True SFF gaming's first principle should be about fitting high end components without compromises of any kind. Only when this stage is accomplished you can seek to minimize unused space, create airflow path and maintain silent operation. It seems most manufacturers do this the other way around these days if at all.
I don't think Steam machines style cases is the direction we should be going. Cramming a GPU inside a console size case doesn't qualify as a decent gaming rig in my book. Maybe I'm a bit of old-school but I think CPU should have a decent chunk of metal on top of it so it can run silent and cool at low and high temps. PSU would be top grade ATX and shouldn't even be a noise factor in the case, unlike SFX PSU's which are lightyears away in terms of performance and noise.
Any storage solution should be SSD only. I don't need 3TB on a gaming rig that houses an OS and a couple of games. Plus hearing that plate/disk spinning feels like the 90's as in the more general view, I believe optical and magnetic media is dead anyway.
Last but not least is the silent-and-cool aspect which works well on MATX and above case variations but seems to be more of a challenge in the MITX domain, mainly due to the notion to minimize size first and ask quesitons later. I think size should not be downscaled in the expense of cooling and noise levels, especially when sitting in the living room. There is also the not-so-rational-but-acceptable thought among hardware fans that hardware has to be respected. Making it whine and run at 80c just to say you can game max settings with a 10L case is the classic definition of disrespect.
Anyway, this is how I convey the ultimate case:
1. MITX
2. 165mm CPU clearance (tower cooler)
3. 320mm GPU
4. modular ATX PSU up to 180mm (SFX too noisy)
5. no ODD crap. 2 SSD's 1 HDD max (ditching the HDD is fine by me).
6. will be placed in a AV rack/shelf/drawer in the living room
along with other components , so front to back airflow (3 120mm fans)
7. no taller that 21-22cm (needs to fit in the rack)
8. sub 20L
Something along the lines of the node 304, just 2-3cm wider to fix the PSU/GPU conflict and mount 2 120's in front would be considered close to perfect. I think I'll pay top dollar (300$+) for such a thing.
I know that this is my perspective on the subject, this is an open discussion.
I don't think Steam machines style cases is the direction we should be going. Cramming a GPU inside a console size case doesn't qualify as a decent gaming rig in my book. Maybe I'm a bit of old-school but I think CPU should have a decent chunk of metal on top of it so it can run silent and cool at low and high temps. PSU would be top grade ATX and shouldn't even be a noise factor in the case, unlike SFX PSU's which are lightyears away in terms of performance and noise.
Any storage solution should be SSD only. I don't need 3TB on a gaming rig that houses an OS and a couple of games. Plus hearing that plate/disk spinning feels like the 90's as in the more general view, I believe optical and magnetic media is dead anyway.
Last but not least is the silent-and-cool aspect which works well on MATX and above case variations but seems to be more of a challenge in the MITX domain, mainly due to the notion to minimize size first and ask quesitons later. I think size should not be downscaled in the expense of cooling and noise levels, especially when sitting in the living room. There is also the not-so-rational-but-acceptable thought among hardware fans that hardware has to be respected. Making it whine and run at 80c just to say you can game max settings with a 10L case is the classic definition of disrespect.
Anyway, this is how I convey the ultimate case:
1. MITX
2. 165mm CPU clearance (tower cooler)
3. 320mm GPU
4. modular ATX PSU up to 180mm (SFX too noisy)
5. no ODD crap. 2 SSD's 1 HDD max (ditching the HDD is fine by me).
6. will be placed in a AV rack/shelf/drawer in the living room
along with other components , so front to back airflow (3 120mm fans)
7. no taller that 21-22cm (needs to fit in the rack)
8. sub 20L
Something along the lines of the node 304, just 2-3cm wider to fix the PSU/GPU conflict and mount 2 120's in front would be considered close to perfect. I think I'll pay top dollar (300$+) for such a thing.
I know that this is my perspective on the subject, this is an open discussion.
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