Discussion Vertical, brickless APU ITX case where motherboard outputs at the top?

ssouthall6

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Jun 18, 2020
50
18
Very specific I know, but I'm after a vertical case where the:

  • Motherboard outputs at the top (in the same way the Phanteks Evolv Shift Air 2 does)
  • Has sufficient room for an HDPLEX 19v 300w (my motherboard is 19v thin-ITX)
  • Depth is as little as possible to minimize desk footprint
  • At least one accessible USB is also important
The Phanteks Evolv without the excessive height they've allowed for adding a GPU, which I never intend to do, would be ideal. Such a shame they don't do a trimmed-down version. I've scoured the Taobao threads and a few nice cases came up - the Aigo Yoga for example, but again a little too big.

I absolutely don't want to use a brick so this is causing some headaches especially as the board is 19v.

Getting hold of cases in the UK is about as easy as getting GPU's, but I am going to test the In Win B1 and try and squeeze in the HDPLEX when it arrives in a few weeks. As a long-term solution is anyone aware of any alternative options, as the In Win is nice enough but a big kitsch for me. I'm also aware I could use the Chopin, but like the B1 it doesn't output at the top so doesn't really meet the requirements.

Parts:

  • Motherboard - AsRock X300TM-ITX
  • APU: Ryzen 4650g with Noctua NHL-9a cooler
  • Ram: 64gb DDR4-3200 SODIMM
  • Drives: 256gb Sabrent NVME, 2 x SATA SSD
  • Other peripherals: AX210 wireless/bluetooth
  • PSU: HDPLEX 300w AC/DC, SFX plate, ATX plate

Thanks!
 

timginter

Cable-Tie Ninja
Apr 21, 2019
197
80
I was looking for a very similar small case for a DIY laptop/portable PC and couldn't find any.

Not sure if you mean the linear HDPLEX 300W - it's HUGE and really expensive. You could mount a HDPLEX 400W AC-DC with a "custom" jack output. ASRock's website doesn't list exact dimensions, so not sure which jack it is, but if you know, you can ask HDPLEX if they have a matching output connector for the HDPLEX 400W AC-DC. If they don't have it, ask them to send their 7.4x5.0mm jack output, then splice it and solder the correct jack yourself :p

If you don't mind DIY, open-case design and looks straight from Mad Max, you could try two custom-size 1.5mm thick mill finish aluminium plates and mount the hardware between them, with four M4 threaded standoffs on the corners.
I fit an ASRock B550M-ITX/ac, Noctua NH-N9a, up to RTX 3070 and Corsair SF750 in 40 x 28 x 6.5cm "box" like that (SF750 is 6.3cm high). Without the GPU it's 27 x 28 cm, with a HDPLEX 400W AC-DC and some clips for cable-tidy you'd probably get the height to 5.5cm.
I had some issues with GPU interference and WiFi, though, so the edge of the motherboard (where the IO are) has to be either flush with the edge of the aluminium plate or better stick out a few millimetres.

Not for everyone, but PM me if you have any questions