ITX case with best layout and cable management?

[PaulieG]

I'm getting ready to start my first ITX build, and I'm looking for a nice ITX case that's a bit on the subtle side, which is easy to work in and has reasonable cable management. I don't mind if it has a side window, but I don't want a "gamer case" or anything with a bunch of RGB nonsense. Of the dozens and dozens of systems I've built, I've never done a ITX build, so I'm hoping for some guidance from those with more SFF experience than myself.

Edit: Here are components that will be installed:

Gigabyte Aorus B450 Wifi (I think)
Ryzen 3600x
Arctic Cooling Freezer II AIO or low Profile Noctua
Asus Dual 1660 Super
Team Vulcan 16GB (8x2) DDR4
500GB NVME SSD
750w Modular PSU (Haven't decided)

 

[jboydgolfer]

after so many years of building full size, mid ,etc, doing a nice, clean small PC is so much fun, i loved it. iirc, i built in a SilverStone Sugo , from what i remember it was a good build

 

[londiste]

Depends on what you need.
- No GPU - something like InWin's Chopin.
- If you want or need, even slimmer Thin-ITX is a thing.
Both above mostly use adapters and DC-DC unit in the case.
- With GPU, there will be size (and maybe shape) considerations.
- Desktop-ish large but slim cases like Fractal Node 202 or Silverstone's RVX-01.
- Small towers range from Dancase A4 SFX to towers that are almost small mATX size like Fractal Nano S.
In most cases except the largest end of the range, you will need an SFX PSU.

Coolermaster's Masterbox NR200 seems to be popular and good bang-for-buck case right now.
Lian Li TU150 is older but rather good.

 

[P4-630]

In black or white

O11 Dynamic MINI - Highly Modular water-cooll friendly small PC chassis

O11D MINI adding to the O11 Dynamic series, the classic and mordern looking. A case that would accommodate the maximum number of water-cooling configurations without being oversized. With a modular back panel design, the user has the option to choose from 3 slots/ 5 slots/ 7 slots I/O shield to...

lian-li.com

 

[dgianstefani]

Sugo for budget, Sliger or ncase for premium.

 

[tabascosauz]

If you're prioritizing traditional "cable management" features, you most likely will not be finding anything that's SFF. O11 Mini, H200...easy to find, not too expensive, with easy cable management, but they are anything but small.

For the rest of the SFF space, you're looking towards custom sleeves cables if you want it to look neat. If you're sticking with stock cables in something reasonably spacious like the NR200, then eliminating all SATA drives and going to NVMe only will keep a lot of the clutter down.

• If you want a traditional familiar layout (as in what you'd find in a midtower, just in a smaller package), you're looking at cases like the Streacom DA2, NCASE M1, CM NR200(P), Cougar QBX, Sliger S610/S620. As there is no space behind the board tray for cable management, you're going to want to take an hour or two to work out your cable management, looking to tuck things where there is empty space and gently coaxing things to run the way you want them to go.
• If you don't have serious CPU cooling needs (5900/5950X, 10700/10900K) and you can make do with a 120mm AIO or L12/L12S, then sandwich cases may make your cable management a little easier and give you better GPU thermals in the process. DAN-A4, Ghost S1, FormD T1, SM550/560/570/580 all fall into this category.
• The HTPC layout with the board flat has been around a long time and is still a decent choice for NAS/media usage. Not a lot of radiator support, temps usually unimpressive. SG05/06/08/13/14, Node 202, CM Elite 110/130 all fall into this category. The smaller cases place the PSU dirextly overtop the board, resulting in thoroughly disappointing CPU cooling performance, again it depends on what you're putting in it. Cable management is often pretty hard in cases like the SG05, SG08 and Elite.
• Then there's the vertical cases - Evolv Shift, H1 (obviously not a consideration at the moment), SSUPD, etc. Can't tell you much about these aside from that they exist, and sandwich cases still have better GPU thermals sometimes.

I'm not sure what exactly you're putting in this build, so I can't really go any further into even smaller GPU-less territory.

I can vouch for the Silverstone SG08 (no longer available, unfortunately, SG14 is a shitty revamp), NCASE M1 (I have a v5), and the Sliger S610/620 (I have the mATX Cerberus from which they are derived). In that sense, the CM NR200 is an excellent choice for beginners as it offers the M1 layout with more space to work with.

 

[dgianstefani]

If you're prioritizing traditional "cable management" features, you most likely will not be finding anything that's SFF. O11 Mini, H200...easy to find, not too expensive, with easy cable management, but they are anything but small.

For the rest of the SFF space, you're looking towards custom sleeves cables if you want it to look neat. If you're sticking with stock cables in something reasonably spacious like the NR200, then eliminating all SATA drives and going to NVMe only will keep a lot of the clutter down.

• If you want a traditional familiar layout (as in what you'd find in a midtower, just in a smaller package), you're looking at cases like the Streacom DA2, NCASE M1, CM NR200(P), Cougar QBX, Sliger S610/S620. As there is no space behind the board tray for cable management, you're going to want to take an hour or two to work out your cable management, looking to tuck things where there is empty space and gently coaxing things to run the way you want them to go.
• If you don't have serious CPU cooling needs (5900/5950X, 10700/10900K) and you can make do with a 120mm AIO or L12/L12S, then sandwich cases may make your cable management a little easier and give you better GPU thermals in the process. DAN-A4, Ghost S1, FormD T1, SM550/560/570/580 all fall into this category.
• The HTPC layout with the board flat has been around a long time and is still a decent choice for NAS/media usage. Not a lot of radiator support, temps usually unimpressive. SG05/06/08/13/14, Node 202, CM Elite 110/130 all fall into this category. The smaller cases place the PSU dirextly overtop the board, resulting in thoroughly disappointing CPU cooling performance, again it depends on what you're putting in it. Cable management is often pretty hard in cases like the SG05, SG08 and Elite.
• Then there's the vertical cases - Evolv Shift, H1 (obviously not a consideration at the moment), SSUPD, etc. Can't tell you much about these aside from that they exist, and sandwich cases still have better GPU thermals sometimes.

I'm not sure what exactly you're putting in this build, so I can't really go any further into even smaller GPU-less territory.

I can vouch for the Silverstone SG08 (no longer available, unfortunately, SG14 is a shitty revamp), NCASE M1 (I have a v5), and the Sliger S610/620 (I have the mATX Cerberus from which they are derived). In that sense, the CM NR200 is an excellent choice for beginners as it offers the M1 layout with more space to work with.

Sandwich cases are perfectly compatible with "serious cpu cooling needs" you just don't use air cooling. Also they are compatible with a lot more than just a single 120mm aio lmfao.

The sm570 and 580 for example can take up to 2 240/280mm radiators in a custom loop, or 240/280mm aios.

NCase m1 also supports twin 240mm radiators.

I would suggest doing some more research before advising others.

 

[Fouquin]

So this is admittedly a hard case to get still, and not exactly the smallest SFF case at 17.5L, but I recently tracked down and switched my main build to Streacom's DA2 and it's been excellent. I've previously used the Node 304 and 202 and both served well; the Node 304 still being one of my favorite SFF cases to build in. The DA2 is a bit of a puzzle to work out the rail system, but RTFM where they give examples of layouts based on what parts you intend to use, what rails can be put where to support components, etc and it becomes pretty easy to work with.

I don't want a "gamer case" or anything with a bunch of RGB nonsense.

Than you'll probably like the spec sheet for the DA2 in regards to RGB.

 

[dgianstefani]

DA2 is nice.

I would advise checking out optimumtech on YT, he does some of the best ITX case reviews. Look at a few videos and see if a case takes your fancy. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRYOj4DmyxhBVrdvbsUwmAA

 

[PaulieG]

Depends on what you need.
- No GPU - something like InWin's Chopin.
- If you want or need, even slimmer Thin-ITX is a thing.
Both above mostly use adapters and DC-DC unit in the case.
- With GPU, there will be size (and maybe shape) considerations.
- Desktop-ish large but slim cases like Fractal Node 202 or Silverstone's RVX-01.
- Small towers range from Dancase A4 SFX to towers that are almost small mATX size like Fractal Nano S.
In most cases except the largest end of the range, you will need an SFX PSU.

Coolermaster's Masterbox NR200 seems to be popular and good bang-for-buck case right now.
Lian Li TU150 is older but rather good.

I'm going to update the OP with the components that are (and those most likely) to go into the case.

In black or white

O11 Dynamic MINI - Highly Modular water-cooll friendly small PC chassis

O11D MINI adding to the O11 Dynamic series, the classic and mordern looking. A case that would accommodate the maximum number of water-cooling configurations without being oversized. With a modular back panel design, the user has the option to choose from 3 slots/ 5 slots/ 7 slots I/O shield to...

lian-li.com

I really like this case, but it might be a bit wider than I'm wanting.

 

[freeagent]

I have a Define C Mini TG.. its probably a little bigger than you need.. I bought mine by mistake but I cant wait to use it! Its not a tiny case, but its smaller then a Meshify C which is tiny compared to my R4

There is probably a better case out there..

 

[PaulieG]

I have a Define C Mini TG.. its probably a little bigger than you need.. I bought mine by mistake but I cant wait to use it! Its not a tiny case, but its smaller then a Meshify C which is tiny compared to my R4

There is probably a better case out there..

Actually, this is one of the cases already on my list. I've had really good luck with Fractal cases in the past. They always seem to just make sense.

Edit: Actually, I had been looking at the Nano S

 

[SL2]

A 750 W PSU is overkill IMO. The 3600X + 1660 Super will never go beyond 300 W. Pick one 450 W or more and you'll be fine.
This also opens up the possibility for SFX/SFX-L PSU's, which in turn gives you more options for cases.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#m=11,71&t=10&A=450000000000,2000000000000

I really like this case, but it might be a bit wider than I'm wanting.

O11 Dynamic MINI - Highly Modular water-cooll friendly small PC chassis

O11D MINI adding to the O11 Dynamic series, the classic and mordern looking. A case that would accommodate the maximum number of water-cooling configurations without being oversized. With a modular back panel design, the user has the option to choose from 3 slots/ 5 slots/ 7 slots I/O shield to...

lian-li.com

The O11 isn't just a bit wider, it's an ATX case with 43 l in volume:



The Define C Mini TG (Micro-ATX) isn't really small either at 33 l. That's exactly 1 liter larger than the Dark Flash DLM21 in your specs.

Define Mini C Tempered Glass

www.fractal-design.com

darkFlash DLM21 MESH White Micro ATX Computer Case with Tempered Glass Side Panel & Mesh Front Panel

DOOR OPENING DESIGN: Door opening side panel with magnetic design, it is easy to disassemble and tool free. LOWPOLY PANEL DESIGN: The front panel adopts Low poly design and give you the enjoyment of succinct vision. EXCELLENT LIGHT EFFECT: The black side glass shows the light effect in a low...

darkflashtech.com

The Nano S is smaller at 27 l, but it's actually longer (15.7") than the DLM21 (14.5")

Define Nano S

www.fractal-design.com

Volume, footprint, ATX or SFX PSU size, expandability.. I don't know what you need, I'm just assuming you want something smaller than what you already got.

Pick any case you want, but remember that a smaller motherboard alone doesn't make an SFF build.

 

[PaulieG]

A 750 W PSU is overkill IMO. The 3600X + 1660 Super will never go beyond 300 W. Pick one 450 W or more and you'll be fine.
This also opens up the possibility for SFX/SFX-L PSU's, which in turn gives you more options for cases.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#m=11,71&t=10&A=450000000000,2000000000000

O11 Dynamic MINI - Highly Modular water-cooll friendly small PC chassis

O11D MINI adding to the O11 Dynamic series, the classic and mordern looking. A case that would accommodate the maximum number of water-cooling configurations without being oversized. With a modular back panel design, the user has the option to choose from 3 slots/ 5 slots/ 7 slots I/O shield to...

lian-li.com

The O11 isn't just a bit wider, it's an ATX case with 43 l in volume:

View attachment 188345

The Define C Mini TG (Micro-ATX) isn't really small either at 33 l. That's exactly 1 liter larger than the Dark Flash DLM21 in your specs.

Define Mini C Tempered Glass

www.fractal-design.com

darkFlash DLM21 MESH White Micro ATX Computer Case with Tempered Glass Side Panel & Mesh Front Panel

DOOR OPENING DESIGN: Door opening side panel with magnetic design, it is easy to disassemble and tool free. LOWPOLY PANEL DESIGN: The front panel adopts Low poly design and give you the enjoyment of succinct vision. EXCELLENT LIGHT EFFECT: The black side glass shows the light effect in a low...

darkflashtech.com

The Nano S is smaller at 27 l, but it's actually longer (15.7") than the DLM21 (14.5")

Define Nano S

www.fractal-design.com

Volume, footprint, ATX or SFX PSU size, expandability.. I don't know what you need, I'm just assuming you want something smaller than what you already got.

Pick any case you want, but remember that a smaller motherboard alone doesn't make an SFF build.

Great post. Thanks for the very detailed information. You are probably right to a point with the psu, however I'm always one to leave room for future upgrades, so maybe a 550w or 650w. Any suggestions for a chasis that's actually small and easy to work with?

 

[SL2]

Great post. Thanks for the very detailed information. You are probably right to a point with the psu, however I'm always one to leave room for future upgrades, so maybe a 550w or 650w. Any suggestions for a chasis that's actually small and easy to work with?

I don't have experience with the current models, but I think the NR200 seems worth checking out. The SSUPD is about as small but can be used with regular ATX PSU's which is a plus if you want something fairly quiet.

Cooler Master MasterBox NR200 Mini-ITX PC Case

The MasterBox NR200 takes all of the features found in a core performance ATX chassis and efficiently utilizes them in a space less than half the volume. Every feature is thoughtfully laid out in the 18-liter case to maximize component compatibility, ease of use, and thermal efficiency. Open...

www.coolermaster.com

Streacom DA2. Looks great, expensive, hard to find.

Streacom DA2 Review - What a Beautiful SFF Case

The Streacom DA2 is a clean and understated ITX chassis featuring a level of flexibility usually reserved for larger cases. With its unique mounting bars, you can realize most scenarios, from a multi-terabyte storage solution to an air or liquid-cooled gaming rig.

www.techpowerup.com

SSUPD looks great, but it's new and it's not out yet.

SSUPD Reinvents the ITX Case with Meshlicious

SSUPD, the sister brand of LIAN LI and developer of high-end PC cases introduces Meshlicious—a revolutionary ITX PC case built in collaboration with Ncase—that features three full mesh panels and a tempered glass panel to deliver unbeatable cooling while displaying the PC's internals. An...

www.techpowerup.com

Review.

Also, check out that channel, it gives you a good insight into the SSF world. I'd say videos really helps giving you a sense for how small the cases are, which isn't really needed for any other components or regular cases.

https://www.youtube.com/c/OptimumTech/videos

 

[PaulieG]

I don't have experience with the current models, but I think the NR200 seems worth checking out. The SSUPD is about as small but can be used with regular ATX PSU's which is a plus if you want something fairly quiet.

Cooler Master MasterBox NR200 Mini-ITX PC Case

The MasterBox NR200 takes all of the features found in a core performance ATX chassis and efficiently utilizes them in a space less than half the volume. Every feature is thoughtfully laid out in the 18-liter case to maximize component compatibility, ease of use, and thermal efficiency. Open...

www.coolermaster.com

Streacom DA2. Looks great, expensive, hard to find.

Streacom DA2 Review - What a Beautiful SFF Case

The Streacom DA2 is a clean and understated ITX chassis featuring a level of flexibility usually reserved for larger cases. With its unique mounting bars, you can realize most scenarios, from a multi-terabyte storage solution to an air or liquid-cooled gaming rig.

www.techpowerup.com

SSUPD looks great, but it's new and it's not out yet.

SSUPD Reinvents the ITX Case with Meshlicious

SSUPD, the sister brand of LIAN LI and developer of high-end PC cases introduces Meshlicious—a revolutionary ITX PC case built in collaboration with Ncase—that features three full mesh panels and a tempered glass panel to deliver unbeatable cooling while displaying the PC's internals. An...

www.techpowerup.com

Review.

Also, check out that channel, it gives you a good insight into the SSF world. I'd say videos really helps giving you a sense for how small the cases are, which isn't really needed for any other components or regular cases.

https://www.youtube.com/c/OptimumTech/videos

That SSUPD case looks fantastic. I think it might be EXACTLY what I'm looking for!

 

[SL2]

That SSUPD case looks fantastic. I think it might be EXACTLY what I'm looking for!

Yeah, I like it a lot, that small footprint is appealing. No point in using a "SFF" case that has the same footprint as a mid tower if you're asking me.
Never been a fan of glass doors anyway.

Here's a nice quick test of several cases, just remember that you're not pushing it like he does with CPU/GPU choice.