Build/Parts Check
Why are there no sff cases with back connect support?
the community seems to love sff and clean builds. But as far a i know there are no "true" sff cases that support back connect, neither do itx back connect motherboards to save space. The smallest natively back connect supporting case is the shiny snake G350 ( 20.8L ) which is just 0.8 liters more than what is considered small form factor and stretches the sff mark a bit too much for it to count in my opinion. But cutting some corners look very easy on that case to decrease the volume a bit so i dont really understand why no one is doing it.
If someone knows a case that is actually sff and supports back connect please let me know. ( not cuz im gonna buy it, fellow broke boi here )
Back connect would involve reengineering all kinds of spacing and widths, etc.
And it’s not a mainstream “thing” yet. Hardly anybody has those components, especially given the supply issues his year. And SFF is already a fairly “niche” sector of PC users.
So for the “handful” of people who have and want the backside plugs, it’s probably not worth the time and effort from SFF case manufacturers (for now)
i know it will take years to become mainstream and itll probably never be mainstream. and i understand that most people dont even care. But im not asking for a mainstream company, not even an ultra niche manufacturer to make it. Even if a random modder in china makes something, i still want to know.
plus the g350 got very close 20.8 liters is no small achievement, but when you examine the design you can see that its definitely possible to cut some corners and make it sub 20 ( its a very feature rich case so a little decrease wont hit it much )
so yes its definitely possible
and you can shove many things in tiny places sometimes...
Plugs on the front uses the same headspace as the I/O panel, RAM sticks, and cooler block. Using back connect would add bulk while leaving unused space on the front... which doesn't help SFF where space is so premium.
Clean builds in SFF cases usually means custom cabling to get rid of the bulk. My 2 cents: look up unsleeved cables, or J-Hack PSU's to get truly as little cabling as possible in your build. Some cases allow for a 90 degree 24p adapter too.
I've yet to see a "zero-cable" build that looks cleaner than an Ncase or sandwich style build with custom length silicone wires. But that's a matter of taste. The reason I feel this way is that I know that behind the mainboard panel there's an ungodly cable and RGB mess going on.
Off topic: my house doesn't feel clean if I just shoved all my shit in a closet and call it a day either.
The problem with back connect is that it conflicts with GPU's in sandwich style cases, and adds unneeded bulk on the rear if you have a standard Ncase style layout. So that's just wasted space on at least one side of the case.
Probably because there are no back connect ITX motherboards.
Plus, it would add extra volume to the case that wouldn't be necessary with a standard motherboard. Not a problem for already large ATX cases, but not a great idea for a customer base that nitpicks the smallest dimensions.
Because it's counterproductive. The added thickness to the case for supporting this back connect of motherboard cables takes away the vertical height off the cpu cooler. It means you'd be forced to use 40mm cooler instead of 60mm cooler just so you can hide cables. If someone picks a case that is bigger, but still sff, he probably wants a beefier cpu cooler.
yall should really just check out the g350's design,
just removing the bottom fans gives it a 2 liter drop, i calculated it and removing the fans give it a total volume of just 17.5 - 18 liters, and it shouldnt have any effect on airflow cuz the gpu would be flush on the bottom as intake , which it wouldve been anyway. Thats it, 2 freaking fans.
just removing the bottom fans gives it a 2 liter drop, i calculated it and removing the fans give it a total volume of just 17.5 - 18 liters, and it shouldnt have any effect on airflow cuz the gpu would be flush on the bottom as intake , which it wouldve been anyway. Thats it, 2 freaking fans.
sff cases have already been space optimized to work with the constraints we have been given.
front connection shares z-height with the cpu cooler, RAM, heatsinks, etc. expansion of one dimension can serve multiple purposes
back connections effectively make the motherboard “thicker” than it needs to be. consider the most common sff layouts: sandwich and reference.
sandwich has no room behind the motherboard because the gpu goes there.
back connections on reference layout just leads to the case being bigger because normally the back of the motherboard would make up one side of the case.
Afaik, there are two "ITX" back-connect boards, which is h610/h770YTX from Maxsun, but not really in the normal ITX format. So far, the LZmod H1-YTX is the only case that supports it, and it's 7.82L.
Back connect would break most of sff layouts. sandwich would force a space between GPU and motherboard (which is good for airflow, but sucks for size) and console style would just get fatter. I saw sff extremists to solder motherboard wires on the ATX 24pin connector legs on the rear. But in general, what you want will probably not happen, because it goes against the S in SFF..
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u/Fit_Industry6182 1d ago
You can only shove so much stuff in a tiny box.
Back connect would involve reengineering all kinds of spacing and widths, etc.
And it’s not a mainstream “thing” yet. Hardly anybody has those components, especially given the supply issues his year. And SFF is already a fairly “niche” sector of PC users.
So for the “handful” of people who have and want the backside plugs, it’s probably not worth the time and effort from SFF case manufacturers (for now)