Question SMALLEST CASE for 360mm Radiator ATX PSU and EVGA RTX 3070 (any recommendations?)

[maluckey1]

I've been looking around, but want to be sure that I haven't missed anything.

Looking for recommendations for a SMALL case to fit:

- ATX MOBO (Mine's a Z490 Aorus Pro AX)
- A full sized ATX PSU ( Mine's an RM 850X)
- A rear/side/top 280-360mm radiator with push OR pull fan setup. Haven't purchased it yet, but leaning toward 360mm for sound reduction
- An RTX 3070 video card Mines an EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra

The reason for all this is that I'm hating on my Cooler master CM-690 (for the SIZE!!!). I'd like to have the perfect tiny case that looks cool, makes me more attractive and enlarges my E-penis, but I'm realistic that my obviously First-world plight is likely not catered to by mass producers of PC cases, so instead of asking for perfection, was leaning toward the Lian Li 011 Dynamic in white. An issue is that It still seems large to me. Is there anything smaller, that still fits everything and makes sense?

One thing that I don't want is a front-mounted radiator. I intend to keep the GPU air-cooled.

The realist in me says that I might have to settle SO here's what's important to note:

- I don't have SSD's or optical drives (All M2 NVME at the moment)
- I don't care about USB at all.
- Price not a concern
- color not a concern
- Fans are NO concern.

Like a woman I dated for a while said... "size is my main concern" and then added "I can mostly deal with whatever else".

M

 

[RLGL]

Google is your friend.

 

[maluckey1]

Glad you had some time out of your busy day to reply

I already searched...ergo the Lian Li 011 Dynamic fence-sitting. There are hundreds of cases out there and not all of them are on YouTube or review sites. Just hoping that someone knew of or had a small case that could work for this setup.

M

 

[aigomorla]

The o11 is not a small case.
Yes it natively fits a 360mm radiator fine, but a lot of people are not aware its wider then a standard tower.
Infact if you were to strech it wider a bit, it would be almost double wide enough for a horizonal mounting of a motherboard.

Are we talking AIO 360? or full custom LCS with pumps required?

Because a Fractal Define 7 compact is smaller then a o11 and can accommodate a 360mm radiator.

Define 7 Compact

The new Define 7 Compact takes the strongest features of the contemporary 7 Series design and places them in a conveniently compact frame.

www.fractal-design.com

It also handles a 6900XT fine, so you will not have any problems with the video cards you listed unless its some funky colorful version with extra RGB and extra large sink.

I think that's about as small as your going to get with native 360mm radiator support.

 

[maluckey1]

The o11 is not a small case.
Yes it natively fits a 360mm radiator fine, but a lot of people are not aware its wider then a standard tower.
Infact if you were to strech it wider a bit, it would be almost double wide enough for a horizonal mounting of a motherboard.

Are we talking AIO 360? or full custom LCS with pumps required?

Because a Fractal Define 7 compact is smaller then a o11 and can accommodate a 360mm radiator.

Define 7 Compact

The new Define 7 Compact takes the strongest features of the contemporary 7 Series design and places them in a conveniently compact frame.

www.fractal-design.com

It also handles a 6900XT fine, so you will not have any problems with the video cards you listed unless its some funky colorful version with extra RGB and extra large sink.

I think that's about as small as your going to get with native 360mm radiator support.

Thanks for the tip! I also like the website!

I haven't purchased the cooling setup yet because I'm wanting to see the case in person. I can go AIO or custom, whichever is the best/easiest fit for the case.

I just finished looking around Reddit and Youtube for builds witht he Define 7 Compact, and other than the even smaller Meshify variants (which requires modding for my setup with a 360mm radiator), it may be the smallest "logical" choice. I hadn't originally considered it because several professional reviewers rated it low. Once I ignored the reviewers, it seems that more than a few regular people (not professional reviewers) like the case, and they had no problems fitting everything. To me, losing 14L of case size is appealing, and if my already cool-running setup has to run 1-2 degrees warmer...so be it. It won't affect anything.

M

 

[aigomorla]

most of the complaints lie in the fact that its not much different from the define 6 and define 5 from previous gens.

Its not a bad case, its definitely not the best, but its still in the same league as the o11, and most NZXT cases.

The only case i like more then the define series would be something like a be quiet base 802

SILENT BASE 802 | Window Black silent premium PC cases from be quiet!

be quiet!

www.bequiet.com

But we are getting into pricey territory, as well as something a bit far bigger.

 

[maluckey1]

most of the complaints lie in the fact that its not much different from the define 6 and define 5 from previous gens.

Its not a bad case, its definitely not the best, but its still in the same league as the o11, and most NZXT cases.

I'd also wager a few dollars that Fractal isn't as big of a sponsor as Cooler Master or Corsair.

I spent lunch looking at some builds with the Define 7 C and also some Meshify C (slightly smaller). I'm surprised at how creative that people can be. I plan to measure out my parts, and maybe order a case sometime tomorrow. There's still a lot to measure

 

[maluckey1]

After much consideration, ignoring the you-tubers and focusing on what I wanted, I ended up buying the Fractal Meshify C. I can fit a 360mm radiator with 120mm x 15mm Noctua fans in the front, and any 240mm radiator/fan combo at the top. It also fits 120mm fans on the bottom.

Thanks for the input and the Fractal tip!

 

[aigomorla]

Gamers Nexus gave the Meshify C one of the top 10 budget air cases.
So you wont be disappointed.

 

[maluckey1]

Yeah, I saw that, an figured I really couldn't lose. Besides... if I hate it, I build it for my son. He'llbe thrilled since he's the stereotypical starving college rat.

Also, I just got a STEAL on a new 280mm EVGA CLC AIO for 61 dollars, shipping included, new in box from EVGA. I guess the 360mm radiator setup can wait. Now I need to start making a spacer for the front mesh grill so that I have room for the 140mm fans. I'm thinking that I might have the local rapid prototype shop, scan and print me one to save the opportunity cost of self-fabrication, for beer drinking and gaming.

M

 

[dmoney1980]

Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact is a solid case that has tons of options while providing great thermal performance. I had the original compact and it was good, but the new variant improves on the original

 

[maluckey1]

I already got it, and I'm using it with a Noctua U12S while waiting for the EVGA CLC 280. So far I'm impressed. The case is surprisingly tidy because you can be a slob with cable-management and still look like a pro through the glass! It's so easy to look good, that I bought fancy Corsair sleeved PSU in alternating black/white. According to my son, it looks "Dope"!

Even with just a 3 case-fans (a 140mm and 120mm intake) and ONE 120mm exhaust, it's running a 10700k all-core OC to 5.0 at just 67C while gaming in Cyberpunk (with 21C ambient). The 3070 GPU is at a reasonable 70C and the GPU hotspot is right at 80C. I expect both the GPU and CPU temps to drop once the AIO arrives (and replace the stock CPU and GPU thermal compound).

M

 

[maluckey1]

UPDATE! I got the temps down a bit.

The 280mm radiator fits EASILY with an EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra in push/pull with 15mm thick Noctua fans on the front of the case and the full-sixed fans inside the case. a 360mm rdiator will also fit. I also added: 2 top exhaust fans, one bottom and one out the back fan.

In gaming with 21C ambient, extended Cyberpunk gaming session still shows 70C and GPU hotspot at 80C, but the CPU dropped to 64.5C peak.

- OCCT small FFT/Extreme CPU test put the CPU at at 91C after 25minutes.
- OCCT "power" test was CPU at 91C and the GPU at 70C, but the fans did get noticeably loud!

M