Tiny mATX cases?

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[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 6, 2004
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I've got a bunch of hardware that I'm putting together, ostensibly for an HTPC. Everything is basically integrated in the motherboard (incl. msata drive) and I have a pico PSU that I could use to power it. the only other requirement would be the ability to install or modify the case to accommodate a single half-height PCIe 1x expansion card. Using a pci-e ribbon cable to do this wouldn't be out of the question.

to summarize:
Celeron G1610
Intel H77 mATX board
16GB ballistix tracer sport low-pro 1.35v ram

No PSU necessary
No drive cages necessary
No ODD slot necessary
Space to mod in a half-height card required

Closest thing I could find is the Coolermaster Elite 100 mini ITX/mATX case, but its no longer available. Anything in a similar vein? I'd like to minimize size in as many dimensions as possible. Height isn't as critical but I'd like to keep it within a half-height form factor. This guy over at SPCR is a good example of what I have in mind

EDIT: any ITX cases that can be easily modded to accomodate mATX boards that would fit my criteria better?
 
Last edited:
mATX cases generally use internal PSUs and not power bricks like a Pico PSU. That Cooler Master used a Flex ATX PSU.

If you are aiming for an HTPC, how about a Silverstone Milo ML03B? Yes, it has space for drives and an ATX PSU, but it is very slim and indeed looks like an older DVD player or VCR. If your home theater setup includes normal sized AV components, it will fit right in.
 
Yea, the ML03B definitely came up and seems pretty intriguing, but I was curious to see if there was anything smaller in the same vein as the elite 100. If you look at the link, the guy has modded a blanking plate to cover the Flex opening so he could put a tuner card in there. Using a pico PSU would allow you to do things like that if necessary to minimize case space. I think its also possible that the use of the iGPU, low profile coolers, mSATA onboard the mobo, etc would make it easier to mod an ITX case for use with a mATX board since you could rip out all the cages and stuff and not lose any key functionality. I'm just not sure what cases would be good candidates for some straightforward modding
 
We also have another mATX case smaller than ML03 in the LC19:

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=84

Here are size comparison of the cases you were looking at and the LC19 in volume:

5.8 Liters - Cooler Master Elite 100
9.2 Liters - SilverStone LC19
15.7 Liters - SilverStone ML03
 
Zap said:
Availability seems iffy. Newegg claims discontinued.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the LC19 is discontinued by Newegg, not by SilverStone though. They don't like to sell lower volume products. But you can still find it at other online stores such as Amazon.
 
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