Recently got the P-ATX V3, and I love the case. The machining, tolerances, and general fit and finish of everything is absolutely spot on. The packaging was great, and certainly made sure everything arrived in perfect condition. Only downside to that packaging is once opened I was never remembering how all the pieces went in that box
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I'm honestly impressed, and that's from someone who has spent much more time designing and machining than tinkering with computer parts. If I had the shop to design and build my own case, it would come out a lot like this one.
Of course now I see the U-ITX project! My absolutely ideal case is probably a slightly thicker and maybe touch larger U-ITX, but the flexibility of the P-ATX is very nice to have and it's still small enough to fit in two of my old laptop bags (it's basically a slightly smaller but thicker version of my last laptop in size). And I was able to make my build with stock cables rather than needing to order specialty short ones.
A few things I did notice which might be worth considering if you go to improve towards V4 at some point:
I got the stick on feet for laying the case horizontally, but haven't installed them as it would make the overall size thicker and more difficult to fit in my carry bag. Would be brilliant to have these be detachable, maybe screw in and out of the side panel or something like that.
The slots in the sides, top and bottom of the case seem to be just barely too small to fit a usb-A connector through. I know adding more front IO (or in this case side, top or back IO) adds to cost, but I have spare USB headers and cables and there's just no where I can quite squeeze these in without cutting the case which I'd rather not do. The front mask does have a lot of available area that could be cut out, maybe different patterns for the future depending on needs? Or maybe those slots can be made just a little wider, so people are free to place extra ports like this anywhere they want. That would actually be pretty cool to have a case where you can secure IO ports almost anywhere you like.
Some sort of support for sag in a large GPU in the horizontal case position would be a nice to have. I had a rubber block I could slip in against the 15mm chassis fan I added that sits perfect, so this wasn't hard to fix myself though. I mainly added it to make sure the GPU never hits the fan if there's vibration or a small knock or something.
I prefer to have easy access to the power supply switch and the internal power cord is just one more thing to deal with in a small build, but aesthetically I see why the case is as it is. Personally, I'd love the option to be able to turn a SFX supply 90 degrees so all the cables point straight at the motherboard and and the power can plug directly into the front...although I'd probably make it the back at that point and just have all my IO in the "front." Looks might be a low priority for me
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The washers supplied for the L bracket supporting the GPU could be a bit larger in outer diameter. They seem to barely span the slot in the case, and if not dead centre when tightening can slide into the slot. Also, not the best place for the sticker since those washers will chew it up a bit over time.
Not sure how I feel about the toolless stand. It works, feels secure and stable enough. It certainly looks good. But I do wonder a little how it will fare if the case gets bumped or there's a small earthquake or something. It also means being very sure no cables are pressing the side panels out at all. Would be brilliant if the same detachable stand worked in both vertical and horizontal configurations, even if it did need screws.
Okay, that's everything I noticed during my build. All in all, these are very minor things or ideas that for me would make the case even better. Fantastic design, and impressive production!
And now an image of my somewhat modest, power efficient build and it's hilariously out of proportion GPU...