Mini ITX case recommendation?

InfiniteNoise · 14 Dec 2013 at 03:48

Considering on going back to ITX.

I'm looking at two cases, I'm not sure which to go for, both case look good.

- CM Elite 130, my PSU is a Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775w PSU, which is a bit on the long side, will it take that PSU fine? There doesn't seem to be much space for the cooler with the PSU fitted, the cooler I plan to get is a Thermalright AXP 200.

- Silverstone SG07, the included 600w PSU should be enough for a Radeon R9 290, right? I'll most likely to go with AXP 200 or maybe one of the bulkier topside down CPU cooler since there's more space.

Any other cases with a form factor similar to the above two? I don't want a Prodigy, it's way too big, I plan to buy everything in a month or two, so if there's anything new coming out between now and then, I'd like to know.

Ideally I'd like to keep my current PSU, Thermaltake Toughpower XT 775w, it's a bit long, it shouldn't be a problem for Elite 130, but I'd have to sell it if I decide to go with SG07 or I could always sell it and get a smaller PSU, there's that.

I don't care much about having the space for a 3.5" drive, I'm going to re-use my 2.5" hybrid hard drive, I don't care about having a optical drive slot either.

gropingmantis · 14 Dec 2013 at 08:22

What size GPU will you be using?

Fulax · 14 Dec 2013 at 08:39

Look it at the price difference between the two cases (£45 for the CoolerMaster 130 vs £160-180 for the SG07), the 130 gets my vote, hands down. From what I can tell, your PSU is 160mm, which is the standard length for ATX PSUs. It will fit fine.

Instead of those low-profile CPU heatsinks, have you considered a 120mm AIO water cooler like the h80i?

RJC · 14 Dec 2013 at 09:23

With the Coolermaster and longer PSU you might interfere with the optical drive, it was close with my OCZ PSU which was only 550w.

Edit : You should be ok with the Thermalright PSU.

crazy8s · 14 Dec 2013 at 12:29

What about the Fractal Design Node 304?

InfiniteNoise · 14 Dec 2013 at 16:53

gropingmantis said:
What size GPU will you be using?

Radeon R9 290, 11 inches long.

Fulax said:
Look it at the price difference between the two cases (£45 for the CoolerMaster 130 vs £160-180 for the SG07), the 130 gets my vote, hands down. From what I can tell, your PSU is 160mm, which is the standard length for ATX PSUs. It will fit fine.

Instead of those low-profile CPU heatsinks, have you considered a 120mm AIO water cooler like the h80i?

Yeah, the price of Elite 130 is nice, I'm leaning towards it.

Not going to bother with AIO cooler this time, I won't be overclocking much, if at all, something like AXP 200 should be fine.

crazy8s said:
What about the Fractal Design Node 304?

If the placement of the USB port was on the front, top or left side, I'd be interested, but because it's on the right side, these ports are completely blocked.

crazy8s · 14 Dec 2013 at 17:24

Elite 130 supports a CPU cooler with a maximum height of 2.5 inches/6.35cm

You would need to run the AXP-200 fanless to fit it in

Might want to consider a SFF PSU like the ST45SF (with a bracket) to give yourself more space but I don't know if it's enough for a R9 290

InfiniteNoise · 14 Dec 2013 at 17:39

From what I can see, total system power consumption with a R9 290 is <350w, it should be fine with a 450W PSU.

I might have to get a SG05 and mod it to fit R9 290, someone had a GTX 480 running in a SG05 (and another with GTX Titan), both GPUs are around the same length, with 290 being maybe couple of mm longer.

crazy8s · 14 Dec 2013 at 18:05

SG05 is a great case, I have a GTX 760 (260mm) in mine and that took a bit of work to get in. Had to remove the motherboard and PSU to get the card in. Saw the Titan mod on Hardforum though I think you can only add about 7mm after cutting the front panel

Fulax · 14 Dec 2013 at 18:51

Idartalis said:
I might have to get a SG05 and mod it to fit R9 290, someone had a GTX 480 running in a SG05 (and another with GTX Titan), both GPUs are around the same length, with 290 being maybe couple of mm longer.

The CM Elite 130 can fit a 7990; a 290 will fit with room to spare.

You can pick up a h80 refurb for less than the price of that AXP 200. Even if you get a new h80i it will be cheaper getting that plus the 130 than the AXP 200 plus an SG05.

InfiniteNoise · 14 Dec 2013 at 18:55

Elite 130 seems to be the best and cheapest option.

I already have a Antec Kuhler 620, I guess I'll re-use that.

Now it's just a matter of finding the suitable ITX motherboard, or maybe I'll just hunt around for a H55/H57 ITX board and use my i7-870, that way I won't have to spend much.