Guide to the best 8 itx boxes on the market

More and more users are deciding on medium-sized or small computers due to space, simple aesthetics or having a somewhat more limited budget. Since last year, the manufacturers of boxes and motherboards have introduced authentic wonders to the market: excellent design, very efficient cooling and the possibility of mounting a high-performance gaming equipment or a very cool HTPC.

For all the above, I have prepared a guide to the best ITX format boxes on the market today with their technical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. Many of them I have been fortunate to be able to test and assemble. So there we go!

Index of contents

NZXT Blanket - USB 3.0

Possibly one of the best ITX boxes on the market for both its build quality and excellent cooling. It is a box that has a window that allows us to view the entire interior of the equipment at a glance. As standard incorporate a total of 3 fans and allows us to install compact liquid cooling of up to 280 mm.

It allows us to install graphics cards up to 36.3 cm, ATX power supplies in a separate cabin up to 36.3 cm and heatsinks up to 16 cm. The result is incredible.

Its dimensions are 245 x 426 x 450 and a weight of 7.2 KG. Currently we can find it in three models: white, full black or black / red like the one we analyzed in our guide.

Bitfenix Prodigy

We start with the famous Bitfenix Prodigy series. Personally, it was the one that started the ITX gamers box revolution of the market about two years ago. I was one of the first to have one in Spain and I still keep it as one of my work teams. It is true that its dimensions are somewhat large (250 x 404 x 359mm), almost that of a Micro ATX. So they released the Prodigy-M version with the same size but worse distribution.

Bitfenix's main idea was to release a black version with a breathable front and a white version with a velvety compact front. After their great success, they decided to release four more versions: Orange, Red, Blue and green. What created fury and continue to be sold as threads.

I really like it because it allows us to install any graphics card on the market regardless of its dimensions, install up to 5 hard drives, we have an active 5.25 ″ bay for a rehobus or a hard drive hotswap, air or liquid compact cooling system or by parts and supports ATX power supplies.

We must be very careful when choosing a power source, not all are compatible. If they exceed the standard length, they will not fit and will force us to perform MOD. I recommend using reference graphics cards for more efficient heat dispersion.

Available colors: White / Black / Red / Green / Orange and Blue White. USB 3.0 connection.: Yes. Glass window: Can be purchased additionally. Supported gamers graphics cards: Yes, all dual slot. Compatible Power Supply: ATX. Recommended cooling : Air and liquid or maintenance-free cooling. Ideal use: For gaming, HTPC and daily use. Approximate price: € 68.

Bitfenix Phenom

A few months after the release of the Bitfenix Prodigy, the Phenom appears with a more elegant design, although with very similar dimensions: 250 x 330 x 374mm. It includes 4 aluminum legs and its front does not have to connect external devices with dimensions of 5.25 ″. We have it available in black and white and the rest of the features are identical to the Prodigy. As expected it has been a great success and many users have decided to have it as the main team.

The ideal box is for gaming. We can mount a high-end motherboard, liquid cooling, and a top GTX 780 or dual-GPU graphics, as long as it's dual SLOT. I certify that the assembly is easy and in a few hours we have it ready.

Available colors: White, White and Black. USB 3.0 connection.: Yes. Glass window: Can be purchased additionally. Supported gamers graphics cards: Yes, all dual slot models. Compatible Power Supply: ATX. Recommended cooling : Air and liquid or maintenance-free cooling. Ideal use: For gaming, HTPC and daily use. Approximate price: € 68.

Corsair Obsidian 250D

Here is my favorite, the Corsair Obsidian 250D, which can already be purchased in Spain in online stores. Available only in black and with a brushed front it has a spectacular presentation. Whoever buys this box knows that it takes the best on the market almost by far for its compactness (29 cm, Height x Depth: 35.1 cm, Width: 27.7 cm) and design.

Its configuration allows us to install ATX power supplies and with greater length, 2 hard drives, SSD and high-end graphics card. As always, in this aspect I recommend the reference ones. Also, it allows us to mount a compact liquid cooling system, for example a Corsair H80i. In a very personal way, if you are looking for an off-road equipment this may be your box, but do you have limitations with hard drives, since we can only add 3 and a hotswap on the front?

Available colors: Black. USB 3.0 connection.: Yes. Glass window: Yes, located in the upper area of the box. Graphics cards all gamers graphics cards. Compatible Power Supply: ATX. Recommended cooling : Air and liquid cooling without maintenance. Ideal use: For gaming, HTPC and daily use. Price approx: 80 to 85 €.

Fractal Design Node 304

Another of my favorites is the Fractal Node 304 available in both white (limited edition) and black. Its dimensions are very compact: 250 x 210 x 374 mm and as always Fractal has a very elegant design. It has 31 cm graphics cards, it has two USB 3.0 connections (on the left side) and allows us to install up to six hard drives inside. The front is completely smooth and is a box to take into account.

Corsair Graphite 380T

One of the boxes with more boom this year. The Corsair 380T has dimensions of 393 x 292 x 356mm and a weight of 5.55 KG. It is one of the best boxes for LAN Party thanks to its clamp in the upper area for transport.

It allows the installation of heatsinks with a maximum height of 15 cm, graphics cards up to 29 cm and ATX power supplies up to 18 cm. On its cooling it allows us to install a liquid cooling of 240 mm at the bottom and we also have fans on the front of 120 or 140 mm and on the rear area of 120 mm.

Its price is somewhat high, since its price starts at 140 euros. Immediate availability in all online stores in Spain.

Silverstone Raven Z (RVZ01).

Here we have another of the great beauties. Silverstone has several very interesting models in its SUGO series, but the most notable is the ideal Raven for the gamer. Here we are going to stop a little… It has very discreet dimensions: 38.2 x 10.5 x 35.0 cm, compatible with DTX and Mini ITX motherboards. One of its great advantages is that it has two positions: both horizontally and vertically, thus allowing us to take advantage of any space and it becomes a very versatile box.

Of course it has USB 3.0 connections, slot for optimal SLIM format, it can fit a 3.5-inch disk or two 2.5 ″ SSDs. Where do we find its catch? It forces us to use SFX power supplies. The market is slowly getting very good power supplies, silverstone has the best.

We must also bear in mind that to install the graphics card we are forced to use an adapter / riser that allows us to install large graphics cards (33 cm), and here we strongly recommend the use of reference model graphics.

Available colors: Black. USB 3.0 connection.: Yes. Glass window: No, only grid in one area. Graphics cards all gamers graphics cards. Compatible Power Supply: SFX. Recommended Cooling: Low Profile / Low Profile Heatsink Recommendation. Ideal use: For gaming, HTPC and daily use. Price approx: € 80.

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Cooltek U2 € 75.

Cooltek is a German manufacturer that specializes in PC cases. Where it has been strongest is in its CoolCube series with the normal, mini and maxi formats. Although there are two models that I really like the W1 and U2… It is a box with a minimalist design with rounded corners and elegant with a very attractive exterior. The aesthetics are impressive and include a transparent window in the panel on the left side, which shows off all our hardware. It is compatible with Mini ITX motherboards and ATX sized power supplies.

On hard drives we will have no problems since it houses 1 of 3.5 inches or two of 2.5 inches. The refrigeration we have a 12 cm fan in the frontaol and another in front. That is, it would give us for compact cooling with a simple radiator.

About the size it measures 331 x 208 x 233 mm and has a weight of just 1.4 kg. You get graphics cards up to 22 cm. So be careful, if we want to adapt it to the gaming world.

Available colors: Black. USB 3.0 connection.: Yes. Glass window: Yes. Graphics cards Graphics cards up to 22 cm. Compatible Power Supply: ATX. Recommended Cooling: Air dissipation or liquid cooling with thin 120mm single radiator. Ideal use: For gaming, HTPC and daily use. Price approx: € 75.

EVGA Hadron Air € 200 (Includes 500W PSU).

This is the first box made by EVGA and it does it in an ITX format. You have dimensions of 16.9 x 30.5 x 30.8 and it barely reaches 3kg. It is built in SECC steel, with shiny finishes and a glass window on the left panel.

Regarding the storage units it houses two units of 2.5 ″ or 3.5 ″ and the cooling two 12 cm fans on top. It includes an 80 plus certified 500W power supply (Eye, 40 amp line = 480 W real) and is compatible with graphics cards up to 26.7 cm. Also, 3-year warranty by EVGA.

Available colors: Black. USB 3.0 connection.: Yes. Glass window: Yes. Graphics cards Graphics cards up to 26 cm. Compatible power supply: 500w 80 PLUS Gold included. (Possibly noisy). Recommended Cooling: Air dissipation or liquid cooling with thin 120mm single radiator. Be careful, the power supply is noisy. Ideal use: For gaming, HTPC and daily use. Price approx: € 200

Cooler Master Elite 130 € 43

Like almost all presented, it is a compact box that is designed for excellent cooling and the assembly of high-end parts. It is only compatible with ITX motherboards and ATX format power supplies (this is very important).

Supports high-end graphics cards up to 34.3 cm, the front we have a 5.25 bay for a reader or a rehobus, and as storage units a maximum of 3 hard drives of 5.25 or 5 of 2.5 ″. The cooling is very good, as it includes mesh grilles (watch out for dust) and two fans, one of 120 mm on the front and one of 80 mm on the side.

The only downside that we see with the Fractal Node 304 that everything is very bundled with cables and very compact. Which may seem like a tedious assembly and it is almost mandatory to use a modular power supply to save wiring.

Available colors: Black. USB 3.0 connection.: Yes. Glass window: No. Graphics cards Graphics cards up to 34.3. cm. Compatible Power Supply: ATX. Recommended Cooling: Air dissipation is recommended. Ideal use: For gaming, HTPC and daily use. Approximate price: € 43, the cheapest.

Change control.

09/22/2016: We inserted Corsair Graphite 380T and NZXT Manta.

With this last box, we finish our little guide. And I ask you a question, which one do you like the most? Any recommendation? Have I left any important?