[SOLVED] Very small ATX case??

[Gintama69]

Looking for a small & light ATX case for a new build.
I was gonna try NZXT H510 case(460x210x428, 41.3lt, 6.6kg) but checking if there are better options? hopefully something smaller/lighter if possible, but not super expensive like Sliger Cerberus X case.

Case is for a simple standard build so don't have requirement.. would be bonus if the case can supports tall ~158-165mm heatsinks(but ~115-125mm heatsink height is fine).

 

[Archaic59]

Looking for a small & light ATX case for a new build.
I was gonna try NZXT H510 case(460x210x428, 41.3lt, 6.6kg) but checking if there are better options? hopefully something smaller/lighter if possible, but not super expensive like Sliger Cerberus X case.

Case is for a simple standard build so don't have requirement.. would be bonus if the case can supports tall ~158-165mm heatsinks(but ~115-125mm heatsink height is fine).

In order for the case to accomodate an ATX board and power supply it's going to be a certain size. Have you considered an mATX case? Here's a high quality mATX case as an example. It fits CPU coolers up to 172mm height.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Js...atx-mini-tower-case-fd-ca-mesh-c-mini-bko-tgd

 

[lvt]

The case I currently use measures 350 x 320 x 170.

There are definitely smaller tower M-ATX cases.

 

[lvt]

Despite the small size, the case has 2 x 120mm front fans.

 

[jojesa]

Looking for a small & light ATX case for a new build.
I was gonna try NZXT H510 case(460x210x428, 41.3lt, 6.6kg) but checking if there are better options? hopefully something smaller/lighter if possible, but not super expensive like Sliger Cerberus X case.

Case is for a simple standard build so don't have requirement.. would be bonus if the case can supports tall ~158-165mm heatsinks(but ~115-125mm heatsink height is fine).

How about Micro-ATX motherboard with ATX PSU?

 

[Gintama69]

In order for the case to accomodate an ATX board and power supply it's going to be a certain size. Have you considered an mATX case?

The case I currently use measures 350 x 320 x 170.

There are definitely smaller tower M-ATX cases.

How about Micro-ATX motherboard with ATX PSU?

Thanks for the suggestions but don't want to go Micro ATX for few reasons..

1. There aren't many decent Z590 Micro ATX mobos(at least not at my local PC retailers), but all shops got plenty of options for Z590 ATX or ITX mobos.
2. Size and weight difference between ATX and Micro ATX is very small, e.g.

• Fractal Meshify C = 453 x 217 x 409, 40.2lt, 6.5kg
• Fractal Meshify Mini C = 412 x 217 x 409, 36.7lt, 6.3kg
• so Micro ATX version of the case is ~4cm shorter(~3.5lt smaller) and only 200g lighter.

3. Probably better to just go for ITX case(IF I want smallest/lightest) rather than going for Micro ATX case imo.

• I was actually thinking of going for Dan A4-SFX ITX build last night(because that's very small/light).. even tho I'll have sell/swap many parts(mobo, psu, ram, etc) I bought for the build already.
• But scrapped Dan A4-SFX idea, because the GPU(MSI RTX3060Ti Gaming X, dual fan model) won't fit inside the case and don't want to swap the GPU for slimmer/noisy one.

Already got all the parts ready for the build(except for the cooler and case)..
CPU: Intel i9 11900
HSF: Noctua cooler suitable for the case
M/B: Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Ultra
RAM: 16GB G.Skill Royal 4000C15
GPU: MSI RTX3060Ti Gaming X
SSD: 1TB Samsung 980
SSD: 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus
Case: not sure.. NZXT H510 in white?
PSU: Corsair HX750

hmm, still considering Sliger Cerberus X case as an option(with Noctua NH-C14S & Corsair SF750) cos it's the smallest/lightest ATX case.. but not sure.
NZXT H510 case(460x210x428, 41.3lt, 6.6kg)
Fractal Meshify C(453 x 217 x 409, 40.2lt, 6.5kg)
Sliger Cerberus X(380 x 172 x 358, 23.4lt, 2.1kg)

 

[logainofhades]

With that CPU, you don't want to go real small, as you need a beefy cooler to handle it, either a Noctua NH-D15, or a 360mm AIO.

 

[Gintama69]

With that CPU, you don't want to go real small, as you need a beefy cooler to handle it, either a Noctua NH-D15, or a 360mm AIO.

I'm gonna have to disagree for two reasons..
But I'm pretty confident that stock 11900 with Noctua NH-C14S cooler combo in Sliger Cerberus X case would be fine. (even tho C14S is not 100% sufficient for 11900 according to Noctua website)
Even stock 11900K should be okay with C14S in Sliger Cerberus X, if you go for the standard vented side panel and add one exhaust fan on the top of the cooler imo.


At least that's my opinion because:

1. Stock Intel heatsink/fan included with 11900 processor isn't any better than previous ones afaik(still cheap, light, noisy etc), therefore Noctua NH-C14S is much better than the stock Intel heatsink/fan.
2. Stock 9900K/9900KS/10700K/10900KF/11900K processors(with Noctua NH-D15 cooler) all ran very cool all the time from my experience, and I only used one fan on the cooler without any exhaust case fan.

• D15 with 1 fan is still much better than C14S, but C14S is still a very large/heavy high-end quality Noctua cooler.
• Fact that I don't run any applications to stress out the CPU is probably the main reason they always ran cool.
• 9900K did get super hot very fast when I tried Prime95 small fft test.., but don't think anyone can actually push the CPU like that under normal circumstances?
• 11900 for the new build will mainly get used for browsing net, MS Office and maybe occasional games(several hours of CoD per month? I hope) so the CPU won't get pushed at all.

Stock 11900 and Alpenfohn Black Ridge low profile cooler(with Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fan) in Dan A4-SFX case is probably bit of gamble.. cos it's much smaller/lighter heatsink in a tiny tight ITX case.
But I was wiling to gamble and try it out because:

1. Alpenfohn Black Ridge(& Noctua NF-A9x14 fan) should be still noticeably better than stock crappy Intel heatsink/fan.
2. cos I also know that 11900 won't get pushed at all..

Anyway, still not sure what I'm gonna do with the case and cooler.. but guess got 3 options:

1. Get a small/light ATX case(NZXT H510 or Fractal Meshify C etc?) with Noctua D15 or U12A cooler.
2. Get Sliger Cerberus X case with Noctua C14S cooler. (but Cerberus X is expensive.. and also need to get SFX PSU)
3. Get Dan A4-SFX case with Alpenfohn Black Ridge(& Noctua NF-A9x14 fan) cooler.. , and maybe get Asus RTX3060Ti Dual Mini(IF it's not too noisy).

Doubt I'll go option 3.. too much hassle cos I'll have to get bunch of new parts for the build and probably bit hot and noisy.