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Best MicroATX Midtower case

K

King of Heroes

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
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I'm in the process of upgrading an old HP Pavilion a808x, and after a new power supply the next step was a new case with better cooling and expansion (the stock one only had a dinky 92mm fan at the back and 1 occupied HDD bay). After comparing mATX minitower and midtower I figured midtower was the best size-wise. So far I've settled on these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119149
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163058

Right now I'm really leaning toward the Silverstone SST-TJ08-B. Its much more expensive than the Elite 340, but its I/O panel is in a more convenient location and it has a removable motherboard tray like the Lian-Li Lancool I use.

Wanted to get the opinion of people on this forum who use mATX midtowers and see if they add any suggestions on any other cases that might be good.
 
FYI: the Coolermaster has a removable MotherBoard Tray. If you are looking at the case from the side looking into the case: You slide it to the left and pull it out the back.

I have the case and love it. Fits 2x120mm fans, and 1x80mm... but with some modding you can make it fit 3x120, or 2x120, 2x80. It all depends. Able to fit long GPU too because the HDD cage doesn't go all the way to the bottom.

Hopefully I can get pictures of mine later.

Edit: I didn't look at all the pictures until now. The Silverstone is basically the Baller Version of the 340 :D:p...
 
I really like the looks of the SilverStone Sugo SG02-F, although I don't know if it's actually any good.

Antec P180 Mini is great, too.
 
im not a fan of either of them the cooler will prolly cut you and the silverstone is too expensive in comparison. maybe look for other options?
 
The quality of the coolermaster is actually pretty good. The front panel has filters in it for intake to trap dust, and it's removable so you can wash it. The only problem is with Optical Drive and the PSU, the cables will get cramped up there. Not alot of places to hide the wires except in the top drive bay.. and routing can only really be done if you mod the case...

The case comes apart easily, as none of the panels are riveted.
 
I just put together a PC with the NSK3480 and was really impressed with it. Very quiet, excellent cooling, large silicon HD mounts, etc.

It is small, and it's a PITA to get everything in, but once it is it's great.
 
The 3480, the TJ08, and the CM340 are the top picks for midtower mATX cases.

Personally, I'd get the TJ08 first, then the 3480 second. I just don't like the 340 (but its definitely cheap).
 
Looks like I'll be getting the Elite 340, it has everything I need (the removeable MB tray especially) and is cheap.

I just have one question to people who've used this case. In the specs for the I/O panel it says the 1394a firewire port is 'optional'. What exactly does that mean? Is it some kind of module you have to install?
 
I'm not sure what that means - mine didn't come with one, but there's a space to put it next to the other ports on the front panel.

Optional could mean that you can buy the part (FW cable, port and plastic thingy that holds it onto the front panel) or that there's a variant of the motherboard that comes with it already installed (sort of like there's two 340s - one with, one without PSU). I couldn't find any place on the web that sold such a part from CM, but it was a low priority and I didn't look too hard.
 
King of Heroes said:
Looks like I'll be getting the Elite 340, it has everything I need (the removeable MB tray especially) and is cheap.

I just have one question to people who've used this case. In the specs for the I/O panel it says the 1394a firewire port is 'optional'. What exactly does that mean? Is it some kind of module you have to install?
Click to expand...

Actually I'm not sure..
mine doesnt have firewire... or on the front panel either.. I'm not quite sure what they meant by that.

Here are some pictures of mine :D


IMG00066.jpg


IMG00060.jpg


IMG00061.jpg


IMG00062.jpg


IMG00063.jpg


IMG00065.jpg
 
@Ang

whats up with your window? it frosted or covered in dust? cant see inside lol
 
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