Smallest HTPC style case to fit ATX power supply

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690
As the title describes I'm looking to buy a new case for my build,but since I have a problem with space I need to lay it flat,in horizontal configuration,much like a console(ps4,xbox one). It needs to be able to hold an mATX motherboard and was wondering if there is a case that can also accomodate a full sized ATX power supply,since I don't like SFX power supplies,they are expensive and there isn't much variety to choose from. I live in the UK by the way so I can't buy something from the US.

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
DonkeyOatie
Here's a riser http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Express-Adapter-Servers-PEX16RISER/dp/B002M1DHJG

The case has low profile PCIe slots because it is only 112mm thick, so the 950 will not fit in it (the case is long enough, but not tall enough). I would rather look at the Silverstone ML03 with the riser, although you will need to mod the case to get the feeds out the back.

I know of exactly zero cases that will take a mATX board and a GTX 950 and are less than about 110mm in one dimension, and know of very few that fit mITX. That was the very problem I had when building this system, in my signature. I needed a full GPU and a 110mm case. The system in my signature is the answer.

The ML07 I use, the ASRock M8 (which I have a...
Sort by date Sort by votes
Mr5oh

Mr5oh

Splendid
Jul 28, 2004
2,982
27
21,940


That's the exact case I'm using on my HTPC / emulator machine. I needed something that would fit on our entertainment stand, took a standard ATX PSU, and could house an optical drive. In the end that was the best case I found to meet those requirements. Unfortunately the downside is the best GPU I could get is a GTX 750 TI, as it requires a half height PCI. Most of the mini-itx cases, that will house full size GPUs won't fit in our stand.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

boosted1g

Titan
Jun 12, 2013
14,846
8
74,965
Fully agree on ML03 or ML04 (The 4 is more expensive but has ports fully hidden, looks very nice).

I am running both cases (ML04 for living room, ML03 for guest room) and like them, very well built.

The only downside is that they don't support full height GPUs but nothing in that small of factor will, you will have to go for the almost twice as thick (height) grandia series.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

Champion
Sep 16, 2014
12,141
1
50,960
With some case modding and a PCIe cable, like the AZZA Z uses, it might be possible to rotate a full-sixe card and fit it in.

This year, I'm setting my Middle School students the problem of designing and building an after-markets PCie riser, using our 3D printer. The riser will be designed to fit on a standard ATX board and cover all the slots using the first for connection, and the last PCIe slot as a support.

We shall see what they can do.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690
For those wondering what kind of GPU I will be using here's a preliminary list of my build:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/xnP9mG


The GTX 950 will probably be my choice, I don't know though if this particular EVGA model will fit in the Silverstone cases you mentioned above.
Any help regarding the dimensions of the specific card would be appreciated.



 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

Champion
Sep 16, 2014
12,141
1
50,960
That card is far too tall. The 'best' card you can use is one of these, or similar, http://www.amazon.co.uk/ZOTAC-GeForce-GTX-2048MB-DDR5/dp/B00O4FENYQ

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£54.39 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus A88XM-Plus Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£59.86 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£33.56 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Kingston Savage 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.43 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card (£92.10 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Silverstone ML03B HTPC Case (£43.24 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£33.59 @ Aria PC)
Total: £393.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-03 22:55 BST+0100

Here are other hardware options. What do you want to do with it?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (£51.01 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£82.67 @ More Computers)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£35.55 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£62.49 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card (£154.98 @ Dabs)
Case: Silverstone ML07B HTPC Case (£51.00 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply (£51.95 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £489.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-03 23:05 BST+0100
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

Champion
Sep 16, 2014
12,141
1
50,960


I think it is far too tall for the OP.

As the title describes I'm looking to buy a new case for my build,but since I have a problem with space I need to lay it flat,in horizontal configuration,much like a console(ps4,xbox one).


Shame that the Azza Z is not available in the UK.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
James Mason

James Mason

Titan
Jan 2, 2014
13,553
7
74,965


It's still pretty short at only 208mm/8.2inches in height, at least compared to any other traditional PC cases.

And i'd be worried about heat problems/air circulation even for a HTPC case in a space that's smaller than what the CM would fit in.

But it's not clear if this is a new computer or a case swap for an old one.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690


This is a new build,not swapping old hardware in a new case.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690


I have described my intentions for this build in another post on the forum,but to give you the general idea I want a slim,silent gaming pc to play WoW and Heroes of the Storm,basically MMORPG and MOBA games. I choose the Athlon X4 860K because it's cheap,quad core and overclockable and the GTX 950 because it's optimized for the types of games that I'll be playing. Plus I saw some really demanding games like GTA V and the Witcher 3 being played with a 950 and was quite impressed.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
James Mason

James Mason

Titan
Jan 2, 2014
13,553
7
74,965


WoW and HOTS are both Single-Core games, so it doesn't matter how many you have, they only care how good your single fastest one is. You'd be better served with an intel i3.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Mr5oh

Mr5oh

Splendid
Jul 28, 2004
2,982
27
21,940
Not to mention he i3 will create less heat, and use less energy.

As I mentioned for the case I listed, and any cases of that height, the best card you can get currently is the GTX 750 TI, and not just any GTX750TI, only a few have the half height PCI bracket. You aren't going to fit a 950 card without going to a taller case.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

Champion
Sep 16, 2014
12,141
1
50,960


That's not exactly true.

This meets most of the OP's needs.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor (£54.40 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard (£63.54 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£33.56 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Kingston Savage 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card (£125.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Silverstone ML07B HTPC Case (£51.00 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply (£51.95 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £455.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-04 14:10 BST+0100

I use this case myself. It is used in the first of my school builds. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2625445/build-log-consolidated-middle-school-builds.html

However, I'm using a miniITX motherboard with WiFi and a SFX PSU. This will, otherwise, do what the OP wants.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (£51.01 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£81.17 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£33.56 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Kingston Savage 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card (£125.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Silverstone ML07B HTPC Case (£51.00 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply (£51.95 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £469.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-04 14:15 BST+0100

This is more powerful in many ways and overclock easily to 4.0Ghz.

and this has more 'legs'

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor (£85.97 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85N-PHOENIX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£49.14 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£33.56 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Kingston Savage 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£74.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card (£125.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Silverstone ML07B HTPC Case (£51.00 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply (£51.95 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £472.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-04 14:18 BST+0100
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690




Thanks for taking the time to propose different ideas for builds,but unfortunately I need a case with ATX power supply since I already have a Corsair CX500 PSU(If I didn't throw it away,not sure). Now concerning the i3 and Pentium builds I had a look and the 860K has more performance out of the box, the Pentium needs to be overclocked(which if you haven't done before might prove a pain in the ass and possibly destroy your new CPU), and the i3 is much more expensive. Furthermore World of Warcraft isn't necessarily a CPU intensive game but runs better on four physical cores as do most games,none of which can be said for both the pentium and the i3. Benchmarks have shown that the 860K paired with a 960 provides better performance per price on both GTA V,Witcher 3 and many other modern demanding games. As for the mini ITX motherboard it's more expensive and very limiting when it comes to expansion. I know WoW doesn't require more than 4GB of RAM but it's good to know that you add more memory,GPU's and SATA drives. Last but not least the 750 Ti is a good option but still is only 20 pounds cheaper than the 950 which is newer and better optimized for the types of games I will be playing. Don't take the things I wrote the wrong way, I extremely appreciate the support from all of you, it's just that I'm an advanced user and have built several computers across the years so I tend to look into things in extreme detail before I make a purchase.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

Champion
Sep 16, 2014
12,141
1
50,960
The problem is the dissonance between your wants and needs. You did not mention earlier that you already had a PSU. If I had known that, it would have changed my thinking. (although I would not recommend that PSU for this system)

When you talk about the limits of expansion for the mITX, exactly what expansion do you have in mind? The board will handle WiFi, and 16Gb of RAM and any GPU your PSU will drive. It has a decent number of SATA connectors. We have built several mITX systems, and a mATX system at school.

We are not suggesting the GTX750ti because it is better, cheaper, or more cost effective than the excellent 950, we are suggesting it because it is the best GPU that will fit in the slim 100mm or so case that you want to use.

This is a new system, so I am reluctant to suggest a CPU like the X4 860k, which for all it's fine qualities, is still a lower-mid-range CPU, but the top of the range for your motherboard. There is nowhere further to go, and I don't see that changing.

To get the full-size card you want to use into a 100mm case requires a case with a riser, that's pure design, or you can mod. it yourself. This person rotated a GPU using a riser cable. http://www.overclock.net/t/1163799/nzxt-gamma-90-mod So, if you get the Silverstone ML03 and a mATX board, and a flexible riser cable, you should be able to mod. your case 'easily' (easy for me to say) to fit the card, cool it, and use it.

Overclocking the G3258 is very easy and safe, my Middle School (Intermediate) students can do it and the stock cooler is very stout.

From what you have said SOMETHING has to give. There is no solution for exactly what you want.

If you lived in the US or had access to the Azza Z case, then this would be the closes to your needs, except for the mITX motherboard.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($68.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard ($81.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($41.85 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston Savage 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Azza Z Mini ITX Tower Case ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $523.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-04 11:58 EDT-0400
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690




I gave you the parts list that I'm intending to use because I'm sure I want to use them .The only things I can play with are the case and power supply. If I get a Silverstone case I'm probably gonna need an SFX power supply,which I don't mind unless I already have my CX500 from last year's build. The only reason I didn't mention it was because I'm still not sure If I have it or threw it away. The second choice is get a case which will fit my CX500 but will either not have space for an mATX board or not have enough space for the GPU I chose,maybe even both. So the way I see it is either use one of the Silverstone cases you proposed,and just leave the top open(which is risky practise and I'm personally against it), or use a riser with the same case, or use another case which has no limit concerning the space for the GPU but would still need to use an SFX PSU.


My two questions are :

1) What's the risk of using a riser(since I've never used one before)

2) What do you think about this case?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-152-AE&groupid=2362&catid=2226


As far as I can tell from the description on the Overclokers.co.uk website and the manufacturers page it has adequate space for an mATX motherboard, SSD,SFX PSU and full sized GPU (max length of 240mm) and also 2x80mm fans (which I reckon could be noisy unless you swap them with something like these? (which produce under 15 dB).


https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-022-BQ&groupid=701&catid=2331&subcat=819
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

Champion
Sep 16, 2014
12,141
1
50,960
Here's a riser http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Express-Adapter-Servers-PEX16RISER/dp/B002M1DHJG

The case has low profile PCIe slots because it is only 112mm thick, so the 950 will not fit in it (the case is long enough, but not tall enough). I would rather look at the Silverstone ML03 with the riser, although you will need to mod the case to get the feeds out the back.

I know of exactly zero cases that will take a mATX board and a GTX 950 and are less than about 110mm in one dimension, and know of very few that fit mITX. That was the very problem I had when building this system, in my signature. I needed a full GPU and a 110mm case. The system in my signature is the answer.

The ML07 I use, the ASRock M8 (which I have a couple of) and the AZZA Z all use risers to rotate the GPU. I'd be overjoyed to discover that there is a solution. My students would like that form factor too.

If you can live with a vase at about 170mm (6.5") the Grandia 09 will do everything you want. There are some other similar Grandia cases.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SilverStone-Grandia-GD09-Case-PC/dp/B00KPP8ASO
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690


What about that Aerocool case I linked?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
madmatt30

madmatt30

Titan
Ambassador
Jan 1, 2013
24,574
650
91,240
How much space do you have exactly ??
As in height /width/depth??

Assuming you want a flat down case like the Milo cases listed above to fit in an under TV shelf??
But with the ability to fit a full height GPU??
The Silverstone gd series are good but expensive ,there are other cheapercheaper options depending on sizing.
That aerecool is not a good choice.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ohlins

Ohlins

Reputable
Aug 13, 2015
126
0
4,690


Ah ok thanks.
 
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