Small Case Suggestions

[phantommaggot]

I had a long mess written up, I figured I should condense it. lol.
Currently I have a node 304 with the following hardware
z87e itx ac
4790k (clocked 4.0ghz at 1.05v)
16gb crucial ballistix tactical tracer red/green
sapphire r9 nano
corsair sf600
corsair force LE ssd.

I have NIB (couldn't pass up the deal at the time)
H97m itx ac and 8gb kit ballistix LP
The idea is to put this in the node with an i5 4590 or 4690 non k with my nano while I figure everything out and sell the z97 stuff

The original plan was to liquid cool the node build using a 120mm and 92mm rad and something like an eisberg pump/res. Swap the GPU side vent for a window and go on with life.

Now I kind of want to build something pretty. I want to be able to see everything worth seeing and not see things that I don't want to. But I still need to be able to hold at least 1 3.5" though 2 would be better, 2 2.5" and the rest of the setup. This has made case selection somewhat difficult since I still want to remain as small as possible..
I want to 'trade up' the z87/4790k setup for :
Asus z270i strix
7700k
16gb trident RGB or maybe Ballistix RGB since the grey would match.

I can probably just mod the node and make this happen. I know everything will fit the way I want it to. But, I kind of want the challenge of making it smaller. Plus, the node gets way dusty. I can't seem to even out the fans or whatever else to stop the dust from accumulating on the PSU vent on the side of the case...

I've considered modding a Raijintek Metis. This is the current favorite option.
Theoretically, I could put a slim 120mm rad up in the top / front of the case with a slim fan with a window beside it and be able to see my GPU. But, I loose the 3.5 mount that way and I don't think I can mount the 3.5 between the PSU and Rear/Bottom rad. If I could, that would be great, I could bend a piece of aluminum to hide it and call it a day.

Anyways
I'm not up on all the project cases and stuff out there. I keep track of this forum as often as I can. I'm looking for a case that may be a little more accommodating for what I want. Browsing newegg doesn't help much..

I'm not against a custom case and using a 1u or flex PSU. Maybe having protocase make something.
I don't really want a 'console' case. That said, If I could get one that had the GPU fan on the same side as the cpu fan I'd take a look at it.
And if it starts getting into MATX territory, there's no point either.

Anyways, thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Tyki]

http://www.caselabs-store.com/bullet-bh2-mitx-case-customizable/

Pretty sure that's exactly what you want. Otherwise you can try modding a NCase to cut out a side panel window in it and put a slim 240mm rad on the bottom, but that has mediocre performance compared to the full thing.

 

[darksable]

http://www.caselabs-store.com/bullet-bh2-mitx-case-customizable/

Pretty sure that's exactly what you want. Otherwise you can try modding a NCase to cut out a side panel window in it and put a slim 240mm rad on the bottom, but that has mediocre performance compared to the full thing.

That would be a great option, yeah.

After my first small build (in a Prodigy), I fell in love with a friend's Caselabs case, so bought the smallest one they had at the time - a micro atx case that's larger than a lot of full sized cases.

I would have LOVED that thing.

 

[STR]

Thermaltake Core V1. Though, I had to mod my case to pop in a pair of 92mm fans to keep this thing cool with the 7700K and 1080Ti cranking. If you use a sub 200W card, or a blower, you probably won't have that issue.

Pre-mod with 80mm fans installed.

Post-mod with 92mm fans. This dropped case temps by ~10c under load and is markedly quieter.

 

[phantommaggot]

Good God, that case labs case is nice. Kinda big though.
I love the plum color one lol.

That v1 is nice.
I like the 92mm mod, Is that a 120 or 140mm AIO.

I have to cool a fury nano and a processor...

I was thinking about maybe doing something like a dan a4 with a smaller power supply (or even the SFX) Putting a slim 240 across the top and a fat 120 or a dual 92 in the front...
Or maybe a setup like the "Naked" case that is floating around here. but with the sfx (or smaller) on the bottom, 240mm on the front and a little pump/res on the side where the SFX was.

 

[STR]

That v1 is nice.
I like the 92mm mod, Is that a 120 or 140mm AIO.

Thanks. The mod only took~4-5 hours of work and $20 in materials. And that's for a person whose only prior metal working "experience" was cutting off a overtightened steel nut. The cooler is a 140mm Corsair H90 with a pair of Blacknoise NB B14-3 in push-pull. I've got a shitty 7700K that I'm too lazy to delid, but it doesn't go above 65-70c in games. It'll hit 90-95c in benches though.

There's a couple of people who've stuck a Swiftech H220-X in their cases. You may or may not be able to fit a H220-X2 in there. The fill port might be 1-2mm too tall to fit.