smallest case for mATX

[HerrKaLeu]

I like to build a living room PC and look for the smallest possible case fitting an mATX board.
Requirements:

1. fits a 2.5" and a 3.5" (for existing SSD for OS and HDD for local storage of movies - i could compromise on the 3.5" if needed)
2. fits mATC boards.
3. uses standard PSU
4. no optical drive needed, no 3.5" external needed
5. clean look (is in living room, so no case that looks like I'm 12 years old and live in my parent's basement
6. semi-decent cooling and sound. CPU will be an i3 Skylake, no graphics card. So heat load is relatively low.
7. should be relatively cheap, $50 would be my somewhat flexible limit.

I realize what I'm looking for the CoolerMaster Elite 110 would fullfill, but that is ITX only. Reason I like mATX is it is cheaper, and once i retire my desktop PC, the parts move downstream in the living room PC.

I found the Antec VSK2000 that fulfills everything except it requires an TFX PS. I could compromise on that.

My question, are there other cases I should look at?
Is there a review or opinion on the Antec VSK 2000? google didn't really give me much besides amazon/Newegg reviews. their website doesn't show installation manual. I like to know how well it actually works.

I also found an InWIN CE685 and InWIN BL040 but not sure I like the look. Also only has 80 mm fan (Antec has 92 mm). normally i prefer separate PS (Seasonic etc.), so I'm not too enthused about cases with PS. but I realize there is not much choice.

I'd hope manufacturers would offer more cases without external 5.25" to make some more room.

 

[Valantar]

If you want the smallest, the Kimera Labs Cerberus is the way to go. ATX PSU edition, of course. About as small as it's possible to get a mATX case. Of course, you'd have to go with a very low profile CPU cooler, but airflow can be very good. It's way outside your budget, though (if you can even get it, their Kickstarter failed pretty spectacularly). But one's allowed to dream, no?

If you care about noise, I'd say a TFX PSU ought to be a deal breaker.

Does it need to be a flat/"desktop" style case?

 

[HerrKaLeu]

that Cerberus case seems to be large... and it not being existent yet may be a deal breaker
I have no experience with TFX, but assume it has noise issues due to small fans abd are less efficient (none of the under 300w is energy star rated). So yeah, my idea to use standard PS.... for $30 i can get a 300 W PS from Seasonic that has 120 mm fan and is bronze rated.

It doesn't need to be flat, can be a cube etc. I may lay it down, or may stand it up.... like to be flexible. the Antec VSK seemed to be good in that regard. But TFX....

 

[Valantar]

that Cerberus case seems to be large...

Did you look at the gallery? It's 18l, i.e. smaller than most commercial ITX cases. Essentially it's the size of a mATX motherboard plus some margins on two sides for fans and drives. Nothing more.

What about the Bitfenix Phenom M? Not the tiniest case, but very good space efficiency. Room for good cooling, plenty of drives.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

That case has potential. My only concern is dust? And the fact it is $250 (and with kickstarter it is not like you pay and they ship). Also cable management seems to be an issue. This video shows more about the case.
Actually this green-mesh case is almost a better idea. If i had a way to build it this seems simple.

the bitfenix is a bit steep in cost, and also a bit large. I think the problem with all the cases is, they assume one wants multiple 3.5" drives, large graphics cards etc.
I probably will use a Kaby Lake Pentium (TDP 35W) or maximum a an i3. No graphics card, no more than 1 HDD.

I envisioned the whole PC to cost ~$200 inc. case... so a $200 case doesn't fir the budget unless i just want an empty box

 

[ClockHound]

Have you considered just going itx? Saving a little on the motherboard is going to cost more for the case - unless you have access to Jonsbo/Cooltek cases - then the Jonsbo U2 could fit your spacial and cost needs.

Rosewill distributed a few Jonsbo cases for a time and then stopped - and I've never forgiven them for it.

 

[ClockHound]

Another option for North Americans in search of a small matx cheap(ish) case is the Raijintek Styxx

Altho with the limited thermal demands on the proposed build, an itx case could be ideal...and the Raijintek Metis is good low cost option. As well as many Lian Li and Fractals.

 

[Valantar]

I did a trawl through the product list of one of my favourite obscure chinese case makers, Jonsbo. I found a few options for you (although I have no idea about US availability, here in Europe it's a bit so-so).

I guess thechnically the Jonsbo RM2 supports full ATX (although gimped, as it only has six expansion slots), but it's quite tiny still. Their UMX3 is quite tiny for mATX too - fits the board, an ATX PSU in front, and some drives below that, period. Perhaps the C3? Or even the C2 if your intended mATX motherboard is small enough? The U3 is pretty tiny too. All windowed models are AFAIK available with solid side panels too, btw.

If your needs are exactly what you said: mATX mobo, 1x2,5", 1x3,5", ATX PSU, then the C2 should fit your needs as long as you don't mind going for a tiny CPU cooler, and using the PSU as your exhaust fan. Also, this should serve as a decent demonstration of the compromises necessary to get a truly tiny mATX case.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

The Jonsbo cases are not uninteresting, thanks for the links. However, I was not able to find a source in the US. This really is more difficult than I expected.

I looked at some somewhat interesting itx cases, like the M350 minibox , but they just remind me why i want an ATX PS, all seems shaky on the long run. I think if I give up on my mATX board and PSU, I may look at one of the new Intel NUC

I think I put this project on the backburner for now, I wait what comes out after X-mas. It seems with the choices (or lack thereof) i have to think more about what i want to do.
thank you all for helping.

 

[lehtv]

Jonsbo cases can be ordered from the UK based QuietPC.com but postage is going to be expensive. And the cases themselves arent cheap, though excellent quality..

 

[Valantar]

The Jonsbo cases are not uninteresting, thanks for the links. However, I was not able to find a source in the US. This really is more difficult than I expected.

I looked at some somewhat interesting itx cases, like the M350 minibox , but they just remind me why i want an ATX PS, all seems shaky on the long run. I think if I give up on my mATX board and PSU, I may look at one of the new Intel NUC

I think I put this project on the backburner for now, I wait what comes out after X-mas. It seems with the choices (or lack thereof) i have to think more about what i want to do.
thank you all for helping.

So as you can't reuse those components, you're going to opt out of upgradeability completely? That sounds silly to me. NUCs are not cheap for what you get, don't really perform all that well, and unless you're using them on the world's smallest desk, the size difference between them and a compact mITX case is negligible. Power consumption is comparable, as is noise (as long as you find a well ventilated case). But you'll get a lot more bang for your buck.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

the Jonsbo cases are about $200 if I convert from pounds, and shipping and costum fees will get added. no way....

This was an idea for a living room PC (which currently is an 11 year old laptop with dual core/ 2 GB and SSD). but we recently got a "smart TV" from family and my wife will get a new phone. So my plan is to use her old smartphone via "screenshare" to display on the TV. That way I can use the phone to play all kind of videos..... the only thin it can't do is play videos from my office PC.

Other than that, yes an NUC is soemwhat limited. With buying a case, PS and board etc. i will be more future proof since in some years I just replace the board/CPU if needed.

 

[ClockHound]

There's some cheaper options for Jonsbo on eBay from Europe - but still not cheap enough.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

I was thinking a bit about buildign my own case to fit exactly what i need. but the effort (and expenses) to make that look decent are too big. Also thought of just putting all components on a board and putting that board on the back of the TV (like the VESA mounts). but that easily gets awkward....
Also looked at the Antec ISK to put on back of TV. Since i only planned to use a 35W CPU that may work. but one problem is the proprietary PSU, and how to turn it on with case and power button on back of TV.
Overall the problem really became complex just for watching TV

 

[ClockHound]

Sure sounds complicated. Maybe just stop watching TV and go back to watching cat and case videos on youtube. ;-)

 

[Valantar]

Turning the PC on/off from a distance? This or this should work.

 

[HerrKaLeu]

I know, first world problems. I don't need to turn it on from far away since I also manually power on the TV (have a line switch to not waste standby power) - so i have to go to the TV anyway to turn it on or off when i leave the room. But need a power button that is not really behind the TV as it would be with a VESA mounted PC.

 

[lehtv]

the Jonsbo cases are about $200 if I convert from pounds, and shipping and costum fees will get added. no way....

You don't have to convert from pounds, just change country to US and currency to USD on the QuietPC page.
UMX3 is about $135
RM3 is $130
U3 is $95 for the black one, $80 for the silver one

Shipping looks like $40 or so. So you're looking at $120-$175 with shipping, depending on case. I don't think you get any customs fees on a computer case, I used www.dutycalculator.com and it claims there is no fee on the category Computer Cases of Aluminium when importing from UK to US because the total value doesn't exceed $800. If it did, there would be a 2.5% fee.

 

[you2]

If you are willing to look at nuc; you could also look at zotac and if you wanted a power house there is the en1070 or en1080.
-
For nuc msi seems to have the best deal when they are on sale; I ended up with a gigabyte iris pro (i5) machine and do not recommend it (runs too hot and will bake the ssd/wifi cards).

The Jonsbo cases are not uninteresting, thanks for the links. However, I was not able to find a source in the US. This really is more difficult than I expected.

I looked at some somewhat interesting itx cases, like the M350 minibox , but they just remind me why i want an ATX PS, all seems shaky on the long run. I think if I give up on my mATX board and PSU, I may look at one of the new Intel NUC

I think I put this project on the backburner for now, I wait what comes out after X-mas. It seems with the choices (or lack thereof) i have to think more about what i want to do.
thank you all for helping.