Setting the aesthetics aside, the case isn’t particularly difficult to work with; we've wrangled with far more difficult Mini-ITX cases in our day. The cooling options are quite limited, however, and the unusual rear I/O panel placement means you'll want to plug in what you must from the outset and mostly rely on your front USB ports from then on out. (Another reason to make sure your motherboard has that modern USB 3.2 Gen 2 header for the USB-C port.) Another option might be to make the chassis a little taller, allowing for more room to access the I/O panel from the rear. Having the rear I/O panel on the top of the PC case is unconventional, but doing this would make getting to the rear I/O panel far easier without significantly changing the design. The motherboard gets mounted vertically in this case, positioned so that the board is on full view through the front glass panel. With all of the glass panels removed, getting access to all of the various headers to get them connected up is made fairly easy; you have easy access from three directions. The same goes for the RAM slots on your board, and the PCI Express slot for your graphics card. Two 3.0 USB and one USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type C ports are placed on the top panel to grant direct access when needed. Routing cables down and around behind the motherboard was super easy, barely an inconvenience™, with plenty of space to the sides and passthrough holes which kept wiring out of the air exhaust path.

The third is power-supply compatibility. If you are bringing a PSU you already own to the build, make sure it matches the type (ATX, SFX, or SFX-L) that the case supports and that it isn’t longer than the maximum rated length. While on the subject of measurements, make sure your CPU cooler and GPU will fit, as well; case makers supply those maximum heights and lengths. For one: The case doesn’t have any LED illumination built in, nor does it ship with RGB or aRGB LED fans. (The two included spinners are, curiously, unlit.) The case will do a good job showing off the parts you install into it, but as you can seee here, our finished build looks rather dull without some LED flair. Mini-ITX motherboards measure 6.7 by 6.7 inches, with mounting holes in prescribed locations; Mini-ITX cases, then, are built around accommodating these board dimensions. That said, some Mini-ITX cases are much bigger than others in terms of height or volume. But by definition, a “true” Mini-ITX case won’t accommodate any board bigger than a Mini-ITX one, with the exception of a few that also support the slightly larger (and uncommon) Mini-DTX form factor. Mini-DTX boards are slightly taller than Mini-ITX boards, at 8 by 6.7 inches. (The next biggest size class for motherboards, MicroATX, is 9.6 inches square and defines the next-largest class of PC cases.)

Cooler Master MasterBox NR200P Color

The biggest one is whether you will (or will ever) install a video card. The absolute smallest Mini-ITX cases support no video card and assume your CPU’s integrated graphics will handle video output and acceleration. That factor will eliminate (or recommend) a whole swath of cases. Otherwise, look to the maximum video card length supported, as well as the number of lateral slots the card can occupy, and shop accordingly. Nvidia's newest top-end RTX 40 Series cards are huge and some occupy three slots across; Mini-ITX cases are generally not their friend.

Let’s start with the space issue. Mini-ITX cases come in more unusual, one-off shapes and sizes than other kinds of PC cases, but their one unifying aspect is the class of the motherboard they accept. As noted earlier, the Mini-ITX form factor defines both a size class of motherboards, as well as the cases that fit those boards. Raijintek Ophion Elite These cases tend to be among the most compact, with some designed to support a monitor sitting on top. They also tend to be easier than most to build in, as opening one large side of the enclosure grants easy access to all of the internal hardware. Today, we are taking a closer look at their vertically orientated ITX style case that some would say resembles a partially glassed in 3D printer. Actually, I am not going to strongly disagree. But I also have to say, I think I like it. Thermaltake simply calls it: Tower 100. It’s a distant relative to their showy and legacy Tower 900, an E-ATX Super Tower Chassis. A system built into Thermaltake’s The Tower 100 case has potential to be a real eye-catcher. The Tower 100, however, leaves a lot of that work to you. The price is attractive enough, but Thermaltake doesn't give you a whole lot outside the glass (aesthetically speaking, and in terms of accessories in the box) to make it an attractive option for someone looking to build a flashy PC case. It's something of a blank-slate box. There’s a cut-out in the SSD mounting tray right at the connector that (finally) allows for a real actual unconstrained use of a right angle SATA connector (middle picture below). How about that. Also, I cannot recall right now having an easier time getting power to an SSD. Or a GPU for that matter.Externally, that’s about all there is to the The Tower 100 case, but the building experience is considerably different than any other case I’ve worked with so far. For example, Fractal Design’s curvy Era ITX can hold ATX PSUs and standard-height graphics cards. It also has options for adding small AIO liquid coolers. And the Phanteks referenced below is essentially a scaled-down little tower.

Even with added LEDs, some more conventional PC cases could make better display cases for computer hardware than this one. The thing is, though: Most of those are ATX, and this is Mini-ITX. How could it be corrected in a future revision? A vertical motherboard mount like this necessitates the I/O positioning up top, to be sure, but some extender cables to the most commonly used ports (such as to a subset of your USB ports or to the display output) would be very thoughtful accessories to include. Or perhaps some L-adapters for stiff cables like HDMI or DisplayPort.A whole host of other variables also limit what you can and can’t put inside a Mini-ITX system. Some of them have nothing to do with the Mini-ITX case itself.

After the top panels have both been removed, you can remove all three glass panels by simply sliding them up and pulling them off of the case. It’s only after removing these panels that you’ll be able to start building a system. The easy answer: It comes down to the components you intend to install. For some shoppers, the look of the case tops everything, and that is fine. Just make sure to factor in some practical considerations, especially if you already own some of the parts.For as long as I can remember, I've had love of all things tech, spurred on, in part, by a love of gaming. I began working on computers owned by immediate family members and relatives when I was around 10 years old. I've always sought to learn as much as possible about anything PC, leading to a well-rounded grasp on all things tech today. In my role at PCMag, I greatly enjoy the opportunity to share what I know. People may have concern about the cooling performance of a mini-ITX chassis. However, the cold air intakes and hot air exhausts are well-developled, ensuring the interior temperature stays low at all times.