Tiny ITX case with space for one 3,5" HDD

Miki · **Posted:** Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:11 pm

Hello,

Is there any case that, yet minimalistic and simple, could still be able to fit a 3,5" HDD inside? I'd be using PicoPSU of course and if things get really tight, I could even give up of the HDD and just use a SDD instead with external HDD.

I'm thinking of something like this:

I like the style and minimalism on that one. The purpose of it would be to act as a HTPC and torrent client, being on 24/7.

The closest I could've find has been the Streacom F1C:

but are there any other?

Erm and yeah, no Mac Mini recommendations

Thanks!

boost · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 12:38 am

Noah ITX case, simple and inexpensive, but a bit bigger.
S120 Stackable case. Very minimalistic, can be upgraded as needed, one tier needed for hard drive another for optical.
Tendraw H128, all aluminum, good looks, a big bigger and a bit expensive.
Silverstone LC12 cube style and PT06 slim desktop. aluminum front, good looks, comes with 60W Pico style PSU, expensive. 120 w versions:
PT06 LC12

pac0 · **Joined:** Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:12 am **Posts:** 7

antec isk 300-65, I read that you can mount a 3.5" drive if you remove the cd-rom bracket and do a little modification.

ces · **Posted:** Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:35 am

The Lian Li q09 is a high quality aluminum case and is probably much less expensive. The new version which will soon be available will hold both a 2.5 and a 3.5 HHS

See:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811112292
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811112306

Miki · **Posted:** Fri Mar 09, 2012 4:26 am

I've been looking at the Antec ISK but yeah, I also noticed that it takes a bit of work to add a 3,5" there.

Hey the Lian Li PC-Q09 doesn't look bad at all. I'll keep my eye on that... thanks!

Nicias · **Joined:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:14 am **Posts:** 66

What about the Apex MI-008?

ces · **Posted:** Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:51 am

Nicias wrote:

What about the Apex MI-008?

That's a good one too... and is fairly inexpensive as well.

Miki · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:47 am

I couldn't really decide so I bought the OrigenAE M10 :oops:

I know I know, it's really expensive for what you get BUT the reason for this was that a) I got it way cheaper than the normal price b) it comes with PicoPSU c) with built-in IR d) with VFD (was never a must but it's a nice bonus) e) Good quality.

Mobos I've been thinking are:

Asus P8H67-I B3 or Intel DH67CF with either Intel's 2500K or 2100T processor. Primary HDD will be a SDD I already got, storage HDD will be Western Digital Caviar 2Tb in case I could fit it inside somehow (I won't install a DVD/Bluray). Not sure about CPU cooler (Scythe Kozuti?)

Would these be good for low power consumption system?

I also bought a Apex MI-008 variant (Spire Cube) as my casual desktop computer and ditch my current two big computers

boost · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:39 am

These will be great.
Do you need all the CPU power?
An Asrock AMD FM1 ITX board with a triple core 65W CPU can be had for the price of the Asus H67 ITX board alone. It can do the same tasks, but not all of them as fast, to be fair though the integrated AMD GPU is faster than Intel.

Miki · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:05 am

Well, the main purpose will be HTPC + torrent client + _light_ NAS box that will be on 24/7 so low power consumption is a must. I won't game with this system. I have the other PC for that purpose.

Nicias · **Joined:** Fri Apr 08, 2011 11:14 am **Posts:** 66

What OS do you plan on using? If you are looking at a linux distribution for the HTPC tasks, you might want to lean away from AMD, since their linux support is worse than Intel's.

Miki · **Posted:** Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:03 am

It will be Windows 7 for sure, no doubt about it.

Miki · **Posted:** Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:52 am

The case arrived

(Sorry for the very shitty pictures, ISO setting was way off

)

I gotta say I really like the build quality. It feels really robust!

Still missing the mobo and the CPU. I'll post more pics when the whole system is up and running.

ces · **Posted:** Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:03 pm

Miki wrote:

The case arrived

How much did the case cost?

Miki · **Posted:** Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:52 pm

It cost $320

yeah, it is STILL expensive but I liked it really much already. Even though I would have picked a Streacom F7C for example, I wouldn't have got it this cheap (considering all the extra stuff I would have had to buy with the Streacom).

Now I gotta think of a low-profile GPU to go along it. Considering a fanless Radeon HD 6450.

ces · **Posted:** Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:32 am

Miki wrote:

It cost $320

yeah, it is STILL expensive but I liked it really much already. Even though I would have picked a Streacom F7C for example, I wouldn't have got it this cheap (considering all the extra stuff I would have had to buy with the Streacom).

Now I gotta think of a low-profile GPU to go along it. Considering a fanless Radeon HD 6450.

If you can hold your breath just a little bit (about 12 months) longer:
"Haswell is a Real Graphics Monster" More than 5X the graphics performance of even the Ivy Bridge
viewtopic.php?p=556691#p556691

Miki · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 7:13 am

Don't think I can wait that long

Other GPU I was thinking is Sparkle NVIDIA GeForce GT430 but I'm wondering if the PSU will be sufficient for it.

MikeC · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:57 am

So why has no one mentioned the $40 M-350? http://www.logicsupply.com/products/m350 -- Cheap, small, and with a low profile heatsink, probably fine fanless in normal HTPC use with most CPUs rated 65w TDP or lower. Sure, no optical drive slot, but if you really need/want one, external USB ones are cheap and easily available. 12VDC powered boards or picoPSU + adapter works fine with this.

No disrespect for the OP, but absolutely no way I'd pay $320 for that Origen -- totally unacceptable price to me, especially as I find those on-case screens and windows remotes to be virtually useless. For a HTPC, to me, there's just no substitute for a full keyboard/mouse. Wireless keyboard with integrated rollerball mouse, despite their size, are essential for me. I mean, if it's a Windows computer, you're gonna need a keyboard.

ces · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 9:51 am

MikeC wrote:

So why has no one mentioned the $40 M-350?

Will the Scythe Kozuti fit in this case? If so what room will if have for hard drives with the Kozuti?

Or how about the NH-L12 without the top fan?

lodestar wrote:

Fitted with both NF-B9 92mm PWM and NF-F12 'focused flow' 120mm PWM fans the NH-L12 CPU cooler is intended for use in small form factor/HTPC systems. Weight is 415g, dimensions are 93mm high, by 128mm width and 150mm depth. Without the top 120mm fan, the height is 66mm. The NH-L12 comes with the Noctua SecuFirm2 mounting kit. There is also a mini-ITX mounting kit that Noctua says is for "... some Intel based Mini-ITX mainboards (that) don’t allow for the installation of backplates. The NH-L12 thus comes with an extra set of Intel mounting bolts which make it possible to install the cooler without using the SecuFirm2 backplate...".

The NH-L12 is supplied with a 'Y' PWM splitter cable, and two PWM low-noise adapter cables. The PWM low-noise adapter cable changes the range of the fans from 300-1600 rpm to 300-1300 rpm.

For full details, see http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=46&lng=en

MikeC · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:34 pm

ces wrote:

MikeC wrote:

So why has no one mentioned the $40 M-350?

Will the Scythe Kozuti fit in this case? If so what room will if have for hard drives with the Kozuti?

Or how about the NH-L12 without the top fan?

Kozuti -- probably. Overall external height of the case is 62mm & the Kozuti is 40mm. It'd be tight, but I think it would fit.

NH-L12 -- no way. Don't need anything that big for a low power HTPC anyway.

My instinct would be to use the stock low profile Intel HSF -- and try to enable fan control so it's virtually not spinning in normal use.... but I just measured one (not sure if they are all the same) and it's 45mm. Maybe just rip the fan off it and use only the HS. A lot of low power Sandy Bridge chips playing HD video or downloading files will be fine passively cooled with the small stock HS, imo.

ces · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 2:16 pm

MikeC wrote:

Kozuti -- probably. Overall external height of the case is 62mm & the Kozuti is 40mm. It'd be tight, but I think it would fit...A lot of low power Sandy Bridge chips playing HD video or downloading files will be fine passively cooled with the small stock HS, imo.

That's interesting. An Ivy Bridge with 4 cores and a Scythe Kozuti inside a $40 M-350 sounds very interesting.

Will it have room to shoe horn a 2.5" SSD in with the Kozuti?

Tiny ITX case with space for one 3,5" HDD

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