DTX Lives! Four Double-Slot Cases For ITX Gaming Machines

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

The ITX form factor is great for space-saving portability. But gamers still need that extra expansion slot to support a high-end graphics card. We compare four compact cases that support double-slot cards on a tiny single-slot motherboard.

Cubitek Mini-Tank

New to the U.S. market, Cubitek had the good fortune to happen across one of its competitor’s chief designers just as that designer was transitioning from employee to freelancer. Hank Chen made the introduction for us.

You’ll see reminders of Hank’s style through various elements of the Mini-Tank, including the primary use of flat sheet and two-dimensional bends. The largest of today’s case, this one is designed as a full-function PC for those who want something smaller and more stylish than the traditional mid-tower.

The Mini-Tank is actually taller than most full-ATX motherboards, though its full-sized power supply bay occupies much of that space. A 120 mm exhaust fan is designed to assist full-sized tower-style CPU coolers, while a 140 mm top fan pulls air past those oversized parts.

Compactness is reserved exclusively for the motherboard, with up to four 3.5” hard drives supported by the Mini-Tank’s main cage.

Two 2.5” drives (presumably SSDs) fit under the hard drive cage’s mounting bracket.

A third 2.5” drive can be mounted to the base of the Mini-Tank’s 3.5” drive bay adapter. There’s even enough room to mount a 3.5” external drive (or bay device) above a 2.5” drive on this bracket.

A removable panel reveals the 140 mm intake fan and filter, requiring an included Allen wrench for removal.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
61 Comments Comment from the forums
  • iam2thecrowe
    the silverstone sg06b is the only one that looks any good (not great though). the rest are just plain ugly.
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    iam2thecrowethe silverstone sg06b is the only one that looks any good (not great though). the rest are just plain ugly.Opinion = Fact?

    Anyway, I actually like Cubitek's case. Sure, it looks like it would be a pain to make changes to when doing upgrades or whatnot, but nothing is perfect. If it had a handle on top or something, Id probably use it for LAN parties and the such.
    Reply
  • hmp_goose
    Pst: Guys! Ya' flip the plexglass vent on the SG07! http://www.maximumpc.com/article/how-tos/how_build_ultimate_small-form-factor_gaming_pc?page=0,1
    Reply
  • Crashman
    hmp_goosePst: Guys! Ya' flip the plexglass vent on the SG07! http://www.maximumpc.com/article/h c?page=0,1Thanks! But if you're building a new system...better still, use a single-fan GPU cooler and the foam air guide! Imagine this beast with a GTX 580!
    Reply
  • gti88
    Nice article. Very informative.
    Reply
  • Oh wow, lets reinvent a box that holds computer parts, accomplishing the exact same thing all other computer cases before it did, only this version will suck a little bit harder.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    m84092Oh wow, lets reinvent a box that holds computer parts, accomplishing the exact same thing all other computer cases before it did, only this version will suck a little bit harder.So, you're saying you'd have preferred an AT desktop case roundup?
    Reply
  • Onus
    I would like to have seen the PC-Q08 tested with the blower-style cooler. I cannot imagine how that could have been omitted.
    Otherwise, it was an interesting read.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    jtt283I would like to have seen the PC-Q08 tested with the blower-style cooler. I cannot imagine how that could have been omitted. Otherwise, it was an interesting read.The PC-Q08 didn't fail.
    Reply
  • and the advantage of any of these over a "lunchbox" style mATX case is?
    Reply