Looking for Mini-ITX case

[Max1996LTT]

For a build centered around a Ryzen 5 5600G, I'm thinking of building a system with a Mini-ITX board and case.

 

In the case, I'd like the front IO ports to not be in the top panel, due to preferring to avoid dust in ports I use less frequently. I'd also like the case to allow for at least decent cable management.

 

On account of my preferences, I'd like to set the price/budget aside for now and have that be the deciding factor. Are there any cases you guys recommend?

[Fasauceome]

Silverstone Sugo SG13 has front facing I/O ports, enough space for larger GPUs, and decent room inside for cable managing. Recommended alongside a 120mm intake fan.

[Bradders]

I built recently in the Streacom DA2 V1 and honestly its not worth it. Not the most fun to build in and a bit of a hotbox when using a 280mm rad. That being said it is a pretty case with simple front IO. Personally thinking of moving to a Lian li/Dan case A4 H20 because of all the raving reviews. 

 

Good luck with cable Managing in a Mini ITX as, depending on the case, it can become a several hour long task.

[SpookyCitrus]

I've used the Cooler Master NR200 twice in the last couple months and it's an awesome Mini ITX case. It fits 3 fan GPUs, saw a build where someone even fit a founders 3090 without modification, it has room for a 240mm AIO if wanted, and cable management is easy. With clean cable management it only took me 2 hours the first build and once I knew where to put cables my second build in one took like maybe 45 minutes. It's an awesome little case. Here's a build list of what I put in mine, the build list also has a link for the case.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CBMfFg

[8tg]

Are you looking for any particular style of mini itx or just anything itx?

Compact as possible, cube, just a regular tower but 2 slot?

 

 

[Max1996LTT]

7 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Are you looking for any particular style of mini itx or just anything itx?

Compact as possible, cube, just a regular tower but 2 slot?

 

 

Regular tower but 2-slot would be best, if at all possible.

[An0maly_76]

 

To be fair, they DID warn you.

 

Now, if they only looked a bit more like Liam Neeson...

Edited July 19, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[8tg]

21 minutes ago, Max1996LTT said:

Regular tower but 2-slot would be best, if at all possible.

Fractal Design Nano S, Fractal Design Torrent Mini, Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Mini, cooler master NR200, NZXT H210

All conventional mini itx towers.

Torrent Mini would be my first choice if you wanted to go with an otherwise minimal compromises high end air cooling setup.

 

Note that I/o placement becomes an issue with basically any modern case, front panel I/o is something really only seen on a rare few cases these days.

[Max1996LTT]

2 minutes ago, 8tg said:

Note that I/o placement becomes an issue with basically any modern case, front panel I/o is something really only seen on a rare few cases these days.

I've been wondering about that, actually. Like, why are more and more cases having IO on the top panel?

[8tg]

1 minute ago, Max1996LTT said:

I've been wondering about that, actually. Like, why are more and more cases having IO on the top panel?

Larger front panels, with the pretty much near final death of not just any external drive bays, but even most internal drive bays, there’s not much point to have the front panel be anything more than a decorative fascia or large air intake which is more and more popular.

You see front panel I/o on odd styled cases like the Hyte Revolt 3, which is a mini itx vertical case, but not so much on conventional cases because the front panel is either made for airflow or it’s just flat.

 

And in particular with short itx cases many prefer the I/o on the top because in a desktop setup with your pc at your level, a short itx case with I/o on top is preferable as any extra cable length required is minimal versus using the front, and depending on the setup can be easier to access. 
See the rajintek Metis:

It puts its i/o on top to save room in cable management, because believe it or not that half an inch the i/o board and cable depth take up matters in this case for your gpu length, as the gpu will be up top.

[Nukes25]

While it is a cube, I just built in the Thermaltake core v1 snow edition case, pretty quick and easy, and not too bad for cable management.

I/O is lower, but, as you can swap top/ side panels, you can make them top, backside or bottom

[Max1996LTT]

On 7/19/2022 at 6:14 PM, 8tg said:

Fractal Design Nano S, Fractal Design Torrent Mini, Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Mini, cooler master NR200, NZXT H210

 

One last question, I noticed some of those have USB-C among the front IO, though the majority of mini-ITX boards lack the necessary header, so how does that work?

 

Right now, I'm thinking of either H210 or Cube v1.

[8tg]

29 minutes ago, Max1996LTT said:

One last question, I noticed some of those have USB-C among the front IO, though the majority of mini-ITX boards lack the necessary header, so how does that work?

 

Right now, I'm thinking of either H210 or Cube v1.

Most of them have a usb 3.0 connector on the end or they’re just part of the whole usb 3.0 bridge 

 

[Max1996LTT]

After further research into these options, I narrowed the ideal case down to Fractal Design Nano S and NZXT H210 based on my case preferences. However, because the latter has a USB-C cable and my selected motherboard lacks the required header, that option is the less appealing one.

 

Thus, my final choice is the Fractal Design Nano S. Thanks for the help!