Best Silent Mini-ITX PC Cases (2018)

[Derek Semeraro]

While the sound dampening materials in cases marketed for their quietness help reduce some noise, a build's quietness is mostly determined by what's on the inside. For this reason, this list is more focused on air flow rather than sound dampening materials.

Criteria
* Compactness
* Ventilation
* If it's a tower case, it should support 140mm and a medium-large air cooler.
* Build quality and aesthetic
* Value for the price

Silverstone Sugo (~$40)


Cooler Master Elite 110 (~$40)


Thermaltake Core V1 (~$50)
One of the larger cases on the list, but unique style and well ventilated.


Fractal Design Define Nano S (~$60)
One of the most well-rounded and solid choices on the list.


Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX (~$70)
May be harder to find nowadays, but it's elegant, perfectly sized.


Fractal Design Node 202 (SFX) ($80)
This is the most compact case on the list to support a video card.


Realan E-W60 (Pico) ($90)
The most compact case on this list (no video card). Aluminum. Vents on sides, back and bottom.


NZXT H200i ($125)
Most expensive choice on this list, but may be my favorite.

[BrianL]

[quote="Derek Semeraro"]While the sound dampening materials in cases marketed for their quietness help reduce some noise, a build's quietness is mostly determined by what's on the inside. For this reason, this list is more focused on air flow rather than sound dampening materials.

Criteria
* Compactness
* Ventilation
* If it's a tower case, it should support 140mm and a medium-large air cooler.
* Build quality and aesthetic
* Value for the price

Silverstone Sugo (~$40)

Cooler Master Elite 110 (~$40)

Thermaltake Core V1 (~$50)
One of the larger cases on the list, but unique style and well ventilated.

Fractal Design Define Nano S (~$60)
One of the most well-rounded and solid choices on the list.


Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX (~$70)
May be harder to find nowadays, but it's elegant, perfectly sized.

Fractal Design Node 202 (SFX) ($80)
This is the most compact case on the list to support a video card.


Realan E-W60 (Pico) ($90)
The most compact case on this list (no video card). Aluminum. Vents on sides, back and bottom.

NZXT H200i ($125)
Most expensive choice on this list, but may be my favorite.

Thanks for this so much. I finally decided to go with the Fractal design because it seems the best fit for my needs.

Thanks so much,
Regards,
Brian.

[Mod: removed all other images to clarify post.]

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi Brian and welcome to SPCR,

There were 2 Fractal Design cases listed (only one had a working image). Which one did you get?

[t0bi]

As I was going to build PCs for lan parties I was confused which case to get. Chose Phanteks Enthoo Evolv as its the perfectly desgined case and fit just right according to my needs

[toughluck]

Those NZXT H200i and Phantex Enthoo Evolv ITX share one design flaw and I would recommend against them at all cost.
Namely, while the PSU shroud looks neat, it blocks virtually all airflow to the graphics card unless you get a single slot GPU (not a chance). They basically force you to use water cooling.
Fractal Design Define Nano S narrowly mitigates this issue, but only if you get a reasonably short power supply and the graphics card has a blower cooler.

You didn't mention two possible cases that I would recommend:
1. Fractal Design Node 304. Similar size to the Silverstone Sugo, but well suited for mounting a GPU, as there is a (filtered) vent next to it.
2. Silverstone Raven RVZ (01E through 03) series. I think they are as compact as Fractal Design Node 202 that you mentioned, but with better cooling ability.