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please suggest mATX case

W

wpeng

Senior member
I was thinking about the microfly ultra. I saw a silverstone case, though, the Temjin TJ-08, which seems to be considerably more expensive but looks very nice and roomy. It also happens to be much cheaper than the other silverstone mATX cases. How much bigger are minitowers than mATX desktops like the microfly and x-qpack? Any other suggestions?
 
Originally posted by: wpeng
How much bigger are minitowers than mATX desktops like the microfly and x-qpack? Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

They'll be a bit taller, but narrower. Also, probably deeper (front-rear). Newegg usually publishes dimensions of the cases, so you can get a tape measure and figure it out. The Silverstone case is pretty small for a mATX tower. Athenatech makes the A301BS model which is exactly like the Silverstone, except for a different front panel. InWin mATX cases are usually pretty small too - BITD they used to come with "shorty" PSUs, though now they come with regular sized ones because optical drives are getting so much shorter.
 
Those sound like interesting cases. Athenatech also seems to be very cheap, so that is promising. If I plan to add a good videocard, will cooling be a problem with minitowers or cubes? What kind of mATX cases do you guys use?
 
I think the UltraFly is the best bang for the $$ mATX cube right now. It's not as pretty as the Silverstones. But it's cheap and the features are there.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=382315
^^^ Shipped for $70 then add a nice power supply.

They are out of stock right now on this deal ... $90 Shipped for Ultrafly with 400W power supply - $30 MIR http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=382312

Like most I recomend using a better powersupply then the bundled one ... but it's still nice to have as a backup or for testing purposes.
 
Originally posted by: wpeng
If I plan to add a good videocard, will cooling be a problem with minitowers or cubes? What kind of mATX cases do you guys use?
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That's very insightful of you to think of that before jumping into a small chassis.

Here's my mATX gaming rig. I've had to do some changes to it because video was overheating.

For cooling, the Ultra MicroFly seems decent and the Silverstone/Athenatech seems decent as well, though the Athenatech will need the grill cut out to make it match the Silverstone. Stock, probably the Silverstone has the best cooling, as good as or better than many full sized ATX cases. If you want a "no brainer" for a good looking mATX case with the best cooling, there's your answer.

I'm not as keen on that Antec case because it looks like a rehash of the Aria, which people had issues with for cooling and dying PSUs - it uses a proprietary PSU which can spell trouble after warranty runs out.
 
Here's a decent case that I used for several desktops for my wife's business. Pretty good airflow with a 120 mm intake and two 80 mm exhausts. Only caveat - the hard drive cage must be removed to install the motherboard but it's not really a PITA.
 
Originally posted by: krose
Here's a decent case that I used for several desktops for my wife's business. Pretty good airflow with a 120 mm intake and two 80 mm exhausts. Only caveat - the hard drive cage must be removed to install the motherboard but it's not really a PITA.
Click to expand...

That case is only 1" shorter than an Antec 1650B or 2650BQE, personally I don't think 1" is worth being restricted to MATX boards only. If you're gonna go the MATX route you should get a cube case that'll save you at least 6".
 
I only offered a suggestion to the OP of a case that I used and worked well for me. Your opinion is, well, an opinion, and like a$$holes, everybody has one.
 
Originally posted by: wpeng
Here's a full ATX case that has similar dimensions to mATX minitowers: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811108024

Any opinions? I realize I won't have all options open with powerful video cards, but I want to try my best. The Microfly seems the best candidate for cube cases, but I'm still waffling between cubes and minitowers.
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That's not a full ATX case. Look at the specs, it is only for mATX boards.

I built a machine in a QPack and used a full size PSU (just used a Lite-On DVD drive so that it would all fit) and that worked out nicely. I don't know if I'd want to go with another cube though. I'd probably be tempted to go with a nice tower when I build my next machine.

The question between going with a cube vs. a tower comes down to: what kind of space do you have and are you going to be placing the machine on top of a desk?
-If you have room for a larger footprint, the cube could be a nice choice and certainly breaks away from the mundane look of a tower case.
-If you are placing the machine on top of a desk, a cube case would place the CD drive a little closer to you when you sit at the desk. If you're putting it under a desk, then a tower would place the drives closer to where you are sitting.

In the end, it comes down to personal preference.
 
Just wait until 2010, then you can have a 20 ghz cpu and a terabyte of hd space w/ 100 gigs of ram and a video projector all in your ipod.
 
Originally posted by: espress0
Just wait until 2010, then you can have a 20 ghz cpu and a terabyte of hd space w/ 100 gigs of ram and a video projector all in your ipod.
Click to expand...
By video projector I mean a hard wire at the base of your skull which omits electric pulses into the brain
 
Originally posted by: espress0
Just wait until 2010, then you can have a 20 ghz cpu and a terabyte of hd space w/ 100 gigs of ram and a video projector all in your ipod.
Click to expand...

Where the hell did that comment come from?

Last time I checked, the OP was looking for an mATX for <$100, nothing beyond that.
 
well, I just pulled the trigger on the Lian-Li v300B, but won't get my grubby mits on it until next week. the Aspire qpack was close second for most of the time I've been planning it. I'm looking forward to upgrading from lappyland.
 
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