Mini ITX Chassis | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:38:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Mini ITX Chassis | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Cooler Master releases the NR200 and NR200P mini-ITX chassis https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/joao-silva/cooler-master-releases-the-nr200-and-nr200p-mini-itx-chassis/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/joao-silva/cooler-master-releases-the-nr200-and-nr200p-mini-itx-chassis/#respond Tue, 14 Jul 2020 12:00:19 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=476750 Cooler Master's latest pair of PC cases aim to be the "ultimate gateway enclosure into the small form factor world".

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Cooler Master has just launched two new mini-ITX chassis for the SFF lovers. The NR200 and the NR200P are 18-litre volume cases with high compatibility for cooling solutions and large graphics cards, making them the “ultimate gateway enclosure into the small form factor world”. The main difference between both cases lies in the additional tempered glass side panel included with the NR200P. 

Featuring a highly modular structure with a total of five vents and 360º access, these cases allow you to easily create and mount high-performance builds due to their removable frame elements. This paves the way for multiple hardware layouts and cooling configurations.

Despite its reduced dimensions (360x185x292mm), the NR200 cases can fit most common-sized components. You can mount a 155mm tall CPU cooler (153mm if using the tempered glass panel) and a 3-slot graphics card as long as 330mm with a maximum width of 156mm. Cooling support includes a 92mm fan on the rear, 2x 120mm fans on the top, 2x 120mm fans and a 240mm radiator on the bottom, 2x 120/140mm fans or a 240/280mm radiator on the side, and two liquid cooling pump locations.

The NR200 comes with 1x 92mm fan and 1x 120mm fan, while the NR200P comes with 2x 120mm fans and a short riser cable to vertically mount your graphics card. Drive support allows you to mount up to 3x 2.5-inch drives or 2x 3.5-inch drives, while PSU support is limited to SFX and SFX-L form factors. Both cases support mITX and mDTX motherboards and have 5x expansion slots, from which 2x are vertical and 3x are horizontal. The front I/O panel comes with 2x USB 3.2 ports and a 3.5mm audio-in/out jack.

The Cooler Master NR200P is available for pre-order at OverclockersUK, priced at £89.99. Availability and pricing of the NR200 haven't been shared yet. You can learn more about the NR200 chassis HERE, and the NR200P chassis HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Are many of you looking to put together a small form factor PC this year? Are these new cases from Cooler Master going to be on your upgrade shortlist? 

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SilverStone announces the ML10 modular Mini-ITX chassis https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/joao-silva/silverstone-announces-the-ml10-modular-mini-itx-chassis/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/joao-silva/silverstone-announces-the-ml10-modular-mini-itx-chassis/#respond Fri, 19 Jun 2020 08:30:30 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=472820 SilverStone is set to launch a new Mini-ITX chassis. The ML10 is a small modular case that can expand in size from 2.8 litres up to 3.7 litres thanks to an “interchangeable top cover”, giving users that extra bit of space to work with. Thanks to its modular design, the ML10 can grow in size, …

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SilverStone is set to launch a new Mini-ITX chassis. The ML10 is a small modular case that can expand in size from 2.8 litres up to 3.7 litres thanks to an “interchangeable top cover”, giving users that extra bit of space to work with.

Thanks to its modular design, the ML10 can grow in size, offering multiple possible configurations to fit your storage and cooler height needs. The standard configuration can house a 31mm CPU cooler and 2x 2.5-inch drives. If you add the expanded top cover, the CPU cooler can be as tall as 63mm if you don't use storage drives, 47mm if you add 2x 2.5-inch drives, 36mm if you mount a 120/140mm fan, 31mm with 2x 2.5-inch drives and a 9.5mm optical drive, or 29mm if you mount a 3.5-inch drive.

This steel chassis has multiple vents to aid with airflow, and the ML10 can also be used in a vertical or horizontal position, as you see fit. It's even possible to mount the case on the back of a monitor thanks to its VESA mount support.

The ML10 measures 227x196x63mm (LxWxH) in its standard configuration, but the height increases to 84mm when using the expanded top cover. The case's front panel features 2x USB 3.0 Type-A ports and you can put up to three 50mm fans on the right side of the case.

Pricing and availability details for the ML10 have not yet been shared. You can learn more about this case HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think about the SilverStone ML10? Would you use it for an SFF PC?

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Fractal Design Node 202 https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/leo-waldock/fractal-design-node-202/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cases/leo-waldock/fractal-design-node-202/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:38:06 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=260400 Fractal Design offers its new Mini-ITX Node 202 either as a bare case or paired with its Integra SFX 450W PSU. When you consider how few SFX PSUs there are on the market it probably makes sense to go for the combo package, if only to save yourself hassle. This is a small form factor …

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Fractal Design offers its new Mini-ITX Node 202 either as a bare case or paired with its Integra SFX 450W PSU. When you consider how few SFX PSUs there are on the market it probably makes sense to go for the combo package, if only to save yourself hassle.

This is a small form factor case that measures 377mm wide x 330mm deep x 82mm high when it is laid down flat. Stand it on end using the foot and the official dimension increase to 385mm x 332mm x 125mm, however compared to a tower case the Node 202 is amazingly compact and has a volume of 10.2 litres.

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On the other hand if you compare the Node 202 to a truly tiny system such as Intel NUC, MSI Cubi or Gigabyte BRIX then Node 202 actually looks quite large so it is very much a matter of your personal perspective.

This raises the question of how you will use your shiny new PC. The Node 202 does not have an optical drive bay (so you can forget about playing Blu-ray) which means the Node 202 isn't quite an obvious candidate for a media centre PC that you might first think. The unexpected thing is that Fractal Design is aiming the Node 202 at the general PC market and states it ‘can house a capable gaming build.'

Specifications

  • Motherboard support: Mini-ITX
  • Expansion slots: 2
  • Included fans: None
  • Fan mounts: 2x 120mm in graphics chamber
  • 5.25″ drive bays: None
  • Internal drive bays: 2x 2.5″
  • Dimensions: 385mm x 332mm x 125mm

It is certainly true the Node 202 can accommodate a proper gaming graphics card (up to 310mm in length) and the Integra SFX PSU has the necessary pair of 6+2 power connectors.

The biggest drawback is that Node 202 only has 56mm of clearance for the CPU cooler so you are pretty much obliged to use a stock Intel air cooler (or similar after market cooler) and there is no scope to install an all-in-one liquid cooler.

Testing

To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an Intel Pentium Anniversary G3258, Sapphire ITX Compact R9 285 graphics and an SSD storage drive. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Fractal Design Node 202‘s cooling capabilities.

For stress testing we use a mixture of Prime95 and FurMark to create the maximum heat output. Prime95′s ‘Small FFTs’ setting allows us to stress our CPU. FurMark’s ‘GPU Burn-in’ mode creates the maximum amount of load our GPU is ever likely to see.

Test System:

  • Processor: Intel Pentium Anniversary G3258
  • Motherboard: Asus Z87I-Pro
  • CPU cooler: Intel air cooler
  • Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP DDR3-1600MHz
  • Graphics card: Sapphire ITX Compact R9 285
  • Power supply: Fractal Design Integra SFX 450W PSU
  • Storage drives: Samsung 840 SSD
  • OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit

Thermal Performance Test Procedures:

  • The case’s default fan configuration is used to give an accurate interpretation of the out-of-the-box performance.
  • The Fractal Design Node 202 is supplied without any fans.

Cooling Performance
The Node 202 suffers on the cooling front, however the same is true of most small form factor PCs. In this case the dual core Pentium G3258 starts at a relatively warm 44 degrees but the temperature only rises to 61 degrees under extreme load. No doubt a Core i5 or i7 would have got significantly hotter but that wouldn't have proved very much.

On the graphics side of things the Sapphire ITX R9 285 idled at 41 degrees and rose to 78 degrees under extreme duress. There is absolutely no cause for concern with those figures.
Fractal Node 202 Temperature Graph

Acoustic Performance
Fractal design supplies the Node 202 without any case fans (there is an 80mm fan in the PSU) and while you can add two 120mm fans in the graphics side of the case we choose not to do so. This means we were using just the fans on the stock Intel CPU cooler and Sapphire graphics card.

At idle the system was effectively silent but under load we could clearly hear the fans spinning up as the hardware got hotter. Using benchmark software to stress components is a worst case scenario and while the fan noise was clearly audible it didn't cause any problems.

Fractal Node 202 Noise Graph

Closing Thoughts

Building a PC in the Fractal Node 202 is slightly fiddly as you first remove the chassis from the top and bottom covers. Next you install your Mini-ITX motherboard and after that you install and secure a PCI Express riser card to the divider that separates the two halves of the case.

Once the graphics card is installed you connect the various cables and here we wish that Fractal Design would include two short SATA cables to help keep everything tidy.

Fractal-Node-202-Review-KitGuru

Once the build is complete you reinstall the chassis in the bottom cover (which requires a bit of practice) and then close up the top of the case.
overclockers logo 250px
Buy Direct from Overclockers UK HERE.

Discuss the review on our Facebook page, over HERE. Prices are £69.95 inc vat for the barebones unit and £119.99 inc vat for the unit with Integra 450W SFX PSU.

Pros:

  • Smart appearance.
  • Supports a proper 310mm gaming graphics card.
  • The ventilated panels in the case have full dust filtering.
  • The top and bottom panels use steel stiffening and the construction is nice and rigid.
  • Graphics card support block works well.
  • Fractal Design gives the option of a matching 450W SFX power supply.
  • Two 2.5-inch drive bays.

Cons:

  • There is only 56mm clearance for the CPU cooler.
  • Cleaning the dust filter above the CPU require the removal of the top cover.
  • Installation is the usual small form factor fiddle.
  • It would help if Fractal Design included two short SATA cables.
  • Replacing the bottom cover requires care to get the ports to correctly align with the front panel.

KitGuru says: A decent small form factor chassis that would benefit from better CPU cooling.
WORTH BUYING

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