Bedding
I've been really concerned about ITX chassis for a while now. After being tired of using ATX chassis like the T S340E, I've been longing for a truly excellent ITX chassis. However, as I've noticed, today's market is full of dazzling products, but it's rare to find something that truly meets expectations. I browsed through many Taobao brands, and ITX chassis are still a minority. I tried the 901 and AIR 240, but when they arrived, I realized that these weren't really ITX—they were more like MATX, using ATX power supplies, which made them not so small after all.
Looking at custom ITX chassis, most of them seem similar, mostly inspired by foreign crowdfunding designs. They usually feature all-aluminum or tempered glass side panels, but most are produced in limited quantities by factory brands or workshop-style non-production models. These often have issues with craftsmanship and details, making them unsuitable for those with high standards. However, there are many compact ITX chassis that manage to fit standard desktop hardware, like the ZS A4, which is currently one of the best long-card ITX cases on the market. Some well-known OEM brands, such as NCASE M1 and ABEE RS01, also offer small ITX chassis, but their designs are quite similar.
In February 2017, Corsair released its first ITX chassis, which had an avant-garde upright design. It measured 38cm x 17.6cm x 20cm and had a 12L capacity. When I saw the LTT review, I was immediately interested. Although I didn’t get to see the actual build until later, I found out that the water-cooled parts were custom-made, and the DIY level was quite low.
At Computex 2017, Phanteks showcased two new "Liangtian" ITX chassis: EVOLV Shift and EVOLV Shift X. Later, the Chasing Wind 217e finally shipped (originally scheduled for July, but it took longer). The emergence of this case completely changed my view on pirate ships. Now, I can do DIY on my own without relying on others.
The Hercules 217 chassis has a sleek and futuristic design. It can stand upright on a TV cabinet, featuring an aluminum alloy side panel and double tempered glass. The vertical air duct design is very refreshing, and the internal structure is well-organized. The silver and black versions are particularly popular, and the overall quality is impressive.
This case is actually quite large, with a 20L volume. It’s called an ITX chassis, but it feels more like a half-sized ATX case. It’s very innovative and I really like it. At the time, I wanted to try the AM4 platform, so I bought the chassis and started building. I used an R9 NANO and set up a 3A platform. But the ROG X370I had some issues, so I ended up using an ASRock X370I temporarily. I chose a 1600X and used a pirate ship H80I V2 for cooling.
After setting up the system, everything worked fine. The memory frequency reached 3200, and the system ran smoothly. However, when I played games, I noticed some performance issues. The frame rate dropped, and even though the NANO isn’t a bad card, it wasn’t performing as expected. I tested the graphics card again, but the results were the same. Eventually, I realized the problem was heat.
The graphics card wasn’t cooling properly, and the temperature was extremely high. Using MSI’s AB software, I saw that the GPU was hitting 85W under load. The graphics card was placed close to the glass, and the airflow wasn’t sufficient. This led to overheating, especially during heavy gaming sessions.
After revisiting the design, I realized the vertical duct structure wasn’t ideal. The back of the graphics card was sandwiched between the motherboard and the rear glass, which restricted airflow. Many users reported similar issues on forums like CHH.
Eventually, I decided to go with a liquid cooling solution. I looked into different options and found that the Chasing Wind 217E was designed for water-cooled graphics cards and CPU cooling. I tried a split water cooling setup using a 120+120 cold row. The water pump was embedded in the water block, and I used a thin cold row due to space limitations. The result was much better, and the temperatures improved significantly.
Despite the challenges, I’m still working on optimizing the build. The Chasing Wind 217 is a unique case, and I really like its design. I’m waiting for a better cold row to further improve the cooling efficiency. Overall, it's been an interesting journey, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. If you're considering an ITX build, I recommend looking into cases with good cooling solutions, especially if you plan to use a powerful GPU.
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