Advice on a Mini ITX Conversion

[hwg315]

My friend is looking to swap to a mini ITX case and I'm looking for advice on which case to buy. She's willing to spend $300-$400 on this conversion for new motherboard, cooler, PSU, etc. I don't own a pc but I built the one she has now and I'll be doing the swap so any advice is also good. Heres her current parts list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GXZ6xs. 

[dizmo]

Lots of options out there, but they're usually on the pricey side. How small does she want to go?

On the cheaper end of the scale I've found the LianLi A4H20 to be a pretty good deal.

If she doesn't mind used you can get the more boutique cases very affordably with a little waiting. I paid ~$80 for my Streamcom DA2, an almost $400 discount.

 

Welcome to the forum.

[Queen Chrysalis]

The phanteks P200A is nice because most GPUs fit in it easily, it takes ATX PSUs, and big coolers fit in it easily.  It also has good airflow, and the GPU draws air from directly under the case.  It's not the smalles itx case, but it's pretty small.  Same with the maginum gear neo mini and torrent nano (they are a little smaller than the P200A).  There's actually a lot of itx cases that fit most normal stuff pretty well.  The thermaltake tower is a little bit different layout, but it still stays pretty cool for an itx case while letting you use regular size stuff.

 

But frankly, it wouldn't be much smaller than what she has already.  It might be worth it if she was able to get some money back for her other motherboard and case.

 

ASRock Z690M-ITX/ax Mini ITX LGA1700 Motherboard (Z690M-ITX/ax) - PCPartPicker

 

 

MagniumGear Neo Mini V2 Mini ITX Desktop Case (MG-NE210_BK02) - PCPartPicker

Phanteks Eclipse P200A DRGB Mini ITX Tower Case (PH-EC200ATG_DBK01) - PCPartPicker

Fractal Design Meshify 2 Nano Mini ITX Tower Case (FD-C-MES2N-01) - PCPartPicker

Fractal Design Torrent Nano RGB Mini ITX Tower Case (FD-C-TOR1N-02) - PCPartPicker

Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini ITX Tower Case (CA-1R3-00S1WN-00) - PCPartPicker

 

With the maginum gear neo mini you'd probably wanna buy a pair of P12s for intake and move the included intake fan to the exhaust.  The front panel is solid but there's a lot of room for ventilation on the sides next to it, so good high pressure fans like P12s should be good for intake (the GPU gets it's air from below anyway)

 

With the Phanteks P200A and Torrent Nano, they come with intake fans, but a single P12 for exhaust might be worth it.  The motherboard only has 3 fan headers, so the first P12 you get should be a PST, and the second can be a regular one.  IDK if any of the fans with any of these cases have PST otherwise.  The torrent nano only has a single intake 180mm fan, so with it you could just get a single regular P12 and you'd have headers for each fan.  Unless she has an extra fan splitter lying around.

 

TBH, if it were me and I were trying to go smaller than that DepCool case but still be able to use most of my stuff, the Fractal Design Torrent Nano would be my pick, with a single P12 added for exhaust.  (or any random 120mm fan you might have laying around).  It's a bit smaller than the others and still has all the right design choices for an itx case.  And it's a decent downsize.

 

ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan (ACFAN00119A) - PCPartPicker

 

But if she wants to go smaller it's a whole different ball game.

 

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

All you'll need is one of these

 

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811197019

 

[ChrisLoudon]

7 hours ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini ITX Tower Case (CA-1R3-00S1WN-00) - PCPartPicker

I second that.

 

Not the cheapest case but great to work with.

 

Has plenty of space for even the largest of air coolers. I managed to get a Noctua NH-D15 in it but it did look a bit silly. 2 x 2.5" SSDs at the side and a 3.5" regular HDD in the rear compartment. You can get a 2nd large disk back there as well but it takes a bit of botchery. 

 

If you ever wanted to go down the AIO route a 120mm option is also perfectly doable.

 

And as I have just finished a custom loop build in one, you can get a 120mm rad with 2 fans doing push / pull and a 3rd on the main compartment floor but you'll need to make your own mounting holes.

 

Another great case (although discontinued so you might need to hunt on eBay) is the Corsair 250d. 

[hwg315]

Thanks for all your responses, I did have the LianLi H20 and The Tower already on my radar, but after a trip to micro center, she's going with the SSUPD Meshroom. I think it'll fit the old motherboard and the only other thing we may need is an SFX PSU. 

[Queen Chrysalis]

7 minutes ago, hwg315 said:

Thanks for all your responses, I did have the LianLi H20 and The Tower already on my radar, but after a trip to micro center, she's going with the SSUPD Meshroom. I think it'll fit the old motherboard and the only other thing we may need is an SFX PSU. 

SOLID CHOICE.  

 

The meshroom can take mATX boards and ATX PSUs (the BQ she has is only 140mm and it works with up to 170mm).  It's the best little case anyone has ever designed.  Wasn't sure if it was what you were looking for (it's not everyone's cup of tea aesthetically) otherwise I would have brought it up.  Yeah all of her shit will  fit in there except the cooler.  Gonna need an AiO:

 

ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 76.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (FROSTFLOW X 280) - PCPartPicker

ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 74.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (FROSTFLOW X 240 SNOW) - PCPartPicker

 

The frostflow X seems to actually perform very well despite being so cheap based on reviews I've read and an unboxing I watched.  Allegedly, the fittings are good and in all reality, a 2080 is a 280 and a 240 is a 240, thermodynamics are thermodynamics.  Either of these would work well, depends on if she got the white or black meshroom.  But yea, it fits 240 and 280mm radiators.

 

You could also get a low profile air cooler, but the 12600k is kind of a hot chip.

[Queen Chrysalis]

EDIT:

Witha mATX bboard, 280mm AiO can be kind of a tight fit.  A 240mm AiO might be a better/easier choice, and this is s slightly newer model for ID that still does pretty well:

ID-COOLING DASHFLOW 240 BASIC 82.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (DASHFLOW 240 BASIC BLACK) - PCPartPicker

 

If she got the white meshroom, the frostflow from my last post would be fine.

[hwg315]

On 2/3/2023 at 8:34 PM, Queen Chrysalis said:

SOLID CHOICE.  

 

The meshroom can take mATX boards and ATX PSUs (the BQ she has is only 140mm and it works with up to 170mm).  It's the best little case anyone has ever designed.  Wasn't sure if it was what you were looking for (it's not everyone's cup of tea aesthetically) otherwise I would have brought it up.  Yeah all of her shit will  fit in there except the cooler.  Gonna need an AiO:

 

ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 76.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (FROSTFLOW X 280) - PCPartPicker

ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 74.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (FROSTFLOW X 240 SNOW) - PCPartPicker

 

The frostflow X seems to actually perform very well despite being so cheap based on reviews I've read and an unboxing I watched.  Allegedly, the fittings are good and in all reality, a 2080 is a 280 and a 240 is a 240, thermodynamics are thermodynamics.  Either of these would work well, depends on if she got the white or black meshroom.  But yea, it fits 240 and 280mm radiators.

 

You could also get a low profile air cooler, but the 12600k is kind of a hot chip.

Thanks for responding to me, we bought a low profile noctua cooler at the same time as the case. The case is green and I actually think the noctua color scheme might work kind of nicely. The SSUPD website says it can take a full size ATX motherboard so that's what we're trying. According to some reviews and other forums you need an SFX PSU to make an ATX motherboard work so we bought one of those too. I'm hoping all the parts arrive and we can build it this weekend. I have a friend who is lending me an LTT Screwdriver so I'm excited to take that for a spin. She actually quite likes the aesthetics of the Meshroom. We walked into MicroCenter and she said it was "looking at her" like a cute animal in a pet store. 

[RevGAM]

On 2/3/2023 at 8:27 PM, hwg315 said:

Thanks for all your responses, I did have the LianLi H20 and The Tower already on my radar, but after a trip to micro center, she's going with the SSUPD Meshroom. I think it'll fit the old motherboard and the only other thing we may need is an SFX PSU. 

@Queen Chrysalishow does the meshroom compare to the Sama case @Kinda Bottleneckedsuggested at half the price?

[RevGAM]

7 hours ago, hwg315 said:

According to some reviews and other forums you need an SFX PSU to make an ATX motherboard work so we bought one of those too.

If your case doesn't have space for a full-sized PSU, then you would need an SFX (small form factor) PSU. Otherwise, any decent PSU that fits the Meshroom and meets your system's needs will suffice. The downside of SFX PSUs CAN BE that they provide the same power as a larger one but cost more to buy.