We love mini-ITX builds. They're fun, compact, and usually look great when completed. If you want a build

that's easy to move and can still kick ass, a mini-ITX rig might be for you. That said, mini-ITX cases are often much tighter in terms of clearances and room for error.

That said, mini-ITX cases are often much tighter in terms of clearances and room for error. You'll have to spend more time planning your build, and making sure you buy components that will actually fit inside the case. (Many mini-ITX cases can't handle full-size video cards.)

The mini-ITX form factor only allows for a single video card, so you'll have to go micro-ATX or larger if you want to use SLI or Crossfire. This means that while a mini-ITX rig is technically upgradable, it's not upgradable in the traditional sense that you can simply tack on extra video cards. Making sure you buy a video card that's powerful enough to run solo, while still fitting in your case of choice is essential.

Finally, it's worth noting that cable management is key to any mini-ITX build. Mant mini-ITX cases don't offer a lot of place to stash your wiring mess, so make sure to cut down on cabling as much as you can. If you can use an M.2 SSD (even a SATA-mode M.2), go for it. When choosing a PSU, go for semi- or fully-modular so you can keep the excess out of the case. While these two considerations can keep any rig looking clean, they become even more important when physical space is at a premium.

With all of that said, here are our picks for this amazingly fun form-factor.

Overall Best Mini-ITX PC Case
Great cable management Doors are easy to remove and close PSU partition keeps motherboard compartment clean Lots of cooling options Pricey for a mini-ITX Cable management channel could use some rubber grommets to keep things cleaner No included cable management straps

The NZXT Manta is one of the company's new flagship products, and it's easy to see why. The Manta does everything right, and looks great while doing it.

When we opened up the Manta, were we first off impressed with its build quality. While the exterior panels sport lost of plastic, the panels feel solid and well-finished. The matte finish give the case a stealthy look, reminiscent of the Air Force's B2 Spirit.

If there's one thing we really love about the case, it's the side panel doors. Most cases have a slot system that makes the doors awkward to reattach and close. If you've built PCs for any amount of time, attaching the "rear" side panel door can be a real pain in the ass. These doors are a breeze. The only hard part about them is that the door panels overlap with the chassis of the case, which makes lining up the nubs for the door a bit awkward the first couple of times you try it. It's easy enough to figure out, though. The rear side panel also allows room for cabling, as the doors don't lie flat against the chassis.

The vertical channel allows for good cable management and routing, but we wish the Manta came with rubber grommets to make it look a bit cleaner. There are cooling options for double-wide radiators up to and up front, so you can water-cool that GPU if you're so inclined.

On top of all this, you can use full-size video cards with this case without worry. We were able to fit an Asus R9 390 Strix (which has large paneling) in this case without breaking a sweat.

All in all, this is a great case that looks amazing. Hats off to NZXT for this chassis. While it feels like it's close to 2/3 of a mid-tower or can even feel micro-ATX-sized, this mini-ITX case delivers everything you'd want from a bigger form factor in a case built for a little motherboard.

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Best High-End Mini-ITX Case
Open-air design eliminates obstructions for air intake The best way to show of your components Easy access to motherboard and components for maintenance Cage design doesn't designate a clear "up" or "down" Hard to find, which means high price Open-air design makes it hard to direct air flow

To say call the In Win D-Frame Mini a case is misleading. It's really more of a chassis. And that's part of the reason why it's so cool. If there's a better case to show off your components, we haven't found it yet.

At first look, the D-Frame Mini reminded us of a submersible, or the loader from Aliens . It's as barebones as you can get, but feels amazingly strong with an aluminum and steel construction. The only non-metallic parts on this case are the rubber bumpers that clamp on to the tubing and the tempered glass shield.

The great thing about this case is its openness and the ease of installation. There's no contortionism of the fingers to get things held or screwed in place. Every inch of the chassis is easily accessible.

The other neat thing is that there's no clear up or down with this chassis, either. As long as you keep the "front panel" and "rear panel" connections accessible, there's really no rule about how you position the case while in use.

While there's no dust filtration, cleaning is a breeze. You can blast any part of the case with canned air without a whole lot of effort.

In terms of cooling, the case has a bracket that can accommodate 240mm radiators. Without the advantage of forcing cool air over the CPU (or wicking it away with exhaust fans), an all-in-one cooler will give you the best cooling performance with this chassis if you plan on using a K-model Intel or a high-TDP AMD CPU. Locked CPUs should do fine with traditional heatsinks and fans.

While you can't use some of the bigger cards out there, this case doesn't lock you in to using little 8-inch cards either.

If you're looking for an open-air chassis to woo your friends, this case is definitely a looker.

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Best Mid-Range Mini-ITX PC Case
Good air flow that is directed to GPU and mobo Lots of mounting options for 2.5-inch drives Classy aluminum construction Really tight for installing radiators

If you're looking for an affordable mini-ITX case that looks great and can accommodate a reference-blower graphics card, this case is well worth our attention.

The Enthoo Evolv iTX is great on a number of levels. It's moderately priced, and offers water cooling options and space for a full-length GPU in a form factor that has a much smaller footprint than an ATX tower.

Like the Enthoo Evolv ATX and the NZXT Manta, the Enthoo Evolv iTX sports a PSU partition to keep the motherboard compartment free of unsightly cabling. Cable management in the back is a breeze, as Phanteks included a pair of built-in hook-and-loop straps that cross the main cabling channel. Rubber grommets also help appearance, preventing you from seeing any mess that may lie behind them.

One of the neat things about the Enthoo Evolv iTX is the partition shield that fits over top of the GPU. While it's useful for hiding the PCIe power cables (that's really awesome, by the way), it also has a bracket for a 2.5-inch drive mount. In our build, we used an M.2 SSD and removed the mount, but the option of placing your SSD or HDD right behind the front intake fan in a classy way is really nice. The partition shield also helps channel cool air over full-sized GPUs.

Speaking of partitions, take a gander at the grating in the PSU partition. That grating helps your GPU pull air from underneath, since clearance between the video card and the partition is mighty slim. The PSU sits "upside down" (intake fan facing the floor), so heat from the PSU is minimized when the graphics card's fans suck in that air.

This is a great little case for those who like the options of a tower but want a smaller package.

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Best Budget Mini-ITX PC Case
Cheap, cheap, cheap Tiny little cube you can put anywhere Space for two 2.5-inch drives and one 3.5-inch drive Takes an ATX PSU, which is big for this size Cramped quarters for cabling Air flow can easily be restricted by PSU cables No room for water cooling or big aftermarket air coolers

When you boil it down to basics, this case is about as basic as you can get. While feature reduction has it's ups and downs, this case minimizes the negative and offers one of the smallest form factors we've seen.

The Cooler Master Elite 110 is a very inexpensive case that manages to pack all the basics into a tiny form factor. At under a cubic foot in size volume, this little guy is about as small as you can get while still using an ATX power supply.

When we say inexpensive, we mean it. This case doesn't have room for water cooling for big air coolers, so you'll do well to stick with a locked Intel CPU and stock heatsink and fan. That's not all bad, since this case doesn't offer any clever spaces to stash your PSU cables. On the upside, this case has so little volume, the front intake fan move plenty of air though and out of the case.

This case will also force you to use small video cards to power it. Luckily, there are some good options out there: The EVGA GTX 960 1962-KR, the Asus GTX 970 DCMOC, and the AMD R9 Nano are all good options for this case.

This case exemplifies why using M.2 SSDs and modular power supplies are such a good idea. You'll want to eliminate as many cabled from the build as possible.

With all of that in mind, we're hard pressed to ind any case that's smaller or more affordable for the mini-ITX form factor. If you're looking to build a little living room Steam box or a lightweight LAN party rig, the Elite 110 is a seriously good choice.

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Honorable Mention
Accommodates full-size reference-model GPUs Side panels are identical, and can be mounted to either side Filtered vents offer direct access to air for both GPU and CPU Mountpoint for slot-loading ODD Carrying handle is painful and not ergonomic Can only fit 3.5 HDD if using a short video card Requires STX power supply No room for big coolers or water cooling

If you you want a kick-ass PC that has about the same footprint as a PS4 or XBox One, this is the case you want. SilverStone's ML08 changes up the mini-ITX footprint and allows for a full-size GPU at the same time.

We'd be doing you wrong if we didn't mention the ML08 in our lineup, even if it doesn't take a top spot. We really liked this case for its creative layout, which allows for full-sized reference Nvidia GPUs to be used. The compromise to this feature is that you also give up the ability to use a 3.5-inch drive when you install such a video card. To use a 3.5-inch drive, you'll have to use a short video card.

What the ML08 lacks in forced air flow, it makes up in layout. The layout of the ML08 places filtered vents directly over the air intake for your GPU and the heatsink and fan in the motherboard compartment.

The case will only takes and SFX power supply, but the little PSUs that are available provide more than enough power for most builds that will fit in this case. There is a gotcha about this case, though: There's an internal PSU cable that leads to the outside of the case where you'll connect your power cable to PC. This means that you have to switch on the PSU before you close up the case, since the "outside" of the PSU isn't accessible once the panels are closed. It's an easy thing to overlook, and frustrating when you find out the system doesn't boot.

The panels themselves are worth mention too. Both panels are identical, so there's no need to sort out which one goes where. They are a bit tricky to put on the case, but a little patience and they'll fit on snugly. Each panel is secured with three screws.

The carrying handle, while a nice touch, is one thing we hated about the case. We tried carrying the case from a commuter train station to our office in San Francisco, and found that the texture on the hard plastic handle bit into our hands in the most unpleasant way. The good thing is that the handle can be left off of the case, without any degradation to its aesthetics.

If you're looking to build a powerful system with a full-sized GPU (like an Intel i5-6500 and a GTX 980 Ti, for example), this case will accommodate your parts in a form factor so small, it will turn heads when you let people know what you've got inside.

If you want a more "gaming"-themed version of the case, SilverStone also offers the RVZ02 under the company's Raven brand.

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Honorable Mention
Carrying handle Supports full-size GPUs (up to 11 inches) Room for two 3.5-inch drives Door design is easy to open and close Cable management is about average

This little case from Corsair offers a portable package and that fits full-size GPUs. We like it, and we've used it as a base for a few systems. The case offers everything you need, including a nice little carrying handle.

The Corsair Graphite 380T is loved by many for its features and size. With room for 11 inches of GPU and water cooling for the CPU, this case does have a lot to offer.

One thing we really love about the case is the doors. Using latch-style handles (like those you'd find on a car door) at the top, the side panels come off easily, allowing for access to the motherboard compartment on both sides. The doors are equally simple to reattach, making maintenance and cleaning easy.

This rig is clearly meant for BYOCs and LANs, since the carrying handle makes moving your rig around a cinch. The case's size and handle also makes it ideal for a mobile video editing rig, for those who do that sort of thing.

The case uses a horizontal layout, just like the Elite 110. However, the Graphite 380T places the PSU and 3.5-inch cage under the motherboard, clearing the way of the CPU and GPU to breathe.

The 380T is the only case in this lineup to feature a fan controller on the front of the case. While many people may default to using a software-controlled fan setting, a hardware control can be useful if you suddenly need to up your airflow immediately.

The Graphite 380T is a great case. For those looking for something more portable than the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv iTX or the NZXT Manta, you really can't go wrong with this one.

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Judge me by my size, do you?

When it comes to building PCs, the mini-ITX form factor is where we've seen the vast majority of innovation in design. The small form factor allows for a number of forms for the PC to take, since cases aren't slaved to the long rectangular prism needed to accommodate a full-size ATX board.

While a mini-ITX build takes a little more patience and experience to do well, the rewards are much higher. Having a small, clan build in an interestingly compact package makes you feel good. Mini-ITX rigs make it easier to take your rig to a BYOC LAN party, or play PC games in the living room (if that's your thing).

Big PC power really can come in small packages.

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