The best compact cases

Compact cases are usually in the Mini Tower form factor, yet they come surprisingly close to full-size options. They help save workspace at the office or at home, can sit on a desk to show off design touches, and make ports easier to reach. At the same time, these cases deliver solid airflow and provide enough expansion slots, though they do impose certain limits on the size of key components. Such towers can be a great foundation for building a gaming PC, an office or home computer, or a media server. A nice bonus is the set of pre-installed fans, dust filters, and stylish viewing windows that literally let you peek into the hardware inside.