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)

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.

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

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.

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?

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?

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?

petertr2000 · 25 Jan 2022 at 16:29

SonicSW20 said:
Usually there is a gap or mesh / perforation at the bottom of the case under the PSU. In cases like that you mount the PSU face down, this way the PSU's airflow is totally isolated from the rest of the case as its intaking from the bottom and exhausting out of the rear. The shrouds are more for keeping things looking neat and easier cable management, and also a place to hide SATA drives on some cases.

On the H210i specifically the lower front fan is pushing air through there so the perforations allow that to go up to the GPU with some resistance.

Good point. Ive looked at, but never actually had a bottom-mounted PSU system before, so I'd forgot about that.
Gonna have to remember to keep the bottom of the case free of dust though, will have to set myself a reminder for that. Would make more sense to intake throught he back and push out through the floor wouldn't it?