How different is the size between a mITX vs mITX is you want it to fit a full-size GPU like the RX480 and a couple 3.5" (at least two) HDDs? I've don't a bit of searching and I can only find MB size comparisons. I can also find excel files with volume in litres, but I'm looking for a visual comparison. I've built a few shoe box SFF builds for friends when I was in China. Last Christmas in Canada I build a mITX rig for my little sister in a Bitfenix prodigy because she wanted green. She picked up the case after from the US after I had returned to the UK but my father said it was a lot bigger than he had expected. She didn't really need SFF but she didn't need a full-size case either she doesn't care. My main requirement is that it can easily and safely fit in a carry-on. That means it will need to fit in a foam case. I'm watching the marketplace for parts as my rig is failing and I'm thinking which will better match my needs. As I will need the case to accommodate a few HDDs will a mITX really be much smaller than a mATX build? I currently have a Cooler Master: Enforcer that is unnecessarily large and isn't even quiet with its large fans. (not my photo)
In short yes ITX will be, I might be able to sort out a Cougar QBX in the next week or so for you @silk186 - it's BNIB (still factory sealed).
Hi @silk186, you can (with care save a lot of space with a well thought out and put together ITX rig. Sadly, the Prodigy is LARGE in ITX terms (not much smaller than my mATX Silverstone TJ08 in volume terms) as are a few other ITX cases. The Cougar QBX offered above is about 20L, and would be a great carry on setup, the Prodigy is over 30L by comparison IIRC. On my 'other' online home, smallformfactor.net they are seriously into small and efficient portable ITX setups. For example, the Dan-cases A4 SFX takes a full length BPU, SFX PSU and a couple of 2.5" drives in just over 7L!! If you don't get to obsessed with going too small, there's a lot of affordable performance to be achieved. Have fun!
I had been considering the Streacom DA2 case (until I realized it did not support passive cooling). Not quite as tight as theA4 SFX but the Streacom DA2 is a respectable 17.5L.
@Dr. Coin The Streacom DA2 would be very suitable if it wasn't £199.00. @23RO_UK The Cougar QBX looks great and is priced well but I have 3x 3TB HDDs that would need a NAS to go with it. I plan to build a NAS in the future, but not for another year at least.
3.5" drive bays are usually one of the first thing to get removed to save space in sff cases. That said, something along the lines of the Fractal Design Node 304 might be your best bet.
that is one of the cases on my list. I'm just wondering how much smaller it is compared to similarly capable mATX cases.
That need to accommodate 3.5" spinners kills most of the super-small carry-on ITX SFF options (Dan A4, Zaber sentry, etc), so something like an Ncase M1 is the probably as small as you could reasonably go (depending on PSU and cooler used, you can cram two HDDs on the side-mount cage plus one of the floor of the case).
Yes, when I researched a few months back I was thinking something like a Thermaltake Core V1, Fractal Design Node 304, Silverstone SG13. I'm wondering how much bigger they are compared to small mATX cases. I'm not finding any side by side comparisons. The advantage of a Fractal Design Node 304 is that it can later be converted into a NAS.
Well the size or lack thereof of the thermaltake and Silverstone are neither here nor there as neither fit the brief [the TT can only accommodate 2x 3.5" HDDs, the SG13 none iirc]. Not the best comparison but the Core V1, Node 304 and SG13 are 23, 20 and 11l respectively. The V1 is wider and taller than the 304 but not as deep front to back. But as I said, of the 3 only the 304 will accommodate 3x 3.5" rust spinners. The mATX SG02 sits between the V1 and 304 at 22l, it's deeper than the 304, but not as tall as the V1 though it's a smidge wider. You'd also need 5.25->3.5 brackets to accommodate the HDDs as stock the SG02 only has room for 1x 3.5" HDD. Anything bigger and you're into tower territory where the mITX really aren't much smaller than the mATX offerings. I personally wouldn't want to be lugging around anything bigger than the SG02 in my luggage. EDIT: You have the Silverstone SG11, similar outward dimensions to the SG02 but a slightly different internal layout meaning it can also accommodate 3x 3.5" HDDs. EDIT 2: The various case dimensions [WxHxD] - Core V1 - 26 x 27.6 x 31.6 cm SG13 - 22.2 x 18.1 x 28.5 Node 304 - 25 x 21 x 37.4 SG02/SG11 - 27 x 21.2 x 39.3
Thanks for the info. I hadn't realised that the Silverstone didn't accommodate any 3.5" drives. I currrently have 3x 3TB but I would like to move to 2x 6TB, so 2x 3.5" is enough. The mATX SG02 is a good comparison 2 x 3.5" Internal and 2 x 5.25" External. I can probably even convert the 5.25 into a drive cage. This excel is useful for anyone interested. I don't know how often it is updated [link] The NCASE M1 would be my ideal mITX case but it is way over my budget and hard to get.
My mistake, it has room for 1. I was thinking of one of their other cases [the ML08] where you can only get a 3.5" hdd in if you have a really short gpu.
Could you make do with a compact case, plus three external 3.5" caddies and a rubber band (or a 2-bay USB3 or eSATA DAS for neatness)?
I was thinking about eSATA but not sure how many MB still have the port. I've not heard of a DAD and a NAS seems to be more than the cost of my upgrade. I'm a few months away from submitting my thesis and I have a child so budget is a constraint until my financial situation improves. I'm watching the marketplace for some good deals. I saw some before I went away for a month, so I'm patiently waiting for more deals to pop up. My rig is stable currently as long as I don't run anything demanding. My ideal in the future is a DIY NAS and SFF desktop. For now, I want to build something that will hold 2-3x HDD and an RX 480 that is small enough to take as a carry on luggage.
@ Streacom DA2 I guess I dismissed it before looking at the price tag. There is a good chance you can do the following to use eSATA: Configure desired SATA port on motherboard as hot swapable and add an eSATA to SATA adapter, for example. True eSATA standards do differ from SATA, but there are mostly there to make the signal more robust over longer cables. I wasn't a big fan of eSATA as it lacked power, but I loved the eSATAp port on my old Laptop. Wouldn't power a full size HD but would power a laptop drive (that might have been the lack of 12V, now I want to check it on my desktop. I remember spending hours and hours finding an adapter to add to my desktop. All that aside, the solution seem clear, full custom case build.
