SilverStone Intros Mini-ITX Case With External PSU

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SilverStone announced a new thin mini-ITX case, the PT13B-120. Unlike some larger mini-ITX cases targeted at gamers, this one is designed to be as compact as possible, and it uses an external PSU to further reduce its overall size.

The case measures 186 x 42 x 181 mm (WxLxH), and has a volume of 1.41 liters. The inner portions of the case are steel, but SilverStone opted to use aluminum for the outer case covering.

The exterior of the case is relatively clean. There are ventilation holes on the top and side of the case, as well as two USB 2.0 ports and a power button on the front. SilverStone also placed two openings on the back of the case to mount Wi-Fi antennas.

Due to the compact space, there is just one 2.5-inch drive bay inside of the case. There isn’t room for any other storage devices except motherboard-mounted M.2 drives.

One issue users might find with this case is that it doesn’t have room for a power supply. The case comes with a 120 W external PSU, and that enables the exceptionally compact case size, but it limits users to a relatively small number of motherboards.

SilverStone didn’t say when this case would be available, but it has an MSRP of $99.50.

Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Michael Justin Allen Sexton is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers hardware component news, specializing in CPUs and motherboards.
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11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • nutjob2
    I wish motherboard manufacturers would transition to single 12V PSU connections. It would make so much sense.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    18490750 said:
    I wish motherboard manufacturers would transition to single 12V PSU connections. It would make so much sense.
    If you are going to re-invent the ATX standard to change connectors and voltage complements, the logical thing to do would be to go 20V to reduce power distribution losses across the PCB and peripherals. It would also provide an efficient source for 20V USB-PD. Doing that would cut power conversion and delivery losses between the PSU's transformer and local regulators roughly in half.
    Reply
  • Samer1970
    18490990 said:
    18490750 said:
    I wish motherboard manufacturers would transition to single 12V PSU connections. It would make so much sense.
    If you are going to re-invent the ATX standard to change connectors and voltage complements, the logical thing to do would be to go 20V to reduce power distribution losses across the PCB and peripherals. It would also provide an efficient source for 20V USB-PD. Doing that would cut power conversion and delivery losses between the PSU's transformer and local regulators roughly in half.

    10/10
    Reply
  • jtd871
    Looks like Thin Mini-ITX motherboard is required, based on the power supply and I/O shield. Using a Silverstone AR-04 CPU cooler, too. I wonder if there's a stock way to mount the case to a monitor...
    Reply
  • Scott_108
    Standard Thin Mini-ITX boards are all designed with an external PSU connector. They use a very common kind of power adapter which is used on many laptops.
    Reply
  • Brian_R170
    Bigger issue is Thin Mini-ITX board availability. Go to Newegg and look for them. Only 2 current-generation 1xx-series boards. Everything else is 6x and 8x-series, plus a few boards with low-end soldered-down CPUs. I avoided Thin Mini-ITX in a very SFF build about 18 months ago just because of the lack of motherboard choices. I went with Mini-ITX and a Pico-PSU. and ended up with almost the exact same size but with a lot more connectors on the rear I/O panel and of course a higher price.

    BTW, hasn't Silverstone had this case out--or one almost identical--for about 2 years?
    Reply
  • 147JK
    Chieftec has had cases like this out for a long time. ASRock makes several very nice DC-in motherboards. I use this combination at home. Completely silent - love it!
    Reply
  • pianoplayer88key
    I'd like to see someone build a silent enthusiast-grade gaming rig in a case like this, or better yet, the SST-PT14 (106x38x122mm, 0.5L). :)
    The system should use parts currently available (as of the time of this post), and be passively cooled (0dB). But, if the case is used as a heatsink, it should be able to be held in the bare hands.
    As for gaming performance, in the latest (as of August 2016) AAA titles at max settings, the FPS should never dip below the max refresh rate a top-of-the-line Pascal GPU supports, whether it be 60fps at 8K, 120fps at 4K, times 12 monitors. :)
    Reply
  • termathor
    I'm a big mini-itx fan and have my gaming rig on this format.
    However, I'm really doubtfull on the concept of external PSU ...
    It seems to just push the big stuff (PSU) to external, to magically reduce the case's size. Being external would mean a lot thiner which is largely encouraging cheap PSUs ...

    Not really good. A top notch PSU is unlikely to be possible under this format, and top notch PSUs are GOOD tm.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    18521644 said:
    Not really good. A top notch PSU is unlikely to be possible under this format, and top notch PSUs are GOOD tm.
    It is definitely possible to cram a pretty good quality PSU in a slim form factor: server manufacturers do this all the time in their 1U units with hot-swap PSUs.

    If you look inside a typical PSU and follow the power's path from AC input to output, the path often forms a U-like shape. Unbend the U and you can fit effectively the same PSU in an elongated slim bar format.
    Reply