Simple question; What is your current Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX case? If you don't have one, which one would you really want to get, and why?
Currently I have a Node 304... Hopefully I'll upgrade this to the Enthoo Evolv ITX (damn that case is sexy).
Current case:
I don't have one. Neither actually, i have an ATX mid tower.
However...
If i have to buy one case today, i would get Cooler Master Elite 110 as ITX. I love the size of it...
For mATX i would go for the smaller version of my current case - Fractal Design Arc Mini R2
Fan controller, 3 fans, customization options galore, removable optical bay... It's almost perfection.
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I currently have a Corsair Air 240 in white.
Okay case, but not bad for $70 when I bought it.
I do liked the separated chambers but kind of sucks when it comes to cpu cooling, limited to 120 or 240 mm rads.
I kind of messed up by grabbing a mini ITX board to stick in there, so everything is pushed to the top left corner of the case and looks really cramped in that area.
I would like to go back to a full atx sized case though.
I have basically every fan slot filled with a 120mm fan, even though its not necessary. Threw them on a nxzt fan controller that only supplies power to the fans, no pwm control. Every fan and my cpu pump is running at 7V.
My vote for a better case would be the corsair 350D or the Arc mini R2
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My current case is the NCase M1. It's a great option for a mini ITX build. With an SFX power supply you can fit a full length card in it. Can run a 120 or 240 AIO water cooling setup if you wanted. People have did impressive customer water cooled builds in it as well. I've got a pretty basic setup though.
Recently got 2 Silverstone SG02's from a friend, with both having 2 hot-swappable 3.5" bays in the 5.25" bay.
No 140 OR 120MM fan intake, only 2x80mm, the HDD case is riveted in, which is REALLY frustrating and makes it really hard to build in, and the max CPU heatsink height is 82MM, which is really small. However, this case size is absolutely tiny, and supports full sized PSU's, Micro-ATX boards, and SLI/Crossfire, so I can't hate it too much.
The SG09 is very similiar in size (L*W*H), however, is designed much better, to fix the components more efficiently.
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i have node 304.jpg)
i love my black box
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Ncase M1 hands down the best, but definitely not the cheapest assuming you only want mini- itx
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Fractal Design Node 804 (Micro ATX) .. I love this case.
http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-804
This case does a lot of things right. However, there are a few shortcoming.
would get the "Fractal Design Core 500" if i switch to mini. my nzxt tempest is just too bulky to move 3-4 times a month
I just got a Fractal Define S Nano the other day for my pfsense router, It's a pretty nice case which is obviously made for watercooling but I used the extra space to mount the 3.5" disk on the front instead of the back. There is a bracket for the back to mount the disk which can be bent to work on the front but then you either have to get rid of the front fan or the dust filter, so I just stuck screwed it in to one of the slots. So not ideal but it hasn't fallen off yet.
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I forgot, I also have a Silverstone DS380 for my NAS.
It's alright, it needs to be just a little wider though because in it's current configuration it's not possible to install a half height PCI card and use all eight hard drive bays at the same time. You can modify the bay though so that it does fits by cutting out a piece of the plastic cover, but if it were 1 or 2 cm wider that wouldn't be an issue.
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I was close to getting the Dan A4
https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4.php
I would have gotten one, but I had been gradually losing interest in PC builds, and decided to just not do another build.
Current mATX case:
Cooler Master N200
Good enough and was cheaper than Fractal design cases in local shops.
shes adorably small
Fractal Design Node 804. Lots of space, infinite storage configurations, watercooling support, and fits well in a living room space. Planning on switching to a Define mini C for my main rig and building an HTPC/NAS with an APU in the Node 804 eventually.
I had the Arc Mini R2, great case. Gonna buy the Elite 110 for my new build, just waiting for Ryzen.
Bitfenix Prodigy