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

ITX+GTX=DTX?

Enthusiasts love the ability to choose their own hardware. Yet, the portability advantages Shuttle introduced in its early cube-shaped PCs drove many of them to build upon “proprietary” base systems.

The other side of space savings was similarly-handled by VIA, its mini-ITX products offering an even smaller “standardized” form factor for media-oriented PCs that were the antithesis of performance and value. Value champion AMD stepped in four years ago to fill the gap with a standardized form factor for Shuttle-style cubes. Its DTX initiative specified two-slot motherboards that fit half-way between ITX and Flex-ATX, all while using the same mounting screw locations.

Like many of AMD’s initiatives, its DTX announcements fell upon seemingly deaf ears in the mass market, and the few case manufacturers who paid attention quickly discovered that few of their customers ever knew what DTX was (to be fair, Intel similarly stumbled on its own BTX initiative, which was conceptualized to deal with the out-of-control thermal issues encountered by its Pentium 4). These cases were quickly relabeled ITX. After that, they sold in fairly large numbers. Fortunately, these cases have not gone away.

The reason we use the word fortunately is that these cases can fit a double-slot graphics card on available ITX motherboards. With LGA 1155 processors up to the Core i7-2600K now supported, ITX is finally able to fill the performance role of a truly high-end portable gaming machine.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Cubitek Mini-TankLian-Li PC-Q08SilverStone SST-SG07B-WSilverStone SST-SG06B
Dimensions
Height13.3"11.2"7.5"7.1"
Width10.4"9.0"9.0"8.7"
Depth15.9"14.0"14.3"11.7"
Card Length13.5"12.0"12.0"9.8"
Cooler Height6.5"4.5"4.8"3.3"
PSU Depth7.5"7.0"5.6"4.0"
PSU Form FactorPS/2PS/2PS/2SFX
Space Above Motherboard7.0"1.2"4.8"3.5"
Weight10.1 Pounds6.8 Pounds11.5 Pounds7.8 Pounds
Cooling
Front Fans (alternatives)1 x 140 mm (stock only)1 x 140 mm (stock only)None (stock only)1 x 120 mm (stock only)
Rear Fans (alternatives)1 x 120 mm (stock only)None (stock only)None (stock only)None (stock only)
Top Fans (alternatives)1 x 140 mm (stock only)1 x 120 mm (stock only)1 x 180 mm (stock only)None (stock only)
Side Fans (alternatives)None (stock only)None (stock only)None (stock only)None (stock only)
Drive Bays
Optical Drive2 x 5.25"1 x 5.25"1 x Slim1 x Slim
3.5" External1 x AdapterNoneNoneNone
3.5" Internal1 x 4-bay Cage1 x 4-bay Cage 1 x 2-bay CageOneOne
2.5" InternalFourOneTwoOne
PriceUnknown$110$220$120

Not shown in the above chart is the fact that SilverStone’s SG07B includes a quality 600 W power supply. The SG06B also includes a power supply, but its 300 W unit isn’t designed to support the high-end gaming hardware we plan to stuff within its otherwise-capable shell.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
  • 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