Great power can come in small packages these days, and Mini-ITX builds are the best example of that. They’ve always been great as low-power living room rigs, but the best Mini-ITX cases in 2022 have enough room and cooling performance for even powerful hardware. If you like the idea of stuffing gaming-grade hardware into a case small enough to carry around, then you’ve come to the right place.

Of course, building a Mini-ITX system has its own thermal and clearance challenges, which makes it a less straightforward endeavor. But it’ll all be worth it once you have a tiny case with enough power to run modern AAA games at high settings and framerates. Sound fun? Let’s get right down to it.

The Best Mini-ITX and SFF Cases

1. Lian Li Q58

The Lian Li Q58 is an SFF Mini-ITX case that features above-average cooling performance, component compatibility and versatility at a downright affordable price.

At first glance, the Q58’s standout feature is its side panels. The Q58 has four side panels, two glass and two mesh, which are interchangeable depending on your cooling or aesthetic needs. It’s also worth noting that the panels are individually hinged. The Q58’s side panels open up like doors to give you access to the internals.

Speaking of internals, the Q58 has decent compatibility, storage, and cooling options, provided you stick with an SFX or SFX-L PSU. You will have to go for a low-profile CPU cooler if you’re the air cooling type, but if you need liquid cooling then there’s also room for a 280 mm AIO in the top. The latter will come in handy if you want to use a really high-end CPU.

You won’t need to go liquid if you’re cooling mid-range hardware, though. TechPowerUp ran an Intel Core i5-9600K and a Zotac RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge and recorded 61.9 degrees Celsius on the CPU and 77.4 degrees Celsius on the GPU. Those are excellent numbers for an SFF case, so much so that we wouldn’t worry about an AIO until you get into modern Core i7 or Ryzen 9 territory.

Lian Li offers you some choice when it comes to the PSU by including an ATX PSU bracket with the Q58. This opens up the option of lowering costs by installing a cheaper ATX power supply. We wouldn’t recommend it since it severely limits your cooling and storage options, but it’s a nice option to have.

Overall, the Lian Li Q58’s great combination of performance and price makes it the best Mini-ITX case you can buy right now. Yes, you can spend double this on a premium SFF case, but we’re confident that the majority of consumers will be more than satisfied with the Q58.

The Lian Li Q58 is available in black and white. The Q58 is also available with a PCIe 4.0 riser cable if you’re willing to pay roughly $30 extra. We recommend sticking with the default PCIe 3.0 cable since there’s no real performance gain to be had with a PCIe 4.0 cable.

2. Cooler Master NR200P

Cooler Master’s NR200P is a regular fixture in our case lists, and it’s easy to see why. It combines classy aesthetics, solid component compatibility, and a reasonable price into one great package.

The NR200P’s big selling point is its great component compatibility. There’s room for a 13-inch long, triple-slot GPU and a 6.1-inch tall CPU cooler, so you’ll be able to install some reasonably high-end gear in the NR200P without issue.

You will need to pony up for an SFX or SFX-L PSU, but that’s a small problem these days. Companies like Corsair and Cooler Master make excellent 600-watt and higher SFX PSUs that’ll be able to power any hardware you chuck into your NR200P.

The NR200P lets you choose between a tempered glass or a vented metal side panel. While we’d usually always recommend a vented panel, there doesn’t seem to be much difference with the NR200P. TechPowerUp tested the NR200P with an Intel Core i5-10600K and Palit RTX 2080, recording 65.8 degrees Celsius on the CPU and 78.2 degrees on the GPU with the vented panel installed.

Temperatures with the glass panel temperatures were almost identical, with a CPU temperature of 65.7 degrees well within the margin of error. So you can go with whichever panel suits your aesthetic fancy. That said, the vented panel is slightly preferable if you’re running a vertical GPU, although the two-degree difference (75.1 degrees with the vented panel vs. 77.7 degrees with glass) isn’t huge.

Overall, there’s a lot to like about the Cooler Master NR200P. It gets a lot of things right without the usual Mini-ITX price premium. Temperatures are decent, it looks great, and it has room for most mainstream components. And, as a bonus, it comes in enough colors (such as Flamingo Pink, Caribbean Blue, and Sunset Orange) to fit into any setup.

3. Hyte Revolt 3

The Hyte Revolt 3’s most obvious selling point is its handle, which makes it the most outright portable Mini-ITX case on our list here. But that’s not the only thing that the Revolt 3 has going for it.

For one, the Revolt 3 combines the effortless portability of a handle with room for some serious gaming PC hardware. Graphics-wise, it fits a 13-inch, three-slot GPU like a high-end RTX 3080 variant without issues. There’s also enough room for a decent air cooler, although the Revolt 3’s single 80 mm top fan is a clear sign that it’s best used with an AIO CPU cooler.

That top fan doesn’t do much for airflow, as TechPowerUp’s testing shows. They recorded 89.2 degrees Celsius on their Core i5-9600K, which isn’t great considering how old the CPU is by now. Removing the dust filters helps by lowering the CPU temperatures to 81.5 degrees, but this comes at the cost of more dust.

So, even if you’re not going to install something like an Intel Core i9-12900K, you’ll still likely want to make use of the Revolt 3’s AIO support. The combination of an AIO and dust filters should offer the best mix of CPU cooling and dust protection you can get out of the Revolt 3.

Beyond the GPU and AIO support, the Hyte Revolt 3 also has some other nice touches that make it a good case to live with. Internally, you get covers for the PSU bay and GPU PCIe plug to keep things clean and tidy and avoid interference issues. There are also a couple of pop-out headphone holders, a nice touch for those who game with full-sized headphones.

Overall, the Hyte Revolt 3 is one of the more exciting Mini-ITX cases to come out in recent times. And it isn’t just the handle, either. Its great GPU and AIO compatibility, combined with solid build quality, make it a great case even if you plan to leave it on your desk 24/7.

The Hyte Revolt 3 is available in black and white. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of buying an SFX power supply and getting the right cables, you can also buy the Revolt 3 with a pre-installed PSU.

Interested in checking out other portable PC cases? Head over to our list of the best portable PC cases.

4. Phanteks P200A

Phanteks’ P200A is huge for a Mini-ITX case, with its 30-liter volume more comparable to some of the best Micro-ATX cases than its Mini-ITX competitors. But the large size comes with some benefits, including a relatively small price.

Component support is also great, as you might expect with this much room. You’ll be able to fit a 14-inch GPU, a 6.5-inch CPU cooler, an ATX PSU, and a whole bunch of case fans without issue in the P200A. Speaking of case fans, the P200A includes two of Phanteks’ DRGB fans, with their lighting controllable via the dedicated LED button on the P200A’s front panel.

TechPowerUp loaded the P200A with an Intel Core i5-9600K and Zotac RTX 3060 Ti, recording a 68.1-degree Celsius CPU temperature and 78.3-degree GPU temperature in a torture test. Acceptable, but not ideal given how large the case is. Adding a second intake fan would probably help improve airflow and reduce temperatures.

Liquid cooling is also an option, of course. The P200A is large enough to fit two radiators, so you could even go with a custom loop if you so desire. The notion of spending hundreds of dollars on custom water cooling in a roughly $70 case is admittedly a bit silly. But nothing’s stopping you if that’s what you want!

While Phanteks advertises room for four 3.5” drives, the company doesn’t include any of the stackable drive cages you need for that. It’s understandable from a cost perspective but still slightly disappointing. That said, you could very quickly drill holes into the plastic 2.5” drive mounts if you don’t mind sacrificing them in favor of 3.5” drives.

Overall, the Phanteks P200A isn’t the Mini-ITX case for those of you after a compact rig. But if you’re willing to give up SFF credentials for a low price, or need the room for a custom water cooling rig, then the P200A is a case worth checking out.

5. Louqe Ghost S1

The other cases on our list show that you don’t need to spend big to get a great SFF case. So what does the roughly $250 Louqe Ghost S1 offer that you can’t find in other, cheaper cases? Well, it’s incredibly compact for one. At 8.5 liters without TopHats (more on these later), it’s just over half the size of our top pick, the Lian Li Q58.

It’s also the most premium case of the lot, seeing as it’s milled out of solid aluminum blocks. If you’re after something that’s a cut above most mass-market SFF cases, the Ghost S1’s the case you want. And, unlike most small form factor cases, Louqe has designed some expandability into the Ghost S1 via TopHats.

The Ghost S1’s TopHats are available in two sizes (medium and large) and give you extra space for fans, components, or water-cooling radiators. Each Ghost S1 supports two TopHats at the top and bottom, and you can mix and match sizes depending on your needs.

While it’s perfectly possible to build a gaming PC in the Ghost S1 without the TopHats, you’ll probably want one for extra fans or cooling if you’re using high-end components. OptimumTech ran a 4.3 GHz overclocked Core i7-8700K in the Ghost S1 and recorded 73.3 degrees Celsius without a TopHat. Adding a TopHat and two 120 mm fans dropped the CPU temperature to 66.9 degrees; still high, but a lot more manageable.

The GPU doesn’t benefit from a TopHat, but you may want to add an exhaust fan in the bottom position. Doing so netted OptimumTech a two degrees Celsius reduction in GPU temperatures, although his RTX 2080 Ti Founder’s Edition still throttled at 83 degrees Celsius even with the extra fan. You’ll probably want to stick to a lower-powered GPU if you’re using air cooling.

That said, nothing’s stopping you from using the extra space afforded by a TopHat (or two) to build a full custom loop to keep temperatures low. Your Ghost S1 won’t be quite as small as stock, but even a Ghost S1 with two large TopHats is still smaller than every other case on this list barring the SilverStone SG13.

Overall, the Louqe Ghost S1 is expensive and thermally challenged by default, so it’s not for new SFF builders. But if you’re after a premium SFF case and don’t mind tweaking and experimenting to get everything just right, the Ghost S1 is as good a case as any to build in.

The Ghost S1 is available in Limestone and Ash, with matching TopHats.

6. SilverStone SG13

If price is your number one concern, the SilverStone SG13 is the SFF case you want to check out first. It’s a bit old and resolutely no-frills, but that comes with the significant upside of being cheaper than all the other cases on our list.

Unlike the Phanteks P200A, the SG13’s closest competitor price-wise, the SG13 has bonafide SFF credentials with its 11.4-liter volume. Of course, that does come at the cost of limited CPU cooler clearance; at 2.4 inches, you’ll need to go for a low-profile cooler like the Noctua NH-L9a or an AIO such as the Cooler Master ML120L v2.

GPU clearance is adequate for at least a two-slot card, though, so at least your rig’s graphics power won’t be too compromised. And you might be able to fit more: users have experimented with installing high-end GPUs in the SG13, the results of which you can find in this spreadsheet.

Gamers Nexus tested the SG13 with an AMD Ryzen 5 2400G and a GTX 1070 and recorded some reasonable temperatures. A 23.4-degree delta on the CPU and a 50.08-degree delta on the GPU isn’t perfect, but they’re temperatures you can live with as long as your ambients aren’t too high. If you want to be safe, stick to similarly mid-tier modern hardware.

There’s room for a 120 or 140 mm intake fan in the front, which might help CPU temperatures a bit if you’re running an air cooler. An intake fan probably won’t help your GPU much since it’s right up against the side panel, but it won’t hurt to try.

Another budget-friendly point in the SG13’s favor is that it has enough room for a standard ATX PSU, albeit with a recommended maximum length of 140-150 mm (5.5 – 6 inches). As with other SFF cases, we recommend a modular PSU to reduce clutter and give you more flexibility when routing cables.

All in all, the SilverStone SG13 is the best SFF PC case for those on a tight budget. It’s far from perfect, especially when considering its non-existent cable management and poor radiator support. But it’s all about being realistic and accepting that you will have to make sacrifices if you want an 11-liter case at this price point.

The SilverStone SG13 is available in black, pink, and white. You’ll also have to choose between a solid and vented front panel; we recommend the latter for the best airflow possible.

Before You Buy

Building in a Mini-ITX or SFF case isn’t as straightforward as your average tower case. So if you’re a first-time Mini-ITX builder, here are a few things to make sure of before you take the plunge.

Mini-ITX Isn’t Always SFF

All SFF cases are Mini-ITX, but not every Mini-ITX case is small enough to be considered an SFF case. While there isn’t a fully agreed-upon definition of “SFF,” a standard description you’ll find is that it only applies to cases with a volume of fewer than 20 liters or thereabouts.

A case like the Phanteks P200A, for example, is a Mini-ITX case since it only supports Mini-ITX motherboards. But at just about 30 liters, it’s way too big to be considered an SFF case. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does mean that it won’t be great for a compact build.

So, if you’re buying a Mini-ITX case to build a small rig, make sure you go by a case’s dimensions and volume rather than the motherboard form factor it supports. Shopping for “Mini-ITX” alone can be misleading.

Component Compatibility

This is always important when choosing a PC case, but doubly so when you’re purchasing a Mini-ITX case. Most Mini-ITX and SFF cases will have much more limited support for GPUs, drive mounts, PSUs, and CPU coolers than larger cases.

So, it’s worth double- and triple-checking clearances before buying, especially if you already have the PC components and just need a case. You’ll also want to check whether the Mini-ITX case you’re eyeing supports standard ATX PSUs or if you’ll need a smaller SFX or SFX-L PSU.

Unlike in mATX and mid-tower cases, GPU thickness is just as important as length here. Some Mini-ITX cases like the Hyte Revolt 3 will fit three-slot cards, but that doesn’t apply to every small case. Unfortunately, not every manufacturer lists how thick a GPU their case supports. You may have to do some digging on forums or Reddit to find out if your graphics card will fit.

Cooling and Temperatures

We’ve touched on this topic throughout the list via the temperature data, but it’s worth repeating here. SFF and Mini-ITX cases are inherently more thermally challenged than larger cases due to the lack of space and fewer fan mounts. This means that you’ll have to spend more time choosing the right components when building in an ITX case, especially if you live in a hotter climate.

The best 120 mm AIOs come into their own here, as they’ll outperform most low-profile air coolers in these sorts of tiny cases. The bigger, the better, though; if your case fits a 240 or 280 mm AIO, go for one of those to keep CPU temperatures as low as possible.

Closing Thoughts

The Mini-ITX and SFF space is one of the most interesting markets for PC cases right now. The challenge of fitting high-end hardware into the smallest possible cases has led to a lot of innovation and clever design choices. And our list of the best Mini-ITX cases is great proof of that.

If you’re shopping around for your first Mini-ITX/SFF case, the Lian Li Q58 or Cooler Master NR200P are the cases we’d consider first of all. The Hyte Revolt 3 would be right up there as well, but its reliance on an AIO for decent CPU temperatures makes it a slightly harder recommendation. It’s still a good case, though, as are all the others on our list.

It all boils down to how much you’re willing to spend and the sort of components you have in mind. The best advice we can give is to take some time and plan things out before committing to any of these cases.