MATX Case

In general - all mentioned in this review products are as described and working as described. Almost all deserve 5 stars (commented if one or more stars are taken off). Instead of reviewing item by item I decided to write one review for all products used for one specific PC build. The purpose of this PC build - compact gaming system which is able to play all recent games on adequate settings and can fit into a backpack or carryon bag. The recent attempts were not succeeded just because there were no powerful low profile (half height) graphics cards on the market (used PowerColor AMD RX 6400 LP and MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 LP with a very little success) until the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 LP GPU came out. I did spend a lot of time researching for a proper small form factor case and finally succeeded. Items used in this build: -- Item 1) Case: Micro ATX Case PC Case, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BY1PWP61/ - Besides of compact size and good ventilation nothing special about this case, build quality is just ok, should be priced no more than $50 in my opinion. Anyway, this MicroATX case gives more breathing room with the Mini-ITX motherboard (item#5) and works perfectly for my project. I was able to significantly improve airflow by installing two 80mm fans. After components migrating from mini-ITX case (item#15) and installing 2 slots wide GPU (item#7) AIDA64 Extreme system stability full load test (all tests checked-CPU,FPU,Cache,RAM,Disks,GPU - simulates heavy intense gaming) after 3 hours with ambient temperature 20°C(68°F) gave me followed results: i7-11700K (125W TDP)(item#4) with all turbo boosts turned on in BIOS - temperature 82-85°C (100°C Max recorded) and cores runs at 3700-3900 MHz (above 3600MHz stock), Motherboard temperature 60°C (60°C Max recorded), GPU 81-84°C (85°C Max recorded), GPU hot spot 101-105°C (108.7°C Max recorded), GPU Max recorded power consumption is 132.37W, System disk 57°C (57°C Max recorded). System under load still adequately responsive and stable. Very impressive result. Monitoring was performed with CPUID HWMonitor ver 1.52. Case modifications (See attached photos): Drilled and painted 8 holes for two 80mm fans (have to be done precisely and carefully) and removed 1 Micro ATX pcb standoff because it interfered with fan installation (have to be done carefully). For improving airflow used adhesive pads (item#2) for increasing space between case bottom and surface and for case positioning with power supply on the top (not an option from the case manufacturer). Plate for disks mounting removed to improve airflow around GPU. Also the power led (white) too bright and making hdd activity led (red) almost not noticeable. I did swap them on the connector and got an excellent result. Also used cable ties of different sizes (not provided in any reviewed items) I wish the case manufacturer will make a similar but smaller (240 mm wide) mini ITX only variant with only 2x USB3.0 but with 2 x 80mm fan option on the front panel. -- Item 2) Rubber Feet for Electronics Adhesive bumper pads. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085DMB1XV/ -Does the job - exactly what I need for the project. -- Item 3) Power supply: FlexGURU Pro 500W Flex ATX, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BF1H5R1/ - Little powerful workhorse, works very well. -- Item 4)* CPU: Intel i7-11700K, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X6ND3WP?th=1 - Good CPU, working well in gaming. The performance is behind the Ryzen 7 5800X, but i7-11700K cheaper. CPU i7-11700K is not the bottleneck in this specific project. -- Item 5)* Motherboard: ASROCK Z590M-ITX/AX LGA1200, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08X1MQL1L/ - It is not a gaming motherboard but as far as I'm concerned, the bottleneck in this project is the GPU (still), so the ASROCK Z590M-ITX/AX with i7-11700K and 64MB DDR4 at 3600MHz fits well here. Everything on the motherboard is working as described and supposed to. The PCH heats up the M.2 SSDs, but this is what you expect from a small form factor mb. Using item#9 for better cooling. I bought 3 of these motherboards for different projects and all 3 performs very well. As a person working in the electronics device manufacturing business (position related to quality and defects analyzing) I can tell you that the chance to get defective (DOA) motherboard if it is new in the unopened and undamaged package is about 2:1000000 (or even less). My suggestions to avoid "defective" motherboard experience - always do this: check full compatibility of components before assembling the system, read the manual carefully before assembly (pay special attention to * notes), update BIOS to latest version as early as possible (some MB manufacturers offering the option to update BIOS before CPU installation), double check all cabling and connectors (especially check if RAM and GPU seating properly) before 1st power up and the most important things - do not rush, do all installations patiently and very carefully, use ESD protection (ESD gloves are the best), do not apply excessive force, do not overtighten the screws, be very careful with the screwdriver - do not touch the motherboard (one inaccurate touch with screwdriver can knock off a small component from the MB or cut the trace). In almost 30 years I never received a defective (DOA) new undamaged PC component. But I admit that I once returned the motherboard for replacement as defective because during installation of the aftermarket CPU cooler the screwdriver fell out of the groove and cut one of the northbridge bus traces. -- Item 6)** Memory(low profile-34mm toll): Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 3600, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YV9VYYY/ -Very good product, works as described -- Item 7) Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile 8G, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CDJLSZ73/ - Nothing much to say in addition to already posted reviews for this GPU - excellent for 1080 gaming (can play on 1440 as well but have to lower the settings because only 8GB of video memory), adequate power consumption and temperatures under load. For now this card has no competitors on the low profile (half height) GPUs market. I wish RTX 4060 had 12GB memory like RTX 3060. Also because RTX 4060 has only 8 PCIe lanes this GPU might not perform very well in older motherboards with PCIe Gen3X16 slot. -- Item 8)*** SSD Disks: 8.1) Primary (system): SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RK2SR23/ 8.2) Secondary (backup and media data): Crucial P3 4TB PCIe Gen3 NVMe M.2 SSD, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B25P44CL/ - Very good products, works as described, no problems. -- Item 9) M.2 Heatsink SSD Cooler (Black 2 Pieces) Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082VTVP51/ - Very good and inexpensive product. Use these heat sinks instead of motherboard stock M.2 ARMOR (item#5) and under load get 3-4°C lower SSD temperature and 3°C lower PCH (chipset) temperature. -- Item 10)** *** CPU cooler: DeepCool AN600 Low Profile CPU Cooler, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4P8ZPWT/ - Excellent construction design, keeps i7-11700K adequately cool in good ventilated case with installation B (low profile RAM) -- Item 11) two 80mm fans (there are no significant differences during system stress test between these 2): 2 x Noctua NF-A8 PWM 80mm (better airflow), Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZH1F2KH/ or 2 x be quiet! Pure Wings 2 80mm PWM (cheaper), Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016XWZ5CQ/ - Working fans, nothing else to say. --- Item 12)**** Winncon PWM Fan Splitter Cable 1 to 2 Converter, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WN4G7KC/ - good product, works as described -- Item 13) Thermal Paste: ARCTIC MX-6. Optional - I have a very good experience using this thermal paste brand and always using it for the builds (so thermal paste provided by DeepCool was not used). Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09VDLH5M6/ ----------------------------- Notes: * - As the motherboard is not available now similar option is (or any compatible contemporary CPU / Mini-ITX MB combination): 3*) CPU: Intel i7-12700KF, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FXKHN7M/ 4*) Motherboard: ASRock H670M-ITX/AX LGA1700 DDR4, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PYP9HSM/ ** - Memory with normal height can be used but, in that situation, have to implement the installation A for the CPU cooler - worse airflow and as a result higher CPU and MB temperature - found by system stress testing with different installations (A and B) of CPU cooler. *** M.2 only - Top plate have to be removed to improve airflow around GPU, so no regular HDD or SSD can be installed in presented configuration **** - Optional: Using the fan splitter because CHA_FAN2 on ASROCK Z590M-ITX/AX looks like not PWM and same fans runs on different speeds if connected to CHA_FAN1/WP and CHA_FAN2 connectors (swapping fans - same result). Used the splitter to connect both fans to CHA_FAN1/WP connector for more precise fan speed control ----------------------------- Products not in this build: -- 15) Goodisory A02 0.12in Mini-Itx Aluminum Desktop HTPC Chassis, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TDKCY1P/ - Gave this case 3 stars only. I have used for a while Goodisory A02 0.12in Mini-Itx case and this product has multiple issues (excess heat the main problem): a) Airflow in this case is not good at all. If using graphics card side fans almost blocked and airflow in this case became terrible - AIDA64 Extreme system stability full load test (all test checked):Using i7-11700K (125W TDP) with all turbo boosts off (runs on stock speed only) after 45 minutes MB temperature reaches 82 degrees and CPU 105 degrees, blue screen appears and the system shuts down. In order for the system to be stable in case of graphics card installed I have to use i5-11600 (65W TDP) - this CPU became a bottleneck in some games. In my opinion the PSU and fan’s locations have to be swapped for better airflow. b) Vertical positioning is not an option from the case manufacturer - had to find out own solution (I did use side panels screws from old PC case) c) not enough vent holes on the lid and they are in weird positions - not providing the best airflow d) SSD activity LED basically not visible (using blue power LED for HDD activity – barely visible)

I have had a decent amount of experience with building computers and I used this case to build my first SFF pc. It was compact and easy to work with despite using a MATX motherboard. Its also worth noting that this case has lots of tiny cutout holes for airflow and even fan mounting. The only downsides to this case would be that you can not use the 2.5 SSD bracket of you use a GPU due to where the placement of screw holes. If they could have been reversed you could use it. The other downside is that its a bit pricy, but this is the case for most SFF and ITX cases. Recommendations: Take a note of the measurements provided and use an ITX motherboard (much easier to work with) and use an m.2 SSD if you plan to have a GPU installed

Here are my specs and will drop my honest opinion below that: Mobo: MSI Pro B550 mATX CPU: R5 5500 GPU: RTX A2000 RAM: 24gb DDR4 3200 PSU: Apevia 500w flex PSU 1U Storage: 1tb nvme & 1tb SSD This is an awesome case for a first time small build. I’ve enjoyed it very much and has pretty decent airflow for a tight case. I will say if your going to run a GPU with this case and an SSD, make sure your ssd doesn’t interfere with the cpu coolers airflow. Over all I’ll give this case a 10/10 for price and quality. Can only use Low profile GPU w this case. 3050, 4060, 5060. Will be upgrading to 5060lp soon. Will say front io cables are kinda tight on mATX board. Will probably be less tight and better airflow on itx board. Make sure you keep the cable management tight, and out of the way as possible 👍

This is a nice, simple steel SFF case with good airflow, and space to fit either a Mini ITX or a Micro ATX system. I used this to build a Steam gaming “console” for my living room, and I like how its understated look blends right in with the rest of my entertainment system. The rear of the case has knockouts for up to 3 PCIe slots, but if you’re installing a discrete GPU, you’ll need a low-profile one like the A2000 or the Gigabyte RTX 4060 Low-Profile. You might be able to get away with using a full-width GPU with a PCIe riser cable, but that may not leave enough space for your power supply. The removable side/top panel has lots of ventilation for your CPU cooler and gives you full access to the internals, and the front panel’s ventilation holes make it suitable for another 80mm case fan, if you can figure out your own mounting solution for it (I drilled holes for fan mounting screws myself). Overall I’m very satisfied with this case; great value for the price.

Awesome small form factor Pc

Either vertically or horizontally, this case looks very small (12"W, 10.5"L, 3.5"H) and sleek. It is super light. It has one button for power and HDD indicator. I assembled it in 10 min (I had a coffee in between). The front USB connectors work like a charm. I would suggest the front USB 3 header connector be shaved of its tiny plastic holders on both sides. I needed to pull the connector off to re-seat it and could not do it without also removing the motherboard's USB plastic bay (common problem on all motherboards). I managed to put it back, and it works really well. On the con side, it is very pricey considering you also need to buy a small form factor ATX PSU (I chose Apevia PS-ITX300W, which is a little expensive, too). They could bundle the case and PSU for less. Anyway, so long large computer cases.

I bought two of these to downsize two PCs for A/V recording and media serving. Worked out better than I expected, perfect, in fact. By adding remote start, these cases allowed me to stuff three PCs (gaming, serving and recording) along with my studio equipment, into a movable cabinet, making it all much easier to move if necessary. The Apevia 500W ITX PSU is a good choice for this case. Further details specific to my use case: An added bonus is that even with a GPU installed, I was able to flip the SSD bracket for mounting storage on the outside without the side panel installed. Inside a dust controlled cabinet, this works great, helping with cooling as well as making the machines somewhat modular and easier to remove from the cabinet for service, with fewer cables to disconnect. Helps cooling a bit too, even with a 95W processor and warmer 7200 RPM HDDs. As expected, cable management got a bit tricky with two 2.5 SSDs and two 3.5" HDDs, but I made it work. For those curious, server is a 95W i7-6700 on B150N-GSM board with a 2TB Crucial MX500, 2TB HP SSD, and 6TB and 8TB WD Black Gaming HDDs. Overall, very happy with these and would recommend to anyone needing a compact build. As I found out, they work well for movie servers too.

Beautiful design for anyone who wants a little pc, thank you a lot from France !