OCPC Hydra Italy Mini-ITX Open Air PC Case (Black) – Stainless Steel Frame with Machined Aluminum Feet, SFX PSU Compatible, 2-Slot GPU Support, Open Frame Chassis for Mini-ITX Builds

The media could not be loaded. In general - all mentioned in this review products are as described and working as described. Almost all deserve 5 stars (commented if one or more stars are taken off). Instead of reviewing item by item I decided to write one review for all products used for one specific PC build. The purpose of this PC build - fancy compact gaming system.Items used in this build:--Item 1) OCPC Mini ITX Case, Hydra Italy Mini ITX PC Case, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BK6D77DG/Very good case – compact, cool looking and efficient. The black color is the only variant I found on Amazon. With only cooling from top-down CPU cooler, the i7-13700K based system passed the stress test very well. Riser cable is not included – actually the riser cable for GPU orientation as shown on Amazon item photo does not exist. In order to build the system as shown, I bought a flexible riser cable (Item #2) and twisted it to 180°. Another simpler solution is to install GPU upside down as presented by other reviewers on Amazon.--Item 2) EZDIY-FAB PCIE 4.0 16x Extreme High Speed Flexible Riser Cable PCI Express Port GPU Extension Card-Dual Reverse Connector for ITX [21cm]. Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09S5DW3RX/-Does the job - exactly what I need for the project. Note: During system build I have to remove the bracket from the cable male connector and install it back after passing cable through the case hole.--Item 3) Power supply: Cooler Master V750 SFX Gold Full Modular, 750W, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LP7B7FM/- Works as supposed to. PSU had a noticeable burning smell for about 5 days, considering this is normal for a new PSU. If you want to build more powerful gaming system, I recommend the PCIe 5.0 ready 850W SFX PSU, something like ARESGAME GL850 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CHDS4J33/SFX-L PSU will work in Hydra Mini as well, but cable management will be tougher.--Item 4) CPU: Intel Core i7-13700K, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BCF57FL5/- Good CPU, working well in gaming.--Item 5) Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B760-I Gaming WiFi, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BR8TVLPL/- Working as described, nice looking MB. Thank you, ASUS - now ROG motherboards have the Memtest86+ built in BIOS. This very helpful feature allows PC builders to check memory before operating system installation and prevent blue screens and failures during OS install and system use in case of defective memory.In my case originally ordered CORSAIR DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 RAM 64GB (2x32GB) 6400MHz (Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1R95SPW/) was defective. Both memory modules came to life and showed ok in BIOS but Memtest86+ got errors. I did test modules one by one in the same memory slot and found out that one of the modules is the cause of the failures. Returned the defective memory and bought another from a different brand (Item #6). ASUS ROG Motherboard chosen for the look. In my opinion the best Intel (or may be overall) mini ITX MB on the market is MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi Gaming Motherboard (Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BHCJ6KQ2/ ) I own one and have a very best experience.--Item 6) Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB DDR5 Ram 64GB (2x32GB) 6000MHz, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BNTV1945/-Very good product, works as described, nice looking, recognized by Aura Sync.--Item 7) Graphics Card: MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCFZMHSM/- Graphics card work as supposed to, have low power consumption. This GPU was chosen for the look only. Anyway, the presented system can play all modern games well at 1440p. But if you want the very good gaming experience, I will recommend at least RTX 4070 Ti like MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Ventus 2X 12G OC. And the very best (talking about built on Hydra Italy Mini Case) will be the system with 850W PCIe 5.0 SFX PSU and:a) MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi Gaming Motherboard, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BHCJ6KQ2/b) Intel Core i9-13900KF, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCFM3CJ4/c) ASUS ProArt GeForce RTX™ 4080 16GB OC, ( Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C75J66C8/). This compact GPU has included Graphics Card Holder which will work with presented builtI own all of these (a,b,c) components packed in another fancy mini ITX case (Phanteks PH-ES217A_BK02 Evolv Shift 2 Air Mini-ITX case, Fabric Side Panels) and they performed superb in games.--Item 8) SSD Disks:8.1) Primary (system): WD_BLACK 2TB SN850X NVMe Gen4 PCIe M.2 2280 WDS200T2X0E, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7CMZ3QH/8.2) Secondary (backup and media data): Crucial P3 Plus 4TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 CT4000P3PSSD8, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B25M8FXX/- Very good products, works as described, no problems.--Item 9) Antec Power Supply Sleeved Cable, PSU Cables, PSU Extension Cable Kit / 1x24pin ATX / 2x8pin (4+4) EPS / 3X (6+2) pin PCI-E, 30cm Length with Combs, Dual EPS Red Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN3H2K17/- Perfect fit for this project, good cables, looks nice.--Item 10)CPU cooler: ID-COOLING IS-67-XT Black 67mm Height Low Profile CPU Cooler, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CFPY9CKZ/- Good design, keeps i7-13700K adequately cool in open Air PC Case. Mounting for regular size 120mm fan included. Easy installation - just install radiator 1st and mount fan after. ID-COOLING IS-67-XT chosen because of black color. In my opinion DeepCool AN600 Low Profile CPU Cooler (Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4P8ZPWT/) has a little bit better cooling performance (I have one in a very compact Flex ATX build).--Item 11) EZDIY-FAB Moonlight 120mm RGB PWM Case Fan, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X8T79QY/Good, quiet and nice-looking fan. Actually, it is a leftover piece from a 9 fans ATX tower system build. If you want to build a similar system with a similar look, I recommend Cooler Master MF120 Halo² Fan Duo-Ring ARGB (Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BWKZGYXJ/). This fan has a similar look but has better airflow / air pressure.---Item 12) 24 Pin RGB Cable Extension Kit (used ARGB strip only), Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WN4G7KC/- The power cable connector to MB too tight - did not go all the way down, afraid to broke the MB if try to apply more force (the regular PSU cable fits perfect). Connector to PSU too tight as well, but was able to connect all the way down. Actually, in reality the system with this cable does not look good (too much RGB). Did use ARGB strip only for decoration purposes on the GPU side.--Item 13) Thermal Paste: ARCTIC MX-6. Optional - I have a very good experience using this thermal paste brand and always using it for the builds (so thermal paste provided by ID-COOLING was not used). Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09VDLH5M6/-----------Overall, I assume the goal is reached - the presented system can play recent games and look very cool (in my humble opinion).

This case is undeniably beautiful, but there are a few important considerations to keep in mind. Setting it up can be a bit of a challenge, depending on your system configuration. Additionally, there are some noticeable flaws that should be addressed if it wants to cater to a broader market.I've found that this case seems to be more geared towards older tech, but it can work with newer equipment. For instance, I'm using an ASRock mini ITX board with a Xeon processor, which is quite rare. Converting older hardware into a new system had its own set of challenges.One of the main issues I encountered was with the PCI extension. Regardless of what you do, the extension cable either needs to be twisted 180° to mount correctly to the bottom of the graphics card, or the graphics card must be turned upside down. It would be a significant improvement if there were a two-way bracket or a reversible option for the graphics card placement, as this would streamline the setup process.Another area for improvement is cable management for the power supply. Currently, users are left to their own devices in this regard. It would be beneficial if there were some built-in cable management solutions.Furthermore, having the ability to reverse the motherboard from top to bottom and providing additional base mounting screw locations would enhance the case's versatility. Adding a hard bracket for fan stabilization, even though not universal, would be a welcome addition.Lastly, it's worth noting that SFX style power supplies typically come with cables that are not long enough to reach the top of the motherboard. Including power supply extension cables in the case package would be a convenient touch. Additionally, having cutouts on the case designed to fit standard 8-pin Molex connectors would be a practical addition for cable management.In conclusion, this case's aesthetics are a strong selling point, but addressing these usability and compatibility issues would greatly improve its overall appeal and functionality.

The GPU mount bracket is on the wrong side. the GPU IO is facing the opposite direction of the motherboard IO. this makes so you have to flip the PCIE riser cable after threading it through the hold on the bottom. this can be fixed if you flip the GPU mount to the other side but this flips the GPU & now the PCIE riser has to come from the top. an additional thing is that the mounting bracket has tight tolerances so certain display cables may not fit This is all for air flow yes, but make it clear on the store page.

small. very good designa bit tricky to put everything together

If you like to see your hardware on display this is for you. Build quality on mine was ok, there was a small scratch but nothing serious. If you’re using a discrete graphics card I would recommend moving the mounting bracket to the same side as the i/o of the motherboard which requires the use of a double reverse PCIe riser cable no shorter than 185mm. Your graphics card will be mounted with the PCIe connector facing up, I don’t think it matters but that’s personal preference. Cable management is wide open, you can be creative or not, your call. I think this would be great for the first time or experienced builder.

This was a perfect case for my small build, but it did require moving the GPU bracket from the right side of the case to the left. When moving the GPU bracket your GPU will be upside down and you will need a PCIE Riser Cable. I found the perfect riser cable for my case, it is a PCIE Riser Cable with double sided 180 Degree Adapter ends at 200mm length.

The pcie bracket on the back of the case is on the wrong side. You cant connect your GPU into the riser after passing it through the motherboard hole. This is a major Design Flaw.

Nice design