Small case

HardStroke · July 28, 2020

From what i saw online, this is quite a mission impossible thing but im looking for a new case and i actually want a small case that can fit a full atx mb.

Im looking for a good one, not too expensive but one that has a good gpu clearance (at leqst 305mm), supports atx boards, has good airflow and supports 240mm aio rads.

I had the corsair air 540 in mind which is a freaking legend when it comes to airflow and 'future proofing' for bigger gpus and when it comes to cable management and apperance but this case is HUGE since it does have 2 compartments.

Im talking about the case that youd put on your desk and it would actually add to the aesthetics of the room.

I do have a very minimalistic rgb setup in my pc since only the AORUS logo, 1 rgb line on the mb and the h100x pump light up, it would fit perfectly on my desk

If ill find a good small case ill go for it so i would like to hear your suggestions

my motherboard is a full atx Vision G and my gpu is a 2080 aorus which is MASSIVE and i do have a 240mm aio

Bombastinator · July 29, 2020

Atx is a size standard. So not small per se but smallest that will fit atx. “Add to the aesthetics of the room” is particularly nebulous. I personally don’t much like the looks of the Corsair air

Smaller atx cases generally means shorter which creates problems because where do you put the PSU? There can also be thinner, but there is a minimum if you want to use full height pcie cards and a depth minimum if you want a large gpu. Anything much thinner than a cube case like what you described is going to be taller. The aesthetics thing makes it particularly tough. An atx board with a large video card in it is more or less L shaped so you can put the PSU under the motherboard (for the standard layout) over the motherboard (cheaper cases, barely any size savings) or in front of the motherboard (which puts the PSU in the front of the case where almost no one wants it. Gonna be rare so expensive) there is also beside the motherboard which is what the air does. you don’t want expensive apparently so perhaps start looking for atx mid towers on PcPartPicker till you find something you like the look of.

TVwazhere · July 29, 2020

13 hours ago, HardStroke said:

my motherboard is a full atx Vision G and my gpu is a 2080 aorus which is MASSIVE and i do have a 240mm aio

If you want the AIO top mounted and you had low profile memory, you could use the Meshify C which has a max GPU clearance of 315mm with a front fan installed (no RAD) If you want a front mounted rad, the shortest case I know of would be the P300A at 355mm without GPU at the front. Fans (25mm) plus RAD (27mm) would only leave 303mm of clearance, and basic math would tell you that's an interference fit with the 305mm long GPU, but you can move the fans to the "outside" of the fan rails giving you the extra clearance you need.

Spoiler

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/h9CLrH

HardStroke · July 29, 2020

7 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

If you want the AIO top mounted and you had low profile memory, you could use the Meshify C which has a max GPU clearance of 315mm with a front fan installed (no RAD) If you want a front mounted rad, the shortest case I know of would be the P300A at 355mm without GPU at the front. Fans (25mm) plus RAD (27mm) would only leave 303mm of clearance, and basic math would tell you that's an interference fit with the 305mm long GPU, but you can move the fans to the "outside" of the fan rails giving you the extra clearance you need.

Reveal hidden contents

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/h9CLrH

Thanks homie

I think ill just go for the corsair 275r airflow since i see that small cases that support atx cases are really expensive or just dont exist

Bombastinator · July 29, 2020

1 hour ago, HardStroke said:

Thanks homie

I think ill just go for the corsair 275r airflow since i see that small cases that support atx cases are really expensive or just dont exist

Well... new case are less deep than old ones so there’s that. Not much but some. The deal is 3.5”!hard drives have lost popularity. They used to put them in the crook of that “L”. Without the need for them though they could make the space shorter and save a couple inches on depth. The cost is no 5.25” or front facing 3.5” bays at all. Most newer design cases do this, so less deep. The issue is simple topology. The things that go into a case have a specific size and there’s only so many ways to arrange them. One number to look for is liters. The volume of a case is measured in liters. So a smaller number of liters is going to be a smaller case. It’s not a common measurement though so you may miss a small case just because it doesn’t advertise that measurement. Thinner cases will have more problems with large air coolers. A thinner case will have a lower usable cpu cooler height measurement nearer 140mm and a thicker one will be nearer 165mm. Another way to tell is if the back fan is 92mm, 120mm, or 140mm. It’s not reliable though because a case with a 92mm fan can still be wide. A case with a 140mm rear exaust fan can’t be narrow though. These are going to be fairly small difference. With the exception of that depth measurement maybe an inch in a given direction.

the problem with putting the PSU in the crook of the L is that it makes it hard for I/o, precludes both front and top radiators, and it’s the most visible part of the machine. Very few users are going to want to stare at a power cord let alone a PSU fan outlet so few buyers, and small market makes for high prices. If you’re willing to go near or over $150 for a case there might be something. It won’t look pretty though because of the cord and fans problem.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Bombastinator