How long a case nowadays?

[Mac29]

I'm currently not much of a gamer but I plan to be in the future. I have a good size case now (old term some used was 'Advanced mid-tower') that should fit anything.

But I want to get a "silent" case that is smaller when I build in the next 6 months. I'm wondering how small I can go for physical size and airflow if I don't know what card(s) I'll end up using. I'll mostly play slightly older games & not buy the latest and greatest card.

Can I get by using cards that are not "full size"? If I do a quick search for what I'll likely spend, I find there are no cards near 290mm, lots of cards up to 270mm, and even more that are less than 200. Obviously I would think price has more to do with how recent the technology is, not size.

I want to play modern titles, maxed out, on a 24" lcd, 60Hz is plenty. Not going into price or memory, would you think if I buy a card or two in the next 4 years I can go with shorter cards?


Thanks,


Mac

 

[moocow]

Not an expert in this area but there are mini sized cards out there. But I wouldn't expect these cards to handle any sort of overclocking due to the smaller cooling solution. Zotac 1060 mini is 117mm long and the 1080 mini is 211mm.



https://www.zotac.com/us/product/graphics_card/zotac-geforce-gtx-1060-mini#spec

 

[MARSTG]

If you want a small system you can go with a Nano S. https://youtu.be/aVTuZYJ1wZo?t=5
Gigabyte has a history of creating small cards with the ITX models. https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N1080IX-8GD#kf
Obviously you will need an ITX mobo too.

 

[Mac29]

Thanks Marstg & moocow. Back in town and what I was saying was I'll be looking for a smaller silent case that can still hold mATX. I think if I'm a generation behind or something that I should be able to find cut down cards that will fit.

 

[FreeKnight]

I'd figure out what you consider 'essential' to your build and go from there. If you don't need a 5.25" bay / Optical drive (or can live with a USB one the odd time you'll need it) that greatly allows you to shrink down your case dimensions. Similarly if you only plan on an SSD and one 3.5" drive or a couple 2.5" drives, you'll have a lot of options.

Similarly, if you don't use any expansion cards other than GPU and don't plan on SLI/XFire you might as well ditch the mATX and go mITX which opens up a ton of case possibilities.

For example if you went ITX you could check out;
Cougar QBX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov8ICYqDe2I
Fractal Nano S https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVTuZYJ1wZo
Phanteks Shift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMT9POePU40
NZTX H200 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbDtYkmFzzU

If you definitely want to stick with mATX there's
Phanteks Evolv (available in Tempered glass or not )
Fractal Define C
There's a roundup video on the HWC YT channel that might get you started ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y07zXt8Pqzg&index=43&t=0s&list=PLknCNmc8uMa4w2kK5ybqLWss2tS3I2VNo

Offerings from Phanteks, Fractal, NZXT, Be Quiet and Corsair are a good place to start. If you don't like anything you see with them, you could start checking out what Cooler Master, InWin or Silverstone have, though I don't think those brands have quite kept up as much as the earlier brands I mentioned.

 

[Marzipan]

hey Mac, since you're not a big gamer...you may want to look at the new APU's from both Intel and AMD. they're running cut back VEGA GPU's that are capable of gaming most titles at 1080p resolutions. AMD and Intel created a partnership where they did pop on one of their CPU's. AMD has the Ryzen 5 2400G. they have a step down model too, but I'd not consider it.

 

[Mac29]

Yeah I think I'll stick w/mATX 'cause I always think if I had any problems I'd have another slot w/might come in handy. Then again I've never had an issue w/a mobo I bought myself. Case wise I'm itching to get a quiet case and something smaller but I need 3 5" bays up front minimum due to my setup.



I have read up on AMD's latest APU's but so far they still appear half as powerful as my (weak) card. But I can see how things are headed, which will be great for laptops pretty soon. I also saw a story last week about Apple making an eGPU but I had to laugh. Didn't read it. By the time those get ironed out APU's in laptops - or some other new tech - will rule.


Well thanks for the help,


Mac

 

[fubar]

Are there really any 'small' mATX cases out there? I looked at this a while back when I was considering a SFF, mini-ITX build but then considered a small ATX or mATX case because I preferred to have 4 memory slots even if I didn't use them all right away.

 

[fubar]

P.S. Hey, Mac29, no Hackinstosh computers?

 

[Cptn Vortex]

Are there really any 'small' mATX cases out there? I looked at this a while back when I was considering a SFF, mini-ITX build but then considered a small ATX or mATX case because I preferred to have 4 memory slots even if I didn't use them all right away.

This is a nice little compact case: Fractal Design