I’m starting to look at parts for replacing my desktop in the next year or so depending on sales. Since my old desktop ends up becoming my htpc, I’m looking at using a smaller case to make that transition easier.
I don’t want to go SFF like the Terra for two reasons. Firstly, I don’t want to deal with that much cable management and parts restrictions. Secondly, I need to be able to support my fiber NIC and U.2 drive.
Within those constraints, what cases should I look into? The U.2 will be my only storage so I don’t need 3.5 or 5.25 spots. I don’t need glass sides or anything to show off my parts. I’m looking for function over form.
Would need quite a bit more details than what you’ve provided to really be able to provide a good recommendation. Such as what parts are migrating over exactly(motherboard, gpu, etc). Motherboard form factor(EATX,ATX,ITX,etc). Are you looking for particular foot print? What’s your budget?
I’m not looking at migrating anything over. This would be a whole new build. As such, I don’t have a budget or requirements more than I posted. I’m mainly trying to see what’s available.
All of the SFF setups that I see assume you have m2 drives and a GPU and everything else is part of the motherboard. I need something bigger than that but still attempting to keep the size small.
I think I will probably have to go with ATX because from my brief perusal, even micro ATX boards are pretty lacking in PCIe slots. ITX gets a GPU slot, micro ATX gets that and an x1, and anything more requires ATX.
Ah understood. So for an ATX case on the smaller side I personally like this:Cerberus X | Sliger though it does have a premium. This is probably one of the smallest standard ATX cases you can buy that I’m currently aware of.
You can always go the HTPC case style as well. Silverstone makes a few different models such as this: GD11
Beyond that I would maybe look at the fractal pop air it’s bigger than the sliger but it’s still on the smaller side for a standard ATX case: Pop Air — Fractal Design
I’ve seen the Silverstone HTPC case and if I was just moving the guts I would go with something like that. But I generally tend to upgrade by building a whole new machine as it’s generally a good while in between.
I was actually looking at the Pop Air but wasn’t sure if there was a better option since there doesn’t seem to be any way to easily compare case sizes amongst each other.
Best way to do it is to look at the dimensions they list. The best website I’ve seen at consistently having this information is Newegg, however, that isn’t 100% accurate unless they include feet and protruding parts. Only vendor I’ve seen post accurate dimensions is the sliger I posted above. To be on the safe side I always add 1/2 inch to the stated dimensions. Unfortunately not aware of an easier way to compare this info.
Correct. It’s never part of the list of items to filter or sort by. Hence why I thought I’d see what the community recommends as they’re much more likely to be running more than just a GPU.
Ah understood, from my experience the Sliger I posted above is going to be your best bet. It’s probably one of smallest ATX cases on the market and will do what you want. I’d read the documentation first before buying to make sure it’s meets all the requirements, but it has quite a bit of customization.