A tiny, cheap MicroATX case?

[wadeak78]

The Silverstone Sugo 11 looks like it might work for you, check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U8IS830/?tag=pcpapi-20

http://silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=535&area=en

[wadeak78]

10 minutes ago, wadeak78 said:

The Silverstone Sugo 11 looks like it might work for you, check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U8IS830/?tag=pcpapi-20

http://silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=535&area=en

Actually the Sugo 12 would work too.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WJOXW96/ref=twister_B016BCLDO2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

http://silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=540&area=en

[Aereldor]

3 hours ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Node 804 isn't super cheap but it's form factor is way easier to carry than its size might suggest. 

 

Again perhaps not the best option though. 

It's up against the Corsair Air 240 right now.

[Curufinwe_wins]

18 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

It's up against the Corsair Air 240 right now.

The Node 804 is literally superior in every possible way compared to the Air 240. So if those are the two options, get the 804.

[Aereldor]

8 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

The Node 804 is literally superior in every possible way compared to the Air 240. So if those are the two options, get the 804.

Every possible way besides price, and in my opinion, aesthetic. Neither of them will fit into a suitcase, but I suppose I can just carry all the parts and reassemble them into a new case when I get there.

[mapegl]

Have you looked at the Sugo Sg09 and SG10 from Silverstone? Both are close being some if the smallest mAtx cases on the market. And you get get the Sugo bag for it to carry it actually. 

[Aereldor]

12 minutes ago, mapegl said:

Have you looked at the Sugo Sg09 and SG10 from Silverstone? Both are close being some if the smallest mAtx cases on the market. And you get get the Sugo bag for it to carry it actually. 

I'm not going to lie, those look incredible. Do smaller MicroATX cases even exist?

[Aereldor]

17 minutes ago, mapegl said:

Have you looked at the Sugo Sg09 and SG10 from Silverstone? Both are close being some if the smallest mAtx cases on the market. And you get get the Sugo bag for it to carry it actually. 

Also- does it fit a full-size power supply? Or will I have to buy an SFX power supply?

[mapegl]

14 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

Also- does it fit a full-size power supply? Or will I have to buy an SFX power supply?

They are both basically the same case and support full-size PSUs. 

 

There are cases where the psu is mounted above the CPU heat sink. Don't remember a specific one, however I have seen those. 

 

Cases like the Node 202 don't make sense for mATX, because of the 4 expansion slots and those cases giving you room for 1. There is a Lian-Li one that has a similar layout and is made of glass and aluminium.....but that thing is like 200bucks.

 

 

[Aereldor]

10 hours ago, mapegl said:

They are both basically the same case and support full-size PSUs. 

 

There are cases where the psu is mounted above the CPU heat sink. Don't remember a specific one, however I have seen those. 

 

Cases like the Node 202 don't make sense for mATX, because of the 4 expansion slots and those cases giving you room for 1. There is a Lian-Li one that has a similar layout and is made of glass and aluminium.....but that thing is like 200bucks.

 

 

A front-mounted power supply seems like the best way to do it. The graphics card does stick out off the right side of the motherboard, which means the case will have to be longer than the motherboard to accommodate the GPU. It just makes the most sense to stick the power supply in the front.

However, my PSU isn't modular, so to be entirely honest, I dread the headache that awaits me should I buy one of these cases. Furthermore, the SG09 and SG10 go for $90 and $110 respectively. Is there a possibility of the prices dropping on the now three-year-old cases?

[ThomasD]

Zalman ZM T1 Plus is small, but not microscopic.  Inexpensive too.

[Aereldor]

16 minutes ago, ThomasD said:

Zalman ZM T1 Plus is small, but not microscopic.  Inexpensive too.

It's sleek, but it doesn't cram it all into a form factor nearly as tiny as the aforementioned Silverstone Sugo SG09 and SG10 cases.

 

What would be great is if Silverstone made a thinner version of either of those rather than make it blocky to accommodate a full-height CPU cooler.

[ThomasD]

3 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

It's sleek, but it doesn't cram it all into a form factor nearly as tiny as the aforementioned Silverstone Sugo SG09 and SG10 cases.

 

What would be great is if Silverstone made a thinner version of either of those rather than make it blocky to accommodate a full-height CPU cooler.

It's also 1/3 the price of those Silverstones.  But be forewarned, the metal panels are darn thin - you get what you pay for.

[Aereldor]

3 minutes ago, ThomasD said:

It's also 1/3 the price of those Silverstones.  But be forewarned, the metal panels are darn thin - you get what you pay for.

If I can get all of my components into a suitcase, I'll have to assess whether I've enough money for a case at all, but it's good to know that I have options at several different price points. In the worst case, I suppose I'll find a way to make my now 7-year-old MacBook Pro power through it again (hello, 480p video production).

[mapegl]

1 hour ago, Aereldor said:

A front-mounted power supply seems like the best way to do it. The graphics card does stick out off the right side of the motherboard, which means the case will have to be longer than the motherboard to accommodate the GPU. It just makes the most sense to stick the power supply in the front.

However, my PSU isn't modular, so to be entirely honest, I dread the headache that awaits me should I buy one of these cases. Furthermore, the SG09 and SG10 go for $90 and $110 respectively. Is there a possibility of the prices dropping on the now three-year-old cases?

Honestly, and please don't be offended, but you want too much.

You can't have a well designed case that fits a niche-market and have it only cost like 50 bucks. ATX is usually cheaper for a reason, more people can use it and more people buy it. The smaller the market, the higher the price (usually).

Also Silverstone cases are mostly high-quality and the SG10 even has some aluminum included, which for some reason always makes cases way more expensive.

 

However another case I really like is the Phenom M and the Prodigy M. I used the singular on purpose, not a grammatical mistake ;-), because it is the same case internally, just one has handles and the other one does not. The Phenom M is quite small, supports SLI/CF with a PCIe expansion slot in between and the PSU is front mounted. I used to have a Prodigy M and airflow was really good and cable management was ok, you just have to bundle the cables somewhat behind and in front of the PSU (looking sideways into the case) and it will work. Both cases have decent quality and have very sturdy side panels (important if you really want to carry it around).

 

Now I really don't know how much those cost where you live, in Germany you can get the refurbished on eBay for about 60€, which is around 60$.

 

Coming back to my first line in this comment, you should consider that a case is mostly something you will keep for several years and you can keep it throughout many upgrades (unless USB 5.0 comes out and you really really want that). Just like a PSU, a case is actually something you can future-proof and therefore one should consider paying a little more now, to keep the part longer and thus actually save money.

I know however, that this is not always possible. I mean, if you have 50$ and nothing more, you can't spend 100$.

 

I hope I could help you a bit with my case suggestions and my personal opinion, and please take it as just that: My personal opinion. The decision is still yours to make. I just want to encourage you to think about the purchase-decision a little more.

[Aereldor]

36 minutes ago, mapegl said:

Honestly, and please don't be offended, but you want too much.

You can't have a well designed case that fits a niche-market and have it only cost like 50 bucks. ATX is usually cheaper for a reason, more people can use it and more people buy it. The smaller the market, the higher the price (usually).

Also Silverstone cases are mostly high-quality and the SG10 even has some aluminum included, which for some reason always makes cases way more expensive.

 

However another case I really like is the Phenom M and the Prodigy M. I used the singular on purpose, not a grammatical mistake ;-), because it is the same case internally, just one has handles and the other one does not. The Phenom M is quite small, supports SLI/CF with a PCIe expansion slot in between and the PSU is front mounted. I used to have a Prodigy M and airflow was really good and cable management was ok, you just have to bundle the cables somewhat behind and in front of the PSU (looking sideways into the case) and it will work. Both cases have decent quality and have very sturdy side panels (important if you really want to carry it around).

 

Now I really don't know how much those cost where you live, in Germany you can get the refurbished on eBay for about 60€, which is around 60$.

 

Coming back to my first line in this comment, you should consider that a case is mostly something you will keep for several years and you can keep it throughout many upgrades (unless USB 5.0 comes out and you really really want that). Just like a PSU, a case is actually something you can future-proof and therefore one should consider paying a little more now, to keep the part longer and thus actually save money.

I know however, that this is not always possible. I mean, if you have 50$ and nothing more, you can't spend 100$.

 

I hope I could help you a bit with my case suggestions and my personal opinion, and please take it as just that: My personal opinion. The decision is still yours to make. I just want to encourage you to think about the purchase-decision a little more.

I didn't say I'd refuse to buy a case that costs more. It would depend on my finances when I end up moving. I already know that I can afford only one upgrade in the next year, and if I want a computer at conservatory, it'll probably have to be the case. 

Reviews for the BitFenix Prodigy M aren't great either, and the SG09 seems to be the way to go at the moment, unless I find myself a cheap, used Prodigy M and a dremel to ease the purported burdens of working in the case.

 

Indeed. Thank you for your insight.