Emulation PC, need a case recommendation

[Dos_Box]

Well, I've got really hacked off in the past couple of years when trying to have a machine to emulate various platforms under my TV.
I currently have a Raspberry Pi 4 running RetroPi, but the load times and the limited amount of platforms it can emulate are very restricting.
So I decided to go nuclear with this and try and make a PC that will emulate pretty much everything.
After some rummaging around and ordering from CEX for RAM (which arrived today and gave me 16 GB of DDR4 3200Mhz Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro for not a lot of money), I have a Ryzen 5500 on a Gigabyte B450 micro atx board, a 250GB M.2 SSD, GTX 960 and will store ROM's initially on a 1TB spinning disk (will order a 1TB SATA drive for this next month).
My only problem is the case. The only spare case i have is a very old Zalman HD 160XT media PC case, which is very large (it originally was powered by a Core 2!). I'm now looking for a relatively low profile PC case that can be sat horizontally on the TV stand, and accept a decent cooler.

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the current case is very large, so something half that height would be much better, so if you know of any that could fit the bill, then please let em know and I shall look into it.
I currently own an Xbox Series X, Xbox 360, PS 1, 2 and 3, Wii and Wii U. I'm running out of space, hence the need for a decently powerful emulation PC.

[PotNoodleTech]

Oooh i like that old zalman case proper old skool cool if you want to get rid of it let me know.  I dont have anythig small enough to part ex sorry.

[glen_j]

Slimline desktop cases are pretty small. Something like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Micro-ATX-Desktop-Rainbow-Included/dp/B0BCXCJCX7?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A1ENGI3QDWM2UF&gQT=1 

[Dos_Box]

5 minutes ago, PotNoodleTech said:

Oooh i like that old zalman case proper old skool cool if you want to get rid of it let me know.  I dont have anythig small enough to part ex sorry.

It is a touch screen too IIRC! It is VGA only though and I was running Windows Vista Home Premium on it in Media Center mode about 15 years back. I was going to put this up for sale if it wasn't the need for it to be a home for my emulation PC bits.

[Dos_Box]

6 minutes ago, glen_j said:

Slimline desktop cases are pretty small. Something like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Micro-ATX-Desktop-Rainbow-Included/dp/B0BCXCJCX7?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A1ENGI3QDWM2UF&gQT=1 

I had seen that, but I'm willing to pay a bit more for something a bit more 'elegant', so it doesn't look out of place or cheap in the living room.

[PotNoodleTech]

Problem is there are not many super compact MATX cases - most of the really small/cute/cool ones are ITX.

[Dos_Box]

5 minutes ago, PotNoodleTech said:

Problem is there are not many super compact MATX cases - most of the really small/cute/cool ones are ITX.

Indeed, I had a P4 powered thing in the 2000's, which came in a great case. It looked like a DVD player. It doesn't need to be too small, just smaller than the Zalman and with the ability to put some decent air cooling on it.
Mind you, once I've cleaned this one it up (it's been in storage a while) it may look quite nice with all my other black home media stuff.

[glen_j]

This one's quite smart looking https://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Horizontal-Vertical-Installation-environment/dp/B07WVMC14J?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A2NIA2CGVBCUK3&gQT=1&th=1

 

This one looks a bit like an old VCR 😁https://technextday.co.uk/product/silverstone-milo-ml03b-slim-htpc-micro-atx-black-case/

[Dos_Box]

2 minutes ago, glen_j said:

This one's quite smart looking https://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Horizontal-Vertical-Installation-environment/dp/B07WVMC14J?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A2NIA2CGVBCUK3&gQT=1&th=1

 

This one looks a bit like an old VCR 😁https://technextday.co.uk/product/silverstone-milo-ml03b-slim-htpc-micro-atx-black-case/

I've just been looking at some Silverstone cases. They are very pretty!

[r0cketbev]

Just to give you a laugh Silverstone case

[Dos_Box]

On 29/05/2025 at 17:50, r0cketbev said:

Just to give you a laugh Silverstone case

Bit of a thread resurrection, but I am looking at this case now, but will probably wait until Black Friday to see if I can get a better deal on it.
What I do need is a recommendation for a decent Bluetooth adaptor as the Ugreen one I bought - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CJXVM1JJ does not have the range I'd like. It says 'long range' on the ad, but unless you sit in a certain way facing the pc (the dongle is mounted on the front) it can sometimes cut out. So if anyone knows of a Bluetooth dongle\card that has a good range, then please let em know.

I'm also in the market for a decent wireless controller. I'm currently using an Xbox Series X controller, and it just feels clunky and not very responsive, and it's really hard to get my Wii U Pro Controller to connect to Windows 11 now.
Any recommendations greatly received.
Oh, and I upped the graphics by putting my old RX580 in there. This setup emulates everything like a beast. Not bad for a load of leftover components!