PC Case to fit in an Ikea Shelf

Shiminay · 04-06-2019 5:34pm #1

Hello all.

I've been trying to put a bitta shape on the "footprint" on my desk that my PC has. Right now everything's in a really lovely, but bulky Nanoxia Deep Silence (a 1 or 2, can't remember, but it's a full tower).

The humble Ikea Kallax that my desk is attached to has individual "spaces" of 33 x 33 x 38.5cm which means it's too small for ATX and quite a few of the "cubes" in the mATX range, but experience has taught me that working with an ITX build is supremely tedious and frustrating for someone with fat fingers like me

If any of you have any recommendations for a case that will fit in the dimensions above, I'd love to hear. It'll be a somewhat new build - waiting for news on the 3rd Gen of Ryzen chips before I buy anything, but I'll need new CPU, Mobo and RAM and I already have everything else. There'll be a full size ATX PSU that I bought some time ago but haven't even opened yet, a 970 gfx card as well as 3 SSD's and maybe a mechanical if I have space to be fitted in. mATX preferred, but not essential.

tusk · 04-06-2019 6:08pm

Shiminay wrote: »

Hello all.

I've been trying to put a bitta shape on the "footprint" on my desk that my PC has. Right now everything's in a really lovely, but bulky Nanoxia Deep Silence (a 1 or 2, can't remember, but it's a full tower).

The humble Ikea Kallax that my desk is attached to has individual "spaces" of 33 x 33 x 38.5cm which means it's too small for ATX and quite a few of the "cubes" in the mATX range, but experience has taught me that working with an ITX build is supremely tedious and frustrating for someone with fat fingers like me

If any of you have any recommendations for a case that will fit in the dimensions above, I'd love to hear. It'll be a somewhat new build - waiting for news on the 3rd Gen of Ryzen chips before I buy anything, but I'll need new CPU, Mobo and RAM and I already have everything else. There'll be a full size ATX PSU that I bought some time ago but haven't even opened yet, a 970 gfx card as well as 3 SSD's and maybe a mechanical if I have space to be fitted in. mATX preferred, but not essential.

Lol. Have the deep silence and kallax setup too

K.O.Kiki · 04-06-2019 6:34pm

Micro-ATX: https://geizhals.eu/?cat=gehatx&xf=2634_260%7E347_30%7E348_30%7E533_1%7E9691_%B5ATX%7E9709_ATX%7E9902_40
Mini-ITX/-DTX: https://geizhals.eu/?cat=gehatx&xf=2634_260%7E347_30%7E348_30%7E533_1%7E9691_Mini-DTX%7E9691_Mini-ITX%7E9709_ATX%7E9902_40

Cooltek Coolcube Maxi is probably your easiest mATX option as long as the GTX 970 is shorter than 260mm.

Alternatively, the Core V1, Suppressor F1, or Node 304 are relatively open mITX options.

Shiminay · 05-06-2019 3:04pm

The Cooltek might be the winner alright, thanks for the suggestions! I'll just need to check the length of the video card.

Inviere · 05-06-2019 4:07pm

The Thermaltake Core V1 is a sweet option for Ikea dimensions. I've one a few years now living in Ikea furniture, and while the specs inside are beginning to age now, the case has plenty of space inside to pack a punch (7700k, 16GB ram, full sized gtx 1070). Fits very very nicely inside the Kallax dimensions. The only concern I have with mitx builds, is the gpu cooling. Some recommend blower style coolers so the hot air is actually exhausted out of the case, others never recommend them. My 1070 is a blower style cooler, and while they are that bit more audible, I honestly can't fault it after several years.

Shiminay · 05-06-2019 5:59pm

Looks well - fills the space nicely without looking squeezed in and it means there should be plenty of air to keep things cool too. Bonus: it comes in white and it's going onto a white shelf

Fashion++ :P

Inviere · 06-06-2019 5:08pm

Shiminay wrote: »

Looks well - fills the space nicely without looking squeezed in and it means there should be plenty of air to keep things cool too. Bonus: it comes in white and it's going onto a white shelf Fashion++ :P

I've a 140mm AIO (Kraken X41) in there, with the large front case fan removed (it was damned noisy). The 7700k idles at 23c, so zero issues with thermals for me anyway. The case also allows for x2 3.5" drives AND x2 2.5" drives at the same time, so it ticks all the boxes you could want from a sff build.

Shiminay · 06-06-2019 5:28pm

I've been reading about AIO's for the CPU alright and pretty much everything I've said suggests that removing the 200mm fan and putting an AIO in it's place for the CPU along with a pair of quiet 80mm fans for the back to push air out is the best solution.

Inviere · 06-06-2019 7:11pm

Shiminay wrote: »

I've been reading about AIO's for the CPU alright and pretty much everything I've said suggests that removing the 200mm fan and putting an AIO in it's place for the CPU along with a pair of quiet 80mm fans for the back to push air out is the best solution.

Speaking from experience, I find that an optimal setup for the case

(short of modding the case itself)

Shiminay · 07-06-2019 9:33am

Nice one, thanks very much everyone for the help and advice. Just waiting to see what comes on 7/7 from AMD, but I might order the case and fans at the end of this month anyway.

cruizer101 · 07-06-2019 10:01am

Someone 3d printed new legs that are slightly shorter that the originals in order to fit in a Thermaltake v21 case directly in to the Kallax shelf.
You may well be able to file the legs down a bit if no access to 3d printer or there are services online also.

Now they are only using as htpc so hard to know how good the thermals would be when it is fitting in that snugly as you are relying purely on the front and back for airflow.

It looks pretty good though.

https://www.reddit.com/r/functionalprint/comments/5vp8jv/shortened_feet_for_thermaltake_v21_pc_case_to_fit/

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2130757

Edit to add
Another option if you are feeling practical might be to build your own case, tutorial in video below makes it seem reasonably doable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8hLXJUQFoc&t=725s

Star Lord · 07-06-2019 11:40am

cruizer101 wrote: »

Edit to add
Another option if you are feeling practical might be to build your own case, tutorial in video below makes it seem reasonably doable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8hLXJUQFoc&t=725s

I've watched a couple of his videos before, does some quite nice stuff alright.
I'd have been concerned about using wood for the case, but he does deal with this concern at the end of that video.

TerrorFirmer · 07-06-2019 11:47am

Temps would be less than ideal, though if you had a blower style GPU, a very good air cooler and 2 x the best high airflow 120mm fans going, one in front and one in back....should be fine.

Shiminay · 07-06-2019 12:32pm

I don't really have space or tools or materials for building something myself (I live in a not terribly large 1-bed apartment), so that's off the table.

The v21 looks well, but I'd be concerned about the thermals as mine is a gaming machine and I like the additional air-space around the V1 to keep things kosher. The flat is warm (largely due to my housemate who's a Hermann's Tortoise and who needs Mediterranean-like heat on his table) so I wanna make sure it has the best opportunity to be cool, calm and collected

circadian · 12-06-2019 1:37pm

Shiminay wrote: »

I don't really have space or tools or materials for building something myself (I live in a not terribly large 1-bed apartment), so that's off the table.

The v21 looks well, but I'd be concerned about the thermals as mine is a gaming machine and I like the additional air-space around the V1 to keep things kosher. The flat is warm (largely due to my housemate who's a Hermann's Tortoise and who needs Mediterranean-like heat on his table) so I wanna make sure it has the best opportunity to be cool, calm and collected

I'm building a pc in a Sharkoon C10 with a Radeon vii this weekend, will let you know what temps are like with it.

circadian · 16-06-2019 1:03pm

I've built in the Sharkoon C10 and I'll say the temps with a Cryorig M9A are great on the CPU. No problems at all there. All vents have mesh dust filters and each panel has ventilation which is nice.

The Radeon vii runs hot, but that's something they do anyway so I'll be undervolting it to get the temps down. If you are building a htpc with a smaller card you'll do well in this case. I'm still not completely overjoyed with the styling but it does what I need.

Shiminay · 25-06-2019 4:51pm

So I was at a LAN party at the weekend and one of the lads had the Thermaltake V1 for his build and I got to have a proper gawk at how everything comes together. He's only running a stock intel CPU cooler and has done no over clocking (I don't want to either) and everything looked peachy. I'm now thinking I might go for air cooling instead of an AIO and go all-in on these Noctua fans that seem to be top tier. I figure sucking the air from back to front so that I'm not pushing hot air into the confined area at the back of the shelf against the wall makes most sense. So to that end, the 2 80mm fans on the rear, a Noctua DL9 (I figure a vertical fan keeps the airflow all moving in the same direction) and then replace the 200mm fan with a Noctua one there too should have me in good shape. All costs about the same as getting an AIO and I won't have the paranoia of "will it leak?" in my mind cause they all seem to have the potential for issues with it.

K.O.Kiki · 25-06-2019 5:13pm

The Noctua 200mm fan is quite expensive & only availabe in brown. Consider the Redux lineup - a 140mm intake fan is probably good enough for a system that small.

Inviere · 26-06-2019 6:01pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

The Noctua 200mm fan is quite expensive & only availabe in brown. Consider the Redux lineup - a 140mm intake fan is probably good enough for a system that small.

I don’t think you can use a 140 as a rear intake in that case (assuming I read Shims post correctly and he wants air flowing from the rear, through the case, and out the front panel?)

The only concern I’d have with the above config would be being able to draw enough cool air in if the rear of the case is tight up to the wall. Also you’d have to remove the dust filter from the front panel, obviously no point filtering exhaust air, plus it’d be better having less resistance for pushing hot air out.

It might work though if you use the grilled panels on the side, and the plexi panel on the top. Splurge on the noctua 200mm (you won’t really see it at the front anyway), that way the noctua will push the hot air out, and the negative pressure inside the case will draw air in from the side panels too, creating decent airflow. X2 80mm’s at the rear too to help move things along. You’ll prob get some not insignificant dust build up though from unfiltered air going in combined with negative case pressure.

Air is more efficient, quieter, and cheaper than water/aio’s for the most part, but in sff cases like the v1, they’re a godsend due to the potential of limited/restricted airflow. Again, the 7700k’s are known to run hot, but mine sits very pretty and cool thanks to a Kraken aio... it removes a lot of the airflow worries in a small case in a confined space.

K.O.Kiki · 26-06-2019 6:14pm

Inviere wrote: »

I don’t think you can use a 140 as a rear intake in that case (assuming I read Shims post correctly and he wants air flowing from the rear, through the case, and out the front panel?)

The only concern I’d have with the above config would be being able to draw enough cool air in if the rear of the case is tight up to the wall. Also you’d have to remove the dust filter from the front panel, obviously no point filtering exhaust air, plus it’d be better having less resistance for pushing hot air out.

It might work though if you use the grilled panels on the side, and the plexi panel on the top. Splurge on the noctua 200mm (you won’t really see it at the front anyway), that way the noctua will push the hot air out, and the negative pressure inside the case will draw air in from the side panels too, creating decent airflow. X2 80mm’s at the rear too to help move things along. You’ll prob get some not insignificant dust build up though from unfiltered air going in combined with negative case pressure.

Air is more efficient, quieter, and cheaper than water/aio’s for the most part, but in sff cases like the v1, they’re a godsend due to the potential of limited/restricted airflow. Again, the 7700k’s are known to run hot, but mine sits very pretty and cool thanks to a Kraken aio... it removes a lot of the airflow worries in a small case in a confined space.

Ah yeah.

I'll revise my suggestion:
DON'T REVERSE THE AIRFLOW.

It's ok to let warm air stagnate in the space behind the PC - it will naturally flow into the rest of the room & won't affect the airflow/temps inside the case.

Shiminay · 27-06-2019 1:00pm

That all sounds good, thanks for the input everyone. I was planning on the grilled panels on the sides alright, made the most sense to me to work with the airflow. I was concerned about the heat build-up at the back of the case mainly because many years ago, I had an old blower 8800GTX graphics card and between that and the CPU cooling, my box room bedroom used to heat up in about 15 minutes of playing CoD4 Modern Warfare

But they ran mad hot and things are much more efficient now

Jo Satan · 27-06-2019 1:27pm

I have a V21 with an I7-6700 and a GTX 970.

I blocked the side panels and stressed the GPU and the CPU.

The CPU ran about 7c Hotter, still under 60c, I have a beefy tower cooler with one 120mm fan.

The GPU ran about 5c hotter as it was no longer getting cool air from side mesh panel with a 140mm fan.

I have 2 x 140mm fans at the front and one at the side for intake.
I have 2 x 140mm fans one at the back and one at the side for egress.
All fans are set at 40%.

So looking at the V21 vs the V1.

The V1 will give you more room in the shelf and better air flow through the mesh panels.

The V21 will give you more volume within the case and room for more fans and a larger cpu heatsink

Shiminay · 03-07-2019 1:31pm

As luck would have it, it's payday and the V1 has a few extra quid off cause it's on Scan's Today Only today

tusk · 03-07-2019 1:33pm

Any more pics of these cases in situ?

K.O.Kiki · 03-07-2019 2:06pm

Shiminay wrote: »

As luck would have it, it's payday and the V1 has a few extra quid off cause it's on Scan's Today Only today

Off-topic, but bloody hell - that NZXT H700i "Ninja" is horribly tacky!
Can't believe they thought releasing that at £232 (or at all) was a good idea!

tusk · 03-07-2019 2:13pm

barf

Shiminay · 03-07-2019 2:52pm

It's a strong design, I like the colouring, but I'm not a child who plays Fortnite, so I don't want anything Ninja branded

It's mad money though!

tusk · 04-07-2019 1:50pm

any pics?

tusk · 04-07-2019 2:32pm

Wow. That's tiny!

TerrorFirmer · 04-07-2019 3:56pm

The Kolink Rocket or Dan A4 it's based on are two good options for decent tiny builds, I like the Elite 110 but the airflow and layout aren't great for anything other than a HTPC.

Shiminay · 04-07-2019 6:16pm

I think that's just on the far side of too small for my lumpy hands to effectively operate

I've replaced all the brown/beige Noctua fans on my shopping list with the equivalent Black/Grey Redux fans (opting for a 140mm instead of 200mm as they don't have a 200 in the Redux line). I tried to rationalise the beige by saying to myself "but if all the fans are that colour, it's sorta uniform"

Have a powered PWM splitter in the order too cause looking at a lot of the ITX motherboards, fan headers can be at a premium and it's the sorta thing I'd rather have and not need than the other way around (and it's only a fiver).

PC Case to fit in an Ikea Shelf

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