Mega list of minimal Mini ITX Cases

[lister Profile]

How's that for a provocative title?

I've been looking for a "minimal case" and thought I would share the various products I have seen. By minimal, I mean any itx case that has no dimension over 10 inches (254 mm) and at least one dimension smaller than 3.5 inches (89 mm) - ideally, smaller. I know this is an arbitrary designation, but it was the line I drew when looking for small itx cases. However, most cases at this size generally do not allow the addition of an external graphics card - which after thinking about my long term needs I thought would be a good option. A graphics card is possible at these dimensions using a PCI riser, assuming there is sufficient height and a cutout on the back panel - I am aiming for a gpu with <50W so hopefully heat will not be too much of an an issue. Often when cases are slightly bigger than these dimensions it is because they are using a bulky DC-DC psu. When the focus is on a small system it seems wasteful to eat 10%+ of the case size when the PicoPSU's are much more space efficient. I also disliked cases that forced a PSU on me.

m350
http://bigbruin.com/content/miniboxm350_1
The m350 is often mentioned on the forums and they also make the PicoPSU so I'll address this first. I talked with their support and they stated they had tested the i5 600 series and it was "warm but manageable", not very quantitative, but the sandy bridge i5's run at higher performance and consume ~10W less (according to the xbit benchmarks) - so I don't think heat will be a problem. The riser they sell is only for one type of motherboard though, but risers can be found elsewhere e.g.: http://www.logicsupply.com/categories/a ... iser_cards
They said a riser might be possible with case modifications for a cutout, but not ideal for this case.

Wesena Mini ITX2
http://www.wesena.co.uk/product.php/5/2 ... 6f4f732920
Thanks to AstraLuna for pointing me to these cases. The cases are very nice, one of the nicest in my opinion but very expensive too at $133. If it didn't have an optical drive slot and provided support for an external gpu (w/o heavy modifications) - I'd probably still pay the inflated price.

Habey 600B and 800B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811321014
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811321015
Nice looking cases. They force their PSU on you, and although it is 120W I could not find any data on the amps provided through their 12V rail. The height dimension is too small on the 600B -similar to the m350- to have much hope of getting a gpu in. The 800B looks like it might have room for a gpu card and the serial port cutouts could probably be modified to accept a gpu - I just don't like the cutout for the optical drive.

Serener GS-L05 and GS-L10
http://www.serener-case.com/ProDetailsID=22.asp
http://www.serener-case.com/ProDetailsID=07.asp
Both are very nice cases, but expensive too $120 and $250. If I decide to mill a case it will likely look like these since the chances of running it passively are much higher with the heat pipe and higher surface area fin structures used on the cases - particularly the GS-L10. But the GS-L10 will definitely not accommodate a gpu because of the constrained dimensions, although the GS-L05 might with some modification. However, the GS-L05 is completely sealed and has less fin surface area than the L10 - so I'm not sure it would work without modification for some air flow. Even if I milled something larger than the L10 to accommodate a gpu I'm not sure the fins and heat pipes would be sufficient for a <100W design.

Casetronic C292
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/c292
This case supports a gpu and even includes the riser card. But it forces a 60W AC brick and 120W picopsu - neither of which I want. The 120W picopsu wattage is fine for most of my needs but it has half the amperage available on the 12V rail when compared to the 160W picopsu - and this is the more important number. Although the 160W picopsu uses 20A MOSFET's, after talking with their support it handles 15A @ 12V - this should still be plenty for my needs, but the 150W and 120W versions are too low on the 12V rail (only 7A Max to 10A peak). The other problem with this case is that I find it to be ugly compared to the others I listed - I'm not saying I need blue leds and a light show, in fact I prefer simplicity, but I do like curves and milled anodized finish instead of a box bent from sheet metal. If I can talk the supplier out of including the PSU and AC brick, to keep things simple, this will likely be my choice - otherwise I'll probably mill something close to these dimensions but with an aesthetic similar to the other products I listed.

Antec ISK 100
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1185-page1.html
There were a lot of complaints about the fit/finish (plastic, pieces do not fit well) of this case in the reviews. Plus it forces an 80W supply on you, and I I don't like the aesthetics.

There were several other cases I just did not specifically list but may be appropriate for your build. The two primary suppliers I found were:
this is a comparison of the cases sold by logicsupply that met my dimension constraints
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=3

Pleases let me know if I missed anything and I will add/modify

[pinooooo Profile]

Whoa, nice post!to bad non of the listed cases support a flipped graphics card in a 90 degrees or flexible pci slot

[lister Profile]

If I understood your request correctly, then several do. The Casetronic C292 does so explicitly(providing cutouts and a a rigid riser card, although a flexible should work too) and several of the other cases are easy to modify with a dremel or similar cutting tool to clear a cutout - the height dimension is the primary constraint for fitting a riser over the cooler. Where height is sufficient, the listed cases still assume the gpu is parallel to the plane of the motherboard - if you'd like to maintain the gpu at a plane perpendicular to the mobo then the height dimension constraint (<3.5") will prevent this. I included the height constraint to filter all cases that were not maintaining the gpu at this alternate plane since I wanted a low profile case - again my arbitrary definition of "minimal". If there is insufficient air holes on the sides of the case though, cooling could be a concern by blocking the cooler's airflow. If someone is interested, it might be good to maintain a separate list of itx cases that are larger than the form factor I outlined - these usually provide support for a card perpendicular to the motherboard plane.

[pinooooo Profile]

You are completely right, i took a closer look and the Casetronic C292 and Chenbro ES34069 both support flipped PCI cards .they are slightly pricey tho but i am going to look into it because i definitely going to get something like that or a dremel'd up M350, or a pimped Lian-li T7 testcase .but for now..still waiting for Z68 boards to be released.

[Martin9630-ITXed Profile]

That's a nice collection of ITX cases, where did you get them all from?

[lister Profile]

Thanks - I compiled it through many google searches. There were a few forum posts elsewhere (hardforums?) that led me to the Habey cases, LogicSupply had a nice collection of cases in one place too.

One update: I contacted LogicSupply and they are not willing to separate the 120W picopsu from the Casetronic C292 - this is part of the reason this case is so expensive. I may still get this case anyway, if I'm feeling lazy, but I decided to wait until the Z boards come out since I'll have more disposable income in the next few weeks. Other wise I'll bother Aurora and others for advice on milling my own case...

[Migrus Profile]

you can try ITX Depot. I believe they work hand in hand with Casetronic to sell their cases. They were able to work with me on getting a different PICO PSU DC board instead of using the 120W PICO PSU. I believe I paid a few bucks more to get the PICO 150 instead which worked out well for me. Great chassis, very well built! I believe this is their direct link to purchasing that PICO unit.

http://www.itxdepot.com/xcart/product.p ... 100&page=1