In short, that means a Mini-ITX case can be just about anything—and they are. We’ve jokingly called Mini-ITX the least-standardized standard in PC building. That’s because these cases come in myriad designs on the outside, and you never quite know what to expect until you start to work on one on the inside.

The second should be the number and kind of drives you intend to install. Most Mini-ITX cases support at least two 2.5- or 3.5-inch SATA drives, but factor in room for what you have. This won't matter if you go all-in on motherboard-mounted M.2 drives, but cramped Mini-ITX boards have room for just one or two of those. The motherboard gets mounted vertically in this case, positioned so that the board is on full view through the front glass panel. With all of the glass panels removed, getting access to all of the various headers to get them connected up is made fairly easy; you have easy access from three directions. The same goes for the RAM slots on your board, and the PCI Express slot for your graphics card. Likewise, pay attention to the maximum length, width, and (potentially) vertical height (full-height versus half-height) that the case allows for video cards. Depending on the card you have, or plan to get, that sizing may be a deal-maker or deal-breaker. Some of the smallest cases don't support a video card at all, and if you intend to rely on your CPU's integrated graphics, this can be a real space saver. (Know, though, that some chips, including many of AMD's mainstream Ryzen CPUs, do not have an integrated graphics processor, and that your motherboard will need to have an appropriate video output.)The Thermaltake Tower 100 is a statement chassis that’s priced right. You get a lot of ITX case for the money – which comes across as a somewhat funny thing to say. The thermal design seems quite functional, and I definitely appreciate the unique looking visuals. There is room inside to get inventive. Setting the aesthetics aside, the case isn’t particularly difficult to work with; we've wrangled with far more difficult Mini-ITX cases in our day. The cooling options are quite limited, however, and the unusual rear I/O panel placement means you'll want to plug in what you must from the outset and mostly rely on your front USB ports from then on out. (Another reason to make sure your motherboard has that modern USB 3.2 Gen 2 header for the USB-C port.)

Even with added LEDs, some more conventional PC cases could make better display cases for computer hardware than this one. The thing is, though: Most of those are ATX, and this is Mini-ITX.

In Win B1

Routing cables down and around behind the motherboard was super easy, barely an inconvenience™, with plenty of space to the sides and passthrough holes which kept wiring out of the air exhaust path.

These cases tend to be among the most compact, with some designed to support a monitor sitting on top. They also tend to be easier than most to build in, as opening one large side of the enclosure grants easy access to all of the internal hardware.

A system built into Thermaltake’s The Tower 100 case has potential to be a real eye-catcher. The Tower 100, however, leaves a lot of that work to you. The price is attractive enough, but Thermaltake doesn't give you a whole lot outside the glass (aesthetically speaking, and in terms of accessories in the box) to make it an attractive option for someone looking to build a flashy PC case. It's something of a blank-slate box. The Tower 100 Mini Chassis is the newest member of The Thermaltake Tower Series. It features three 4mm tempered glass windows for a stunning view and two preinstalled 120mm standard fans on top and at the rear for exhaust. It is a much smaller version of The Tower 900 with dimensions of 462.8mm (Height), 266mm (Width), 266mm (Depth). Though it may not be the smallest Mini-ITX chassis on the market, it is a highly capable one that can fit high-end components like the RTX 30 Series Graphics Cards. The Tower 100 Mini Chassis is designed to target users who have a limited space at their workplace or at home, or those who simply do not want their PC to take too much space. No matter if you are a regular users, gamers, or content creators, etc. you will find it ideal and can place it almost anywhere in your room. At this point, the wide range of differences that can exist among a pool of Mini-ITX cases may seem daunting. You are probably starting to wonder how this can even be a single form factor at all. A form factor implies that it should be standardized, but in the case of Mini-ITX PC chassis, it’s mostly the motherboard size and shape that keeps this family a family. Examples: Corsair 2000D RGB Airflow , Phanteks Evolv Shift X , SilverStone Lucid LD03 , Hyte Revolt 3 Style 3: The Shoebox Style Today, we are taking a closer look at their vertically orientated ITX style case that some would say resembles a partially glassed in 3D printer. Actually, I am not going to strongly disagree. But I also have to say, I think I like it. Thermaltake simply calls it: Tower 100. It’s a distant relative to their showy and legacy Tower 900, an E-ATX Super Tower Chassis.

The downside? They also have the most hardware restrictions. Most mandate low-profile coolers, half-height add-on cards (if any cards at all), and SFX (or even smaller proprietary) power supplies. This makes them a poor fit for gamers but an excellent choice for a moderate or light-duty work PC (or an HTPC) that relies on processor-integrated graphics. Building a system in the Tower 100 chassis led me to believe that Thermaltake was really trying to do some good things here with regards to visual flair and system thermal management. Some of their other past accessories don’t always work out the way they hoped. However, with the Tower 100 chassis, the pieces are well made (even if numerous) solid (except the perforated pieces obviously), and fit together very well. I am personally a fan of the ITX tower design idea, but do realize this is not a small ITX enclosure by any means. This second style of Mini-ITX case stands out for having the smallest footprints; most of the gear inside is mounted vertically. Pillar cases are designed to stand up straight, obelisk-style, and not lie down. The internal layout changes considerably, and in some of these, you can fit a full-height graphics card on end. Corsair 2000D RGB Airflow How could it be corrected in a future revision? A vertical motherboard mount like this necessitates the I/O positioning up top, to be sure, but some extender cables to the most commonly used ports (such as to a subset of your USB ports or to the display output) would be very thoughtful accessories to include. Or perhaps some L-adapters for stiff cables like HDMI or DisplayPort.For example, Fractal Design’s curvy Era ITX can hold ATX PSUs and standard-height graphics cards. It also has options for adding small AIO liquid coolers. And the Phanteks referenced below is essentially a scaled-down little tower. The biggest one is whether you will (or will ever) install a video card. The absolute smallest Mini-ITX cases support no video card and assume your CPU’s integrated graphics will handle video output and acceleration. That factor will eliminate (or recommend) a whole swath of cases. Otherwise, look to the maximum video card length supported, as well as the number of lateral slots the card can occupy, and shop accordingly. Nvidia's newest top-end RTX 40 Series cards are huge and some occupy three slots across; Mini-ITX cases are generally not their friend. Beside the motherboard mounting tray and the PSU compartment, Thermaltake left a large space for the video card. The cavity can accommodate a dual-slot card up to 330mm long. At first, you could easily mistake one of these cases for a larger MicroATX chassis. These are in fact smaller, however, and can’t hold a MicroATX board. This design isn’t as space-saving as most others, but it also means more room inside for hardware. The building process may be easier, too, given the extra interior. Phanteks Eclipse P200A DRGB