ATX short cases

[OhYou_]

The Lian Li PC-A55 (ass) case looks in every way like the perfect case for what I want but the problem is its 12 years old and I cant find one
Are there any tips to finding old cases or is it just gg no re?

It seems the PC-011 dynamic mini is the closest thing these days to it but lawdy she thiccc with like 7 c's and the optical drive bay is gone which I actually want one.

Any other cases that take ATX mobos, with front mount psu, and NOT designed with an extra 2 stupid inches in height for top radiators?
 

[filpo]

6 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

Any other cases that take ATX mobos, with front mount psu, and NOT designed with an extra 2 stupid inches in height for top radiators?

D41? Hasn't got any fans but some P28s can be added for $55. I've heard great things about it (mesh version is linked)

Jonsbo D41 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case (D41 MESH Black) - PCPartPicker

[OhYou_]

1 minute ago, filpo said:

D41? Hasn't got any fans but some P28s can be added for $55. I've heard great things about it (mesh version is linked)

Jonsbo D41 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case (D41 MESH Black) - PCPartPicker

its like 60mm taller, I'm after cases that dont have any empty voids of space above or below the atx board, around the 360mm-380mm height area

[jaslion]

14 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

its like 60mm taller, I'm after cases that dont have any empty voids of space above or below the atx board, around the 360mm-380mm height area

Would matx be acceptable? asus has their prime ap201 for this purpose. It fits an aio not because of extra height but by shifting it to the side of the board because it needs the width anyway so the psu fits. There is very little extra space pretty much just space for cables extra and that is it.

 

The reason these cases are rarely done is airflow issues. But the asus opts for a bottom fan intake and top fan intake with full back exhaust style to make sure it works,

[OhYou_]

6 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Would matx be acceptable? asus has their prime ap201 for this purpose. It fits an aio not because of extra height but by shifting it to the side of the board because it needs the width anyway so the psu fits. There is very little extra space pretty much just space for cables extra and that is it.

 

The reason these cases are rarely done is airflow issues. But the asus opts for a bottom fan intake and top fan intake with full back exhaust style to make sure it works,

only if I cut a big hole in the side for the motherboard to stick out of
Airflow isnt an issue pretty much since the hardware is all mid tier garbage, I'm just trying to go for as small of a case as possible but still fit the board I have

I found someone local selling a cooler master elite 360 which size wise is even better, it's actually exactly what I want ish, but they want a lot for it and its very much designed to be used in landscape mode I think

[filpo]

22 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

its like 60mm taller, I'm after cases that dont have any empty voids of space above or below the atx board, around the 360mm-380mm height area

it's 12mm taller, 392 vs 380

Couldn't find anything that would be better but O11 mini could be a good option, though it does take up more volume than the D41

[OhYou_]

25 minutes ago, filpo said:

it's 12mm taller, 392 vs 380

Couldn't find anything that would be better but O11 mini could be a good option, though it does take up more volume than the D41

Oh I see I confused it with the length
Do you have the case? It looks to me the two front panels are just held in place with like pins that are pushed into sockets on the case, so it could tool-lessly pop off and I can mod it to hide the optical drive behind it. I dont really need good access to the drive tbh but having to pop a side panel off to put in a disk or something is ehh since my last resort plan is a slim drive bolted into the back panel area most cases have

[filpo]

3 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

Do you have the case?

I was about to get it (D31) but I decided to get the nr200p instead

 

4 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

It looks to me the two front panels are just held in place with like pins that are pushed into sockets on the case, so it could tool-lessly pop off and I can mod it to hide the optical drive behind it. I dont really need good access to the drive tbh but having to pop a side panel off to put in a disk or something is ehh since my last resort plan is a slim drive bolted into the back panel area most cases have

I didn't know this about it, it seems to support 2 3.5 inch drives, do you have more than that? It shouldn't look too bad and it seems to be relatively easy to get in the front

here's with one

 

the 3.5 inch drives seem to be covered by a panel as well (white version is in pic below cuz I couldn't find this pic of black one)

9 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

It looks to me the two front panels are just held in place with like pins that are pushed into sockets on the case, so it could tool-lessly pop off and I can mod it to hide the optical drive behind it.

they should be hidden according to the above pic (might not be seen in the picture on pcpartpicker but I think it comes in the box, if you're not sure then watch an unboxing)

 

[TVwazhere]

1 hour ago, OhYou_ said:

The Lian Li PC-A55 (ass) case looks in every way like the perfect case for what I want but the problem is its 12 years old and I cant find one
Are there any tips to finding old cases or is it just gg no re?

How low / wide do you want to go?

 

My roommate was facing the same conundrum a month ago; they had an ATX board that they wanted to use as a secondary pc and were struggling to find a case short enough to fit on the entertainment stand under the TV. They were originally looking at the PC-011D, and when  I asked "why dont you use something like the Silverstone GD series?" The look on their face as I blew their minds that an ATX case could be so short was priceless.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Grandia-Aluminum-Computer/dp/B00KHO0MRK

 

Theres a few models, the GD08 thru GD12 are all aTX with various differences, but the GD09 has the front access 5.25" bay for that optical drive. The only reason I dont whole heartedly recommend it is because I dont know where you're putting it, and therefore limited on the width of the case. 

But if that's not an issue, check their cases out!

 

[OhYou_]

2 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

How low / wide do you want to go?

 

My roommate was facing the same conundrum a month ago; they had an ATX board that they wanted to use as a secondary pc and were struggling to find a case short enough to fit on the entertainment stand under the TV. They were originally looking at the PC-011D, and when I asked "why dont you use something like the Silverstone GD series I watched it in their eyes as I blew their minds that an ATX case could be so short.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Technology-Grandia-Aluminum-Computer/dp/B00KHO0MRK

 

Theres a few models, the GD08 thru GD12 are all aTX with various differences, but the GD09 has the front access 5.25" bay for that optical drive. The only reason I dont whole heartedly recommend it is because I dont know where you're putting it, and therefore limited on the width of the case. 

But if that's not an issue, check their cases out!

that thing actually looks pretty good, 26.L volume too

the use is a lan party pc for boomer games like source engine stuff and UT3 quake arena etc etc. So the overall dimensions is exactly proportional to what I have to carry around and store away and fit in my car and generally deal with. Using horizontal cases also means monitor go on top which is fine because I'm tall I guess.
CD drive is kind of a just in case, since a lot of games of that era need a disk so if someone brings a bunch of disks or something for a game I want to accommodate that.
Also another consideration I've been silently thinking of is durability, which is why I'm leaning to "higher end" builders like lian li, silverstone, similar, but i can also just not handle it like an ape and be fine

[TVwazhere]

17 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

Also another consideration I've been silently thinking of is durability, which is why I'm leaning to "higher end" builders like lian li, silverstone, similar, but i can also just not handle it like an ape and be fine

I found the case to be decently well built. A lot of the structure of cases come from bracing the corners and cross brackets rather than thickness of the metal sheets. The side (top, in this case) panel itself felt a bit flimsy (unbraced) but the case itself with the cross brack felt pretty sturdy, though it will never leave it's spot on our entertainment stand. With the cross brace installed, it should hold the weight of a monitor with little issue.