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Looking for a mini tower

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KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
What's a decent and cheap mini tower? I'd like it to have a power supply built in, and also as compact as possible.
 
Z

Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
0
0
The Evercase 3505 may be the best miniTower available. You can get it at eWiz.com w/ or w/o PSU. IDK if the PSU is for modern mobos or is old-school as they don't give any specs on it - what can you expect for six bucks anyway? I'd get the one w/o PSU and put a PSU like the one I have for sale (click on the link in my sig) into it - a quality PSU makes for a more stable system. Soon I'll have another SU-380 that was used for a while for a bit less.

.bh.
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Antec NSK3480 $81 shipped

It is about as compact as you can get without going into contortions or non-ATX PSUs, plus the included PSU is of exceptional quality for one included with a case.

BTW, it is micro ATX. Is that what you need, or a regular ATX?
 
VinDSL

VinDSL

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,869
1
81
www.lenon.com
Originally posted by: KK
What's a decent and cheap mini tower? I'd like it to have a power supply built in, and also as compact as possible.
Click to expand...

Anytime I see 'decent' and 'cheap' in the same sentence - I start thinking Enermax!

Enermax is the King of Cheap! They make (more than) decent products, and I don't have any problem recommending them...

To wit, I would take a look at the Enermax Vostok series (named after "Camp Vostok" in Antarctica - world's coldest place) :)

ENERMAX ECA2020 VOSTOK Micro ATX Tower Case (Black) - $30

ENERMAX ECA2020 VOSTOK Micro ATX Tower Case w/350w PSU (Black) - $66
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Originally posted by: Zepper
The Evercase 3505 may be the best miniTower available. You can get it at eWiz.com w/ or w/o PSU. IDK if the PSU is for modern mobos or is old-school as they don't give any specs on it - what can you expect for six bucks anyway? I'd get the one w/o PSU and put a PSU like the one I have for sale (click on the link in my sig) into it - a quality PSU makes for a more stable system. Soon I'll have another SU-380 that was used for a while for a bit less.

.bh.
Click to expand...

this 3505 case under specs says: M/B Type: ATX, Micro ATX

does that mean both will work? size wise that would be great 7.5x14.64x14.25. The last one suggested by vinDSL was 19.5'' x 7.5'' x 16.7'', which is alittle larger than the 3505.
 
Z

Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
0
0
The 3505 is microATX. The 4502 is the ATX (mid-Tower) version but both are hard to find. It is a bit under 17" tall. Hard to find something shorter. The Antek NSK4400 (antec has 80+ eff. versions that come with EA PSUs instead of SU - the SUs are plenty good - see the review on SPCR. I've sold quite a few SU-380s and use one in my system. So you don't really need to spen the extra for the 80+ PSU unless you want - the SU PSUs are 80% or better over nearly enough of its output range to qualify. the 4400 is also a bit under 17" tall. The nMedia (a div. of Enermax) 300 series are arranged strangely inside but it brings the height to under 15" but they are pretty deep (about the same as other ATX boxes). May have to mod the cooling a bit as the stock fans won't cut it with hotter than normal components. Lian Li also has some short ATX cases, but you said you wanted a lower price.

.bh.
 
Z

Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
0
0
Many of the Rosewill R6A series are under 17" and the 5600 series are just a bit over 17" tall.

.bh.
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Originally posted by: Zepper
The 3505 is microATX. The 4502 is the ATX (mid-Tower) version but both are hard to find. It is a bit under 17" tall. Hard to find something shorter. The Antek NSK4400 (antec has 80+ eff. versions that come with EA PSUs instead of SU - the SUs are plenty good - see the review on SPCR. I've sold quite a few SU-380s and use one in my system. So you don't really need to spen the extra for the 80+ PSU unless you want - the SU PSUs are 80% or better over nearly enough of its output range to qualify. the 4400 is also a bit under 17" tall. The nMedia (a div. of Enermax) 300 series are arranged strangely inside but it brings the height to under 15" but they are pretty deep (about the same as other ATX boxes). May have to mod the cooling a bit as the stock fans won't cut it with hotter than normal components. Lian Li also has some short ATX cases, but you said you wanted a lower price.

.bh.
Click to expand...

that antec nsk4480 looks like a decent case, is the only difference between the B and non B model, just the color? I see zzf has it for 79 shipped, any place cheaper? newegg is more with shipping.
 
Z

Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
0
0
Always check Provantage.com on Antec - don't bother, they don't have either. Like I said the 4480 comes with the EA and the 4400 comes with the SU PSU. Don't need to spend the extra for the EA. Looks like ZZF is selling the 4480 for less than the 4400 - must be a special deal.
B is for black front

.bh.
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
another question, I have a overclocked E6300 right now on a P5B-E board. I see that the antec 3480 case is for microATX and that its alot smaller than the 4480. 14" sq. compared to 16.5"sq. When I bought the P5B-E around last december, I don't believe the microATX boards were very good overclockers. Have there been any good microATX boards since that overclock just as good as the regular ATX?
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
I went ahead and got the 4480 from ZZF, installed all my components and was up and running just fine for about 6 hours, and then all of a sudden it shut off. I was confused at first thinking that maybe it somehow got into an auto shutdown. Then I thought the power supply. I unplugged everything from the power supply and the fan will not budge when I reseat the power cord and flip the powersupply switch. Pretty sure the PSU is shot. How should I proceed with the RMA? I'd rather not ship the whole case back, as I got everything just how I want it, minus the PSU. Should I deal straight with antec or ZZF?
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Well, I came back and tried power it about 3 hours later and noticed that the led on the motherboard was now illuminating. I flipped the power back off and powered up the rest of the PC and it booted up, ran for about 10 minutes or so and froze up. pressed the power switch which immediately powered it down, and now it's back to the original issue, no led on the motherboard lit.
 
Z

Zepper

Elite Member
May 1, 2001
18,998
0
0
CPU may be overheating as most mobos will cut off if they get dangerously hot - have you got your health monitoring program running so you can see what's happening with the temps in real time? On an ATX PSU, if not plugged into the mobo where you can use the power button, you have to momentarily short the power on lead (which is normally the green one in the ATX connector) with one of the black wires, ground, to start it. No ATX PSU will start up just by flipping on the switch on the back of the PSU. Check that the CPU heatsink is properly smeared with heat sink goop and mated well with the top of the CPU. Any air gaps there can cause overheating. And your other case fans should be doing what they are supposed to as well. See mechbgon's (http://www.mechbgon.com) builders guide to look for anything else you might have missed.

.bh.
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Originally posted by: Zepper
CPU may be overheating as most mobos will cut off if they get dangerously hot - have you got your health monitoring program running so you can see what's happening with the temps in real time? On an ATX PSU, if not plugged into the mobo where you can use the power button, you have to momentarily short the power on lead (which is normally the green one in the ATX connector) with one of the black wires, ground, to start it. No ATX PSU will start up just by flipping on the switch on the back of the PSU. Check that the CPU heatsink is properly smeared with heat sink goop and mated well with the top of the CPU. Any air gaps there can cause overheating. And your other case fans should be doing what they are supposed to as well. See mechbgon's (http://www.mechbgon.com) builders guide to look for anything else you might have missed.

.bh.
Click to expand...

I removed the motherboard and cpu from another case and just basically moved everything as is from one case to another. I did, while the computer was running on that 6 hour stretch, look at the temps briefly and they looked fine, cpu was at around 48C. but I didn't keep watching it the whole six hours as I thought everything was good to go. I took the motherboard out of the case this morning to make sure nothing was shorted but the power supply when turned on didn't light up the motherboards light.
 
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