PC Smaller - Cutting ATX Full Tower to Small Form Factor Case

Don´t be afraid to cut corners. But watch out for cables. Some PC:s are big, and can be made smaller. Here is how you get a powerful PC with a small form factor for under $100.

Step 1: What Is a PC Case?

I bought an old gaming PC for $50. When it came, it was way bigger than I thought. I opened it and saw there was a lot of space. I started to look for smaller PC cases, but there was nothing second hand, and the new ones were expensive.

So I thought, what is a PC case? I felt like a philosopher.

Step 2: Start the Cutting

The whole section for the hard drives seemed not necessary, as I only wanted one small hard drive. I didn´t know where to start, but I cut some corners of the case, outside the motherboard.

Step 3: Keeping the Front

The front part of the case is kind of wide, and I only wanted the start buttons and the usb:s on top. But they were somehow integrated in the plastic, so it looked easier to use the front as a whole. It also has a fan, though I don´t think I need it. I tried not to damage any cables as I was cutting. I used a grinder and sheet metal scissors to cut, and drilled out the rivets in the corners.

Step 4: Cut the Bottom

The lower part of the case was also mostly empty, except for the power unit. I saw it could fit on top of the RAM memories if I turned it 90 degrees. I attached it to the top of the case using the old screws and holes.

Step 5: The Top

I cut a hole for the power unit switch and plug. I used some screws to close the front to the rest of the case. I pre drilled holes that were a bit smaller than the screws.

Step 6: Attach the Bottom

I cut off the bottom part and saved it. I had to move two of the legs from the front and backwards. I made small holes and screwed them in. I had to drill out some rivets to loosen the case.

Step 7: The Leftovers

I removed the 2 GB graphics card, as it was long. I had another 6 GB one at home that was smaller, only 20 centimetres. Here are all the leftovers, the DVD player, hard drives and casings.

Step 8: Good to Go

The grapcics card, Geforce GTX 1060 6GB, was $50. I also bought a second hand SSD disk of 512 GB for $25. I took four bits of double sided tape on top of each other and taped it to one side of the power unit, where there was space. Now I managed to install Windows 10, and my favourite game, Old school Runescape. I am also planning to install software for layout, photo and video editing, illustrations and 2D animation. I think I can get $25 for the 3 leftover hard drives and the old graphics card. This way you can get a small powerful PC for $100.