most compact matx/mitx case?

[gameboy3800]

Hello! i've been saving up to replace my old workstation with a system using the new amd ryzen 1800x. my previous system was in the massive nzxt phantom 820, and that was great for fitting my massive galax hall of fame cards and could provide enough airflow to feed them, but it's just too big for me now, and i'd like to move to something a lot more compact. i did a client build in a define nano s before and absolutely loved it, but it's still a bit too big for my future plans. here's what i have in mind:

 

main thing is the case. i would like to get one in similar size and, if possible, style to the ncase m1 or inwin 301 (not out yet); extremly compact and space efficient, while still looking elegant.

 

matx or mitx. the smaller the better. but it MUST support these components:

amd ryzen 7 1800x

64gb of memory (4 x 16gb for matx or 2 x ecc 32gb for mitx)

storage; main os on m.2 nvme on mb, 2x 3.5 inch drives and 2x 2.5 inch

corsair h100i gtx aio

600w - 700w sfx/sfx-l silverstone psu

motherboard matx or mitx with b350/x370 chipset.

gpu size: 2.5/3 slots and 300mm+ in length and possibly having a very tall pcb. 

case: tbd (MUST support tall gpus like asus strix and gpus with very big coolers like gigabyte xtreme gaming). (i already ordered a ncase m1 without realizing that it doesn't support tall pcb gpus. i suppose i could go reference style, but the performance of the aib cards with their massive coolers and base performance boost is too good to pass up.)

 

here's a few cases that i know won't work to help with narrowing down options:

dancase itx; too small; no watercooling support at all, and can't hold a 2.5/3 slot gpu.

fractal define nano s; too big; i won't be doing a custom loop for ease of use, making a lot of the space in the drive cage area wasted, and it won't support a 2.5/3 slot card.

ncase m1; absolutely perfect, but it won't support tall gpus. if there's a great gpu that's 2.5/3 slots without being above reference height, then please let me know.

anything atx: too big.

 

price is not a concern. hit me with any suggestions. any help is much appreciated. thank you.

[mapegl]

13 minutes ago, gameboy3800 said:

Hello! i've been saving up to replace my old workstation with a system using the new amd ryzen 1800x. my previous system was in the massive nzxt phantom 820, and that was great for fitting my massive galax hall of fame cards and could provide enough airflow to feed them, but it's just too big for me now, and i'd like to move to something a lot more compact. i did a client build in a define nano s before and absolutely loved it, but it's still a bit too big for my future plans. here's what i have in mind:

 

main thing is the case. i would like to get one in similar size and, if possible, style to the ncase m1 or inwin 301 (not out yet); extremly compact and space efficient, while still looking elegant.

 

matx or mitx. the smaller the better. but it MUST support these components:

amd ryzen 7 1800x

64gb of memory (4 x 16gb for matx or 2 x ecc 32gb for mitx)

storage; main os on m.2 nvme on mb, 2x 3.5 inch drives and 2x 2.5 inch

corsair h100i gtx aio

600w - 700w sfx/sfx-l silverstone psu

motherboard matx or mitx with b350/x370 chipset.

gpu size: 2.5/3 slots and 300mm+ in length and possibly having a very tall pcb. 

case: tbd (MUST support tall gpus like asus strix and gpus with very big coolers like gigabyte xtreme gaming). (i already ordered a ncase m1 without realizing that it doesn't support tall pcb gpus. i suppose i could go reference style, but the performance of the aib cards with their massive coolers and base performance boost is too good to pass up.)

 

here's a few cases that i know won't work to help with narrowing down options:

dancase itx; too small; no watercooling support at all, and can't hold a 2.5/3 slot gpu.

fractal define nano s; too big; i won't be doing a custom loop for ease of use, making a lot of the space in the drive cage area wasted, and it won't support a 2.5/3 slot card.

ncase m1; absolutely perfect, but it won't support tall gpus. if there's a great gpu that's 2.5/3 slots without being above reference height, then please let me know.

anything atx: too big.

 

price is not a concern. hit me with any suggestions. any help is much appreciated. thank you.

The problem is that there are no itx amd am4 boards yet. I am basically looking to build something similar (r7 1700 itx), but I am still waiting for the matching boards. Nothing specific is known about release dates yet. Probably some time in April or May.

 

If the Define Nano S (just as a reference point for size) is too big for you, but you want a triple slot card....well that seems like asking for too much if the NCASE M1 isn't for you. 

I would suggest something like a Silverstone SG09 or SG10 for a really compact matx build.

 

If you can use a regular size gpu like a gaming x variant, I would highly suggest the dan cases a4. That's what I want to put my ryzen 1700 build into. 

[light-v]

The SG13 can fit an AIO for the CPU and fit a lot of full sized GPU but will be limited when it comes to 3.5" drives

 

The RVZ01-E/FTZ01/ML07 Can fit an AIO as well as most full size GPUs and can also house a 3.5"

 

The Cougar QBX is probably what you need since it can house a 240mm aio, very big gpus and a full size ATX psu without being huge

[gameboy3800]

8 hours ago, mapegl said:

The problem is that there are no itx amd am4 boards yet. I am basically looking to build something similar (r7 1700 itx), but I am still waiting for the matching boards. Nothing specific is known about release dates yet. Probably some time in April or May.

 

If the Define Nano S (just as a reference point for size) is too big for you, but you want a triple slot card....well that seems like asking for too much if the NCASE M1 isn't for you. 

I would suggest something like a Silverstone SG09 or SG10 for a really compact matx build.

 

If you can use a regular size gpu like a gaming x variant, I would highly suggest the dan cases a4. That's what I want to put my ryzen 1700 build into. 

the dancases looks nice, but with no liquid cooling support at all and very limited storage options, i'll pass.

the silverstones don't look as elegant as the m1 though. the phantom 820 case i had before had lights all over it and it was very flashy. now i want to have something that's a bit more toned down, while also still looking like the expensive machine that this build is going to be (full metal construction).

[gameboy3800]

7 hours ago, light-v said:

The SG13 can fit an AIO for the CPU and fit a lot of full sized GPU but will be limited when it comes to 3.5" drives

 

The RVZ01-E/FTZ01/ML07 Can fit an AIO as well as most full size GPUs and can also house a 3.5"

 

The Cougar QBX is probably what you need since it can house a 240mm aio, very big gpus and a full size ATX psu without being huge

i had completely forgotten about the qbx! i saw it months ago on hardware canucks video and thought it was interesting. can't believe i let it slip my mind. i will rewatch their video to refresh my memory. thanks!

[gameboy3800]

the only reason why i'd like triple slot and high gpu compatibility is in case i want to get a new card (be it amd rx 600 series or nvidia 1200 series) in the future and it is massive, like the zotac amp extreme 1080, i would like to just drop the new card in without needing to do a full case swap of the system.

[gameboy3800]

ha. i did a bit more research, and it seems that the ncase can support cards up to 5.5 inches in total height. the galax hof 1080 that i've been keeping my eye on is at 5.39 inches. the next thing is length. the ncase can support a max of 12.5 inch length cards. and what do you know, the hof 1080 is exactly 12.5 inches long! so it seems like i made the correct purchase all along, and that this thread was kinda pointless. 

 

i will say that amd itx boards are on the way. here's a few examples for those looking to build a similar system to mine in the near future:

Gigabyte AB350N-Gaming Wifi

Biostar X370GTN and B350GTN

the ncase m1 can also support flexATX/utx and matx boards with 3 expansion slots, but you really have to watch their width, as they can't be much wider than standard itx without doing some trickery with the atx psu bracket or modding. here's a google doc from the ncase forums that shows a ton of motherboards for various processors and age.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xhd3QG2uIVBgQ7vHgpP_Bd_MNcrfxr8KJW2sY6g33so/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=26

this forum can also help out:

https://hardforum.com/threads/3-slot-matx-motherboard-in-ncase-m1.1812629/

 

[light-v]

7 hours ago, gameboy3800 said:

the only reason why i'd like triple slot and high gpu compatibility is in case i want to get a new card (be it amd rx 600 series or nvidia 1200 series) in the future and it is massive, like the zotac amp extreme 1080, i would like to just drop the new card in without needing to do a full case swap of the system.

Well you don't have to have an absolutely huge GPU to have optimal cooling and overclocking unless that's your thing. GPU's TDP are dropping on every generation so oversized heatsink aren't as needed as they used to 

[gameboy3800]

On 3/19/2017 at 9:04 AM, light-v said:

Well you don't have to have an absolutely huge GPU to have optimal cooling and overclocking unless that's your thing. GPU's TDP are dropping on every generation so oversized heatsink aren't as needed as they used to 

well to keep noise levels down, larger heatsinks are necessary so that quieter fans can be used to achieve the same performance. the longer the gpu can operate in silent mode before the fans need to kick in, the better.