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Mini ITX gaming/video editing ~ Case advice needed.

Batmeat

Batmeat

Senior member
I'm going to build my first Mini -ITX machine. I've watercooled for years building my own custom loops for cpu and video cards. I've always used full tower atx cases though and I'm tired of having behemoths crowding my space. Here is what I want to do.

Gaming/video editing Mini-ITX bulid with watercooled single gpu and cpu. I want this thing to be quiet and small. Video card will be either a flagship AMD or Nvidia card. Haven't decided yet.

I've looked at corsair, lian li, phastek, rosewill, and whole bunch of other cases, but I'm at a loss as to what I should look for in a mini build to maximize space and efficiency. Anyone got some case recommendations or what I should look for in a case?
 
The best choice for watercooling in mini-ITX is probably Bitfenix Prodigy which is rather large for mini-ITX but designed to be watercooling-friendly. Lots of Prodigy watercooling guides and build logs out there.
 
How about a Caselabs S3?
http://www.caselabs-store.com/mercury-s3-case/

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900x900px-LL-aa84b155_IMG_5296_zpsec111338.jpeg
 
Evga generally makes decent stuff the 500 watt supply is weak imo. I've got a 1000w sitting around needing a good home which is overkill for mini itx but....oh well. For a good mini itx case I expect to pay around $250.00. Quality and organization will be huge since I want it quiet and watercooled.
 
For an ITX system 500 watts is all you need, that PSU can run the highest end Nvidia card without a problem. For SLI I would agree, but I really don't see a need for more than 500 watts for a system that only has 1 PCI-e slot. I have the Bitfenix Prodigy too, it's much bigger but you're still limited on PSU's because it won't fit a larger size one. I currently have the Hadron Air and it's really nice. The Hydro version looks real good.
 
QueBert said:
For an ITX system 500 watts is all you need, that PSU can run the highest end Nvidia card without a problem. For SLI I would agree, but I really don't see a need for more than 500 watts for a system that only has 1 PCI-e slot. I have the Bitfenix Prodigy too, it's much bigger but you're still limited on PSU's because it won't fit a larger size one. I currently have the Hadron Air and it's really nice. The Hydro version looks real good.
Click to expand...

I just bought a Silverstone Sugo 08, and was a bit weirded out by how it ships only with a 600W ATX PSU pre-installed.

Well, it was the same price as the Lian-Li PC-Q28 which I also eyed, after I added an Enermax Revolution xt 430W, and the only effective markup was the slim ODD required - but that slim ODD was the deciding factor in the end, because you can't install an ODD in the Lian Li without it looking ridiculous or ordering a mask for the drive, which also isn't really that nice....

The Prodigy is the best choice if you can live with the aesthetics.

The thick radiators that water cooling requires rarely fit into mini ITX enclosures though. The Lian-Li actually has two fan mounts that suit radiators (120+140) pretty well, but leave you only with the 5.25 bay to install disks. By deleting the drive cage you could gain a lot of space for a small reservoir. I've also not seen many mini ITX cases with access ports for external radiators.
 
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