I need case suggestions

[Matias]

Hello everyone, I am a long time lurker, but first time poster so apologies if I mess something up.

I am currently in the process of buying/planning a parts of the new build (actually 2, the second one will be for my brother). I have been looking for the past few weeks and constantly seem to run into something new that I somehow missed, so I wanted to ask for advice or suggestions

So I would like to find as small as possible a case (it needs to fit on the desk not under) which supports following parts:
- Noctua NH-L12 cooler (93mm),
- ATX PSU, 160mm long, fully modular (Corsair rm650x),
- Normal length graphics card (I want to put a vega in it, once it is released, if it is any good, this is why I am vague about the specifics)
-ITX motherboard (but if there is a really small mATX case, I might consider it, for example, Sharkoon CA-M. I have still not purchased the mobo)
- I don't care about hard drives at all, I would use an m.2. which goes on the mobo and maybe one 2.5" SSD, I have a nas for large storage.

Cooler and psu I already bought when on very good deals so I am not willing to take something that would not take them.

For the second build I have Sharkoon C10 which I found great and almost fits the above, but unfotunately the psu is just a little bit too long for it, ideally a case of that format which is 10mm longer (so it fits atx psu and longer graphics) would be an optimal option.

Thank you so much for any suggestions

 

[PCaddict9]

You might look at Silverstone Grandia series HTPC. They make some very nice cases that would work for you.

 

[Matias]

Thank you very much, these are great suggestions, I really appreciate it.

(I have actually not noticed this series as I thought htpc was way to small for the full length graphics cards.)

Still somehow the smallest one that might work from these is 22L but with severe limitation on graphics card length 280mm

(so I think thermaltake core v1 is better, but still 20L, unless vega is very thick)

For comparison that sharkoon is 14L and it is missing literally few mm to accommodate large psu...

The big atx grandias (27L) might be interesting if they supported sli/crossfire otherwise I would rather save on space.

 

[PCaddict9]

The Silverstone Grandia series 08 will support graphic cards up to 345mm.

 

[Matias]

Yes but it is 27L big (which is a lot for a "small" build) and even takes atx motherboards

 

[fleshconsumed]

I get the desire to go minimalistic/small. However, putting a full size videocard into an ITX system will blow up your physical dimensions to almost mATX size. ITX cases that can house full size videocard are also a very niche market. NCASE M1 is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. It's small, it's ITX, it can hold full size videocard, however it also has many restrictions as in you may have to get a new SFX power supply and it works best with blower style videocards. If that doesn't work for you then I'd suggest giving up that idea and focus on mATX cases (your videocard will dictate the case size anyway) of which there are plenty. If you like Sharkoon CA-M, you can probably also look at Silverstone FT03 as it's similar in size and design.

 

[Matias]

Thank you very much for the input.

I have considered M1 but unfortunately psu of 160mm implies gpu <195mm which is far too short. Other similar cases are Dan Case (which is incredible 7L, but I don't quite know how to get hold of one and both cpu cooler and psu are useless for me (otherwise I would absolutely low to get one such).

Sharkoon C10 which I have for the second build is actually great it is about 14L (M1 is about 13L) and it would take an atx psu but it must be <145mm and non modular. So a bit longer C10 wouldbe perfect, it would be about 15L and take modular 160mm psu's plus, 345mm GPU, so it would take itx mobo and all normal other components (not to mention 240mm radiator...) in 15L which imo would be awesome and am very surprised there is no such case, they all require some kind of compromises.

I have seen FT03 (33L) but it is considerably bigger than CA-M (25L) or even one of the grandia's which are full ATX (take 2 gpus full size psu etc) and only 27L (I actually found a great deal on am4 ATX mobo on amazon so thought getting that to settle the matter, but it was a price mistake so I am still searching).

So my current state is:
- If Vegas are all big I will go for Grandia 07 and full ATX (27L)
- If it is <285mm and thinenough I would go for thermaltake F1 or V1 and mini-itx (19L)
- There is also a certain Lian Li (QB25 I think) which is about 24L and takes 290mm thick cards

Thank you all for very helpful inputs and if someone has some other nice case they ran into I am very intersted in any suggestions.

 

[Termie]

The Fractal Design Core 500 is your best choice for those particular parts. Ideally, you would not have purchased the cooler and PSU before the case, as much is dictated by the case itself. A 160mm will just barely fit. You will need a video card without a backplate. You can see my step-by-step assembly guide for the Core 500 here.

The Core 500 is likely the only ITX case with the clearance you need for your CPU cooler that is still Small Form Factor.

 

[Matias]

The Fractal Design Core 500 is your best choice for those particular parts. Ideally, you would not have purchased the cooler and PSU before the case, as much is dictated by the case itself. A 160mm will just barely fit. You will need a video card without a backplate. You can see my step-by-step assembly guide for the Core 500 here.

The Core 500 is likely the only ITX case with the clearance you need for your CPU cooler that is still Small Form Factor.

Thank you very much for the advice.

What do you mean by removing the backplate of the gpu?

I did consider core 500 and I am not quite sure why I disregarded it, I think it was actually because of that post you linked to which says you fitted the largest psu you could which was 150mm so I thought mine is out of luck.

That does seem to be a better option then thermaltake f1/v1 and of same volume, more or less. It is precisely what I wanted except a bit bigger.

I did not feel like 93mm height is too much for sff builds, and in most of the cases I considered it is not a problem, the psu seems to be the issue as most sff cases require sfx or at most 140mm atx. Or it clashes with gpu if longer or some such.

The reason I bought both before the case is that I had a case at home which I was under impression would work (Sharkoon C10) as I misread the specs for the case with respect to psu (it says it takes standard atx psu and I thought that is 160mm...) and maybe even 160mm would fit but it would be way too close to the mobo. Also the fact both were under 50% of the normal price was a factor.

I need to wait for Vega and mini itx ryzen mobos anyway so I am not in the rush but I would like to be ready soon (September is rough deadlines as them my brother has his birthday so he will get the second build).

 

[Termie]

Thank you very much for the advice.

What do you mean by removing the backplate of the gpu?

I did consider core 500 and I am not quite sure why I disregarded it, I think it was actually because of that post you linked to which says you fitted the largest psu you could which was 150mm so I thought mine is out of luck.

That does seem to be a better option then thermaltake f1/v1 and of same volume, more or less. It is precisely what I wanted except a bit bigger.

Most nvidia cards include backplates, as do many radeon cards. A 160mm-long power supply will hit this backplate if mounted in the Core 500. Either buy a card without one or remove it before installing.