Compact mATX tower?

[aisle9]

After a series of unfortunate events, my i7-8086K ITX system is dead. The board is toast, and the R5 3600/B550I combo I bought to replace it...well...has issues. To the point that I'm returning it rather than continuing to dick with troubleshooting. Until a new system is in place, I'm running a Beelink U55 mini PC as my daily driver and...well...it's better than I was expecting. That's the nicest thing I have to say about its performance.

 

But instead of rushing into things again, I'm going to take some time thinking it through, and one of the things I'm considering is going back to mATX for the little shred of extra expandability over ITX boards. I haven't decided on a motherboard or platform yet. I'm going to take my time there. So what am I looking for in a case?

• MicroATX (duh)
• Compact footprint, taking up about the same footprint as the Cougar QBX (7" wide, 15" deep). I'm ok with being flexible on those numbers, but I don't want something more than 9" wide and 15" tall if at all humanly possible
• Cable management a must, PSU shroud a big plus if there's a window and optional if not, window is highly optional with an "I actually prefer mesh" asterisk on it
• PSU clearance for an RM650i
• GPU height clearance for up to something like a PowerColor Red Dragon (132-ish mm). I have a Founders Edition GTX 1070 that I'm not in any hurry to get rid of.
• Budget...let's say $100 at the high end?
• Stylistic note: the single coolest case I've ever owned was the Cougar Spike. If those were still floating around at non-ridiculous prices, I'd have bought one yesterday, even if it is way bigger than my desired footprint.

And that's about it. This is a really initial evaluation process. I raced into the last CPU/board because of the way mine failed, and I'm willing to deal with this Beelink until the right set of parts, whether they're ITX or mATX, comes along.

[TVwazhere]

Silverrstone PS15 barely eeks in at under 15" tall. No PSU shroud though. 

https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=822

[aisle9]

11 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Silverrstone PS15 barely eeks in at under 15" tall. No PSU shroud though. 

https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=822

[TVwazhere]

3 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

-snip-

I had strongly considered this over the Q300L in RGB Build 2019, however it didnt have a handle option (was important for frequent travel) and it's slightly more expensive (especially with fans) but I still wanna use it for a build one day. One of my most looked forward to cases to build in. Also comes in white, so thats neat. 

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/7PyV3C

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/cW9tt6

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/VnsmP6

[aisle9]

43 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

I had strongly considered this over the Q300L in RGB Build 2019, however it didnt have a handle option (was important for frequent travel) and it's slightly more expensive (especially with fans) but I still wanna use it for a build one day. One of my most looked forward to cases to build in. Also comes in white, so thats neat. 

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/7PyV3C

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/cW9tt6

https://pcpartpicker.com/builds/by_part/VnsmP6

Yeah, it's definitely got my attention. I tried a Silverstone ML08B-H ITX port-a-case before settling on the QBX, and aside from it being a toaster oven, I liked it a lot. If I stay ITX, I'd stay with the QBX against my better judgement--I'm pretty sure it's cursed. If I can track down a Spike for less than $stupidhundred, that's an instant win for mATX. This case also makes a strong argument for mATX.

[RollinLower]

InWin 301? seems to be just within your size requirements. also pretty watercooling friendly!

 

alternatively you could take a dremel to an LianLi PC-Q37 and make it fit mATX like my main rig right now.

Spoiler

 

[Marcos81]

I got a Define C mini from fractal design. It is on the taller side, lacks usb-c port on front, as well as usb3 Gen2, but else, it's a great case. Since it's getting a bit old, you may be able to find some decent prices.