The Positives & Negatives Of PC Case Size
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ธ.ค. 2023
- Some (like Adam) prefer small PC cases, and some (like @Nextlander's Brad Shoemaker) prefer big cases. In this video the duo talks about the positives and negatives of each, and why someone might pick one over the other.
Buy PCWorld merch: crowdmade.com/collections/pcw...
Follow PCWorld for all things PC!
--------------------------------
SUBSCRIBE: th-cam.com/users/pcworld?sub_c...
TWITTER: / pcworld
WEBSITE: www.pcworld.com
#pcgaming #pcbuild #interview - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 72 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ก้องศึก vs โจอาคิม"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hT1EOSsRPac/mqdefault.jpg)
The perfect size case to me is the NR200. It's small but not tiny, runs cooler than most itx cases and fits regular sized GPUs and air coolers comfortably.
I built my first mitx build with the NR200 from my 5000D and I honestly don’t want to go back. I have never used my expansion slots and I love the idea of huge power in a small box. It was a great experience.
I love big cases... old school, 200mm fans.. that's my thing.. 🤩
Maybe the case doesn't need to be that big, but 200mm fans look awesome.
Seeing young Bradley out in the world is kinda nice.
I was waiting for, almost willing, that soda can to be knocked over towards that laptop. You win this round.
Depends on use case. I love my old school big lian-li pc-v2120 with wheels, but my pc-tu200 is an incredible mini itx machine as well
I built in a Fractal Terra recently, my last m-itx PC was probably 10 years ago in a much larger case.
I found planning and researching what components to use that would fit a lot of fun.
Agreed. Built my backup PC in a Dan A4 SFX. Was so much fun and still can‘t believe, how small it is coming from a giant NZXT Elite case.
I actually ordered the wrong CPU cooler at first, I missed the fact it fit AM4 but not AM5.
On the plus side I have more room on the CPU side than I thought so I have ordered a beefier fan for the cooler.
The more you learn. 🙃
What cooler did you end up with?
Do you have the whistling noise at higher RPM like Gamers Nexus experienced?
I was gonna use the Alpenföhn Black Ridge at first, seemed like the best performance for the height. But since that didn't mount on AM5 I went with the Be Quiet Pure Rock LP. It's been fine but I'm hoping swapping for the larger Noctua fan versus the pre-installed one will give some good results.
I went with the 7800x3D and undervolted it a bit. Seeing it go up towards 85 degrees makes me a little nervous even though I know it's designed to work like that. 😅
I haven't noticed the noise from the GN review but I always use headphones.
I love my Corsair Spec-01 mid-tower, it's really hard to find current cases that can fit a 240mm aio /and/ 5-1/4" bays in the top at the same time.
I just picked up a Corsair 900D because i wanted a massive, huge, gigantic nonsense of a PC/"workstation ". It's a beautiful case too. The two bottom fan rows are what really sold me on it.
How is the 900D?
I love my 750D, and it was the right choice at the time, but I'm definitely going with a 5000D/X for a future build.
Love my NR200P Max. No drawbacks here!
i have a fractal design 7XL too.. i love it. it is filled to the gills.
Hi Adam. I bought my first PC case in 2002, when I built my first decent PC. I bought it from a Computer Fair - do you remember those things? - in the UK. It has Four 5.25 inch Optical Drive Bays and Two 3.5 inch Floppy Drive bays on the front. Inside there is space for Four 3.5 inch HDDs. The front panelmanoeuvre, when I need to unplug cables and LAN and there's space around the case, to allow for Air Flow. I looked at other cases
I'd love to have a mini or micro ATX PC, but:
1. I fear there'd be much cursing and anger while building in one of those small cases.
2. I'd be restricted in my choice of components
3. I'm not sure about airflow and, more importantly, keeping the case clean once in operation.
Having upgraded a couple of months ago from a midi tower to a slightly larger midi-tower, I already much preferred building and cable-managing in the larger case. Plus it's even easier in the new one to remove dust every 10 days or so. Also, also: I've done a few other upgrades on this system after I moved it to the new case (new CPU, different RAM, new AiO) - all of which went pretty smoothly thanks to the roomy interior of the case.
The PC does sit on my desk, but, with this large-ish case, only because my desk is both pretty wide *and* deep. Still: A small form-factor build would be nice to reduce the "clutter" on a larger desk and possibly the only option on smaller desks.
I used to have my PCs on the floor and the dust build-up seems to be much worse down there plus with all the RGB-crap in my current PC, putting it on the floor would make all the shiny bling pointless.
On point with #2. GPUs are only getting larger. Same for AIO watercoolers, with thicker rads and fans now getting in to the mix.
I will never give up my full tower NZXT Phantom case. Room for five 5.25 external drives, 7 internal 3.5, 7 fans, and it's built from actual steel. Sure it weighs a lot empty more fully built, but I am not trying to carry it around and I don’t need it to fit inside a shoebox.
Someone count how many Times they said "like".
Do it and report back.
Personally, I'm going to split the group. I want a middle size one. Roughly 430 X 430 X 230 ~ 250. I want a mid-tower case, which is a bit thicker than 'mid-tower', because I want to use a Noctua NH-D15, and I don't want to have to leave one side off or some damn thing... I want good air-flow (obviously!) but I also want effective filtration. I may be interested in an open style case, like a test-stand, but I have a dog and several grandchildren, and nor do I want glass sides and disco-lights. I saw those in 1978, thanks, I don't want a mirror-ball in my computer.
Summary ~ Mid tower, but a little bit wider / thicker to allow a big air cooler. Sides that have louvres, like the bonnet of a Model A Ford, that'd be nice, but I don't need sheets of glass. In fact, I'd be a lot happier if I could get it without any glass. If it carries the air of a solid steel filing cabinet from the 1940s, that would be superb.
I want it firmly and securely based on the ground, hard to knock over or upset. I want it stable, not to be knocked over by sweeping near it or being a stumble-bum with my feet.
I'm running a Lian Li PC-A75 case and it sits on my desk. Its a great place to place post-it notes for stuff I need to remember
It’s also getting harder to get cases that don’t come with glass side panels
Yes lol, you can try putting the back panel on the front if they're symmetrical. My brother did that on his cuz he hates the lights
Often times you can order another side panel. I did that with my PC years ago for flexibility (sometimes I just don't want to show off the internals).
Obviously, it depends on what you plan to do with the PC. I am not an avid gamer, so SFF was right for me. The Lian Li A4-H2O was a bit difficult to build in but it's now a nifty little PC.
I have my computer in a Corsair 2000D. Small footprint which is great. I had my existing GPU (7900 XTX) and didn't want to replace it, thought I had enough clearance but it didn't quite fit. Fortunately was able to take out the cases included fan controller and RGB controller to fix the issue.
I can definitely recommend that case though, have a Noctua U12A in there with my huge GPU, but has a very small footprint on my desk.
I have flip flopped several times over the years between big and small, but as someone who lives a bit space constrained I think i've settled on small. With USB tech reaching the point it has, most of the things I would want to expand can be done with a USB device like a DAS or something like that.
I have always wanted to build a livingroom mitx for gaming, but with steam remote play I just use my Steam Deck and such with my med-large case
Biggest minus for SFF is parts compatibility. Watching for part sizes, making sure everything will fit together. And even beyond that, you can go for a cooler that is the right height to fit your case and have it interferre with components on the motherboard. I still love the sff form factor. I love the satisfaction of seeing everything fit just right and using all of the space I have available.
Fractal Torrent Compact here, with a XTX slammed in somehow
I love my fractal design XL It has room for all the stuff (even 8 drives and 9 fans), an easy to work with without a lot of gadgets and gimmicks. It's the old design and even had an SSD sled. The big disadvantage is it’s heavy and when I want to work on it I needed a forklift and a crane to move it; I had to wait until they came home from school before I could do anything.
My first build was a Full Tower with multiple GPUs and disk drives. In this day and age, a Mid Tower is perfectly sufficient.
I do have a Lian Li Lancool 216 mid tower case which is on a little bigger side of mid tower that i am used to build in and loving it.
I prefer Micro ATX, but it’s difficult do find good case and motherboard options.
Nice, what looks like my case (on the right) is in the thumbnail.
Personally I would love to go with a m-itx build, but the problem is that everything would end up more costly. My current mainboard is m-atx, but I do use an atx case, mainly because I can't find a cheap enough m-atx case that can accommodate a 350mm GPU. Previously I actually use m-atx case, but I had to change the case because I thought when I bought 7800XT it would fit but the case opening is like 1cm too short. the actual clearance should fit, but there were lips in the frame that prevent it. Anyway, I'm happy with my current case. Yes, it is bigger, but not that much bigger. Also the plus side is that I have more room to work with. Previously it was hard to navigate inside the case but now it is much easier.
I do love for one day to have a SFF build even if it is just for saving some space. But right now that is not an option for me due to the cost.
AP201 is the best compact size/ease of build compromise. toolless panels and can fit all but the largest 4080s and 4090s
well, Adam, it isn't the promised stand-down from 1-2 years ago between you and Gordon with ATX vs ITX, but I'll take it.
had been using itx since 2011 and I think we need a smaller sized form factor for desktop cpus and the abilty with full sized pci-e either by a slot or gold finger type of connection for ribbons. just open up a nuc/brix amd mini pc and u will see how empty they really are.
First itx chassis I used was the fractal design node 304 the cube one, pretty large for a sff but still, then I switched to an a4 h20 and even used a nr200p but the chassis I like the most is the dan a4 sfx, wish it just could be a couple of mm thicker.
My case is bigger than define 7 xl, I think. Do I get an award or something? I used to build everyone custom acrylic itx and mini-itx cases, but for me it's a huge server room monstrocity that I got out of garage sale for 20$ and repainted white with some extension bays and fans out of aliexpress. 650x 550x 220 mm.
I love the RGB, and really, you can't put much RGB in a micro case. But really, it comes down to being able to reach inside the case to install components. And larger cases are easier to keep cool AND quiet.
I love small cases but I gave up on sff loops..the maintenance as just too much. Any small issue would turn into 5-6 hours worth of work. After 5 years I just could not do it anymore.
I'm turning my clothes hamper into a case. Trash can lid top to keep out the dust.
Right now, I'm loving my Fractal Design Torrent Design Compact. The two incredibly efficient 140mm fans in the front, combined with compatibility for my EATX Aorus Z790 and RTX 4080 ticks all the boxes for me. But like the guys said above, just get the box you need for the next couple of years, buy a good brand and you won't go far wrong 👍
Now that you've nicely flexed, what's the point of this comment?
Big case would be a caselabs tx-10. Wish caselabs was still around.
WOOOOOOOOOOO BRAD!
Great cases don't need changing thanks to being great. One thing which can stop it is capacity. Bigger cases also tend being easier to cool. They are no brainer for people just having space for it. I personally went with Define 7 non-XL four years ago only because space constraints.
Still have some giant old deep cool case from 9 years ago that my dad used to use for longer before thag
i havent had a desktop pc in about 20 yrs, only had laptops since
yikes. the biggest scam form factor ever
Big cases all day long😊 i can't believe i use before not big too much restrictions definitely not cover my needs but in end much depends what you need and what you doing for me big case is only way but depends is personal choice
SFF for life!!
I may be a lil bias, butt go big or go home! ...
My PC size: Asrock DeskMini :D
SFF all the way.
However, cramming in the hottest, highest end components is pointless without proper cooling.
I‘m totally fine with mid-tier components.
Rocking a Meshlicious as my main rig and a Dan A4 as a backup.
just think monolith...
Ncase Evo or Better all the way for me..running custom water cooled parts .. 7800x3d with a 4090 founders.. pin drop quiet
Like big cases look up my case Thermal take core x9 e-atx.
I'm about to do a build in an inwin a5, due to its layout it can accommodate an e-atx board and full sized gpu in a case smaller than many matx cases.
PC Cases must be THIIICCC. I love large pc cases. Phanteks enthoo luxe, luxe 2, NV7 and NV9 are my top cases. I own nv7 and it was so much fun to build a water cooled pc inside the nv7. I hate small and tiny cases.
any gordon updates?
me cave man me like big
Proper ATX simply cannot be beat for price, serviceability and performance, unless you are the kind of person who thinks putting water in your computer will help it last longer.
Its like debating why an SUV is superior to a small hatchback. Some just don't have the space for a full-sized rig and need something smaller yet more efficient.
Except, smaller PCs generally aren't "more efficient."
I'm 1st
The fish tank cases to me are way too much. I've seen builds with 10 plus fans in them. Yutubers and the industry have created the so called "need" for huge aio's etc. Granted the high cpu's require better cooling, but I don't think the majority of users can even afford these chips or nivida RTX 4090. Sure they look like works of art, but really build to suit your needs and budget. I perfer USB ports pn the top of the case, so if I use a external drive, I don't have to worry about it dangling from the sides or the bottom.
Too many crime videos. I thought it was another one about criminal cases. 🤦
Adam, why do you keep pushing a ship in a bottle? Small form factor is a nifty hobby, but then ends any practical application.
Small cases are for poor people
Many small cases command a premium...