Hey, I'm planning on going from ATX to mATX due to me moving my PC around a lot and just generally wanting more desk space. I'm pretty happy with my current setup (see sig) and was thinking I could just get a new case and motherboard? The cases I was thinking of are the Lian Li PC-V354B, the P180 Mini(If i can find the white version anywhere) and the Armor A30. Basically my questions are as follows: Which do you think would be the best case overall for me to buy? Taking into consideration the price and the ability to cool my GTX480 and maybe fit the H50 in? What motherboard would you replace my sabertooth with? Any help greatly appreciated as I've been racking my brain about this for a few days now. Regards
What about the Lian Li PC-A05? It is about the same size as an mATX case but fits ATX boards. You would have to mod the roof panel to cool the GTX 480 and the airflow moves back to front but it is an idea... marsbarman has one that he is thinking of selling with a pre-modded roof panel (I think).
I hadn't thought of this, However I would ideally like to go as small as possible whilst still being able to cool my rig well enough.
The Fractal Design Arc Mini gets good reviews, looks pretty good and seems to have adequate cooling. Maybe an option?
I love that case, however there is smaller MATX cases out there, it all depends what the OP wants..i was thinking about putting my server in that Arc Mini after seeing it in last months CPC
The new Lian Li PC-V600F looks good, can't find any for sale yet though. http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/produc...ex=567&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=63&g=f So does the new Silverstone TJ08-E... http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop...o-ATX-Tower-Case-Black--TJ08-E-pid-13923.html
Still vote for the Arc mini over those two above ^. The only down side is that it does look a little plain...great cooling however according to CPC
I'm looking for as small as I can go ideally with enough cooling potential to keep my system stable. CPU isn't overclocked at all right now as I play all the games i want just fine. Idles around 25 and on load maybe 40. GPU idles around 52 and upto 70-80 on full load. However my current case is a beast for cooling.
The thing is with going MATX is you have to sacrifice something...take a look at that Arc mini, i know i keep going on about it but it has amazing cooling potential !
If you dont mind spending the money, Silverstone FT-03! Stepping down go to the arc Mini, or stepping down again in price, the NZXT is great little portable case
Thanks for all the help on cases. What about motherboards? Any recommendations for 1156 mATX boards? That shall see me good for a year or so. Cheers
It seems that P55 motherboards have become fairly scarce now with the rise of Sandybridge; this is the only mATX board I could find on Scan, apparently it's the Q57 chipset which I haven't even heard of: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...)-ddr3-1600(oc)-sata-3gb-s-sata-raid-microatx However Ebuyer has these two boards which seem much more solid, both very different in price though so you can take your pick: http://www.ebuyer.com/179794-asus-p7p55-m-p55-socket-1156-8-channel-audio-matx-motherboard-p7p55-m http://www.ebuyer.com/180554-asus-m...rs-p55-socket-1156-8-channel-maximus-iii-gene
@Telltale Boy: Q57 is H57 with functionality for remote management, aimed at companies. Same as Q67 vs H67, Q45 vs G45, Q35 vs G35... http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/chipsets/q57/q57-overview.htm
If you go for a Lian Li PC-A05 case, you can use an ATX motherboard. mars-bar-man has just bought a new case so I reckon his PC-A05 (with modded roof panel) will be up for sale soon.
I run a Lian A04 w/ GTX480, but it's watercooling is mostly external. It didn't cook inside when it was aircooled but it certainly wasn't quiet and I lost a lot of the disk space by having to remove one of the racks.
Considered mitx? They can pack a mighty punch miahallen ran a 750 and gtx480 in a sg05 i think it was: http://www.techreaction.net/2010/09...art-2–-max11l-featuring-corsair-and-gigabyte/ I'm running a 670 and 5870 in a PC-Q08 The gigabyte h55n usb3 is an awesome little board.
