Best mATX cases with great airflow

petertr2000 · 24 Jan 2022 at 16:38

Looking at a low end Alder lake build - i3 + 3060 in an mATX board.
Really wanting to keep it as small as possible, but with upgradeability in mind for the future - as I'll probably throw an i7 and 3080 in it in 3-5 years time, to give this build a 7+ lifespan.

Can anyone recommend a mATX case for me? I really don't care about looks, its going under my desk, so my main concern is not catching it with my foot in the limited space there is under there.

(I did post this in general HW a while back to get some rough ideas, but now I'm ready to start building a card ready to pull the trigger if I get lucky with a GPU)

Armageus · 24 Jan 2022 at 16:45

Kolink Citadel Mesh?
I've got one for my Stepson, but not got round to transferring his machine across to it yet, but looked like a fairly decent option

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - White= £62.99
1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - Black= £64.99
1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh Micro-ATX Case - Black= £44.99

Total: £185.57 (includes shipping: £12.60)

petertr2000 · 24 Jan 2022 at 17:47

Armageus said:
Kolink Citadel Mesh?
I've got one for my Stepson, but not got round to transferring his machine across to it yet, but looked like a fairly decent option

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - White= £62.99

1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - Black= £64.99

1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh Micro-ATX Case - Black= £44.99

Total: £185.57 (includes shipping: £12.60)

£45 for a good case would be great!
Thanks.

tamzzy · 24 Jan 2022 at 18:27

Built a computer for my friend in this case previously. Can recommend too.
Only "issue" is that the metal is thin. But this is a case (haha pun) of getting what you pay for.
I would also suggest getting the RGB version for £20 more as it does come with the fan/RGB hub. Very useful. Albeit the 3 RGB fans are of middling quality

tamzzy · 24 Jan 2022 at 18:32

If you're happy to forgo RGB, the loan li 205m is a case with much better build quality (I've also built a computer in the 205m, so also first hand experience)
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-lancool-205m-micro-atx-case-black-window-ca-026-ln.html

Well worth the fiver extra in comparison to the stock kolink citadel mesh

petertr2000 · 24 Jan 2022 at 19:22

tamzzy said:
If you're happy to forgo RGB, the loan li 205m is a case with much better build quality (I've also built a computer in the 205m, so also first hand experience)
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian-li-lancool-205m-micro-atx-case-black-window-ca-026-ln.html

Well worth the fiver extra in comparison to the stock kolink citadel mesh

Ta
Yeah I've got no interest in what the case looks like. Certainly not to pay extra for it

***F1ZZY*** · 25 Jan 2022 at 08:05

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/silv...ower-case-black-tempered-glass-ca-459-sv.html

whilst I haven’t any experience of this case personally, I have built in a few Silverstone cases in the past and they have been pretty good. The fact that this one is almost half price makes it a steal.

Ayahuasca · 25 Jan 2022 at 09:02

I'd go with the Silverstone above if you don't care about looks. Their fans are usually excellent as well so airflow should be solid.

bimbleuk · 25 Jan 2022 at 10:07

I was lucky and nabbed 3 of the Citadel cases from the clearance section as they were £30. 2 were RGB and 1 was black.

Cases are good quality for the price and have a glass side panel plus a convenient hinge unlike other cases in this price range. They are wider so can fit a vertical mounted GPU which requires an additional cable but it works and the GPU doesn't operate any different to being horizontal. 3070 Ti & 1080 Ti tested vertically.

Main things I don't like is the RGB hub and fans use Kolink connectors though it does use a ARGB motherboard connector for software control. 3.5 storage is crammed next to the PSU wiring and there's only 2 crude mounting positions for 2.5" SSDs. Best to use a motherboard with 2 or 3 M.2 slots.

petertr2000 · 25 Jan 2022 at 10:48

bimbleuk said:
They are wider so can fit a vertical mounted GPU which requires an additional cable but it works and the GPU doesn't operate any different to being horizontal. 3070 Ti & 1080 Ti tested vertically.

I keep reading about vertical mounting. I've got no idea what that is.
Sorry, last time I built a PC was a FX8250 and a 6670HD!

Time to google...... although I don't actually want extra-wide either, I want as small as possible really.

Edit: Ok, that's the last thing I thought they meant by "vertical". Its sideways, if anything lol
I guess the advantage is that the cards don't block up the airflow, and the GPU in-fans take air from the fresh air coming into the case. Seems to make sense.

alec · 25 Jan 2022 at 11:23

petertr2000 said:
vertical mounting. I've got no idea what that is.

An ingenious way to spend more money on a PCIe riser cable and a more advanced and windowed case so that you can block access to all slots, plugs and M2 storage on your motherboard at once.

SonicSW20 · 25 Jan 2022 at 11:26

Been very happy with Silverstone RL08 and when I was 100% air cooled it worked very well. With the inverted design the GPU gets a lot of ambient air from the top.

Topdonkey · 25 Jan 2022 at 11:37

I built my PC with an RTX3080FE in it, and used the Thermaltake Versa H15 case (no side window) for £45, Its been brilliant, very small and keeps my system at really good temps and Its mining 24/7 when i'm not gaming on it so its pushed hard too

petertr2000 · 25 Jan 2022 at 14:31

SonicSW20 said:
Been very happy with Silverstone RL08 and when I was 100% air cooled it worked very well. With the inverted design the GPU gets a lot of ambient air from the top.

Again, sorry for sounding like an idiot, but what is an inverted design?

MikeTimbers · 25 Jan 2022 at 14:31

alec said:
An ingenious way to spend more money on a PCIe riser cable and a more advanced and windowed case so that you can block access to all slots, plugs and M2 storage on your motherboard at once.

genuine LOL at this. the only thing more inconvenient is if you then watercool with hard tubing as well.

SonicSW20 · 25 Jan 2022 at 14:35

petertr2000 said:
Again, sorry for sounding like an idiot, but what is an inverted design?

The case internals are flipped, so the board is mounted "upside down". This means the PCIe slots are at the top instead of the bottom, and the GPU fans are facing up when the GPU is installed:

When done right, this can improve GPU thermals as the GPU takes in air from the top, and it is being fed ambient air from the top of the case.

If size is the priority then this may not be the case for you, while it is smaller than a typical ATX mid tower, its towards the larger side of the mATX cases.

petertr2000 · 25 Jan 2022 at 14:42

SonicSW20 said:
The case internals are flipped, so the board is mounted "upside down". This means the PCIe slots are at the top instead of the bottom, and the GPU fans are facing up when the GPU is installed:

When done right, this can improve GPU thermals as the GPU takes in air from the top, and it is being fed ambient air from the top of the case.

If size is the priority then this may not be the case for you, while it is smaller than a typical ATX mid tower, its towards the larger side of the mATX cases.

Ah, interesting.
I assume otherwise, the GPU intake comes from the gap between the card and the PSU Shroud? You'd really want a fan pushing air from the front into this "chamber", right?

SonicSW20 · 25 Jan 2022 at 14:47

petertr2000 said:
Ah, interesting.
I assume otherwise, the GPU intake comes from the gap between the card and the PSU Shroud? You'd really want a fan pushing air from the front into this "chamber", right?

On case designs with a bottom mounted PSU + shroud yes, you need air getting into that part of the case to keep the GPU happy. With large cases you have volume on your side, with smaller cases it gets difficult. Going down a size further take something like the H210i which is an ITX case:

With an even thicker GPU like some of the non reference cards can be there's very little room and as such thermals do suffer. The NZXT does mitigate this a bit by having the shroud perforated but that will still limit airflow, meaning the fans will have to work harder to get the same amount of air.

As always its about finding the right compromise for what you want.

SonicSW20 · 25 Jan 2022 at 14:48

To add with an mATX case you'll have more room than in this ITX example so its much less of a problem.

petertr2000 · 25 Jan 2022 at 15:09

SonicSW20 said:
On case designs with a bottom mounted PSU + shroud yes, you need air getting into that part of the case to keep the GPU happy. With large cases you have volume on your side, with smaller cases it gets difficult. Going down a size further take something like the H210i which is an ITX case:

With an even thicker GPU like some of the non reference cards can be there's very little room and as such thermals do suffer. The NZXT does mitigate this a bit by having the shroud perforated but that will still limit airflow, meaning the fans will have to work harder to get the same amount of air.

As always its about finding the right compromise for what you want.

I was wondering about those perforated PSU shrouds - how does that help? I thought the shroud was there to keep the hot air from the PSU out of the main body of the case?