Need advice on choosing small case (that allows full size psu and gpu)

[narutofan36]

this is my computer

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3619/3291930713_13b3bf01b9_z.jpg?zz=1

this is my current case

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PLY5BE/

it has a full size gpu (ATI 4870) that is very long. the problem with my current case is that its too big, and does not utilize all the space. for example, i dont have a cd drive becuase i installed windows via usb, so theres theres an empty space there. when i built this computer, i searched endlessly for a computer case that doesnt have a cd drive cage.. but no luck. is there anything out in the market today that allows for a full size gpu and psu.. but at the same, compact enough so that its smaller than my current case. (case with no cd drive cage)

 

[EarthwormJim]

Is that a micro-atx board or itx?

When I was building a htpc I was sort of in a similar situation as you. There's often a lot of empty space in retail cases, simply because they have to conform to certain standards.


Have you thought of building your own case? I made a case that is as compact as possible out of legos.

 

[dma0991]

The Silverstone SG05-450 fits the bill but it won't fit a standard ATX PSU, you'll have to compromise on that aspect. You could've went with a Shuttle barebones if you felt that the extra space is a waste, it looks smaller than your current case. I would've thrown in a custom watercooling loop if I had your case. :whiste:

 

[lehtv]

Is this too big? Bitfenix Prodigy $80. Anandtech's review Editor's Choice Award

 

[paulcall]

You didn't mention if your motherboard was Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX but from the picture it looks to me (in relation to your zalman cooler and your hard drive) that you have a Mini-ITX motherboard.

If my assumption is correct have you looked into a company called Lian Li, they are one of the few companies that make Mini-ITX cases that support full size PSUs. There line of these products is becoming quite extensive with new products appearing fairly rapidly. The only thing is in my opinion they are quite expensive, which feels weird when you think of how small their cases are, and they cost more than full size ATX cases.
They are however made of aluminum which probably adds to the cost, from what I hear they are said to be a quality product.

Hard to recommend a specific model of theirs for you because they have so many, some have one full bay, some have one slim bay, and some I believe have no bays which is what you are looking for. I believe even the ones with a full 5.25 bay should be smaller than your current case.

Hope this helps

 

[truckerCLOCK]

Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced ..it can handle full length video cards and full size PSU

 

[philipma1957]

Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced ..it can handle full length video cards and full size PSU

Based on your pick I did some research and found this is a unique case as far as i can tell. So I purchased it from newegg. If was sold out so I used auto notify to get and it sold out a few hours after I ordered it.


It fits an itx board. It fits a full size psu and a full size graphics card.



I built a system with this mobo:


http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z77E-ITX/

this cpu:


http://ark.intel.com/products/52212/Intel-Core-i5-2500T-Processor-(6M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz)



this heatsink:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835242009

this ram:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220647

this ssd:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820167122


this psu:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151097


this gpu:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102950


last this windows:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986





I have this card on order

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127667.


A fast impression is as follows it is a bit noisy and is better suited for a small killer gamer then htpc.

Putting in the better video card hd 7950.

A psu with a fan that uses the fan to pull heat out of the cpu

and a over clocking cpu a i5 2500k or i5 3570k


would work better.

 

[HaX]

Langear mini itx if you can find one lol

 

[PCTC2]

He has a microATX board. If you look closely, you can see an expansion card next to his GPU.

As for a small microATX case with space for a GPU and ATX PSU... you could try a LanGear DaBox 100. They had some QC issues in the beginning, but maybe they've gotten better. I can't think of any smaller cases than yours.

For different footprints, there's the SilverStone SG04, or FT03. Also the Lian Li PC-V355.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

There's always the cheap but amazing core 1000

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

I have the Lian-Li PC-v355B w/EVGA GTX670 FTW, fits perfectly with room to spare. The case is beautiful and accommodates a full size PSU as well.

 

[inabag]

SilverStone Temjin Series TJ08B-E is the best case period.