Are you going for "everything onboard" with the motherboard that you are going to use?
Or are you going to use expansion cards of some sort?

EDIT:
I know you talked about possibly use of cards, yet my question was based upon you have
decided if you want to travel down that path of using cards.
Or have you found a useable board that allready has all the stuff onboard?

Expansion cards....at least the 9800 GTS PCIe card I want to have installed...

Even if I have to look into a mini-ITX motherboard I could do that, if it meant getting an even smaller case.

As for all on board, no I havent found anything like that. Its really for watching videos I have stored on external HDD's as well as emulating many games...

Might be a long shot. However, how about looking into those ATX media center desktop cases?

Locally, they are to be found here in denmark, and because the media center craze is going down now,
they are cheap now. (however still locally to denmark, don't know about other countries)
You might want to look into that. I know they take up deks-space, yet you can stack systems on top of it.

Using CM Elite 361 for my ATX retro rigs. I'd say it's as small as it gets if you want ATX and full size GPUs. The PSU placement is somewhat peculiar, assuming they had to do that to squeeze everything in, but that's really the only thing you'll have to consider if you can live with or not. Oh, and what looks like three 5.25" slots is only one. The PSU resides behind two of them, only one is the real thing. Other than that it's a great case at that price point.

The 361 is easily converted into a desktop style case if you rather want it that way.

It's predecessor, the Elite 360, is an inch or so shorter if I remember it right, but in my opinion the 361 is both better planned and built, definitely worth that extra inch.

Edit: took a couple of pics together with a FD Define R4 for size comparison:

kaputnik wrote:

Using CM Elite 361 for my ATX retro rigs. I'd say it's as small as it gets if you want ATX and full size GPUs. The PSU placement is somewhat peculiar, assuming they had to do that to squeeze everything in, but that's really the only thing you'll have to consider if you can live with or not. Oh, and what looks like three 5.25" slots is only one. The PSU resides behind two of them, only one is the real thing. Other than that it's a great case at that price point.

I've always liked the look of the Elite 361, though I never had one. I especially like the fact that you can turn it to desktop style despite being full ATX, but the placement of the power supply kind of worries me. With the back of the PSU covered by the fake drive bays, have you experienced heat issues?

TheMobRules wrote:

kaputnik wrote:

Using CM Elite 361 for my ATX retro rigs. I'd say it's as small as it gets if you want ATX and full size GPUs. The PSU placement is somewhat peculiar, assuming they had to do that to squeeze everything in, but that's really the only thing you'll have to consider if you can live with or not. Oh, and what looks like three 5.25" slots is only one. The PSU resides behind two of them, only one is the real thing. Other than that it's a great case at that price point.

I've always liked the look of the Elite 361, though I never had one. I especially like the fact that you can turn it to desktop style despite being full ATX, but the placement of the power supply kind of worries me. With the back of the PSU covered by the fake drive bays, have you experienced heat issues?

None at all. The top fan PSU I'm using is on its own air loop so to speak, it takes in air through a vent in the side panel, and exhausts it behind the front panel, which have outlets in the bottom.The older kind of PSU that draws air straight through should work aswell, it would take in air from inside the case, but well, it would do that in just about any computer. I'd guess you wouldn't need a dedicated exhaust fan if using one of those either.

As for the rest of the computer, larger cases of course makes for better coolíng, but considered the 361's size, I'd say the cooling possibilities are very good. The PSU placement really opens up the main space and accommodates for good airflow, it's not as cramped as small cases tend to be.

Thanks for the tip...those may be exactly what I am looking for, specifically the desktop conversion as that would fit into my TV stand nicely...

You mentioned the 360 was a little smaller....is it enough to cause the heat issues you arent seeing with the 361? I only ask as the smaller but still safe I can get, the better.

Smack2k wrote:

Thanks for the tip...those may be exactly what I am looking for, specifically the desktop conversion as that would fit into my TV stand nicely...

You mentioned the 360 was a little smaller....is it enough to cause the heat issues you arent seeing with the 361? I only ask as the smaller but still safe I can get, the better.

No, I don't think you'll see any differences when it comes to temperature, the 360 is literally fractions of inches smaller. It's mostly a layout/perceived build quality/looks thing if you ask me, which of course is highly subjective.

It might however be hard to get hold of the 360, I believe it's discontinued since a few years.

Looks like I will get the 361 then...thanks a ton!

You might also want to check out the Silverstone Grandia GD09, if you want a desktop case.

I have the Eilte 361 as well, and the volume is quite small for an ATX case, but mainly because of its width and height, its depth is comparable too much bigger cases, mainly because the PSU is placed in the front.
Regarding the PSU, you should use one that is not too long, because a long PSU and motherboard might not fit in together. And if you are unlucky, the cable from the PSU might block the PSU switch, (I had that problem with one PSU).
And I think the updated design of the Elite 361 is better than the one of the Elite 360. As kaputnik said, the Elite 360 is a bit shorter, but can take less hard drives.

I use the Elite 361 for an retro PC, and it is great for that, since it can take a floppy drive, a CD drive and several hard drives, and those old graphics card aren't so long anyway.

But for a more modern small desktop ATX case, i prefer the Grandia GD09. The volume is slightly bigger, but only because it is not so thin. The front is bigger, but the depth is shorter. I think it almost looks as compact as the Elite 361.
And I like the better placement of the PSU and general better build quality, compared to the Elite 361.

The downside is, it is probably a bit more expansive, and should be used as a desktop case, it is not a convertable as the Elite 361.

But with Micro-ATX and especially Mini-ITX, you have many more possibilities.

Voset wrote:

You might also want to check out the Silverstone Grandia GD09, if you want a desktop case. […]
Show full quote

You might also want to check out the Silverstone Grandia GD09, if you want a desktop case.

I have the Eilte 361 as well, and the volume is quite small for an ATX case, but mainly because of its width and height, its depth is comparable too much bigger cases, mainly because the PSU is placed in the front.
Regarding the PSU, you should use one that is not too long, because a long PSU and motherboard might not fit in together. And if you are unlucky, the cable from the PSU might block the PSU switch, (I had that problem with one PSU).
And I think the updated design of the Elite 361 is better than the one of the Elite 360. As kaputnik said, the Elite 360 is a bit shorter, but can take less hard drives.

I use the Elite 361 for an retro PC, and it is great for that, since it can take a floppy drive, a CD drive and several hard drives, and those old graphics card aren't so long anyway.

But for a more modern small desktop ATX case, i prefer the Grandia GD09. The volume is slightly bigger, but only because it is not so thin. The front is bigger, but the depth is shorter. I think it almost looks as compact as the Elite 361.
And I like the better placement of the PSU and general better build quality, compared to the Elite 361.

The downside is, it is probably a bit more expansive, and should be used as a desktop case, it is not a convertable as the Elite 361.

But with Micro-ATX and especially Mini-ITX, you have many more possibilities.

Good points about the 361 and PSU:s, should perhaps have been more specific in my original post. High performance PSU:s tends to be longer, fitting one of those might be hard. The switch problem is only a problem if you intend to make hole(s) in the front panel för switch access though. In my cases, I've just switched it on and left it that way, just pulling the plug when working with those computers instead.

I also agree about the Grandia GD09. Perhaps it's not a top tier case, but it's far above 361, which is an entry level case. I'd say it's comparable to popular mainstream series like FD Define, NZXT Source, Corsair Carbide, etc build quality wise. And if nothing else, it would probably fit in very well with the other stuff in the TV bench 😀 The only downside is really the price, at least here it's about twice as much as the 361.

kaputnik wrote:

Good points about the 361 and PSU:s, should perhaps have been more specific in my original post. High performance PSU:s tends to be longer, fitting one of those might be hard. The switch problem is only a problem if you intend to make hole(s) in the front panel för switch access though. In my cases, I've just switched it on and left it that way, just pulling the plug when working with those computers instead.

Oh, I mean I had a PSU where the switch was right next to the plug, so that the 90 degree power cable just went over the switch in a way that I could no put the switch completely in the ON or OFF position, it was always kind in the middle, but it might have worked anyway.
This picture should show the placement of the switch: https://www.computerbase.de/bildstrecke/58945/4/