Smallest E-ATX and 360mm radiator case

[DJ_Juicepocket]

I need some recommendations for a slightly smaller case that is capable of:

1. Holding EATX boards
2. Holding a 360mm XE EKWB radiator
3. Holding at least another 240mm radiator

 

Board is an Asus rampage IV extreme (hence E-ATX requirement). I've gone down to running a single GPU. I wasn't sure if its worth building a whole new system at this time... the 3930K seems to be doing fine. But I want to go to a difference case.

 

The Caselabs BH8 is nearly perfect but I don't think I can modify it enough to make my 360mm radiator fit. I could externally mount it... somehow I guess... maybe if I made a Pedestal for it like the Merlin/Mercury 

Caselabs S8/S8S would work, but a bit pricy and a bit more so when you factor in shipping to the People's Republic of Canada.... not entirely out of my budget though. I could damn near order TWO bullets and modify one to hold all my cooling stuff and come out to about the same price.

Thermaltake Core X9 was also considered, but a bit on the large side.

Thermaltake Tower 900 looks cool but again... might be a little to large.

 

Anything else out there that isn't super flashy- fairly low key and doesn't look like I designed it myself in grade 3? My max price limit is basically Caselabs.

 

Feel free to post pics of your own setups to give me an idea. 

 

I hate saying "small form factor" but I currently have a 800D that I modified to run two radiators but I've become bored/ tired of working around it. I want something a bit smaller- maybe if not smaller volume wise, a different layout for the MB/radiators to maximize the use of all that volume.

 

[NoxiousOdor]

I have an eatx board in the NZXT S340 but you will have a rough time getting the second rad in there. It actually works really nicely other than not meeting that requirement

 

It might be hard to get a small case that can hold both an eatx board as well as two radiators

[Damascus]

Define R5 is relatively small and can take 360 + 240 (eatx works when rubber gromets are removed and the metal is taped)

[NoxiousOdor]

2 minutes ago, Damascus said:

Define R5 is relatively small and can take 360 + 240 (eatx works when rubber gromets are removed and the metal is taped)

Even with the HDD bays? If so that is super cool

[Damascus]

Just now, WhisperingKnickers said:

Even with the HDD bays? If so that is super cool

 

[NoxiousOdor]

1 minute ago, Damascus said:

 

That is really cool, If it was a little taller I would consider getting one to put the SR2 into. Like you saw in the picture I sent you the modded s340 wasn't the most elegant solution

[andrewmp6]

lian li alpha 550 will do,nzxt h700i will do,And the Thermaltake core x5 will do its a lot smaller then the x9,Or find a atx or maybe a micro atx board for your cpu socket and get a even smaller case if you want tiny.

[DJ_Juicepocket]

18 hours ago, andrewmp6 said:

lian li alpha 550 will do,nzxt h700i will do,And the Thermaltake core x5 will do its a lot smaller then the x9,Or find a atx or maybe a micro atx board for your cpu socket and get a even smaller case if you want tiny.

I didn't even know Thermaltake had an X5. That might work.

 

With my plans of going smaller, I was brainstorming with the idea of throwing all my hardware in one case and all my cooling hardware in another case and stacking the two and having quick disconnects- which sounds counter-intuitive in my search for downsizing BUT i'd be stacking my cases like case-labs pedestals or Cooler Master stacker 935 or the Core X series.

 

This allows me to run (and continue to run) E-ATX boards and mutli-GPU's in the future (Though I have been eyeing up MSI's mATX 2066 board for my next build... I need to stop); AND keep my large cooling hardware because the two don't have to share the same volume.

 

Would also make loop maintenance a bit easier As all I'd have to do is disconnect the cooling system away from my hardware.

 

So... keep posting ideas for smaller E-ATX cases.

 

[andrewmp6]

The core x5 is the best option i can see for you,There is a mid tower or two but having a e-atx board in it is super tight no ODD drives and a front radiator would be really tight.The core x5 is big enough to water cooler and have room but not as big as a x9.

[TVwazhere]

Phanteks Enthoo Pro M

 

The core x5 is double the size of most mid tower cases

[andrewmp6]

The core x5 is wider then most mid towers.And i looked up his boards its not a true e-atx its 12 inch x 10.7 inch something asus does.A ture e-atx 12x13 and atx is 12x9.6.So any cases with atx up to 10.7 which is what his board really is will work.Off the top of my head maybe a in win 303c would meet his needs

[andrewmp6]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139032

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112546

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345077

 

[DJ_Juicepocket]

Hmmm....

 

Where would be the best place to track down an x79 mATX board... Preferably an Asus Rampage IV Gene?

 

I've checked eBay and I'm a bit skeptical of getting an old(er) ~$450 mobo (possibly used) from China.

 

[andrewmp6]

Used pc parts scare me specially online you have no idea if it works or not.But i'd think hard on a budget build of new stuff vs really old used parts.

[DJ_Juicepocket]

7 hours ago, andrewmp6 said:

Used pc parts scare me specially online you have no idea if it works or not.But i'd think hard on a budget build of new stuff vs really old used parts.

Well that's the thing. I've had bad experiences with used GPU's and motherboards. And the used prices of the mATX board I need are insane... $400-$600 is a lot of money for uncertainty. 

 

I've been pricing out a 8700k 1151v2 socket and a 7800x 2066 socket mATX builds WITH a Case-Labs S5 case AND a bunch of water cooling things and I can get them within a couple hundred dollars of each other. It's just a matter of deciding if I want to go to a 2066 socket or just go with the 1151...

[andrewmp6]

I have played around with neweggs wish list and pc part picker.I can build a ryzen 7 1700 or a 7700k about the same price.A 7820k and a threadripper 1900x was about the same price.Which socket depends a lot on budget and will they keep using that socket for new cpus or are they killing off a older socket.If its a new socket you could replace the cpu down the road for a bump in power.How much of a budget do you have ?Case labs are pretty pricey and you could buy a cheaper case and spend the money where its needed like video card.Or build it run it air cooled a while save up again to water cool it how you want.And what will you use the pc for ?

[DJ_Juicepocket]

10 hours ago, andrewmp6 said:

I have played around with neweggs wish list and pc part picker.I can build a ryzen 7 1700 or a 7700k about the same price.A 7820k and a threadripper 1900x was about the same price.Which socket depends a lot on budget and will they keep using that socket for new cpus or are they killing off a older socket.If its a new socket you could replace the cpu down the road for a bump in power.How much of a budget do you have ?Case labs are pretty pricey and you could buy a cheaper case and spend the money where its needed like video card.Or build it run it air cooled a while save up again to water cool it how you want.And what will you use the pc for ?

I have a GTX 1080 and about 8TB of storage (about 2TB of SSD and 6TB of regular old mechanical hard-drive) and an HX1200i (because I one point I was running multiple GPU's). I'm keeping all of that plus all my EKWB water cooling things (CPU water block, pump, 360mm radiator)

 

So it's really down to CPU, MoBo, and Memory and maybe M.2. And extra water cooling things (GPU water block, an extra rad, maybe a little larger res, some fittings, tubing... etc).

 

I've been looking at case-labs builds and I've decided I need one haha.

 

My budget is "don't go bat shit insane overboard". 

 

 

 

[andrewmp6]

I do and don't like caselabs cases,The looks are my style but no dust filters,No tempered glass and the price keep me away from them.I have heard they are working on adding tempered glass to one case soon.

[DJ_Juicepocket]

I applied shipping and converted USD to CAN and there is no way I'm spending ~1000CAN on a case. LOL Caselabs is out of the question.

 

Enthoo Mini XL, H440, and Corsair 540...

 

 

 

 

[andrewmp6]

I won't spend over 200 us on any case.

[KWelz]

NZXT i700 is probably the best option for your requirements.  

Asus EATX boards are a bit larger than normal so a lot of the suggestions here aren't going to work

[TVwazhere]

7 hours ago, KWelz said:

NZXT H700i

FTFY  

[KWelz]

5 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

FTFY  

Thank you.  The sad part is I am using this case.  You would think I would know the name...

 

[TVwazhere]

48 minutes ago, KWelz said:

Thank you.  The sad part is I am using this case.  You would think I would know the name...

Eh, just blame it on a typo!

[andrewmp6]

On 12/19/2017 at 4:50 AM, KWelz said:

NZXT i700 is probably the best option for your requirements.  

Asus EATX boards are a bit larger than normal so a lot of the suggestions here aren't going to work

The asus e-atx is pretty much a atx with a inch added to it.atx is 12x9.6 asus e-atx is 12x10.7 or something close to that.A e-atx is 12x13.