voice in the back of my head saying "Go smaller" but I'm FAR too attached to the Corsair 380T since other than it's size I love everything about this case.

If I wasnt so bonkers about the 380T, I'd get something like the Node 202, Dan Case, Ncase M1, Sidearm T1, etc. 

Thank you. I was having trouble finding that section. I'm a little new despite my account being- *looks at account* Wow, 6 years I could've gotten way more educated about building PCs.

 

Quote

If I went with a new form factor 

I personally like itx/ micro atx just because it's the sweet spot and fits pretty much all the hardware that you would need 

My opinion though lol

Hey all of this will probably be opinion so all good. My plan originally was to be a video editor but then got a corporate job and haven't touched my Adobe Suite since. Without need of a bunch of storage drives, I could slim my case down, though I do have a Dark Rock air cooler.

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, Jaxseven said:

Thank you. I was having trouble finding that section. I'm a little new despite my account being- *looks at account* Wow, 6 years I could've gotten way more educated about building PCs.

Building PC's and navigating forums are two different skills  

[foldingNoob]

I avoided going smaller than mATX because I dont like what I see in thermals with other people's rigs. Plus the cost is so much more. A mATX case is still a small case and with these mesh front cases they are quiet too.

[Jaxseven]

1 minute ago, foldingNoob said:

I avoided going smaller than mATX because I dont like what I see in thermals with other people's rigs. Plus the cost is so much more. A mATX case is still a small case and with these mesh front cases they are quiet too.

Again I do like my Manta case, and with a good air cooler I feel comfortable overclocking. I did however switch to a Ryzen 3600X so I don't really know if I'm going to see any true benefits from trying to overclock it.

21 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

do you have a cpartpicker spec list? What parts do you want to keep?

I've been running my parts through it and to keep most of the parts it wouldn't really shrink down the case that much. The smallest I could fit it into would be an InWin A1 Plus but then I lose my 80 Platinum ATX PSU which will probably be better than whatever InWin packages into their A1. Like I said, the Manta is a good case and I can't will myself to spend money on a cosmetic change. I'd rather save for the 30 series to replace my GTX 1080 at some point.

[Fasauceome]

40 minutes ago, Jaxseven said:

I've been running my parts through it and to keep most of the parts it wouldn't really shrink down the case that much. The smallest I could fit it into would be an InWin A1 Plus but then I lose my 80 Platinum ATX PSU which will probably be better than whatever InWin packages into their A1. Like I said, the Manta is a good case and I can't will myself to spend money on a cosmetic change. I'd rather save for the 30 series to replace my GTX 1080 at some point.

on the other hand, something like this might offer the shrink you desire

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WG2bt6/silverstone-sg13-v2-mini-itx-tower-case-sg13b-usa

It's the size of a shoebox, can fit an ATX PSU, and has pretty nice airflow for the volume, with room for a 120mm radiator up front without impeding GPU length. Hence why I asked what your parts list was, not sure about PSU length or drive compatibility.

[Jaxseven]

1 hour ago, Fasauceome said:

on the other hand, something like this might offer the shrink you desire

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WG2bt6/silverstone-sg13-v2-mini-itx-tower-case-sg13b-usa

It's the size of a shoebox, can fit an ATX PSU, and has pretty nice airflow for the volume, with room for a 120mm radiator up front without impeding GPU length. Hence why I asked what your parts list was, not sure about PSU length or drive compatibility.

I have seen that case and Silverstone is pretty nice. I built my HTPC in their Raven RVZ03(B?) which is a really nice case for the living room. The only downside is my motherboard is too old to support the front RGB so it's harder to tell if it's on. That said, if this for me is more cosmetic than function, than I want to do something to the SG13 to spice it up a little. I'm hoping to move into a house in a year or so, and if my needs change then I may to a transplant then.

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, Jaxseven said:

The only downside is my motherboard is too old to support the front RGB so it's harder to tell if it's on. That said, if this for me is more cosmetic than function, than I want to do something to the SG13 to spice it up a little

In my opinion, adding a single LED 120mm fan to the front is the best move. Doesn't need to be RGB, just pick your favorite color and it'll look really cool under the front mesh, so no need to worry about RGB control.

[Jaxseven]

1 minute ago, Fasauceome said:

In my opinion, adding a single LED 120mm fan to the front is the best move. Doesn't need to be RGB, just pick your favorite color and it'll look really cool under the front mesh, so no need to worry about RGB control.

That's a great idea, also I just remembered they make a Stormtrooper color scheme so I may look at that and think about possibly spraying a design on the case if I can make it look good enough.

[foldingNoob]

10 hours ago, Jaxseven said:

I did however switch to a Ryzen 3600X so I don't really know if I'm going to see any true benefits from trying to overclock it.

I have the 2600. From what I have been following there is no benefit to overclocking the latest ryzen but it does benefit from good cooling.