Case for silent uATX powerhouse

[sunefred]

My next computer is going to be a uATX powerhouse. This should be a computer with a single boot drive (SSD) and possibly, but not nescessarely, a DVD-ROM. I dont think I am the only one that wants to go this route, however I havent found a single case that does it right. In my humble opinion the way to minimize size without sacrifizing cooling performance and noise is to remove all 3.5" and 5.25" drive bays, or atleast almost all. So here is for wishing someone reads this post and creates a modern case for people with a NAS in the closet.

+ Genereous main chamber for uATX motherboard and single graphics card with a little space in front of motherboard with room for 1-2 120mm fan.
+ Well ventilated below graphics card to support aftermarket graphics card coolers with a front->back airflow (no fan on the heatsink). Thermalright HR-03 would be perfekt here.
+ All cables routed behind motherboard tray.
+ 1-2 SSD slots, could even be fastened behind motherboard tray.
+ Maybee room for CD/DVD/Blueray. Rarely use this, so if it makes design easier I can live without it.
+ Handle for carrying.

To give a visual clue what I mean, here is a rough sketch. Notice how long graphics cards will divide the case into two chambers because the case is so narrow. The size of this case is 37cm(H) x 20cm(W) x 30cm(D).



And here is a short list of current candidates that are close but not good enough. The ranking is my personal opinion ofcourse:

1. Antec NSK 3480



+ Small. 35cm(H) x 20cm(W) x 36cm(D)
+ Good airflow design.
+ Room for DVD and SSD in top chamber.
- No cable routing behind motherboard tray
- No handle


2. Silverstonetek TJ08



+ Small. 38cm(H) x 20cm(W) x 38cm(D)
+ Roomy, with harddrive cage removed it is much like the Antec NSK 3480
- No cable routing behind motherboard tray
- No handle


3. Silverstonetek Sugo SG04-FH



+ Small. 42cm(H) x 20cm(W) x 35cm(D)
+ Handle
- PSU on top of CPU
- No cable routing behind motherboard tray


Any suggestions how to make this niche case better? Please discuss. And if you know of a case that deserve a spot in the list please link or image.

[ghitz]

Antec NSK 3480 is your best bet. With a simple hole in the upper and lower chamber you can have wires behind MB tray. This one fits full size cooler too without obstructing HDs. You have plenty of areas where you can put SSDs or HDs

[nutball]

What do you mean by "powerhouse"? One mans powerhouse is another mans moderately-specced light-gaming machine.

I've been round the same circle recently with the same three cases.

The SG-04 is a poor choice I think, due to the limited space available to mount a CPU heatsink.

The TJ-08 seems a bit better, but in all honesty photos of it from around the web really made we worry about the build quality.

In the end I picked up a second-hand 3480 for £25 off e-Bay, and I'm going to mod the buggery out of it. There are a couple of threads here about heavy mods to this case, routing the cable behind the motherboard plate, etc. Not much you can't achieve with a Dremel or some nibblers. I intend to cut holes for 2x120mm fans in the front, which will fit if you remove the 3.5" bay, then play with various front and rear combos until I find the best configuration.

Any real reason you feel you need a handle? The NSK3480 is very "cuddlable" size-wise.

[sunefred]

Modding the NSK 3480 is not a bad idea! I searched and found the thread you were probably referring too.

Krick's Antec NSK3480 - behind the tray cable management

As far as what a powerhouse for me is; it would be something along the lines of an Intel Quad Core i5 + ATI HD5850. I guess for most people that would be a lower end powerhouse. Both theese pieces of hardware have excellent power management when idling. The Quad Core is able to turn of cores when running single threaded applications and can also underclock as needed. The ATI HD5850 can not turn off hardware but is able to decrease clockspeeds significantly. A fair guess with this hardware would be idle power of ~80 W. Compare that to my current machine that idles at 170W. Power draw when running games is another matter though.

[nutball]

As far as what a powerhouse for me is; it would be something along the lines of an Intel Quad Core i5 + ATI HD5850.

That's basically the hardware I'm targeting with my build i5 750 and the nice little Gigabyte uATX board, plus an HD5850 with an Accelero S1R2.

[Meato]

Antec 3480 immediately came to mind with a little help from a dremel and some rubber U-channel. Plus, I would never trust a piece of molded plastic when carrying expensive hardware around. That is an accident waiting to happen.

[nyu3]

http://www.dangerden.com/store/dd-tower-16.html


edit:

http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/s ... ro-system/

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1651/s ... ndex4.html

For more comprehensive pictures (the custom paint job is quite an eyesore, but it gives you a better idea of the overall layout)

[Sunrise]

Are you sure you want a tower case rather than a cube? Most towers have the optical drive bays placed so you don't gain anything by removing them. Also, since you want a handle, having a large tower CPU heatsink might not be good if it's hanging off the side of a vertical mobo while you carry it around.

[Gundy]

Had personal experience with a build in an Antec NSK 3480, good solid case, cannot go wrong with it, very good value.

I found this uATX build done by Per128 in a Silverstone SG02 quite inspiring:
SG02 3d graphics design build (image heavy)

[sunefred]

Some very good responses here, thanks everyone for sharing. The NSK 3480 is growing on me more and more. I particularely like that its on the cheap side, so modding it into a usable case does not feel like a big intrusion.

Several here mentioned cube sized cases and the two top dogs are probably theese:

Silverstone SG02



+ good looking
+ small. 21cm(H) x 27cm(W) x 39cm(D)
- does not seem to have a clear path for airflow
- PSU on top of CPU
- no cable routing


Lian-Li PC-V351



+ nice front and colors
+ seems to have good airfloe
- a little big 26cm(H) x 28cm(W) x 37cm(D) ( unused space from 5.25" bays etc )
- no cable routing


Theese are valid contenders, but they still does not fit my profile =)

[nutball]

One thing worth noting about the 3480 though - there are rumours around that it's going to be replaced with an "improved" version at some point in the near future.

[sunefred]

One thing worth noting about the 3480 though - there are rumours around that it's going to be replaced with an "improved" version at some point in the near future.

That could be fantastic news. Lets hope for built in cable routing and maybe a better PSU. Oh, and a nicer front!

[Sunrise]

Lian-Li PC-V351

How much modding would you need to do to mount the PSU in the 5 1/4" bays? That would leave lots of room for a CPU cooler and exhaust fan.

[zansiball]

something like this computer would be nice http://www.advantech.com/products/IPC-5 ... CKUSC.aspx

[xcetera]

For alot of information on Lian Li PC-VC351 see here
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1208245
This seems to be the case I want for my Core I7 860 build. See post #900 by rEVjon cool modified backplate

[sunefred]

This new case from InWin deserves a mention. Although the front is very ugly (personal opinion) it conforms to the majority of my requirements. The case is not yet available but was spotted at CES by AnandTech here: http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/sho ... i=3710&p=3


Unnamed InWin case



+ Small
+ Good airflow design front->back (but fansize looks to be less then 120mm)
+ Cable routing behind motherboard tray
- Ugly
- Lower quality


Here is a better image that the img tag can't handle. The graphics card is a Radeon HD5970.

http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/uti ... 466,00.jpg

[frostedflakes]

Haha, yeah I saw a thread about that on another forum. The front panel is hideous IMO, but the interior design is nice. Very space efficient.

The case is very narrow as well, looks like the front and back fans are either 80mm or 92mm, and the top is 120mm. CPU cooler choice might be limited as well, you probably couldn't use a very tall tower heatsink. The case doesn't appear to be much more than about 6" wide.

[Chris Chan]

This new case from InWin deserves a mention. Although the front is very ugly (personal opinion) it conforms to the majority of my requirements. The case is not yet available but was spotted at CES by AnandTech here: http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/sho ... i=3710&p=3


Unnamed InWin case

[snip image]

+ Small
+ Good airflow design front->back (but fansize looks to be less then 120mm)
+ Cable routing behind motherboard tray
- Ugly
- Lower quality


Here is a better image that the img tag can't handle. The graphics card is a Radeon HD5970.

http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/uti ... 466,00.jpg

Actually, I have an In-Win case that is very high quality. It's an older micro ATX model, and I don't see any reason that it would be lower quality now.

This new In-Win case looks like what I am looking for airflow-wise for my next build. If only it came with a more sane front panel...

[Mats]

3. Silverstonetek Sugo SG04-FH

+ Small. 42cm(H) x 20cm(W) x 35cm(D)
+ Handle
- PSU on top of CPU
- No cable routing behind motherboard tray


Any suggestions how to make this niche case better? Please discuss.

Combine this with a Corsair H50 in the front.
You get superior CPU cooling, only problem is that the air won't flow like in your sketch, but that's not a real problem.
I'd prefer the SG03 with its improved cooling, it doesn't have a handle but that only makes it smaller.

Of course, you have to make sure it fits and that the tubes are long enough, but given the limited cooling options it wouldn't surprise me if someone else already done this.