For MicroATX I would go straight for Silverstone TJ08-E, it even has floppy bay. No-nonsense case with great airflow.

Or Silverstone PS07 with alternative (more cheap) front design, but easily replaceable 120mm fans. Also comes in white "flavor" for that authentic 90s feel.

P.S.
I really dig Cooler Master Elite 361 design as smaller and cheaper alternative for Grandia series and old minitower cases. But it provides practically zero benefit with cable management over old minitower and hard to find.

OriginalDan wrote on 2023-05-05, 07:14:

gotta mention PhilsComputerLabs multiple in 1 pc builds which is probably the end game of space saving while still using older hardware.

Yeah, I know, there is also an upgraded version with a K6-3+ CPU to cover more ground. Some people here also like Via C3 Nemiah CPUs which further extend the performance range up to the late-W98 era. So that is a route to save space. Two small PCs can still be smaller than one big, but you can't always go small without sacrificing something. Like for example getting Glide, EAX or A3D 2.0 are difficult/impossible with low profile cases and also there are only one good low-profile ISA sound card I know of.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-05-05, 19:19:

..getting Glide, EAX or A3D 2.0 are difficult/impossible with low profile cases and also there are only one good low-profile ISA sound card I know of.

That would be which one?

ALS100 probably.

The In Win BL series takes a TFX PSU, uATX motherboard, low profile expansion cards, and have an external 5.25" and 3.5" drive bay.
https://www.in-win.com/en/computer-chassis/bl-series/APAC

I have a SiComputer Productiva XS (long-running series of a wholesale-only Italian computer brand) which is basically a variant of the BL672 plus holes for "AT style" 2 serial + 1 parallel ports (and by complete accident, I apparently bought the original power supply and motherboard two weeks before!), nice design but hellish enough with one IDE cable almost-to-length, and the front connectors are NOT a removable 3.5 inch accessory even though they look like so 🙁

Funnily, its PC Speaker says "Speaker I-TEK" on the connector, all I know is that iTek is another rival case brand... and what's the "Intel Lanyu" mentioned on that page anyway?

HanSolo wrote on 2023-05-06, 18:10:

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-05-05, 19:19:

..getting Glide, EAX or A3D 2.0 are difficult/impossible with low profile cases and also there are only one good low-profile ISA sound card I know of.

That would be which one?

The ESS AudioDrive ES1869F, though I have to correct myself, the ES1868F also exist in low profile.

Shall we stretch definiton of a "case" a bit?

Lian-Li Pitstop T60 with two 5.25 drive bays and hard drive cage which also can house floppy drive(s).

It even comes in red color variation. And as we all know - the red ones goes faster!

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2023-05-07, 16:00:

Shall we stretch definiton of a "case" a bit?

test bench types are sort of cases, more gaps and more cost usually

i'm always interested in what people do when they don't have a case at hand, i tend to just have a carboard/wood box type housing while testing and then put into a real case later

Making cases is interesting, not that've done anything notable, some mini atx boards plus minimal components would fit into very small spaces

part of the fun would be seeing how cheaply it could be done too

Testbench is quite useful tool for retro niche. If you can't fit everything you need in one go, just easily swap something for specific game or program. Or whole motherboard. The world is your oyster.

Another nice case - Corsair Carbide Air 540 (Linus unboxing). That's one chonky boi.

The Serpent Rider wrote on 2023-05-17, 10:43:

Another nice case - Corsair Carbide Air 540 (Linus unboxing). That's one chonky boi. […]
Show full quote

Another nice case - Corsair Carbide Air 540 (Linus unboxing). That's one chonky boi.

I have been trying to get one of these but they have not been sold for years and all the used ones I see people are trying to sell them for $40 usd more than they cost when they were brand new.

I have two "modern" Gigabyte cases that I use for retro builds - GZ-X1 and GZ-X7. They seem to be discontinued, but looking at the Gigabyte website, they apparently still have similar models in their lineup:

https://www.gigabyte.com/PC-Case/Mid-Tower?page=2

thought id ask here to you good homies - i love this fractal case - since i stick to mtax mobos it has obviously worked without drama for me - floppy bay and optical drive - but just now i bought a board with an isa slot [this epox mama] - seeing how it has 3 pci + the isa, are there any small sized cases that would fit it well? i dont really care for old retro stuff. not enough space for me at home so small cases are better.

I like the Zalman T6. Compact mid tower that has an optical drive bay and holds 2 3.5" drives. They go for $50.

Speaking of modern cases to stick a retro build in - my vote goes to Deepcool Tesseract. Very simple, lots of space, and the removable HDF trays are my faves. Oh, and you can install both 2.5 and 3.5 drives.

Thanks for the suggestions ! The Zalman T6 looks good, wonder if a 3.5" floppy could be added to the top.
The Deepcool Tesseract Mid-Tower is no longer available. One thing for me is the power/reset switches must be on front, not top.
Getting hard to find basic new cases that way....guess I should order another Corsair carbide 200 (even if bigger than other mid tower) before they are long gone
...it has the proper "to me" layout...

In terms of modern cases for retro computers, I like the ones that have clear plastic on two sides so you can really see the hardware. I’d even like to have clear plastic on 3 sides, but I think that would be my limit. I’ve seen cases are open and I don’t care for them, so 2-3 clear sides for me.

perestroika wrote on 2024-01-17, 16:04:

thought id ask here to you good homies - i love this fractal case - since i stick to mtax mobos it has obviously worked without drama for me - floppy bay and optical drive - but just now i bought a board with an isa slot [this epox mama] - seeing how it has 3 pci + the isa, are there any small sized cases that would fit it well? i dont really care for old retro stuff. not enough space for me at home so small cases are better.

ok so im a dumb ass - that fractal case that i already had fits an isa board perfectly on the third pci slot. i had no idea an isa board would just fit and replace the pci slot next to it. i thought i was going to need a whole new case! 🤣. anyway, if anyone is looking for a small case for your micro atx board and you have an isa card for it, then this one works great. has two 3.5 internal drive and you can have either turn into a floppy drive without drama. fits a sound blaster 16 without problems, could probably fit two 3.5 hdds in there as well [only have one] and its super easy to move things around too.