Find me a case for my new build!

[arronthebrown]

Hi all,

Currently looking for a Micro-ATX case. I'm looking to spend as little as possible to meet the below criteria:

- Be smaller than a regular ATX case.
- Have a top grill (so I can place 2 fans), side grill (so I can place 1 fan), and front grill (so that I can place 1 fan), and a back grill (so that I can place 1 fan)
- Have good ventilation and so that my build will last me for years to come.

I'm not too bothered about the looks, but if it has a window or looks cool at no or little cost more, that's a bonus.

My specs are:

- Sapphire RX Vega 56: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sapphire-radeon-rx-vega-56-pulse-8gb-hbm2-pci-express-graphics-card-11276-02-40g-gx-38f-sp.html
- AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (using the stock fan): https://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-ryzen-5-2600-am4-zenplus-6-core-12-thread-34ghz-39ghz-turbo-19mb-cache-65w-cpu-retail-plus-wrait
- Asrock AB350M Motherboard: https://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=ab350m
- 16GB RAM (haven't purchased yet)
- Sandisk PLUS SSD: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-PLUS-Sata-Inch-Internal/dp/B01F9G46Q8/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1543082436&sr=1-5&keywords=ssd
- Corsair 650M PSU: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CP-9020103-UK-CX650M-Semi-Modular-Bronze/dp/B01C3FFATU
- Acer KA241Y Monitor: https://www.box.co.uk/Acer-KA241Y-23.8-FHD-Monitor_2274787.html

Thank you for your help!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Side mounted fans are not a good idea unless there are no other options. Is there a SPECIFIC reason you are looking for a micro ATX case versus a mid tower ATX case?

Typically, what you want to see in a decent case is at least two front intakes, two top exhaust and one rear exhaust fan locations. That is generally sufficient for ALL types of configurations aside from very high end overclocked rigs.

If you must have a micro ATX case due to height concerns, this would probably be my recommendation based on still having at least halfway decent airflow options. Very hard to work inside mATX cases though, so you might want to think about that if you tend to be in your case very often or do not have the dexterity to work well with your hands in cramped areas.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $39.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-24 14:51 EST-0500


This would a very good option as well. Both are decent quality for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair - Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $49.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-24 14:52 EST-0500


Either way, with ANY micro ATX case you are going to need to also source some fans. Micro ATX cases are cheap, and cheap cases don't come with good included cooling, or any, in some cases. You'll need to fill any unfilled fan locations yourself if you want decent airflow.

 

[arronthebrown]

Side mounted fans are not a good idea unless there are no other options. Is there a SPECIFIC reason you are looking for a micro ATX case versus a mid tower ATX case?

Typically, what you want to see in a decent case is at least two front intakes, two top exhaust and one rear exhaust fan locations. That is generally sufficient for ALL types of configurations aside from very high end overclocked rigs.

If you must have a micro ATX case due to height concerns, this would probably be my recommendation based on still having at least halfway decent airflow options. Very hard to work inside mATX cases though, so you might want to think about that if you tend to be in your case very often or do not have the dexterity to work well with your hands in cramped areas.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $39.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-24 14:51 EST-0500


This would a very good option as well. Both are decent quality for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair - Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $49.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-24 14:52 EST-0500


Either way, with ANY micro ATX case you are going to need to also source some fans. Micro ATX cases are cheap, and cheap cases don't come with good included cooling, or any, in some cases. You'll need to fill any unfilled fan locations yourself if you want decent airflow.

Thanks for the reply!

I am not actually in my case very often. The reason I wanted to choose a mATX case is because I assumed that they're smaller, and I will occasionally be packing my PC in a travel suitcase lol, so I wanted one that would fit rather easily.

Is it bad for airflow or are there any other negatives with a mATX case?

I'm actually looking at a couple of the cheaper cases in the £20-30 range on this page (sort it by lowest first):

https://www.box.co.uk/products/cat/Components~B~Components~B~Cases/sort/1/refine/max~50$min~0

Cases you linked don't translate as cheaply in the UK lol.

 

[arronthebrown]

Side mounted fans are not a good idea unless there are no other options. Is there a SPECIFIC reason you are looking for a micro ATX case versus a mid tower ATX case?

Typically, what you want to see in a decent case is at least two front intakes, two top exhaust and one rear exhaust fan locations. That is generally sufficient for ALL types of configurations aside from very high end overclocked rigs.

If you must have a micro ATX case due to height concerns, this would probably be my recommendation based on still having at least halfway decent airflow options. Very hard to work inside mATX cases though, so you might want to think about that if you tend to be in your case very often or do not have the dexterity to work well with your hands in cramped areas.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $39.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-24 14:51 EST-0500


This would a very good option as well. Both are decent quality for the price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair - Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $49.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-24 14:52 EST-0500


Either way, with ANY micro ATX case you are going to need to also source some fans. Micro ATX cases are cheap, and cheap cases don't come with good included cooling, or any, in some cases. You'll need to fill any unfilled fan locations yourself if you want decent airflow.

Narrowed it down to these:

https://www.box.co.uk/Kolink-Aviator-Midi-Tower-Gaming-Case_1868430.html

https://www.box.co.uk/CiT-Illusion-Micro-ATX-Case_2036018.html

Is there any value in buying a more expensive case, or is it only related to aesthetics or features I can live without?

 

[Karadjgne]

Build quality as much as aesthetics or gimmicks. Cheap cases tend to skip out on physical aspects such as higher grade metal used in frames, rigidity of plastics, adaptability of hdd baskets for removal or customization. Many cheap cases use the hdd baskets as part of the frame, which doesn't allow for larger gpus in a mATX or sometimes even anything larger than a single 120mm intake fan.

First thing I'd do is figure out the dimensions of your travel case, then see exactly what's going to fit inside it, or you'll end up buying a new travel case to fit a cheap pc case instead, spending more than just getting something decent to start with.

There aren't many issues with airflow in a mATX case, they are usually well over-powered by a couple of decent fans, they simply do not have the interior volume to make any issue. The biggest issue is usually with crowding at the intakes with the hdd baskets, but any decently balanced cfm/sp fan will take care of that.

 

[arronthebrown]

Build quality as much as aesthetics or gimmicks. Cheap cases tend to skip out on physical aspects such as higher grade metal used in frames, rigidity of plastics, adaptability of hdd baskets for removal or customization. Many cheap cases use the hdd baskets as part of the frame, which doesn't allow for larger gpus in a mATX or sometimes even anything larger than a single 120mm intake fan.

First thing I'd do is figure out the dimensions of your travel case, then see exactly what's going to fit inside it, or you'll end up buying a new travel case to fit a cheap pc case instead, spending more than just getting something decent to start with.

There aren't many issues with airflow in a mATX case, they are usually well over-powered by a couple of decent fans, they simply do not have the interior volume to make any issue. The biggest issue is usually with crowding at the intakes with the hdd baskets, but any decently balanced cfm/sp fan will take care of that.

Was actually planning on buying a travel case to fit the case... lol. I will be using transporting it a few times in the future, that's why.

What do you think of the two I mentioned in my reply to darkbreeze? Can you see them causing me any problems either now or later down the line? I don't mind so much if it's hard to fit stuff or if the materials aren't great (unless it's significant enough to cause me problems), but more to do with durability/life span on my components.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Actually, from what I can see of the one case, and what I KNOW of CiT, those are both fairly cheap quality cases.

This would probably be a much better option even if it's not as flashy, and isn't significantly different in price. Not sure why you though it was, as it's only a few pounds more than that Kolink case you listed. Plus, that Kolink case is NOT micro ATX. It's mid tower ATX.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case (£44.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £44.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-25 08:32 GMT+0000


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Thermaltake - Versa H15 MicroATX Mid Tower Case (£39.92 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £39.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-25 08:36 GMT+0000


If you could increase the budget a bit, the Fractal design Define C mini is a good case to look at as well.

 

[Karadjgne]

Case: Fractal Design - Focus G Mini (Black) MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£44.99 @ Novatech)

 

[SgtScream]

Check out the focus g mini. Having two fans mounted on the top verses one makes absolutely no difference in air flow.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yeah, that's completely not true. It makes worlds of difference compared to only a rear and single top exhaust if you have two identical intakes. Equal pressure is fine though. A good balance of intake and exhaust generally resulting in neutral pressure which give you both SOME dust suppression and SOME good cooling performance. But for strictly performance oriented cooling, a negative pressure arrangement with a rear exhaust and two top exhausts, and two front intakes, IS irrefutably going to be a negative pressure configuration which results in better cooling performance.

There cannot be an argument against the fact that negative pressure cooling configurations outperform both neutral and positive pressure configurations. There are FAR too many comprehensive testing analysis of this exact thing to not accept it as fact.

 

[SgtScream]

It may not be true in some circumstances (Example: Cooler Master SL600M), but definitely not completely. In fact i've seen tests on you tube while back by Linus Techtips & GamersNexus stating having the second fan on the top on top as an exhaust not only served no purpose, but it starved air flow from passing through the aftermarket cooler. Instead of the cooler front intake air passing through the aftermarket cooler it went up into the second top exhaust fan (before hitting the heat sink) reducing the effectiveness of heat dissipation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OmkmluAYAQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNedCSpkcqQ

So there's definitely a point of limiting return involved and the answer to better air cooling may not be populating all fan slots. I'm not saying this is "the case" for all cases (No pun intended) however sometimes it is better to think about logically placing the fans as opposed to populating all slots.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So you're saying that having a middle or front fan mounted in the top of a case will cause the CPU cooler to have to try and use "vacuum" to cool with?

No matter that there is a fan robbing the airflow path, if you are getting all of the hot air out of the case by having a negative pressure configuration, whatever the CPU cooler pulls through the heatsink is STILL going to be cooler than it would be in a positive pressure configuration where there is an abundance of air that has not been moved out of the case quickly enough for it to become heated.

That theory just makes no sense. I don't care who "tested" it and I FOR SURE wouldn't EVER believe a thing LTT had to say about anything. Steve at GamersNexus is a different story, but I think there must have been other factors involved in that testing.

The CPU cooler HAS to move something through the heatsink. There cannot be no cool air available to the CPU cooler just because you are exchanging air through the case more quickly and creating negative pressure. That's just not going to ever make sense in any discussion that relies on reality.

 

[SgtScream]

"So you're saying that having a middle or front fan mounted in the top of a case will cause the CPU cooler to have to try and use "vacuum" to cool with? "
To clarify, front intake air will go immediately up and out of the first exhaust fan at the top of the case and won't make it through to the rest of the internal components, so you might as well just have negative air pressure fan configuration and remove the front intake fans.

"No matter that there is a fan robbing the airflow path, if you are getting all of the hot air out of the case by having a negative pressure configuration, whatever the CPU cooler pulls through the heatsink is STILL going to be cooler than it would be in a positive pressure configuration where there is an abundance of air that has not been moved out of the case quickly enough for it to become heated."
As long as there's proper ventilation, it doesn't matter weather it's positive or negative. Having an exhaust fan directly over an intake fan is counter productive and will redirect the intake away from internal components, thus negatively impacting air pressure, weather it is positive or negative. Those two fans will not be able to contribute pressure period because there's no space between them.


"That theory just makes no sense. I don't care who "tested" it and I FOR SURE wouldn't EVER believe a thing LTT had to say about anything. Steve at GamersNexus is a different story, but I think there must have been other factors involved in that testing."
That's fine, at least i'm providing references of tests done proving your claim that i'm incorrect to be false. I could care less if you don't agree with Linus and Steve. That's your problem, take it up with them. I said this is circumstantial therefore arguing about a negative air flow configuration when the case hasn't even been decided is absurd and strictly negative air pressure won't work for every case and circumstance. It is best to try to balance between the two and adding an exhaust fan directly over an intake fan (Again, depending on the case and circumstance) defeats the purpose.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Actually, it doesn't. Because the majority of people who do not have water cooled systems will have drives of some kind in that area, and that top intake fan to top exhaust fan will take care of that. Then the lower intake fan WILL get caught up in the pressure differential from the CPU cooler, creating a different, not front to back, stream of cooling ambient air for the CPU cooler to use.

If you are bringing air in and taking it out at a high rate of speed, no matter HOW it gets there, then what is left is air which is cooler than it would be if you were not doing that, and the CPU cooler is going to be happy so long as it has ANY ambient air to work with. It doesn't care if it comes in a straight line directly from a top front fan, or if it travels to New York and back, so long as it is there when it needs it, which it will be unless you believe that you are able to create a void inside your case where no air is present at all or that somehow with a negative pressure configuration you are going to have a hot pocket in the bottom of the case.

Pure nonsense, all of it.

 

[SgtScream]

You're stating the "majority will have drives of some kind in that area" with no basis and how air flow will be for all cases/circumstances, when the case fan configuration hasn't even been decided yet. Too generic with nothing to back it up.
Yes pure nonsense, all of it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

The majority of cases, not all to be sure, but the VAST majority of cases, either have upper drive cages or optical drive bays, if they are not specifically cases intended for use with water cooled systems. Those tend to not have any up there for the purpose of radiator and reservoir support.

But whatever. I'm trying to simply make a clear understanding on something which you clearly do not understand, so I'm done here.