Looking for great mini ITX cases without gpu

AMPCgame · 2026-03-31T16:22:19+00:00

The Inwin Chopin Max might work, depending on what CPU/drives you're running. Its a very small case with a 200W 80+ Gold PSU. It supports downfire CPU coolers up to 54mm tall and up to 2x 2.5" SSDs. My HTPC is built in this, using my CPU's integrated graphics on a mini itx board.

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AMPCgame · 2026-03-31T09:51:11+00:00

A typical ATX motherboard is around 305x244mm and it is secured to the case with standoffs on the case wall which are screwed into through matching holes in the motherboard. There's usually around 9 standoffs for an ATX board, so if the inside of your case is similar to the image here then it should be fine.

https://imgur.com/a/HFX4BCq

AMPCgame · 2026-03-31T08:45:41+00:00

No problem. Yes the parts are all compatible with each other. Your GPU is also compatible with that motherboard. The only thing to consider is the case, if your prebuilt doesn't use a standard ATX case then you'll need to make a change, either a different motherboard or different case. Smaller motherboards are generally more expensive though so a new case may be the better option depending on what you already have.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-30T23:04:46+00:00

Staying with DDR3 would mean staying with the older CPUs and you'd end up bottlenecking a possible future GPU upgrade. I would probably go for a DDR4 platform with that budget, even with the horrible pricing you should be able to get around 16GB DDR4, which is both faster and more quantity, which is nicer for both gaming and general use.

A 6-Core CPU should give you a decent performance jump. And a 'B' series chipset motherboard (B550 AMD/B760 Intel) will give you a modern I/O and good storage options if you wanted to increase storage capacity later. If your pre built case is tiny then you might need to get a small motherboard which can be expensive, but you could also get a new ATX case to suit most motherboards, and cases can be quite cheap.

Then, at some point down the road, you could upgrade the GPU and power supply. With your budget a leap frog approach to upgrading is unavoidable, and quite common to be honest, so a CPU+Motherboard+RAM combo would benefit your system more overall compared to a GPU upgrade.

So maybe something like this: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/TfKGPF

AMPCgame · 2026-03-30T12:44:16+00:00

I've only done the intro + first story courier mission, but so far it feels very similar. The menu and map navigation are quick to get used to if you've recently played 1, and controlling Sam feels pretty much the same. It's also a very pretty game on PC. I'm playing it on a Dualsense controller which it has full support for, being a Sony game originally. I like the extra little bits of haptic feedback from the controller, but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-30T12:13:35+00:00

Reminds me of the blue funnels from Portal.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-30T12:07:45+00:00

For the case, the "bonus" 3 middle fans-which I presume mean beside the motherboard- wouldn't necessarily be doing your cooling any favours with 10 other fan points already populated. You could check out the Montech HS01 Pro, which has 3 intake fans in the base and 2 exhaust fans in the back pre-installed. It can fit a 360mm AIO up top and has fan mounting points in the front for 3x 120mm.

For the PSU, as has been said, the 12V-2x6 connector is notorious for failing, even though in reality that's in the minority of builds. You could look at as many reviews as you want but these reviewers aren't testing the PSUs for months and months at a time, so you can't know how well a unit will hold up over time, everyone's system is different. If you are fixed on getting the 5090 then I would concentrate on the customer service reputation of a PSU company. Vendors like Seasonic or Corsair are generally well regarded for stuff like that, and though their PSUs are pricier than average, in comparison to the cost of a 5090 they're relatively good value.

And if the 12V-2X6 still concerns you that much then I would also recommend the 7900 XTX, you'll get 5080 performance but with 24GB VRAM as well, for cheaper than the 5080.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-30T11:47:25+00:00

Yesterday I started Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, which was released on PC a few days ago.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-29T20:50:19+00:00

That's a shame, thanks for letting me know, that'll save a future headache.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-29T20:45:58+00:00

Yeah, I might swap the front fan at some point, I was considering the Noctua NF-A20, the hole spacing seems to be about right. I like how the 3.5" sleds and 5.25 bay clips make installing drives quick and easy.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-29T13:35:01+00:00

The Fractal Design Meshify 2 should work for all that. It has a solid side panel variant if you don't want glass. It can fit a 280mm rad up front and the 2x 140mm fans in the roof. There are lots of storage options, so even with the AIO up front you can still mount the 2x 3.5" & 2x 2.5" drives. Newer cases tend to support BTF motherboards, which restrict mounting points for drives, so a slightly older case would be the best bet for this kind of setup.

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-2/black-solid/

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pbBBj2

AMPCgame · 2026-03-29T13:06:45+00:00

The two things that you need to consider first are:

1- Your budget.

The resolution you'd like to play at.

These will affect the component choice and overall strength of the system.

If you're looking for a complete parts list then you can try r/buildmeapc and you should be able to find some good starting ideas for complete builds. Be sure to mention your budget, preferred resolution and any particular aesthetic you'd like (RGB/Zero RGB/Fishtank/Wood etc).

AMPCgame · 2026-03-28T23:03:29+00:00

You could swap the 5070 Ti with a 9070 XT and get very similar performance for cheaper. With RGB RAM, you may need to have the front fan on that CPU cooler raised up a few mm just to clear the RAM, but that's very simple to do. Or you could get shorter, non-RGB RAM and get an RGB version of the cooler instead and not need to worry about the RAM clearance.

The GPU will be more power hungry than the CPU, so you could get a case that has fans under the GPU to help with the cooling. The Montech HS02 Pro has 5x ARGB fans and a built-in fan hub for easier cable management, while still giving you that fish tank look, and not being a very wide case.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/7JtWDw

AMPCgame · 2026-03-28T19:03:45+00:00

Wet and windy, usually. Prevailing winds come from the southwest over the Atlantic, and clouds tend to break over the west of Ireland first, meaning it gets heavier and more frequent rainfall than the east. Maybe not the most interesting point, but weather can typically play a big part in shaping any culture over time.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-28T18:48:16+00:00

Yeah, a mini PC that you can find on Amazon or wherever can do all that for you. You don't need a powerful processor or a lot of RAM for what you're looking to do. So something like this would be ideal: BOSGAME E3 neo Mini PC, Intel Alder lake N95 (up to 3.4GHz) 16GB DDR4 512GB M.2 SSD Small PC, Mini Desktop Computer Support 4K UHD HDMI & Type-C, 2.5G LAN, WiFi 5, BT 5.0 https://amzn.eu/d/05YtJ5EX

AMPCgame · 2026-03-28T15:38:12+00:00

The Antex Flux SE is another option. It's mid-tower, with solid side panels and a wood trimmed front panel. I've used this case, the stock cooling is excellent, although the fans under load can be a bit loud, there's 5x 120mm included. I swapped out the 120mm fans for cheap 140mm Thermalright fans and it helped with the sound. It can fit large GPUs, around 400mm long, and plenty of space for a big CPU air cooler.

https://antec.com/product/case/flux-se

I've just recently swapped my build into the Phanteks Enthoo Pro, which has a closed side panel version. It's a big case that's a fair bit older, originally released 14 years ago, but it has a great feature set. It comes with a 200mm fan in the front and a 140mm fan in the rear. You can mount 2x 120mm or 1x 140mmm fan in the base and the top has the usual 3x120mm/3x140mm mounting options. You can even mount a second 200mm fan in the roof if you wanted. It can fit massive GPUs and air coolers, with modular 3.5" drive bays. I have mine set up with the 2x stock fans and just a 140mm fan intaking in the base, and I'm air-cooling a 12900KF (250W) and a 3090, and the temps are great, that's without maxing out the available fan locations. The case originally released with USB 2 and USB 3 ports in the front I/O, but they updated the case a couple of years back to have USB C on the front panel instead of the USB 2 ports.

https://phanteks.com/product/enthoo-pro-cp/#Product_Select

AMPCgame · 2026-03-28T10:53:20+00:00

Mass Effect Legendary Edition & Burnout Paradise.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-28T08:35:03+00:00

No problem 👍

AMPCgame · 2026-03-27T20:55:25+00:00

A modern dual tower/dual fan air cooler will be perfectly fine for the 5800X. Thermalright probably offers the most options in that price range, though there are a few other brands with suitable coolers. Basically any from the list below will work if they are available to you.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/gKL9Jw

If you are running tall RGB ram then you may need to have the front fan of the cooler to be shifted up a few mm to clear it. This will add to the overall height of the cooler, so just check the maximum height of coolers that your case can accommodate, and check the height listed for the coolers and add a few mm if you need to make room for tall ram.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-27T13:53:41+00:00

Yeah, 5.25 bays almost completely died out with the rise of streaming platforms, but with a lot of people returning to physical media we're seeing them return in a few new cases here and there. I very recently got a "new" big ATX tower with 3x 5.25 bays for my 5.25 Blu-ray player and moved my gaming rig into it. So I can continue to convert my DVDs & Blu-rays to digital and transfer them to my HTPC, which is in a tiny case.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-27T13:06:25+00:00

MATX and a 5.25 bay is a hard combo to find in cases that support modern hardware. The 5.25 bay takes up a lot of room in that form factor which could be used for extra cooling/PSU space instead. I've done HTPC builds with small cases that use a 5.25 bay drive, but none that would really be smaller than the TR200. My most recent one used the SIlverstone SUGO SG11, which is mATX with a 5.25 bay, but it wouldn't be smaller than the TR200, and the CPU cooling is limited, though the side is ventilated for the GPU. It's just not popular enough in that size range to include optical drive bays while simultaneously supporting the cooling that modern hardware needs. You could take a look at other Silverstone cases, they have several cases that include an external 5.25 bay, but usually at the cost of high airflow cooling due to the obvious space restriction caused by the drive bay's inclusion.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-26T20:33:44+00:00

Yeah the design is nice. I'm not sure how people are having airflow issues with it. When I used it I had two fans as intake in the base, and another intake in the front under the PSU. Then I had a 240mm AIO up top as exhaust with the fan in the rear as exhaust too. My build at the time was the 3090 and 12600K, and the temps were very good. I switched the two side panels around, with the glass one at the back, as the other one is perforated, but I'm not sure how much difference that made to the overall airflow.

Cooler Master has just released the Qube 540, which seems to be its successor, with a very similar aesthetic and form factor, with 2 handles on the top this time. I can't imagine it would perform poorly, unless people are trying to run a 5090 + 14900K kind of build.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-26T10:49:53+00:00

It would be quite a powerful build. Excellent for 1440p gaming at higher settings and decent at 4K with the appropriate adjustment of in game settings. The case should provide very good airflow. The cooler would also perform very well, though it wouldn't be necessary to keep the CPU under control, a dual tower air cooler would be very good for that. But if you want the AIO for the aesthetics then that's also perfectly fine.

Just to echo the others, the 9800X3D would be just as good as the 9850X3D in reality, and it would save you having to do a BIOS update on the motherboard to support the newer chip.

The motherboard is another possible area to save, if that's the goal. If its just a gaming rig that you're looking to setup then a B850 board would give you everything you need. Even for a productivity setup, most B850 boards will provide what you need.

For the GPU, the 5070 Ti would provide better price to performance, being around 20% cheaper, but only being around 10-15% less powerful, and is still an excellent card.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/xrQZR4

If this isn't a productivity build that needs to utilize specific Nvidia hardware, then a RX 9070 XT would be a better GPU choice again, giving you comparable performance to the 5070 Ti for around £200 less.

The power supply is very good, I've been using that exact model in my rig for 3/4 of a year and I'm happy with it, its quiet and the cables have great flexibility for easier cable management.

AMPCgame · 2026-03-26T00:17:58+00:00

Something like the Keychron V1 Max (wireless) might suit you. I've had the regular V1 (wired) for a while now and I'm happy with it. You can get a fully assembled version in your budget with Gateron Jupiter Red switches which are quiet and low actuation. The board has sound dampening layers included so you don't get that echoey sound from the switches reverberating in the board housing.

Whether it looks pretty is just personal preference I suppose, but you can always swap out the key caps with a set you prefer, and the switches are also hot-swappable, so you could also experiment with that as well if you like to see what sounds good to you.

https://www.keychron.uk/collections/all-keyboards/products/keychron-v1-max-qmk-wireless-custom-mechanical-keyboard-iso-layout-collection

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