Custom PC - UK (2019-12)

N

o,that’snota typointheprice
section,theMetallicGearNeoMini
reallydoescostjust£60.Butevenin
theflesh,wecan’tquiteseehowthecompany
isn’tlosingcashoneverysale,givenit looks
andfeelslikea caseworthtwicethepriceand
evenincludesa goodchunkofaluminiumtoo.
Theinternaldesignis ratherbasic,witha
miniaturisedtowerdesignanda standardATX
PSUmountintheroof.Themotherboardsits
belowthisina slightlyrecessedareaofthe
motherboardtray,whichallowstheCPU
clearancetostandata healthy160mm– far
morethanthePhanteks,LianLiandRaijintek
casesthismonth.There’salsospacefora
345mm-longgraphicscard,soif youhave
hardwaretotransplantfromanATXsystem
thenapartfromyourmotherboard,it shouldall
fitintheNeoMini.

MetallicGearNeoMini/£60incVAT

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk

There are two 240mm radiator mounts –

the one in the front can handle a 280mm

radiator or two 140mm fans, and an innovative

side mount can draw in or expel air through a

dust filter-covered vent in the side panel.

Sadly, you can’t use both at the same time,

while the side vent will also remove the sole

3.5in hard disk mount. There’s a pair of 2.5in

SSD mounts behind the motherboard tray,

but that’s it for hard drive mounts.

The exterior is made up of two large

aluminium panels, but both are solid with no

vents, so airflow is limited, apart from the side

vent. Cable routing is also basic, with very little

clearance behind the motherboard tray, but

thankfully, Metallic Gear has had the foresight

to include a little stowage area at the top,

complete with its trademark Velcro ties to tuck

unusedcablesorlengthsoutofsight.While

thecaseis RGB-enabled,theonlylightingis a

smallLEDontheundersideatthefront.

Despitehavinga frontfanincluded,cooling

wasratherpoorwitha CPUdeltaT of65°C.

That’sover10°CwarmerthantheSilverStone

LD03andslightlywarmerthanthefanless

RaijintekOphion.Thankfully,theincludedfan

pointsatthegraphicscard,resultinginmuch

betterperformanceinthistest.ThedeltaT

of53°Cwasonly3°Cwarmerthanthe

Silverstonecase,butsignificantlycooler

thanRaijintekorLianLi’sofferings.

Conclusion

A rearcasefanis thefirstthingwe’dbuyif we

plannedtoowntheMetallicGearNeoMini,as

itspoorCPUcoolingoutoftheboxis theonly

flyintheointmentofa decent-qualityand

exceptionallygood-valuemini-ITXcase.

It’salsowatercooling-friendlyandcan

housefull-sizedcoolersandPSUs,although

if youplanonair-coolingyourPC,the

SilverStoneLD03is smallerandbetterstill.

Wecan’targuewiththeprice,though,soif you

wanttomakethemovetomini-ITXforaslittle

cashaspossible,it getsourvote.

VERDICT

Excellent value and water-cooling friendly,

but there are better small, air-cooled cases.

THE MATRIX

• 
  

  Can house standard
  coolers and PSUs

  
  


• 
  

  Excellent value

  
  


• 
  

  Great water-
  cooling support

  
  

THE MATRIX

REVOLUTIONS

• Poor CPU cooling
  out of the box


• Not particularly
  innovative


• Large for a
  mini-ITX case

LABS TEST / MINIITX CASES

SPEC

Dimensions (mm) 190 x 380 x 355 (W x D x H)

Material Steel, aluminium, glass

Available colours Black, silver

Weight 4.9kg

Front panel Power, 2 x USB 3, audio

jacks, RGB control button

Drive bays 1 x 3.5in/2 x 2.5in

Form factor(s) Mini-ITX

Cooling 2 x 120mm/140 front fan mounts

( 1 x 120mm fan included), 2 x 120mm side

fan mounts (fans not included). 1 x 120mm

rear fan mount (fan not included)

CPU cooler clearance 160mm

Maximum graphics card length 345mm

cc

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sstommPP

CC

A

P

PROVE

D

COOLING

24 / 30

DESIGN

21 / 30

FEATURES

19 / 20

VALUE

19 / 20

OVERALLSCORE

83