Advice for smallish gaming PC case

Can someone recommend a small ish PC case for a gaming PC? I'm specing one for a friend to buy of PCS. It's not for overclocking, it'll just house an i3, GTX 1070, RAM and SSD. No special cooling.

I've got a Game Max Silent Mid-Tower (468mm x 230mm x 475mm HxWxD) and it's too big, they want something more like a traditional mini-tower desktop, but with glass panel if possible.

Possibly something like FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE which is 440mm x 212mm x 395mm? But that's quite pricey and still a little on the large side I think for the friend.

The corsair carbide 275R is smaller in every dimension ( 436.5mm x 211mm x 446mm ) than the game max.
It has a glass panel and is just £56, saving £30 on the meshify.

Are worried more about the footprint (width x depth) or the height?

Wait, you're buying a system with an i3 and a GTX 1070?

What's the full build, budget, and use case?

So the build is a complete system, keyboard, mouse, monitor and headphones. Use is gaming (preferably 1440 res, but a high refresh rate 1080 would be ok too). User is not tech savvy, so no overclocking.

i3 quad core seemed to be a reasonable fit with a GTX1070. I've got a 970 and i5-4690K quad core and the latest i3 seem a comparable CPU
0.5Gb SSD or 1Gb for good price
2x8Gb RAM (but I could be convinced to go 2x4Gb)

The most important thing is for this to be a stable and easy to use gaming PC. I don't want to be supporting it like I do with most the family!

Budget £1300 all-in (monitor included)

So a 1440p /1080p high refresh monitor will be about £200.

That leaves £1100 for the peripherals, and a gaming PC with a GTX 1070, 16gb RAM, and a 500gb+ SSD. That's pretty ambitious tbh. Or will lead to you buying certain trash components to try to fit an unrealistic budget.

There are Mini ITX systems. But these can be expensive. This spec:
i3 8100, 8gb slow RAM, 1070, 500gb SSD. £1022.
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-sff-gaming/WZ8gQvcX4W/
It has an H310 motherboard which will bottleneck modern SSDs. And a VS series PSU which is not modular and therefore sub-optimal for a mini ITX system. Not to mention the other loss of features/upgrade options from mini ITX. And the stock Intel cooler which I'd avoid. And it has an i3.

Also, I can't say strongly enough how poor a choice, in my opinion, the i3 is for gaming in a £1000+ gaming system.

Yes, it's similar to your i5 - but that was released over 4 years ago and there are a growing number of modern games that are not entirely happy with 4C/4T CPUs. It shouldn't really be considered a sound investment for a modern PC.

A GTX 1070 is weaker at 1440p than a GTX 1060 or RX 580 is at 1080p, so while you get the higher resolution, you'll have to turn quality settings further down to maintain decent framerates. And if 1080p is on the table anyway, just stick to an RX 580 and fget a monitor with Freesync.

So I think the brief/budget are completely unrealistic, and the i3 would be a bad play.

If this case might suit:
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275R
Dimensions: 436.5mm x 211mm x 446mm (Approx H x W x D)
It's cheaper than the Meshify

Perhaps something like:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275R TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
Gigabyte X470 AORUS Ultra Gaming: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2933MHz ~ (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 580 - HDMI, 3 x DP - DX® 12
---Up to 2 Games FREE w/ select RADEON RX GPUs!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Storage Drive
500GB WD Blue™ 3D NAND 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price £991.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/qQ9kKCg649/

Plus 1080p 144hz freesync monitor and peripherals of choice.

Nets you a CPU that's a splash better for current titles and definitely more futureproof, which will matter a lot with GPU upgrades down the line. Faster RAM, further boosting relative CPU performance (versus i3 8100 and slow RAM). A far better platform with more features at actually supports modern SSDs. 16gb RAM.

And the RX 580 especially with adaptive sync will be a better fit for 1080p than the 1070 is for 1440p 60hz.

Or in mini ITX:

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE S NANO GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2933MHz ~ (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 580 - HDMI, 3 x DP - DX® 12
---Up to 2 Games FREE w/ select RADEON RX GPUs!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Storage Drive
500GB WD Blue™ 3D NAND 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN PORT + Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi excluded on H310I-PLUS)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,028.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-sff-gaming/3sBxyZAAAe/

(with a modular PSU).

Note that that the Mini in Mini ITX is deceptive. This case is: 330mm x 203mm x 400mm (Approx H x W x D) which imo is really not that much smaller for the features and expansion options you sacrifice. NB the motherboard is lower end than the X470, though is still markedly better than H310 on the Intel side.

Superb advice thanks. I'm an Intel/Nvidia guy so always dismiss AMD, but maybe as this is for a friend I should stop being so picky.

Ok thanks I'll investigate that option. Really want to go with PCSpecialist as they did a great job on a PC for my son a while back. Just don't want the hassle of supporting it this time!

Also, I think 1080 is a better bet for this system. They've never had a PC before, so will be blown away by PC res and graphics vs old consoles.

BTW, if I were to go Intel/Nvidia, what's a reasonable system for the same price without bottlenecks?

Also, would you buy peripherals elsewhere? Is the PCS range of kb/mouse/monitor ok?

Intel CPUs are expensive at the moment as Intel have supply issues for the 14nm stuff.

Also the RX 580 has spent most of its life being more expensive than the 1060, at least at PCS's prices. But currently the RX 580 is £42 cheaper, despite being the direct competitor and giving the same performance averaged out across modern titles. Plus it supports freesync which is available on ~£200 144hz monitors, versus Gsync which is on ~£300/£350+ monitors. So the RX 580 wins hands down in my opinion outside of fairly niche scenarios.

NB, one can buy an Intel CPU and an AMD GPU of course, or an AMD CPU and an Nvidia GPU. It doesn't have to be Red/Red vs Blue/Green

For an Intel/Nvidia "equivalent":

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275R TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-8400 (2.8GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME Z370-P II: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
---FREE Geforce Fortnite bundle w/ select GTX cards
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Storage Drive
500GB WD Blue™ 3D NAND 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Quantity
1

Price £1,074.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-pc/pCkYbTncbn/

I say "equivalent" as the Z70-P has fewer features versus the X470. A motherboard more akin in terms of USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C, more upmarket onboard sound, etc would be the AORUS Pro, which takes the spec up to £1141. Although those things don't matter for gaming performance, they're just nice-to-haves.

In terms of periperhals, PCS sell the AOC G2590PX (1080p, 144hz, 24.5", Freesync) which is a solid choice. The DEVASTATOR III COMBO KB+M seems decent as a starting set. Or the Asus Cerberus bundle has KB+M+headset+mousemat for £86.

But if you can find it or a similar models cheaper elsewhere, then by all means save a few £ and explore other options.

More great advice thanks. Im going to go with the first option but what about the RX590? It’s only £30 more and is half way between 580 and 1070 on perf reviews.

It's not half way between RX 580 and GTX 1070. Unless we're talking about the FFXIV leaked benchmark. Note also that many reviews feature factory-overclocked 590s versus lower/reference clocked 580s.


If it's only £30 more it could be worth it, iirc it was £50 the other day which was a bit much.

If the additional free game is attractive, then the 590 is definitely good value:
https://www.amd.com/en/gaming/raise-the-game
e.g. if you want DMC5 as well as Division 2 and Resident Evil 2

The 590 is £37 more on PCS. Looks like these are the prices on PCS:
RX 580 - £219
RX 590 - £256
1070 ti - £421 (cheaper than 1070)
1060 6Gb - £262

As always, I can get the cards £30-£40 cheaper elsewhere but would rather pay the premium for a tested build with PCS. (However the 1060 I can get for £65 cheaper elsewhere, so that could be an option? Nah)

Thanks for your help, going AMD means I can get him a FreeSync monitor and get better than 60 FPS in games for not too much money.

Final question, is a 550W necessary? PCS website says I only need 450W. Bear in mind this system won't be used for overclocking or any sort of expansion/upgrade.

The graphics card will eventually be upgraded, unless your friend goes off gaming altogether. 550W could open up more future GPU upgrade options.

Another question sorry. Is the ultra gaming mobo necessary as its £91 more than the A320M K. What features make it worth the extra?

If we're talking about the X470 Ultra Gaming

More PCIe expansion slots
USB 3.1 Gen 2 (including Type C)
better onboard sound
additional M.2 slot
overclocking is supported

And most of all it's a 400 series motherboard so has things like Precision Boost Overdrive:
https://hexus.net/tech/news/cpu/121130-amd-shares-precision-boost-overdrive-explainer-video/
So can net more performance.

The user won't be overclocking but the motherboard can boost the CPU automatically for him.

It's worth going for the B450 motherboard over the A320, and in view of the price difference and features over the B450 that the X470 has, I'd suggest it's worth just getting that.

Sadly the B450 is out of stock. So unfortunately I'll either go with the X470 or A320.

With RAM, is the higher speed worth it? e.g. the 2666MHz is £18 cheaper.
And I'm assuming 2x8Gb is the sensible option? 2x4Gb seems shortsighted and 1x8Gb doesn't work as well is that right?

Updated spec for £1012:

• Case CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275R TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
• Processor (CPU) AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
• Motherboard Gigabyte X470 AORUS Ultra Gaming: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
• Memory (RAM) 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
• Graphics Card 8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 590 - HDMI, 3 x DP - DX® 12
  
  Includes Division 2, DMC5 & RE2​
• 1 Storage Drive 500GB WD Blue™ 3D NAND 2.5" SSD, (upto 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW)
• DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
• Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
• Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
• Processor Cooling STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
• Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
• Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
• Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
• USB/Thunderbolt Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
• Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence

RAM can give huge gains in some titles and is said to enhance performance particularly with Ryzen CPUs, so 3000MHz / 2933MHz is definitely worth getting. It's worth the few quid for a component that will last for the PC's lifetime without being upgraded.

Not sure if PCS are still offering 2x4gb 3000/2933MHz RAM, but even if they are I'd suggest 16gb is ideal as the user will ultimately want that and buying it outright saves the hassle of upgrading and messing around with any Ryzen/mobo compatibility issues.

And RAM in dual channel (2x8gb as opposed to 1 x 16gb) is preferable, yes.

Sadly the B450 is out of stock. So unfortunately I'll either go with the X470 or A320.

Click to expand...

I remembered that a few mins after heading off last night - this was why I went with X470 over B450. For this budget I would really rule out A320 outside of a few very niche scenarios.

Superb thanks. I'll go with 2x8gb of 2933MHz RAM as you originally spec'd

Oh, I took too long deliberating. The carbide 275R case is no longer available on PCS.

They have a "send in your own case" option so you could buy one and send it in.

It's still in the configurator, just greyed out, so could be a stock issue. Maybe give them a call.