Smallest ATX Case under ~$150

[jasonB221]

Hey guys and gals,

I'm about to be heading off to college as a freshman, and would like to take my rig with me. However, I feel like my current case, Phanteks Enthoo Pro is rather large, and I would like something smaller without having to redo my entire build.

I currently have an Asus Z97-AR (ATX size) mobo, a 970 Strix, and a H100i cooling an i5 4690k. I would prefer to change as little of that as possible, but I would be open to getting a new cooler if I have to. As the title says, I'm looking for the smallest possible ATX case. $150 is a rough guide, I am open to spending more to get better build quality.

Thanks for the help!

 

Link to PCPartPicker: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/wvXJ8K

[roylapoutre]

The ones i know (from smaller to larger) : 

 

- Lian LI PC-A55

- NZXT S340

- Lian Li PC-A05FN

[Henry]

Corsair Carbide Spec 01. Idk if it fits a h100i. 

[jasonB221]

3 hours ago, roylapoutre said:

The ones i know (from smaller to larger) : 

 

- Lian LI PC-A55

- NZXT S340

- Lian Li PC-A05FN

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I see you have an S340, what do you think of it? What's the build quality like?

[roylapoutre]

32 minutes ago, jasonB221 said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I see you have an S340, what do you think of it? What's the build quality like?

The S340 is really outstanding when it comes to build quality for a case around 70$. The metal chassis and black mate finish on top and inside give a killer look and a feeling of sturdiness. The window is really fragile though, a simple nail scratch won't go away.

 

Only real drawback for me was the cable management. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome for a compact mid-tower, but I have a lot of peripherals, HDD/SDD as well as extension sleeves and all of this combined makes it really hard to make anything more than stuffing the PSU basement and the back of the case with cables. It works, but it's not as good as I would like. But if you have a reasonable amount of peripherals, you will be fine  

[jasonB221]

11 minutes ago, roylapoutre said:

The S340 is really outstanding when it comes to build quality for a case around 70$. The metal chassis and black mate finish on top and inside give a killer look and a feeling of sturdiness. The window is really fragile though, a simple nail scratch won't go away.

 

Only real drawback for me was the cable management. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome for a compact mid-tower, but I have a lot of peripherals, HDD/SDD as well as extension sleeves and all of this combined makes it really hard to make anything more than stuffing the PSU basement and the back of the case with cables. It works, but it's not as good as I would like. But if you have a reasonable amount of peripherals, you will be fine  

 

Thanks for the advice. Right now I'm leaning towards it, but I'm going to wait and see if any more suggestions come in. It never hurts to have more opinions imo.

Thanks a lot!

[roylapoutre]

7 minutes ago, jasonB221 said:

Thanks for the advice. Right now I'm leaning towards it, but I'm going to wait and see if any more suggestions come in. It never hurts to have more opinions imo.

Thanks a lot!

No problem ! Search for other tests/comments on those case, the S340 has a lot of reviews everywhere  

[Henry]

Since the NZXT S340 has been mentioned, I will say this: It will attract a lot of scratches on the window. I know from experience.

[vladonizer]

The corsair 400c is small, looks good, and has a place up top for a 240mm rad, front can go up to a 360mm or 280mm. For around $90-$100