Suggest me a Mini ITX case for a gaming build please!

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
H

Hustey

Reputable
Jun 24, 2014
29
0
4,530
Hi I'm looking for a mini ITX case with good cooling capabilities. I would prefer it to be a tower style case instead of a box styled case (So not the CM Elite 130 style). I was looking at the evga hadron air, and like that kind of design a lot. So if anybody knows a case similar to that one please suggest!

Thanks
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Rammy

Rammy

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
2,492
0
12,960
Depends what you are trying to put in it and your budget.

Most ITX cases will be fairly short, narrow but deep (Elite 130, Node 304, ISK-600, HAF915Stacker etc).
If you want something tall and narrow it's things like the RVZ01, ML07 or FT03-Mini, all made by Silverstone but all needing an SFX PSU.
There's loads of other options though, like I say it depends on the stuff you want to put inside.

For reference, the Hadron is decent but it does require very specific choices for graphics, CPU cooling and motherboard as it has limitations in all of these areas.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ImDaBaron

ImDaBaron

Admirable
May 26, 2014
1,866
0
6,160
I'm actually working on a mITX build right now too...A few people talked me about of the Hadron. It's really small and cooling anything in the case must be a pain. I ended up with the Bitfenix Prodigy and it was well worth the money. I know it's kind of leaning towards that boxy style case but that's just my 2 cents.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ImDaBaron

ImDaBaron

Admirable
May 26, 2014
1,866
0
6,160
I'm actually working on a mITX build right now too...A few people talked me about of the Hadron. It's really small and cooling anything in the case must be a pain. I ended up with the Bitfenix Prodigy and it was well worth the money. I know it's kind of leaning towards that boxy style case but that's just my 2 cents.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

Hustey

Reputable
Jun 24, 2014
29
0
4,530
I was going to ask a question about the Hadron Air actually, do you want the blower style gpu cooler with it? Because i currently have a gtx 650 with a fan cooler on it, but I am planning to get a gtx 970 with a blower style cooler. But i'm concerned that i won't be able to use the gtx 650 for the time being? As i read that you want the gpu heat to be exhausted out the back rather than blown up onto the motherboard
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

Hustey

Reputable
Jun 24, 2014
29
0
4,530
Yeah i was planning on using my current graphics card for the time being, and then getting a gtx 970 with a blower cooler and doing some overclocking on the cpu
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rammy

Rammy

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
2,492
0
12,960


The Hadron has very poor graphics cooling (search threads for this issue, there's plenty) in general. It has limited venting, limited space around the card, and no real airflow to move the heat around so it's understandable that you might get heat buildup in this area. Blower coolers are a good option here and strongly advised for this case, but in many other ITX cases you can use any graphics card you like.

Similarly, the Hadron isn't great for overclocking because the CPU cooler support (and by extension, motherboard) isn't fantastic. There are mods to fit closed loop coolers in the case, and I've seen people using down-blowers, but conventional wisdom is that you want a shorter tower cooler exhausting towards your top fans to get the best out of the case (filter by tower coolers using 90-93mm fans, there's a decent selection). Even in this scenario a big overclock is perhaps optimistic so you do have to weigh up the cost of overclocking components and a potentially reduced yield from these.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
H

Hustey

Reputable
Jun 24, 2014
29
0
4,530
Yeah I understand, that's why I'm really skeptical about the Hadron, I would definitely take a different case over the Hadron, but it really has to be of similar shape. Most of the cases I've looked at so far are box shaped, I need to find a mini it's tower case. I think the bit fenix prodigy is a bit too big, and I was looking at the bit fenix colossus mini. But it's hard to find for a reasonable price - I don't really wanna spend £70 on it. So if anyone can suggest a mini itx tower style case (like the Hadron) with decent cooling , it would be much appreciated, preferably not extortionate , around £ 50 - 60 is ideal. I want to be able to fit a decent size garphics card and cpu cooler in it aswell.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rammy

Rammy

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
2,492
0
12,960
Like I said before it kinda depends on what you want to include specifically, as different cases have different advantages.
The Hadron is a great little case because it can fit so much into a small package, it even has slim ODD support. The trade off is the lack of flexibility and limited cooling capabilities, but if you pick your parts well it works very well.

The Bitfenix cases are all based around a (near) identical internal chassis, so swapping between the models won't change a huge amount other than aesthetics. The big exception to this is that the Prodigy has a vented side panel which means it's going to be better for graphics card temps and more suited to axial fan coolers.

The Hadron doesn't have an obvious competitor for similar form factors, and the reason is the semi bespoke PSU which means it can be laid out in such a way. The SFX powered options will come close in terms of volume, so the ones I mentioned previously - the RVZ01 and ML07 specifically as the FT03-Mini will be over-budget, but again they will come in with limitations on CPU coolers.

If you are looking for CPU cooler flexibility then the best cases around are the Bitfenix ones as they will fit the vast majority of coolers, both air+closed loop. If you are looking at closed loop coolers specifically then the Corsair cases are well suited, while the Node 304 is a good pick for air (or smaller radiators).

If you do decide the Hadron is for you then as long as you have a blower style graphics card, a motherboard with a fairly clear "top" edge (and good CPU socket placement) and a sensible cooler it'll be a good performer. Just be aware that it might not be the strongest overclocker or the quietest machine (noisy PSU+ fans potentially working harder).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom