Reddit mentions of Silverstone Tek Micro-ATX Mini-DTX, Mini-ITX Mid Tower Computer Case with Aluminum Front Panel and Steel Body TJ08B-E - Black

This is the kind of post I come here for. Great content.

By the way, to build upon OPs preaching about cleanliness, I'd like to add two points.

• Download Speccy and keep it on your computer. It's a useful low-footprint program that not only lists all the components in your PC, but also gives you temperature readings. Very handy to have, especially if you want to know exactly what kind of hardware is in your computer.
  
  
• Use dust filters on any intake fans on your case. This has made life 10x easier. I just opened my case recently after it was closed for almost a year, and there was hardly any dust because my case uses some nice removable dust filters that keep out tons of dust. It's much easier to clean a screen regularly than it is to open your case and use canned air, so I strongly recommend this if you can.

I am here for some ITX input.

Standard Cases - All with full size expansion card support.

Cheap ($40) ITX case w/250w PSU

• Only single-slot expansion, full height.
  
  Much less cheap ($100) ITX case w/300w PSU
  
  
• Model with 450w PSU available
  
  Premium ($145) ITX case w/450w PSU
  
  
• I have this one, and my only gripe is heat. At this size, though, it's hard to blame it on the specific case. Power supply happily supports my i3 and 560 Ti 448, but as the case's only outtake fan, it gets quite warm. Rated for 24/7 use, though.
  
  Different Cases - Non-standard designs.
  
  Verticle standing ($100) ITX case w/o PSU
  
  
• I think it's beautiful.
  
  Upside-down-motherboard ($100) ITX/mATX case w/o PSU
  
  
• This would probably be used in whatever my next build ends up being. It's also available with a predominantly plastic front, with an aluminum "accent".
  
  These were all cases I considered in my recent mITX build, which is why I have shared them here. The product pages go through basic features, but these are the cases I recommend for small gaming. Silverstone seems to make good stuff in this category.

That Ranger is the smallest I've seen but you may also want to consider the Silverstone TJ08B-E or some of Fractal Design's mATX cases.

Corsair has the 350D on the high end and the SPEC-M2 and 88R on the lower end.

The Cooler Master N200 is an excellent case for the price. It's pretty boring though.

The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv is fantastic. Premium price, but worth every penny.

I just found this deal on a Silverstone TJ-08BE. Innovative design, extremely high build quality and a steal at $60 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DDCDH2/?tag=pcpapi-20

If the Silverstone fits your needs, I would strongly recommend it.

Get the case from amazon instead. -18
You are paying way too much for that power supply, get this. -68

Get a i5 2310.
And a slightly better motherboard.

I built my first system with a mATX form factor and I swapped to ATX this time around because the amount and quality of offerings for higher-end mATX boards just weren't there. It seemed like it was solely just budget boards and boards with pretty middling/mediocre ratings.

My current case is honestly not that much bigger than what I had before, but the better offerings for motherboards and the ease of cable management and building/upgrading in a slightly larger case has me sold for the most part to keep using ATX in the future.

No problem, I'm kinda in the same boat as you (I'm traveling to the states for a year for work). I'm leaving behind my gaming rig (dual GTX580's) and I didn't really want to build another one in the states so I settled for a decent laptop.

If you do plan to go the desktop route, I would suggest looking into building an open system (no case). That way you can easily compartmentalize everything when you travel (its what I did when taking back my rig from university). Make it a compact build as well (micro ATX mobo, reference CPU cooler) and you can easily pack the entire thing in your suitcase with room to spare (just make sure its well protected/padded.

As for component suggestion, if you're budget is still roughly the same then I would suggest something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | $189.99 @ Microcenter
Motherboard | Asus Maximus V Gene Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard | $189.98 @ NCIX US
Memory | Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $46.99 @ Newegg
Memory | Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $46.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $169.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Crucial M4 512GB 2.5" Solid State Disk | $389.00 @ B&H
Video Card | Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card | $413.78 @ NCIX US
Power Supply | Silverstone 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $161.29 @ Newegg
Optical Drive | Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer | $59.99 @ Newegg
| | Total
| Prices include shipping and discounts when available. | $1668.00
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-21 22:56 EDT-0400 |

You will need to grab an OS, screen, keyboard and mouse (if you don't have one already). You could also swap the 7970 for a GTX680 (better performance in a number of games) for a bit of a premium.

If you really want a case as well, then I would suggest the Silverstone TJ08E (widely regarded as the best micro ATX case available), though I'm not sure if it will fit in a suitcase, just bring it on as carry on :) Here is a good image of what it looks like fully loaded: Link

I'll admit, I misspoke. I didn't want to say "smaller" but wanted to say "within the same size range".

You may also want to consider moving to a Micro-ATX build if you can spare the expansion slots. At that point you can look toward things like the TJ08B-E.

The Bitfenix Survivor is not that large of a case either.

Lian-Li PCA05FN is a full ATX case.

Lian-Li PC-A55 is another one, but it is new and (AFAIK) not yet available for sale. This one is smaller than the 210 in height and width. Depth is 5mm more.

The link you posted above.

I'd probably go with the Silverstone TJ08-E.

Haven't done a build on forever but this case has been easy to build in. Started yesterday and have no complaints

Silverstone Tek Micro-ATX Mini-DTX, Mini-ITX Mid Tower Computer Case with Aluminum Front Panel and Steel Body TJ08B-E - Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DDCDH2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rHdzxbEBPAXAQ

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DDCDH2/?tag=pcpapi-20

Silverstone TJ08B-E! It is a great little tower.

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-Micro-ATX-Mini-DTX-TJ08B-E/dp/B005DDCDH2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370570779&sr=8-3&keywords=Silverstone

I believe I found it here on Amazon same price but free shipping.

Edit: you didn't give me a newegg link... but here you go anyway