NZXT Manta Mini ITX Mini-Tower Case Review

[Guest]

The NZXT Manta combines curved steel, extensive water cooling support and smart fan control to create a cool and quiet MiniITX case. But with a $140 price tag weighing it down, can it still come out on top?

NZXT Manta Mini ITX Mini-Tower Case Review : Read more

 

[Daniel_225]

"Extensive Water Cooling Support" would have been nicely highlighted by building out your test system with...

 

[logainofhades]

Call me old school, but I still prefer to have a case with an actual external bay for optical drive. I don't like external drives, because it is just one more thing to clutter up my desk with.

 

[grimfox]

For a case like this It would have been great to include at least a slim drive capability. I'd really like to see these cases with "extensive water cooling support" at least get an AIO cooler installed even if only a 120mm rad to potentially show the benefits or ease of use of such and installation. I think that would change the metrics pretty substantially for noise and cooling making the value charts more competitive. I don't really think anyone is cross shopping a $140 case made for LC with a $70 case with an emphasis on air cooling.

 

[slashdot]

There are mATX case that is smaller than this oversized ITX case

 

[James Mason]

Call me old school, but I still prefer to have a case with an actual external bay for optical drive. I don't like external drives, because it is just one more thing to clutter up my desk with.

Meh It depends entirely how much often you actually need an optical drive. I only use mine maybe once or twice a year, so the external USB DVDRW I got works great.

 

[logainofhades]

Which is why I would rather have an internal one, that is out of my way. External would be in the way, or I would put it somewhere, and forget where. :lol:

 

[James Mason]

Which is why I would rather have an internal one, that is out of my way. External would be in the way, or I would put it somewhere, and forget where. :lol:

That's sounds like an organization issue 😛

I have multiple computers, they don't all need internal optical drives, if one needs access to a CD/DVD, I can use the external, but again, I really do only need it maybe once or twice a year.

 

[AlistairAB]

Marry the PC-Q10 with a Corsair SFX PSU and you couldn't be happier! I finally found a case that fits my components and doesn't take more space than my mATX case. Also looks really cool!

 

[AlistairAB]

The biggest problem with the Lian Li PC-Q10 are the drive mounts. I couldn't use the bottom ones with a large video card installed.

But that turned out to be it's strength. Without any hard drives installed in the bottom, the GPU can draw air directly from outside, maybe this is why I achieve much better cooling results than in this article. 980ti and a single 120mm fan in the back, and it never gets too hot.

 

[arossetti]

I'm all about small and love mITX but that's a big case. Seriously what are you trying to cool in the mITX form factor that you need 2 x 280mm radiators?

I'm using an NCase M1 - which is a pain to work in - but the smallest mITX case you can find. Watercooling a 4790k OC'd and GTX 980ti OC'd with a custom water loop and 1 x 240mm radiator without issue. And it's quiet. But I guess it's all about what you consider acceptable temps.

I bet they could trim the size of that case down if it wasn't rounded.

 

[rchris]

If you want small, there are other mini-ITX cases to choose from. This case is easy to work in, but still smaller than mid-size cases. I think you buy this case if you love its unique look.

 

[Lord Carmine]

Nothing would stop me from buying this case if it could fit an Atx board.. Just beautiful

 

[bak0n]

To large for my space requirements unfortunately. Fortunately the Prodigy does fit.

 

[ingtar33]

There are mATX case that is smaller than this oversized ITX case

exactly. That case IS the size of my mATX case. How is that an ITX case? I wish the reviewer would talk about this fact.

 

[RangerSnuggles]

lol at you grandpas wanting optical media.

 

[logainofhades]

lol at you grandpas wanting optical media.

At least with optical media, you cannot have companies, like Apple, stealing/deleting it from your system.

 

[Quixit]

There are mATX case that is smaller than this oversized ITX case

I considered buying one of these because I really liked the style. Then I checked the measurements and it's both wider and deeper than the NZXT S340 (a Full ATX case), while being only slightly shorter. That's what really did it for me, I liked the look of the S340 and it wasn't terribly expensive so I picked one up. Best decision I've ever made, one of the cleanest and easiest system builds I've ever done.

So it's more accurate to say that it's as large as a small ATX case.

 

[arossetti]

If you're looking for the smallest mITX then get an nCase M1 - but it will be a pain to work it. If you want a slightly larger but still reasonably small case that you can fit a lot of watercooling in, then get a Fractal Design Define Nano S. If you want a mITX case that is huge - then get the Manta.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1589121/nzxt-new-manta-itx-case/50

 

[bit_user]

I'm not a big fan of the looks, but if they'd make the front panel less... featureless, and offer it in a purple color scheme, it'd be nostalgic of some of the later MIPS-based SGI workstations.

That'd be a definite selling point, for some of us. I used to dream of having a SGI workstation, back in the day.

 

[photonboy]

Case size:
I'm not sure why people complain about the size or lack of external drive bay. If it's not for you then move along, however it IS designed for a specific niche of users.

You could for example, have a dual-fan rad for the CPU, and single-fan rad for the GPU at rear, and still have two fans at front for intake.

You could make it SMALLER but not without the same capabilities for cooling.

 

[CaptainTom]

Geez what a joke of a case. There are mini-itx cases that are a quarter of the size and still fit full graphics cards.

And before you say "But it can fit other stuff" keep in mind their are literally smaller Micro-ATX cases that are smaller and fit just as much (Like mine with its 280mm radiator).

 

[photonboy]

Geez what a joke of a case. There are mini-itx cases that are a quarter of the size and still fit full graphics cards.

And before you say "But it can fit other stuff" keep in mind their are literally smaller Micro-ATX cases that are smaller and fit just as much (Like mine with its 280mm radiator).

Not everybody needs or even wants the smallest possible case.

I like the case and would consider buying it. That's the ONLY reason a company needs to sell something like this.

Look at the Bitfenix Prodigy that was similar to the smallest micro-ATX sized cases. It sold really well. Actually, I'd probably choose the Bitfenix Prodigy NOT based on size but because I use a BluRay writer.