Need help finding the smallest case possible that will fit a Low Profile PCI-E card.

[newtekie1]

I'm usually pretty good at this stuff, but I just hit a wall here. I'm building a pfsense box and I'm putting an Intel Quad-Port NIC in it.

I already have everything except the case. The motherboard is mini-ITX and I have a DC to DC pico power supply, so I don't need a case that wastes room fitting a power supply. It seems like there just isn't anything out there that uses a pico power supply and has a spot for a PCI-E card. And I know that's a really niche market...

The best I could come up with so far is a Node 202, but that still uses a SFX power supply, which makes it bigger than I'd like. I like that style though, just a black box essentially. Any suggestions?

 

[Voluman]

Chieftec - In This You Can Trust

www.chieftec.eu

ANTEC ISK 300-150
Streacom ST-F7CS Alpha HTPC
Streacom ST-FC8B Alpha Optical Fanless
Wesena ITX4 v3
thermaltake sd101
InWin IW-BM643
InWin IW-BP659

 

[ne6togadno]

http://www.cooltek.de/en/discontinued-products/cases/2/coolcube?c=125

Core V1

- Built-in 200mm fan - Interchangeable side panels

www.thermaltake.com

 

[phanbuey]

have u looked at the GEEEK cases?

A1 MINI-ITX CASE – GEEEK CASE

A30 MINI-ITX CASE – GEEEK CASE

 

[newtekie1]

Thanks for the suggestions. I really like the GEEK A30, if only it didn't have the side window. I also like the Chieftec cases, but I can't find them anywhere in the US for a decent price.

It turns out this project is taking me down a very deep rabbit hole! Just searching for a case has now got me thinking I'm going to just build an entire new machine. I was planning on using an Athlon 5350 ITX that I already had. I just needed a different case, because the case it is in now doesn't have space for a PCI-E expansion card. But now I'm thinking, if I'm building this I should do it right and use modern hardware. I know it is just a router, but it needs to route 1Gbps(which I already tested and the 5350 is capable of). But I'll be using this for years to come, so building new now is appealing and I can just buy a motherboard(and an ITX board) that already has two Intel 1Gbps NICs so I don't need an expansion card, but re-using the 5350 is so much cheaper...argh...I can't decide!

 

[ne6togadno]

just drop that no window requirement and pick smallest case with pcie you find.
with all that everything rgb trend lately you'll have very hard time to find non windowed case.
if you can geto sfx fixation into pcie card spot you can try cooltek's mini cube http://www.cooltek.de/en/discontinued-products/cases/14/coolcube-mini?c=125
it is smallest case i've found so far.

 

[newtekie1]

I gave up and just built a whole new computer using a mITX motherboard that had two Intel NICs built in.

It's smaller than anything I could have gotten with the PCI-E network card.