Reddit mentions of sb components Limited Edition Raspberry Pi 3 B+ MEDIAPI+ Computer Case Box with Integrated IR, USB Hub and Media Remote Includes 5A Powersupply

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00SEGYY7C sounds close to what you are asking.

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SEGYY7C

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

https://www.amazon.com/Limited-Raspberry-MEDIAPI-integrated-Remote/dp/B00SEGYY7C/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1523451263&sr=8-5&keywords=raspberry+pi+media+case

I don't have one. It is just something I came across.

The 3B and 3B+ are dimension-ally the same. Your problem is that there aren't many desktop cases for the Pi 3 series.

This one may fit your needs. Note that it has a hard drive enclosed, but is meant for remote control operation:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SEGYY7C/ref=psdc_572238_t1_B071G5RP41

Just to clear a few things up.

> Im glad you cleared that up for me about the other SBCs. I was wondering if the other brands would be better at handling the systems the pi doesn't handle well.

Interestingly enough - ETA Prime (YouTuber) just posted a video about the MiQi SBC. It seems to be running N64 pretty nicely and he says he's going to be putting up a video soon about the MiQi and systems the Pi doesn't do very well. So while the support may not be there, it might be worth looking into, just understand that you're going to have less support for the systems you're interested in.

It might also be worth waiting for the Raspberry Pi 4, which my guess will be out within the next 3-6 months (nobody really knows when it will be out). It should have better specs and be able to handle something like N64 a little better due to better a stronger CPU. N64 development is something that is actively worked on for the Raspberry Pi where something like Dreamcast Emulation appears to be dead in the water (for example, the bug with date/time needing to be entered when loading every ROM was identified a while ago, but remains unfixed even though the fix has been identified; I'd do it myself if I knew how to code).

> So now I'm totally sold on the Pi3 and I'm chomping at the bit to place an order, but I'm still hung up on what to order with it.

The Cananakit is the most popular option. I ended up going for the basic and ordering a separate 128 GB card (but you can also get 256 GB if you're feeling like you could fill it up). The kit comes with a case, power supply, heat sinks. There are better cases you can buy, but this is a good all-in-one type price.

> I can't seem to find a clear small form factor case that has space in it for HDD AND has a cooling fan.

You're not going to want to put a HDD in it. They can add heat and the last thing you want is to add heat to this. They can already get a little hot. If you want a HDD attached, your best bet is to do it via USB. I know you don't like the idea of an external, but it's honestly the best way to go if you really want a hard drive attached. Here's an option I did find with a hard drive though, but I think you're risking overheating with this type of application:

Here are a few cases with fans attached:
Zebra Virtue, JBtek Transparent Acrylic Raspberry Pi B+ / Raspberry Pi 2 Case with External Fan (I might actually buy this one for myself), Eleduino 2015 New Version Raspberry Pi 2 mode B Transparent Acrylic Case With Fan Black.

> I have a decent gaming laptop. Could I use that to host the steam program?

You can't say you have a decent gaming laptop and not know what Steam is.

Steam supports streaming to just about any PC. There's two caveats to this though. First, you need to be hard wired. A laptop is normally wireless just because of the platform type. Second, you can't use the PC while it's streaming. You can go to the PC being streamed from and actually watch what's being played and even interfere with the game being played/streamed.

> Would having a separate account solve the problem of having an over crowded steam library?

Sort of. Again, the NES, SNES, and Genesis complete sets will run over 2k games easily (I have something like 1100 in my NES folder for Japanese only games that I included; the full US NES set is like ~700 or so.). That gets crowded, fast. Even viewing a single system with over 100 games gets crowded. Now Steam uses a flat view, so unless you split up everything manually, it's still going to get crowded.

I started to set this up and I don't recommend it unless it's for your favorite games and I'd limit it to about 10-20 per system. I'd use the Pi for a catch all for everything else.

> Another reason I want to shy away from just having a regular Pc for emulation is I want my kids to be able to play the games but I don't want them on my computer... this hosting thing seems like a great solution.

Again, Steam Link won't really help with that since they'll be able to access the computer. What don't you want them to be able to access? You should be able to block most of that with user account access. For about $500 or so, you can build a PC that should run everything up to the Wii. Hook it up to the TV and they won't be able to really do much else.