The S-TIER mATX Case you probably Missed
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2024
- The mATX market has a new god-tier case that I almost missed because it was launched in almost secret. And that's what happens with ASUS. First it was the AP201, an mATX LEGEND and now it is the A21, a larger budget mATX that costs under $70 but it offers SO MUCH for that money.
Buy items in this video from Amazon at the links below:
ASUS A21 Black - geni.us/A21BLACK
ASUS A21 White - geni.us/A21WHITE
ASUS AP201 (alternate, smaller case) - geni.us/AP201
Fractal Pop Mini Air (amazing value) - geni.us/POPMINI
Check out the Montech Sky Two GX - geni.us/SKYTWO
GET MERCH ►hwcstore.com
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Review unit provided free of charge by ASUS & Purchased by HWC. This video is sponsored by Montech. As per Hardware Canucks guidelines, no review direction was received from manufacturer. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
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I'm surprised you haven't reviewed the Lian Li x Dan Cases A3 mATX case yet. That feels like the best balance between size and hardware compatibility at the moment. It's also $70!
I agree 100%! Hopefully we’ll see a review of it soon.
The front panel is kinda meh but they have wooden options. I'm waiting on a perforated front panel
@@Felix_EN Same. Waiting for them to release a mesh front panel.
I think I prefer the Jonsbo D31. Same concept just slightly taller
I was gonna comment this and I went to see if anyone else already said it and of course they did. This is the obvious best choice for this price point for itx/matx. The price point and flexibility of the a3 is so insane.
No USB-C in the front? In 2024? What genius made that decision??
It’s worse that they left the pointless/redundant reset switch using the same cut out. Just for a daily reminder that you got a discount case.
Asus
Came here to leave this comment.
this case has nothing special, just a generic M-Atx case from Asus
Ap 201 has one?! Wtf asus
I’m gonna be honest, mATX towers with the PSU basement and 4-5 PCIe slots don’t make sense. They’re hardly any smaller than normal ATX cases, like 3-4 cm shorter, but you can’t use ATX boards. Just get a normal ATX tower if you don’t care about size.
mATX cases with the PSU mounted at the front make way more sense if you’re looking to actually downsize. AP201, Dan A3, Jonsbo D30/D31 are really good options. I personally downsized from an ATX case to the D30 and temp has been fine (260W GPU). Wish someone would make a D30-sized case with front and size mesh so I can flip the PSU intake to the front.
I wouldnt say they dont make sense, they are just super niche. After upgrading to RTX3080 i needed new case and chose AP201 and while it was a good case it became hotbox with the GPU at full tilt and the PSU placement on front covers like 3/4 of interior in my case so if looks are important to you imo it make this poor choice. Then i upgraded to Fractal Pop Mini with 4 PCI slots which was fine but lack of space between graphics card and PSU basement choked my card again. So i went on a hunt for mATX case with 5 slots and end up with Zalman P30. While its true its barely smaller than typical ATX cases especially with the Zalman one i couldnt be happier with it. My graphics card got plenty of space and fresh air, whole build is far better looking than any other cases i had before and price wasnt even that far of A21 which i was considering before buying Pop Mini.
Sama IM01 pro good too
What I do not like about basement PSUs are they are not optimal air flow for the GPU. Top mounted PSUs like the Torrent or dual chamber designs like the O11 provide better GPU air flow.
The exception to this appears to be the new Lian Li case that pushes the PSU in the basement to the front and then ventilates the basement with bottom intake options for the GPU.
@@ELCrisler Yep. Thats true and in case of Pop Mini that basement in not that vetilated and that became problem in almost 4 pci wide graphics card.
Too big for an mATX case, at 44L just get a midtower and ATX board. I doubt the temps in this case are much different to AP201, I would not be surprised if AP201 is even better in that regard.
its a skinny 0 11 dynamic in terms of size. absolutely silly to be that big and only matx
Asus Ap201 and Dan a3 are what I would recommend for affordable and good quality matx cases
A case that has flown under the radar has to be the Lancool 206. It's like the 216 but smaller
Case is huge for matx
I didn't miss it; I saw the glass panel and patiently waiting on the A3-mATX...lol.
Great video tho!
Will you be reviewing the LIAN LI A3-mATX?
The LIAN LI A3-mATX is the better case -by a considerable margin too.
@@thenonadventure Cable management isn't the best it has the same issue as the AP201 but with even less space than the AP201
Got myself a A3 the other week and love it. 26L is a great fit for mATX.
@@Killswitch1411 AP201 does not have a cable management issue lol
A3 enters the chat.
Got this case about a month ago. As you mentioned I swaped a AP201 for this. So glad you like it. It is an absolute joy to build in it. Got rid of the hhd cage because wasn't needed. Lots of space inside it. I would prefer it more with a tinted glass panel. Thinking of buying some tint foil to darken it up a bit. Absolutly love this case.
Thanks for the great content! I just picked up the A21 a couple of months ago but have yet to build in it. I really like the fact that it has 5 PCI-e slots, leaving more room for airflow underneath GPUs.
Gorgeous case not only aesthetically but in its practicality. Makes me want to build a rig!
When was the last time I've used HDDs in mATX? Last week when I've shoved 4x 3.5'' hard drives into Lian Li DAN A3-mATX (had to rig custom mounting solution because case supports only a single one at the bottom front of the case)
360 support on an mtax case does seem like a rare addition here. As opposed to cases like LianLi 205m or the more recent Antex CX200, Montech Air 100 Lite,Gamdias Mars E2, Deepcool Matrexx 40, this does seem to have that 360AIO to differentiate itself, although I'd have to wonder if it is getting too big at that point?
I daily drive an mATX build specifically because I needed a system that would fit in a travel suit case, since I have to move once every few months, but not have to shell out exorbitant ITX tax that would more than double the cost of my mobo and GPU.
I think 35-40L is the real sweet spot for maximum compatibility without getting into the Full Tower territory.
I always build mATX 😊 Good to see more cases catering to those.
I want to build a pc for bedroom but space is tight. Hence consider an itx but need small footprint such as fractal ridge. Plus have spare R5600 but am4 itx mbs so expensive and rare. What would you suggest for MATX build that is narrow but tall? Thanks for great interesting reviews🐈👍
My last PC build was an mATX. I really do love the form factor. Not as many compromises as you have with ITX for a smaller PC, little more storage, RAM and connectors.
Nice case, but I still prefer the AP201...
Love your videos! Please more mATX option reviews. IMO great airflow mATX cases should be the standard for gaming.
No no no, who said that about ap201? I have one is fantastic, the GPU Nitro+ 6900XT SE yes the overclocked one is absolutely fine temp wise.
Yea i love my ap201 aswell, got a ryzen 7800x3d and a 4090 in it and no heat issues at all
count me in... no temps issues with the AP201... cool n quiet!
Ap201 is by far the best case for my pow. I WISH it was a bit smaller in lenght. No need 360ml io for me since I have noctua n15s.
My favorite system was an Intel 7th gen mATX build in a Fractal Node 804. I had two AIOs in there and a total of like 15 fans all running at super low (and super silent) speeds lol. There's definitely something about stuffing massive amounts of computing power, cooling, and storage into a tiny little package that also just looks really cool on your desk! Glad to see mATX finally making a little bit of a comeback and getting some love. Hope to see even more mATX cases and quality motherboards soon!!!!!
I love mATX. Always have going back to the first GENE boards.
Thank God for mesh mATX cases that breathe well - I'm constantly struggling with getting hot air out of my Masterbox Q300L
Whats a good matx case that has ATX psu support but doesnt need a gpu. tryna make an htpc setup for the family using a ryzen apu i got lying around.
Love your case reviews, Dimitri! ASUS has already released a new case in this same style: The A23 so you can try to get a review unit of that 😅
I've just check it out... Didn't like the front glass thingy style. I still prefer mesh. But that's just me.
Got this case, loving it so far
Still prefer the form factor of the ap201, or dual chamber fish tank style cases. Every case I've had before the ap201 had a similar look to the a21 with front fans and bottom psu shroud so it's not exciting.
What I like about a21
Better cable management space
Rear motherboard port support
Great front perforation
Not so great
No front usb c
No included fans
Size is close enough (44L) to many standard mid tower atx cases
I’ve had no such issues with temperatures in my ap201. I just wish they would let me buy the TG side panel as a standalone purchase
There is a release jonsplus z20 matx, can you build or review build on this one, pros and cons, thanks
What AIO and case fans did you use?
Still have my old Corsair air 240 and it fits everything you could ever wish for a mATX case.
could you do an in-depth airflow comparison between the ap201 and the a21?
What about the Cooler Master Silencio S400? I hear the airflow is bad, but at 33L + anti-noise shielding it sounds like a good case and it still looks very modern.
I like mATX cases, especially tower/vertical shaped ones, but I don't like to use riser cables. Which mATX case do you think is (currently) the best? I like the Thermaltake Tower 200 and now 300, are there others I should be considering? Thanks for continued coverage of the mATX format.
I got the Jonsbo TK-1, but have yet to build it.
It's a really good looking mATX case with curved glass on 2 sides, I don't expect amazing thermals from it, but I have my priority on looks rn.
It's funny that you mention cases being the focal point now.
My little brother has an i7-4770 with a RX 580 2048SP in a NZXT H510 case and he has no plans on upgrading soon since his pc "already looks so cool."
Could have mentioned the Meshify 2 Mini as well in terms of mATX cases. Also is it possible to mount the front fans right next to the mesh in front?
I love my AP201 combined with my b650m pg lightning, i have a 3-slot gpu in it, a 10g network card, 3 m.2 storage drives, dual tower cooler, 7 fans, added a wifi card and an ATX psu. m-ATX is the shit
How'd you get 7 fans in? I'm waiting for all of my parts to arrive so that I can start my build, and I know that there's one exhaust fan on the back, and room for on on the bottom and 3 on top.
Where does the 7th fan go??
@@letssuperfuntime i fit 3 in the bottom, theres no official mounting holes for the 3rd but you can screw into the ventilation holes
@@letssuperfuntime I do have 7 fans on my AP201 as well... 3 at the top (exhaust) for the 360 AIO + 1 on the back (exhaust) + 2 at the bottom (intake) + 1 at the front (intake)... ... there are some tricks to make the front one to work just fine with an SFX/L PSU ----
The temps are just fine with that setup... iddle --> CPU 31C and GPU 29C ... while gaming --> CPU can go between 37-41C and GPU normally is on 55C but can hit the 60C sometimes.
I'm still rocking a ThermalTake Core v21. it fits into an ikea kallax shelf very well with modified feet to make it shorter. I also removed the front foam mesh and plopped a noctua 200mm fan on the front and a 140 on the rear. while it's not the best in temps, it's perfectly fine for me since I do not OC at all.
what are the orange fans youre using in the case it looks so cool
I bought this October 2023 and during that time, no reviews so far. This is actually a good case.
Shopping for a mATX case with a narrow desk has been challenging. My next build is in a Jonsbo C6 and I read that thermals can be tricky. We'll see.
will this support arctic freezer 3 cause of thick radiator?
Would love a video on the lian li a3 case. It’s as small as a matx case can be without compromising compatibility
i have the ap201 5800x3d/rx7600 with a frost spirit 140 running 3 120 intake , 1 120 and 2 240 exhaust. if i let it run quiet its pushing high 80s, when i let her buck it doesnt get over 70 but its not quiet and you can feel the air moving a few feet away
The interior reminds me so much of the legendary NZXT S340 and I love it.
do you know if the ''PLUS'' model of this that came with 4 argb fans have argb controller?
The front mounted PSU setup of the AP201 is still my preferred choice. I dislike bottom PSU cage layouts. MATX is the best.
Would an arctic freezer III fit in there? It has a thicker radiator- 38mm i believe.
I have had the AP201 for about a year, including some moving and rebuilds. I’ve been extremely happy with the performance and build quality. Don’t understand people complaining about temperature. Also it has USB-C in front and looks better than this one. For all their faults Asus does make some very good cases.
Me either... my temps are just fine on the AP201:
iddle --> CPU 31C and GPU 29C ... while gaming --> CPU can go between 37-41C and GPU normally is on 55C but can hit the 60C sometimes.
Using a Sama Im01 pro, very tight but no cooling issues and super modular.
2:34 I've been a mATX guy for a long time. I actually can't even remember my last full sized ATX build, it's been quite a while.
Almost has the same footprint of AP201 which also the same footprint of many atx cases. These cases aren't small. But at least it offers space for 360 rads.
I would love to see you review the Jonsbo D31, I already bought it, it is one of my favorite for matx in terms of size and compatibility
Anyone knows what fans those are?
I’m using another mATX case dimitri doesn’t know about, it’s called deepcool ch360.
Lately DeepCool is banned in US, not sure about Canada though.
China's DeepCool was caught red-handed supporting the Russian war machine industry and was banned in the US. There are better companies with better cases to give your money to.
Great to see more mATX review. This one feels like a miss tho. Bigger, missing ports, not that interesting looking, glass. Glass everywhere. Meh.
Also, how do you have the Fractal Wood Mini mp3 thingy right there?! How?!
PS. If one cannot cable manage well in an AP201, I really don't know what else one needs.
What microphone is he holding?
I love my TD300 Mesh from Cooler Master but the Fractal case oh man I am totally going to get it. :D
Nice case, yes, but where can I get that _Friends & Family_ mouse?
Does this mean M-ATX Motherboards will be a thing now? Instead of one team having options and the red team have only 2 but they discontinue 1 a week after launch?
gonna go smaller once i decide to ditch my i7 7700k, so this could be a good case for the future, though I enjoy fractal's designs waaaaay more
I'm still a fan of ATX cases with reduced length like the meshify C. They're about the same size as this case but aren't as long and can fit an ATX motherboard.
They just had to make the ap201 more compact probably with 280 Aio maximum support. That's compact not this.
managed to install 3 120mm in this case underneath the gpu using zip ties
Can’t wait for you to test the new Lian Li Lancool 207! Seem like it gonna be the perfect balance case🎉
If I do move from my current AP201 that's the one I will get.
Same! I was just about to buy the AP201, then I thought. Might as well see if anything new is revealed at Computex, and glad I waited :D
sadly i have to say with the lag of toslink on most of the modern mainboards i get forced into buying a soundcard or keeping my old am4 board..
Would love to see you do a review on the ZZAW C2/C2P
Nice case!
I can't understand how mesh became the go to for good cases nowadays. Back as far as I can remember it was the cheapest, most noisy cases - but with better fans and hardware I can see how they can actually be more quiet than a noise-insulated one. To me they just look cheap, thin and not well built. I'd much rather have a heavy full of noise dampening material one like Fractal Define series / BeQuiet, but that's me!
Silverstone Fara R1 might be the best out there in terms of value
In terms of space optimization, Jonsbo D41 is much better than this case imo. It is also more compact.
pop mini air white is on sale right now for this price+$1 I'm thinking about getting it
2:40 what is that small thing next to the case?
Honestly, I wish more cases have the option to not come with fans because I never keep the stock fans.
While the Lian Li O11 Air Mini might not be quite MATX it really shines when set for that form factor and is priced often below $100.
As you know, of late I had been all about SFF builds. But recently swapped back to MATX. My reasoning was cost. As ITX became more popular so did the SFF Tax.
They need to make more matx cases with the psu in the front. This is anyway wasted space, and allows not only a much shorter case (like the ap201) but fans to be mounted directly below the gpu
Ok, . . . that's pretty nice. Although I prefer the bottom front I/O of the DAN A3 mATX. The A3 has a nearly perfect front I/O. It's location is perfect, it's selection of connections is perfect but also severely flawed in execution. 2x USB3 type A's, headphone _and_ microphone jacks, power button, and the mandatory USB-c . . . but it's only a 3.1 spec connector. It's mid-2024, Cases MUST have a front Type-c, and it had better support USB 3.2x2 (20GBS) at a minimum. And honestly, it really should be fully USB4 compliant.
Still waiting for Fractal to design a nice mATX case with wood accents instead of just providing for the ATX and ITX form factor.
needs to be narrower since its tall to compete with meshroom
and even front glass like hyte y40/phanteks xt view
I Would recommend checking out Zalman P30 as mATX case.
Very nice case for the price, but a compact ATX case is just a few cm away for significantly better mobo support
Still lovely to see though. My Meshify 2 is severely underutilised by my build, which could easily be stuffed into a case like this (besides the mobo support)
I'm so close to moving to micro ATX, but damn i just don't want to let go of my expansions or disk drive
check out the fractal node 804 - micro atx but it's server focused so you can fit a ton of disk drives while still having room for everything else
@@Crunkmaster tempting! Fractal do make good cases for that, but hard to get something with the 5.25 bays
Check out the jonsbo Z20 please for a compact matx.
I have used 6 of these. The quality of them is insane and most of all in europe they are 45 Euro.
Weird the a3 from dan amd lian li wasnt mentioned in the matx comparisons
Just got that case, I'd love to see a Canucks review. It's closer to sfx then this at 26L. Finishing my build today, cable management is non existent but using a sfx power supply means you can bundle it all in front
reminds me of an s340 but with actual airflow
I like this case quite a bit, I honestly do not like that little notch at the front grill that says Asus on it. They should've just went for the clean look that the AP201 had. I'm considering it though.
Jonsbo case are underrated AF.
What's the thing near the case at 2:50?
Oh, it's a Raspberry Pi 5 case from Fractal Design
For me matx motherboard is the best size for a gaming pc build so i wish companies would give matx form some attention.
Ap201 with a 7800X3d and 4090 with lian li fans is broken good. Temps are great.
Only if there were more high end mATX boards like X670E Gene.
As a long-time mATX enthusiast, I had seen that case on the ASUS webpage a while back, but the lack of a USB-C cable on the front makes this a hard pass. Plus, I have an AP201 and don't see myself moving from that, though I should be able to get a better sense of that case next week. As for my mATX HTPC, I currently use the FD pop air mini, fits my XFX 7900XTX while providing space for two Blu-Ray players for my still existing DVD/Blu-ray collection. If I were to decide that I'm too unsatisfied with this case due to AIOs not really being an option with a long GPU, I'd move to the Lian Li Dan A3, which is basically a better execution of the AP201.
What about the Lian li lancool 205m ?
Seiko ? Very nice
It's funny how I'm learning I'm not the only one having cooling issues with the AP201 more than a year after I gave up on it. I have an ATX board in my current build, but it has a bad network port and periodically requires retraining of the memory which gets annoying. I'm going back to mATX for my next board, but not doing the AP201 again. I'll wait for some hands on reviews of the A21 before I jump at it though.
What cooling issue did you run into if I may ask? I’ve had problems but I did migrate to the case with an existing large number of fans
@@TheShortStory I like a quiet build, and made the assumption that an all mesh case would allow better air flow and let me run fans even slower. Solid sides contain more noise than I had previously thought, and offer a great deal of assistance directing air flow, so mesh works against anything you do in this case. You also don't have front mounted fans, so the traditional unobstructed source of fresh air is blocked by the PSU. Finally, I had 3 SSDs to mount, and drive mounting in this case is so poorly planned that you have to choose between fans and drives on the floor. I wound up building a NAS to eliminate the need for on board storage, then learned that with no sides to contain the air, bottom fans only feed the GPU. They do nothing for the CPU. Ultimately I had 2 120mm bottom fans feeding my GPU, 1 120 inlet on the back and an AIO set to exhaust at the top. All that helped, but I never was able to both cool my components to my satisfaction and run as quietly as I would have liked. It's a really attractive case, but offers very little assistance with cooling. I'm tempted to try blocking the side mesh with acrylic to see if directing air through the case helps, but at this point I've been through that, a Fractal North and now a Phanteks NV5. The current case is quiet and everything runs nice and cool, but takes up WAY too much space on my desk.
@@cameronfrye5514 thanks for the reply. That all makes sense. I have two bottom fans feeding the GPU which is cooler than in my previous “standard” case. And then I have two top fans and a rear fan exhausting, which together pull in enough air from the mesh to feed the CPU. But with fewer fans and with more SSDs, I can see what you mean
Micro atx is the best thing. Rarely anyone actually fully utilizes a full atx.
I'm very happy with my ap201
Nice case.. To be honest I think relatively budget cases like this should be reviewed with same tier air cooling. Who is buying a cheap case and a giant aio?
This reminds me of Fractals Meshify C Compact
This case has been around since last year, but I've always ignored it due to not coming with any fans and not really being all that small. I do like how it looks, though. Also, mATX is way more niche than ITX is these days. Mostly because these cases are usually only an inch or 2 shorter than a compact ATX case, and drops your motherboard options down significantly.
Agree completely - in 2024 mATX is just a bad in-between. I'm either going to prioritize size and pay the ITX tax to do a compact build, or I'm gonna go full ATX and be completely unrestricted in both the hardware available to me (ie grabbing the best value CPU+Motherboard combo deal at Microcenter) and also unrestricted in my expansion options (large GPUs, add-in cards, etc).
@@murderbymodem yep exactly, I made around ~150 build lists during the holiday season for the PCPP forums, and I had a very hard time justifying mATX for any of the builds.
@@RicochetForce Large ITX (NR200 and others) aren't that much more expensive. As long as the motherboards aren't too bad, and your case doesn't need an SFX PSU, it's really not that different. Besides, I can fit a cheap mATX motherboard inside a cheap ATX case. Can't do the opposite. The original Meshify C is smaller than this case, though the tradeoff is worse AIO compatibility (which makes most cases larger than they need to be).
@@RicochetForce "As the mini PC space continues to improve, it's ITX builds that make increasingly little sense." Just because you found it hard doesn't mean others do. Most people don't need the expandability of an ATX machine anymore. mATX is basically the same size, so SFF-ITX is the only place where you can actually save some space without compromising too hard. Anyone who watches Optimum will know this. Personally, there's no real scenarios where SFF-ITX will actually save you any space (other than travel), so It's mostly about "doing it because I can".