TL;DR - So, I'm sorry if this is completely a noob question, but I really need some advice as to whether I'll be fine with a mid tower & ATX board even with minor (1-2") clearances around the case, or whether I should go micro ATX board/case and 4-6" clearance around the case. Any suggestions for good cases would be appreciated.
The new PC I'm building (only the second I've ever built) must fit under my desk. The space for it is 20" tall (under the desk) and 21" deep (in front of the back wall), but completely open on the sides and front.
I'm trying to find the best case for this build. Unfortunately, since most cases vent to the back and top, the exhaust air is going to hit the all or desk pretty quickly. The key question I can't quite figure out is how much clearance I'll need to leave behind the case. Most articles I've read state that you should leave 6 inches behind the case, but I know a lot of people have used computers for years with a lot less room. Plus, the sides will be open, so air isn't really trapped in the desk.
The room is very well heated with good A/C, usually set to 72-74 F.
The PC will be for light gaming (common MMOs) and general use. I'll be using the g3258 processor with the stock cooler, but probably somewhat over clocked, with a Z97 motherboard. Slightly complicating the issue is that I already bought a Z97 mobo on a really great sale (Gigabyte Z97-HD3 for $69 with rebates), which I could return easily but any Z97M boards will be $30 more.
It seems like I'd generally be better off with a full ATX mobo and a mid tower case, but most of those are about 20" tall and deep, leaving me only an inch or so around the top and back. I can use side-mounted cooling fans, but certain components (psu, graphics card) will obviously exhaust out the back.
Micro ATX cases don't have as much room in the case or as many room for fans, but being about 16" high and deep would allow for the 6" around the case that would be ideal. I'm not really worried about the flexibility or options that a full ATX board/case would allow - I'll be using one SSD, one graphics card, and one DVD drive, and that's it.
The new PC I'm building (only the second I've ever built) must fit under my desk. The space for it is 20" tall (under the desk) and 21" deep (in front of the back wall), but completely open on the sides and front.
I'm trying to find the best case for this build. Unfortunately, since most cases vent to the back and top, the exhaust air is going to hit the all or desk pretty quickly. The key question I can't quite figure out is how much clearance I'll need to leave behind the case. Most articles I've read state that you should leave 6 inches behind the case, but I know a lot of people have used computers for years with a lot less room. Plus, the sides will be open, so air isn't really trapped in the desk.
The room is very well heated with good A/C, usually set to 72-74 F.
The PC will be for light gaming (common MMOs) and general use. I'll be using the g3258 processor with the stock cooler, but probably somewhat over clocked, with a Z97 motherboard. Slightly complicating the issue is that I already bought a Z97 mobo on a really great sale (Gigabyte Z97-HD3 for $69 with rebates), which I could return easily but any Z97M boards will be $30 more.
It seems like I'd generally be better off with a full ATX mobo and a mid tower case, but most of those are about 20" tall and deep, leaving me only an inch or so around the top and back. I can use side-mounted cooling fans, but certain components (psu, graphics card) will obviously exhaust out the back.
Micro ATX cases don't have as much room in the case or as many room for fans, but being about 16" high and deep would allow for the 6" around the case that would be ideal. I'm not really worried about the flexibility or options that a full ATX board/case would allow - I'll be using one SSD, one graphics card, and one DVD drive, and that's it.
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