Smallest gaming pc case
Others

Smallest Dev and Gaming PC Case I Ever Built

This is it! Ladies and gentlemen. This is smallest gaming and development pc I’ve ever built. It even has smaller footprint than a laptop without compromising any performance. In this post we’ll talk about  Geeek A30 V2 case. Let’s check it out!

Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored by Geeek

Geeek A30 V2 vs V1

Geeek A30 is a “sub” mini ITX case designed to have a smallest footprint as much as possible while you still able to to put in a mid-size graphic card.

Note that this is a V2 version which is a dramatically improved version. The differences between Geeek A30 V2 and V1 are as follow

  • Added matt black side shroud to cover the cables
  • Moved USB ports from front panel to the top
  • Removed front panel audio jack
  • New hexagon air vent design on the side panel
  • Replaced side panel screw with hand knob for easier maintenance
  • Back panel are now using aluminum instead of acrylic
  • Increased case fan size from 80mm to 90mm
  • Increased GPU height clearance by 10mm

That’s a lot of improvement! So before you buy it, make sure they are V2 and not V1.

An Ultra Mini PC Case

Here is the actual size (23x25x12 cm) compare to my Galaxy S10

Despite the size, you can still fit a dual fan graphic card that is no longer than 20 cm. In this case (literally) I put in ASUS TUF RTX2060 which is exactly 20cm long.

mini pc case gpu

Surprisingly the case even support a 2.5 inch drive at the back. So no problem if you want to reuse your old SSD or HDD drive instead of buying new M.2

mini itx pc case 2021

The case is even smaller than my current 15 inch laptop just only thicker. So you’ll be able to put it in a handbag and take it anywhere.

The material of the case is all acrylic except the aluminum frame. So the case is relatively light. The only catch is it will be prone to scratches.

At the top you’ll have two USB 3.0 ports and room for two 90mm fans for ventilation. The airflow was designed for the cool air to flow through the side panel and take the heat from both CPU and GPU to the top.

Cable management is a bit difficult as you can guess but not that difficult. You can popup out the front panel when working with the cable for working space.

The case also provide a black shroud to cover the side and the PSU so you have to worry much about how to tidy up the cable.

geeek a30 v2 review

The Mod Project

Since the case is very small, having physical temperature display is a good idea, so here comes my modification project.

I use the temp sensor for the water cooling loop and place it above the CPU.

For the support, I use the 12mm acrylic tube then spray a white paint on it. And made some modification to the tube fitting.

Here is the result.

I tested this case with video rendering and gaming and to my surprise. After couple hours the temp still stays around 30-40 degrees Celsius which is really good. Though the problem is the PSU fan noise.

portable mini itx pc case

The Catches

To achieve the smallest foot print as possible, this case only support Flex ATX PSU form factor. Since the ventilation fan of the Flex PSU is very small, it has to spin at a very high rpm hence the noise. So please note that if you’re looking for a quiet gaming case, this is not for you.

geeek a30 v2 flex psu

There is also small problem with a Wifi antenna if you are looking forward to take this case with you around, then you don’t want to carry the separate high gain Wifi antenna with long cable. but the port at the back of the motherboard only support small SMA connection so I have to buy a mini antenna like this.

Another catch about this case is CPU cooler maximum Height is only at 50mm. So if you are team red, then Ryzen stock cooler does not fit this case and you have to buy a separate low profile one.

Final Verdict

Overall I’m quite happy with the case. The design is good. The airflow is great. And if you pair it with a portable monitor like this, then you’ll have a powerful super portable workstation or gaming rig at your disposal. Of course only if you can accept the PSU fan noise.

geeek a30 v2 review

If you love this and want to see more development tips and tutorials, subscribe our YouTube Channel to stay tune

Written By

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error: