What is the appeal of Itx?

[Pheelo]

I'm using the ncase m1. I made no compromises, and the rig is silent, and I can easily take it on the bus and visit my friend.

[TheKDub]

5 hours ago, Gdourado said:

Hello, how are you? 

 

So, I was researching a bit on itx builds.

At first I saw the rvz01. 

Very cool looking case and very different from the normal everyday computer towers. 

But at a limited height for cpu coolers and difficult AIO compatibility, the cpu cooling and thus the overclock can be seriously compromised. 

Then I looked at the Nano S. 

A tower case, but small and sleek. 

Can take large air coolers and 240mm AIO. 

But then the GPU stays against the psu, so open air cooled cards will choke. 

The node 202 is also very cool, but difficult to cool both the cpu and GPU... 

After all this, I keep getting back to what is the appeal of itx?

Besides being small, why would somebody choose itx over atx if the computer is supposed to stay on the same place and space on the desk or room is not an issue? 

 

I just feel there are too many compromises. 

And also, boards are expensive and usually have less robust VRM than equivalent atx boards. 

 

Cheers. 

Smaller amount of space taken up/wasted, and easier to fit on a desk or into a tight spot.

The rest of the reasons pretty much just stem from there, like being able to move it around much easier, and such.

 

I'm going to be using a node 202 for my next build since I don't really need more than one PCIe device (GPU), and I want to be able to have it up on my desk instead of down under my desk taking up a ton of room (Corsair 230T) and wasting a huge amount of space. (With a different motherboard, I could easily have fit it in a case around half the size of this one, if not smaller.)

[Sauron]

If you need the smaller for factor you have no choice but to accept the compromises. It has become a lot better in the last few years though.

[2FA]

My rig is a hell of a lot lighter to carry now that it is ITX.

[Nup]

They can move!! I realy wish i had gone for a smaller case i could take home easily on weekend. Looking at you NCASE! 

 

Other then that yeah, Not as easy yo OC. and less HDD storage. My current set up would have to rethink storage if i were to move to a smaller case. 

[Bleedingyamato]

3 hours ago, tmcclelland455 said:

Front of it looks better in person IMO. As for drives, all the 3.5" drives sit behind the front two fan slots, with the possibility of mounting 3 behind the tray (two spots, but you can get one of the dual-drive brackets for the lower portion where there's more room).

You mean there's fan mounts behind the HDD cages?

 

2 hours ago, Ithanul said:

I/O delete is having the front USB, audio, etc. ports removed from the case.

 

Here the two Splashes I own.  One with the front ports (gray) and one without (satin black).

 

That lets you have a longer GPU?

 

Is "Splash" the brand?    I've never heard of it.

 

2 hours ago, DeadEyePsycho said:

My rig is a hell of a lot lighter to carry now that it is ITX.

But then how will you lift it instead of buying weights?  lol

[magicammo]

8 hours ago, Gdourado said:

Hello, how are you? 

 

So, I was researching a bit on itx builds.

At first I saw the rvz01. 

Very cool looking case and very different from the normal everyday computer towers. 

But at a limited height for cpu coolers and difficult AIO compatibility, the cpu cooling and thus the overclock can be seriously compromised. 

Then I looked at the Nano S. 

A tower case, but small and sleek. 

Can take large air coolers and 240mm AIO. 

But then the GPU stays against the psu, so open air cooled cards will choke. 

The node 202 is also very cool, but difficult to cool both the cpu and GPU... 

After all this, I keep getting back to what is the appeal of itx?

Besides being small, why would somebody choose itx over atx if the computer is supposed to stay on the same place and space on the desk or room is not an issue? 

 

I just feel there are too many compromises. 

And also, boards are expensive and usually have less robust VRM than equivalent atx boards. 

 

Cheers. 

I've owned a node 202 and had a 6700k with a GTX 970 reference cooler and cryotec c7 CPU cooler and it performed like a champ and I was able to OC my 970

[flibberdipper]

17 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

You mean there's fan mounts behind the HDD cages?

In front. You can replace the 200mm front fan with a pair of 120s or 140s.

[Polyvalent]

Many of the obvious points have been stated already, but I figured I'd throw in my two cents.

 

I went ITX because:

• I frequently attend LAN's and LAN parties
• I require a small PC footprint so I can maximize my workspace (student)
• ITX cases have come a LONG way in terms of features.  My evolv ITX has great cable management, space for 2 HDD's and my 2 SSDs, a very functional radiator bracket which I utilize, tons of room to build with, tons of airflow across the GPU, and very slick aesthetics

[Drak3]

Same as driving a Prius, make your dick look bigger by comparison.

[Ithanul]

41 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

That lets you have a longer GPU?

 

Is "Splash" the brand?    I've never heard of it.

Yes, without the front ports and their pcb board there.  The case has extra room for longer cards.

 

The case is a Compact Splash.  It is not a brand.  An individual on a different forum board designed them and made a small run.  Each is numbered and only 105 exist.

[iamdarkyoshi]

You can do tiny builds

 

gtx 1080 box for scale

 

 

[Techicolors]

7 hours ago, tmcclelland455 said:

ITX is tiny, which has major appeal to people like me that don't really want a massive tower cough Enthoo Pro cough sitting on their desk.

i have an enthoo pro, which is making me want to do an ITX build 

[BingoFishy]

9 hours ago, dizmo said:

You've only picked a few of the cases available, and lower end ones. Look at cases like the Ncase M1, Caselabs Bullet, etc and there are much, much nicer options.

You keep hitting on overclocking...not every PC user overclocks.

If space isn't an issue, then yeah, you'd likely go for a larger case. However if you want something small, you go ITX.

I'm going ITX with my next build, but something tiny, like the Firewolfy MI6. It's about the size of half a sheet of paper.

 

Those are both much, much, larger than a Silverstone RVZ02, ML08B, Node 202, etc. They're nicer, sure, but they're also not very small.

[dizmo]

Just now, BingoFishy said:

Those are both much, much, larger than a Silverstone RVZ02, ML08B, Node 202, etc. They're nicer, sure, but they're also not very small.

Are you kidding? The NCase is one of the smallest cases you can get. The Bullet is also quite small.

The cases you named are all significantly taller. It all depends on what form factor you want.

[BingoFishy]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Are you kidding? The NCase is one of the smallest cases you can get. The Bullet is also quite small.

The cases you named are all significantly taller. It all depends on what form factor you want.

But they can't slip into small spaces as well because of their width.

[Automobili3XF]

The appeal of ITX is size.

I must admit, i caught myself a lot thinking about making an ITX, specifically one based on the Lian-Li PC TU-200B case, such project would be called Mr. Moon.

But latelly i'm getting very intrigued by HTPC cases, it wouldn't look out of place on my A/V shelf.

[flibberdipper]

49 minutes ago, Technicolors said:

i have an enthoo pro, which is making me want to do an ITX build 

I just kinda want to branch out and try something tiny. And I friggin love how the Node 202 looks.

[yathis]

Mini Computers is the appeal.

Desktop performance in a small package.

Could use it like a large big laptop if you wanted to.

[yathis]

9 hours ago, M.Yurizaki said:

it was too cumbersome to lug around and it took too much space when I went places with it.

proof

[dizmo]

53 minutes ago, BingoFishy said:

But they can't slip into small spaces as well because of their width.

Which isn't something that everyone needs

[Mira Yurizaki]

40 minutes ago, yathis said:

proof

It was a Silverstone FT-02. That case is basically a large aluminum block and the only places to get a purchase to carry it were awkward.

[Bleedingyamato]

3 hours ago, Ithanul said:

Yes, without the front ports and their pcb board there.  The case has extra room for longer cards.

 

The case is a Compact Splash.  It is not a brand.  An individual on a different forum board designed them and made a small run.  Each is numbered and only 105 exist.

You have 2 of them.  Was there something about them you liked enough to buy not one but two from that person?

 

2 hours ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

You can do tiny builds

 

 

gtx 1080 box for scale

 

You didn't seriously build a computer in a cardboard box did you?  ?

[iamdarkyoshi]

21 minutes ago, Bleedingyamato said:

You didn't seriously build a computer in a cardboard box did you?  ?

This is my main GTX 1080/6700K rig, which pretty much runs folding@home 24/7. 

 

You should know me by now

[Ithanul]

8 hours ago, Bleedingyamato said:

You have 2 of them.  Was there something about them you liked enough to buy not one but two from that person?

One is for my Dad and one is for me.  The build quality of the cases are right up there with CaseLab quality.

 

8 hours ago, iamdarkyoshi said:

This is my main GTX 1080/6700K rig, which pretty much runs folding@home 24/7. 

 

You should know me by now

Got to love card board rigs.  Done a few myself, but never inside one, mostly on top of the mobo box.  Crazy one I did had a AMD mATX board with a OG Titan smacked on it sitting on top of a card board box.  I got that pic somewhere.