Isn't the "no bottom PSU air intake" and "no PSU shroud" conflicting criticism on the be Quiet Dark Base 900 case? Can't say I've ever seen any shroud vs non shroud tests that make even 1c difference to case temps with a decent Gold / Platinum PSU that's generating less than 20w waste heat powering most real gaming loads.
Also still not getting the hype for giant oversized ITX stuff whose footprints are much larger than Micro-ATX:-
NZXT Manta ITX = 45.0 (D) x 42.6 (H) x 24.5 (W). Footprint = 1,102cm2. Volume = 46,967cm3
Fractal Design Core 1500 MATX = 45.0 (D) x 37.0 (H) x 19.5 (W). Footprint = 877cm2. Volume = 32,467cm3
Sharkoon MA-M1000 MATX = 41.5 (D) x 36.0 (H) x 18.5 (W). Footprint = 768cm2. Volume = 27,639cm3
To me footprint is always more important than volume. That's why tower cases became popular from ye olde 90's beige desktops in the first place - once people stopped standing bulky CRT's on top of them, they freed up more usable desk space at the "expense" of unused under-desk floor space tucked out of the way. A case under the desk also sounds 3-6db quieter (50-60% further away and less "line of sight" vs ears). Taller narrower cases with USB ports on the front or upper-front are also far easier to reach when inserting USB sticks vs ITX cases that put the ports near the floor and on one side (BitFenix Phenom has horrible port placement especially if it sits on the "wrong" side). These giant ITX cubes have up to 50% larger footprints, which makes no sense to "save space" whether it's on or under a desk. No optical drive option, 1 vs 4 expansion slots, and more expensive for... what? The latest CPU & GPU wattage is falling not rising and people believing they 'need' 8x case fans / 2x 240mm radiators to cool a 65w CPU + single 75-120w GTX 1050-1060 / 110-150w RX 470-480 is becoming highly amusing.
Quite honestly, for an "under the desk" small, cool and highly flexible gaming case, I'd pick the $65 Fractal Design Core 1500 over the lot and spend the $40-$150 saved on the next GPU / SSD size up. And for something on the desk, I wouldn't use anything larger than a 4" (10cm) NUC (because desk space = more premium than unused floor space). For HTPC's, there's a lot to be said for those Silverstone's which make an attempt to blend with existing AV receivers / cable / satellite, etc, boxes in a TV stand / cabinet than an ugly, overly lit-up "gaming" cube standing out like an eyesore. And yes, millions still use optical drives unless you have an extremely limited taste in films / music / TV shows or don't want to a look a complete dork when friends turn up with a Blu-Ray and your +$500 "smart" rig can't play movies from more than one source in which case you might as well save your money and buy a Roku / Fire TV stick...
