Looking For Suggestions - Mini ITX or Micro ATX?

[Percephere]

I'm more than happy with my current PC, but I'm thinking about a new desktop build for the future. I don't intend to buy any parts just yet and I definitely won't be putting anything together for a couple months.

 

Right now though, I'm very interested in the idea of building a smaller gaming PC with more power than my current one while being less harmful to my wallet. See, my current PC is quite bulky; I've room for three GPUs and I'm only using one outdated GTX 970. I've more or less decided on a new motherboard, one that includes all the bits I intend to use and few I don't. I'm more than enjoying my current CPU, Intel's 6th-gen i5-6600K, and I think anything pricier would just be gratuitous.

 

Anyhow, on to the beef. I'm looking for a decent Mini ITX or Micro ATX case with enough space for a full size (11" x 5") GPU. Space for liquid CPU cooling would be fantastic, but well-directed airflow will do nicely. I believe the cost of the case and PSU will be the deciding factor as to whether I'd like to go Mini ITX or Micro ATX. More or less dependant on my motherboard, but I do intend to use a 500GB M.2 drive as my primary storage device, so I'll likely only have one other drive for bulk storage (probably a 1 or 2 TB HDD). The point of this new build is keep the things I use and toss everything I don't. I don't need more than two storage drives, and I don't need more than one GPU.

 

The case I've been looking at:

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/carbide-series-air-240-high-airflow-micro-atx-and-mini-itx-pc-case

This one looks pretty fantastic to me. For $90, a very handsome case with room for a full-size GPU and liquid cooling.

 

Any suggestions or feedback is appreciated. Once I've decided on some bits and pieces, I'll either post them here or in another topic and maybe you guys can help me determine what PSU to go with. My current estimate is around 600-650W. Again, I'm not buying anything yet.

[Stardar1]

3 minutes ago, Percephere said:

I'm more than happy with my current PC, but I'm thinking about a new desktop build for the future. I don't intend to buy any parts just yet and I definitely won't be putting anything together for a couple months.

 

Right now though, I'm very interested in the idea of building a smaller gaming PC with more power than my current one while being less harmful to my wallet. See, my current PC is quite bulky; I've room for three GPUs and I'm only using one outdated GTX 970. I've more or less decided on a new motherboard, one that includes all the bits I intend to use and few I don't. I'm more than enjoying my current CPU, Intel's 6th-gen i5-6600K, and I think anything pricier would just be gratuitous.

 

Anyhow, on to the beef. I'm looking for a decent Mini ITX or Micro ATX case with enough space for a full size (11" x 5") GPU. Space for liquid CPU cooling would be fantastic, but well-directed airflow will do nicely. I believe the cost of the case and PSU will be the deciding factor as to whether I'd like to go Mini ITX or Micro ATX. More or less dependant on my motherboard, but I do intend to use a 500GB M.2 drive as my primary storage device, so I'll likely only have one other drive for bulk storage (probably a 1 or 2 TB HDD). The point of this new build is keep the things I use and toss everything I don't. I don't need more than two storage drives, and I don't need more than one GPU.

 

The case I've been looking at:

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/carbide-series-air-240-high-airflow-micro-atx-and-mini-itx-pc-case

This one looks pretty fantastic to me. For $90, a very handsome case with room for a full-size GPU and liquid cooling.

 

Any suggestions or feedback is appreciated. Once I've decided on some bits and pieces, I'll either post them here or in another topic and maybe you guys can help me determine what PSU to go with. My current estimate is around 600-650W. Again, I'm not buying anything yet.

Phanteks Evolv ITX

[Somedane]

My friend bought an Air 240 and his GPU couldn't fit if he wanted to put the side panel on.
His GPU was an MSI 960, I believe. The problem was that the heat pipes on the GPU where in the way.

[Monkey Dust]

1 hour ago, Somedane said:

My friend bought an Air 240 and his GPU couldn't fit if he wanted to put the side panel on.
His GPU was an MSI 960, I believe. The problem was that the heat pipes on the GPU where in the way.

Yeah SFF cases do tend to be narrower than full ATX, so if you are planing to use a tall graphics card check the clearance before you buy.

 

PSU wise I'd choose your case first to see how much room you have. SFX PSUs are pricey, but can give the GPU more room to breath in some MITX tower cases, or are a requirement in some MITX cases. Silverstone also do short ATX PSUs if you're tight for space in the PSU area, and short cable kits, though that is more money.