The Best Mini Itx Cases

When it comes to building a PC, there are many options available. When people think of PCs, they normally picture giant boxes. However, in recent years, small form factor PCs have become much more popular. These smaller cases are usually used to build a Home Theatre PC. They are also increasingly popular amongst those that want to have a fully fledged PC, but they don't have a lot of space.

Silverstone are renowned for their excellent components at moderate prices. This Mini ITX case is no exception.

Curiously, this case actually supports single fan all in one liquid coolers. This is excellent since it means that the CPU will be kept within optimal temperatures. Spikes in temperatures can sometimes be an issue in Mini ITX cases, so this should give the end user peace of mind.

Further, there is exceptional ventilation on both side panels as well as the top panel which means that air can circulate freely in and out of the case keeping the other components cool as well.

Many users have happily installed an Nvidia GTX 1070 into this case. It is a snug fit, but it is doable. Given that this is an extremely high end graphics card, it shows that this case can really be used for high end gaming. The case has been built with gamers in mind and has a dual expansion slot that meants that it can support a wide array of graphics cards. The longest card that it will support is 10.5 inches. However, if you you have a 25mm thick fan at the front of the case, this will reduce the space for the graphics card.

Storage isn't an issue either. By tweaking with your configuration, it is possible to have one SSD and one HDD or, if you do not want to use an HDD, you can have up to three SSD's in the system. Given that the prices of SSD's are falling dramatically, it makes a lot of sense to have three of them in the system.

With regards to front panel connectivity, there are headphone and microphone inputs as well as two USB3.0 ports.

Given that this case is cheaper than a AAA video game, this is a must have for anyone that is on a strict budget. The SG13B truly is an exceptional gaming case.

As is the case with Silverstone, Cooler Master are also well known for their high quality cases. The 130 is one of the very best mini ITX cases on the market.

Despite it being the same form factor as the Silverstone case, it is actually a lot roomier inside. For starters, the maximum length of the graphics card that the 130 supports is 13.5 inches. This means that buyers will be able to shop around and perhaps install a larger GPU if they wish.

Likewise, a full ATX sized PSU (power supply unit) can be utilised in the 130 which is a bonus. Generally speaking, small form factor PSU's can be a bit more expensive. Therefore, money can be saved by using a full sized one. It is also recommend as well that a modular PSU is used. This means that any cables that aren't used can be removed from the PSU. Non-modular PSUs do not have this option.

This extra room actually makes pretty easy to build in the case (presuming that a modular PSU is used) as well as providing excellent cable routes. This means that air flow is able to circulate a lot more freely in the case and therefore not allow the PC to thermal throttle.

Moreover, there is also the option to add in an optical drive to this case. This is ideal if it is being used as an HTPC since it will allow the end user to play their DVDs and Blu Rays on this PC. If an optical drive is not require then the space can be used to mount additional storage drives, instead. This allows up to 4 SSDs to be installed within the case, which is an insane amount of storage.

As an added bonus, there are two case fans pre-installed. For a very small increase in price over the SG13B, the 130 is a great option for those that do not have fans from an older system that they can reuse.

Whilst these are excellent cases to build a system in, they aren't for everyone.

Numerous points need to be considered before the decision is made to use this form factor. The first thing that springs to mind is what processor will be used. If it is the case that the end user wants to use a high end Intel Core i9 CPU, then it would be recommended that a larger case. This would allow much better heat dissipation by way of using either a custom water loop, or a fully sized air cooler and heatsink.

RAM is also something which needs to be thought about. A big advantage of building a PC is that it can be slowly upgraded over time. A lot of builders will generally get a smaller amount of RAM to begin with and then upgrade the DIMMs over time. I.e. rather than getting 32GB of RAM right away, they will get two sticks of 8GB and over time add an additional two sticks.

However, in the case of ITX cases, they can only support ITX motherboards. The problem that this presents with is that ITX motherboards only have 2 DIMM slots. Therefore, if you want to have 32GB, you'll either need to stump up the case for two 16GB sticks or buy a solitary 32GB stick. In both scenarios, this can be pretty expensive. The other option would be to buy two 8GB sticks, but when you have the money to upgrade to 32GB, you would be left with two redundant DIMMs in the 8GB capacity.