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Hello all, my PC has been great these past few years, but it's so BIG. It's an i7-4770k rig in a Corsair 600T case. I was thinking I'd get a massive graphics card and some water cooling. Well, life got in the way, much less time for gaming, etc. So that never happened. I ended up with a modestly sized R9 270x, and a normal CPU cooler. The mobo is also a full ATX, ASRock Z87 Extreme6 LGA.

I'd like to miniaturize my build. The most cost effective thing seems to be to just buy a new mobo and case. I'd prefer to go with mini-ITX form factor (Thinking maybe the Fractal Nano S case). Any thoughts on what I should do for a mobo? I've been very happy with the Z87 and I'm not sure what I'll lose going to B85 or H81.

How small do you need to go? mITX leads to a lot of trade offs in terms of heat dissipation, part compatibility, and cost. If you are looking to move to a smaller system but don't need to make it super small, often mATX ends up being the sweet spot. mITX is really best left to scenarios where you need to fit the system into a seriously space constrained setup.

The big thing you lose by dropping from the Z series to B and H series is the ability to overclock. If you are not overclocking you probably don't care -- just make sure that the new motherboard actually has any onboard components you rely on (e.g. if you have a lot of USB devices make sure it has enough ports for them all, if you are using onboard audio make sure the replacement motherboard has audio that meets your needs, etc.)

Before you choose an mITX case, first compare its size to the Silverstone TJ08 which is perhaps THE most compact mATX case.

If you end up going the mATX route, Microcenter has the Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming5 for $95. Not sure if they can transfer one in for you or what. My brother has that board inside his Silverstone TJ08 case and likes it.

I like both the case and the motherboard that DPete27 recommended. The Silverstone Sugo SG10 is even smaller than the Temjin TJ08-E, but cases that compact require more care in assembly, since things must be installed in a particular order.

Here's an old thread where I compared the sizes of some popular mini-ITX and micro-ATX cases:
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=116344

I'd recommend one of the most compact mATX builds over mITX if you're planning on changes at any point in the future. I'm not a huge fan of the TJ08-E (it just looks and feels pretty dated by modern standards) but it is adequate and one of the most compact mATX towers around.

As for mITX I really like the FTZ01 since it's more flexible than the "cube" cases and you can still fit some pretty monster graphics cards in it. In a vertical config it has an absolutely tiny footprint, my only recommendation for mITX is to get a card that's quiet even when airflow isn't optimal. This means any of the Nvidia reference blowers, or if you're keeping your AMD card, prioritising low noise over boost headroom in the Wattman control panel.

As for mITX boards? I don't think it matters as long as it has the features you want. I would stay clear of the high-end overclocker boards with complex VRM phases and extra features on riser boards, since these make assembling and working with them in the tighter confines of an mITX case a bit of a nightmare.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I don't need mITX, just thought it might be a good way to go. I'm definitely interested in mATX after seeing some of the cases/mobo linked. I also like that it's possible to get a Z series chipset in mATX, whereas I didn't see any Z options in mITX boards. I'll probably try to save a few bucks and get a cheap(er) case. Do you think it'd be a mistake to buy a used mobo? It just hurts to think about paying $100 for a board that's like 4 years old.

Z97 Mini-ITX boards absolutely exist, but there's only one listed on Newegg right now, due to Z97 being thoroughly obsolete. (There's also one Z87 board on there...)

If you are tight on your budget it may also be worth checking out other mid-tower cases. Corsair tends to build their cases with extra headroom and you can probably find something with much less volume in which all of your current components would fit. Your case measures at 80L cubic volume. My ATX case at home https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... 6811119265 measures out to about 60L of cubic volume. Smaller still would be something like this from NZXT which measures out a little over 40L cubic volume. https://www.nzxt.com/products/s340-matte-white-purple - but trades off extra drive bay capacity.

My latest build is using the Cooler Master N200 case, not as small as the Silverstone Temjin, but still a nice size. It was $40 when I got it last November, I'm happy with it.

Update: I see Amazon has it for $40 after rebate right now. https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-N2 ... B00CUZP0SU

On an additional note.The NZXT case https://www.nzxt.com/products/s340-matte-white-purple is listed retail around $70. The resale value on your current Corsair case, if in good condition, can probably get you about $100-$120 on the used market. That would be $25-$50 in your pocket to make the change.