The Best Mini-ITX Case for Airflow? Phanteks P200A Review

in my last video we checked out the ever popular Cooler Master nr200p and for a small Channel like mine it proved to be a surprisingly popular video they even helped me gain 69 subscribers nice so hot on the heels of that video we have the phantek's p200a which is fantech's most affordable ITX solution it's a pretty compact case but definitely just looks like a p400a that has been squished down most of the panels are tallest you get two 120 ml argb fans USBC and a fully meshed front panel and also support for cheaper full ATX psus if you've already got one of those in your system and you're trying to condense things into a smaller package there is also a performance version available which trades the tempered glass panel for a solid panel with some mesh to allow better airflow for your GPU mainly if vertical mounting is your priority overall the build quality seems like typical fan Tech's design is made of solid plastic and steel throughout and is exactly what you'd expect for around their 65 to 70 pound Mark fortunately there seems to be no added ITX tax as this is an incredibly affordable option for those looking to shrink their system of course the front and side features their ultra fine one millimeter performance mesh what we're all used to by now which helps to massively increase airflow and also emits the need for a dust filter though there is still a dust filter at the bottom of the case as your GPU you'll be pretty close to it and it will likely be pulling the air in from down below as far as the dimensions are concerned we're looking at 205 mil wide 365 millimeters tall and 400 millimeters deep our maximum CPU Cooler height is 165 millimeters though if you have a vertical GPU installed you're limited just 72 or 92 depending on your chosen position the maximum supported GPU length is up to 355 millimeters and GPU thickness is up to three slots at 65 millimeters when mounted vertically or horizontally and finally PSU length is listed up to 205 millimeters though fan takes on their website do recommend 190 millimeters when it comes to the p200a in particular though there aren't many options available to get excited about it comes in one color and either the aforementioned performance mode or this drgb version that I've got here as you may have already noticed this PC behind me does have extra fans fitted but I'll show you the temperatures with the stock setup versus a couple others a little later in the video obviously if you can't wait you know timestamps exist so just scroll along the bottom if you want to for Io the phantek's p200a is very well equipped you get a clicky power button up top which lights up with a little RGB ring then down on the front you get the headphone microphone combo Jack and there's also that USB type-c Gen 2 port for super fast 10 gigabit per second speeds you also get two buttons for the included RGB a mode cycle button and also a color cycle button if you don't make use of your motherboard software and of course the two USB a 3.0 ports Building inside the p20a is a bit of an odd one you'd think that it being a fairly large ITX case with it being around 30 liters in capacity you would have plenty of room to make building your compact PC incredibly easy but if I'm honest I'd say it was more difficult than the 18 liter nr200p I checked out a few months ago I think that adding support as standard for an sfx PSU would be a nice option as it would likely give you a lot more room up top to access those fiddly connections at the top of the motherboard so imagine if you're looking at a case this size and price it does mean you can retain an older power supply or use a higher wattage power supply most of which are likely to be much cheaper than their sfx equivalent of course you can loosen the screws on the back of the PSU and slide it back and forth to make life a little easier but if you use a tower cooler like I did it can be particularly fiddly regardless having the power supply up top will help to exhaust some heat from the system as there is no exhaust naturally as standard nor is there any ventilation on the top panel at all so let's talk about radiator support at the front you can mount up to a 240 or 280mm radiator and then on the side you can fit a 240mm radiator where I've got those two 120 mil fans situated you can mount fans on the bottom of the chassis to help your GPU airflow but if I'm honest you don't really need it as you can see in the configuration we currently have I opted to go with a standard Tower cooler but moving forward I might start to look into integrating radiators to try and maximize Cooling in these smaller builds so you know watch this space when it comes to ITX cable management is everybody's favorite topic the p200a is both fantastic and terrible at the same time the problem I found is seeing all the room around the back let me into a full sense of security I felt like it it should just work like any other ATX case word I thought I wouldn't have to be as particular with my cable routing because I saw that all this space up top and thought it was just going to be a breeze unfortunately it wasn't but it could have been when it comes to managing the ITX build focus on one cable at a time don't group them or Bunch them together until the very end I tried to just squish them all together but that tactic didn't work out annoyingly the pwm cables for the fans are just a little bit too short so I did have to make use of an extension so that would actually reach my motherboard header there are two removable cable channel pieces which are sturdy and made of metal and held in with just thumb screws which makes them easy to remove and tighten as you go there's also removable plate behind the motherboard of which you can mount two ssds though fitting the Saturn power connectors I imagine would be quite a pain one gripe I do have is with the included cables and the way they're rooted out of the box the bulky SATA connector for the RGB and the Short fan cables should run along the top next to the power supply as even without any extra cables they all form a formidable chunky Bunch that squish together against the side panel before you even start your build I can see why they all run down the bottom is so you can easily Mount extra fans on the side without having to move anything but if the fans were just a few millimeters lower and had a bit more room above that'd make for some much cleaner cable runs then after all that I decided I hate myself and decided to remove the two plastic covers on the side of the motherboard both of which you can mount ssds to if you wish and doing so will also give you the ability to install optional hard drive brackets which are sold separately or you just do what most people do in 2023 and we'll just add some extra fans in RGB or magnet radiator here I decided to add three more RGB fans in total with a separate controller Hub thing as well the giant cavity at the top of the case behind the PSU is such a useful spot to hide those larger cables and stupid RGB hubs if you're mounting a radiator or fans on the side I would recommend mounting them as an intake otherwise if you're up for an exhaust you'll be exhausting the fresh air from the front panel as soon as it enters the case now then let's talk about vertical GPU mounting again it's an optional feature even though as standard you get a bracket included which supports the optional bracket there are two holes on the bottom of the case which allows you to mount the vertical bracket so just remember this this bracket with a Gen 4 Riser cable costs basically the same as the entire case it's 65 pounds so if vertical mounting is your thing maybe look at cases around the 140 to 150 pound Mark like the Dan A4 H20 which is much more compact at 11 liters and includes the Riser but if you still want that bigger form factor in case I'll leave a link to this phantix brackets Down Below in the description as well it's 100 not included with the p200a so uh how hot does everything get inside the p200a well I'm glad you asked Timmy when in its case is this large has plenty of fans it performs really well in the default out of the box state with just two fans at the front the CPU hits a comfortable 65 degrees and the GPU tops out at 68.6 degrees adding an additional 120mm exhaust fan drops the CPU Max temperature by 2 degrees down to 63. whilst the GPU only loses about 1.3 degrees adding an additional two side fans drops the CPU temperature down to 62 degrees and the GPU down to 67 degrees so the extra slide fans aren't worth it in my opinion and I think a single 120 mil at the rear is a good option in this configuration obviously if you are mounting your radiator to the front or the side of the case I would expect your GPU to get a little bit warmer as it'll be pulling in that heat from the radiator so overall The Thermals aren't very impressive the build quality is classic fantex which is a positive by the way the included fans are quiet and bright IO is plentiful Building inside is incredibly straightforward and it all comes in for Just Around around 70 pounds what's not to like well like I said Cable Management can be fiddly if you try to rush it and plugging in things below the power supply is also a bit of a pain the HD audio cable also gets squashed behind the GPU which isn't amazing I didn't see any other way to root this nicely but I can't even remember the last time I used the ports on the front of a PC for audio so I guess that's up to you if you even bother plugging it in I have to admit for the price the p200a is a pretty enticing package offering comfortable support for 240 or 280 more radiators and offers great cooling potential out of the box but like I said earlier I would recommend that 120mm fan at the back just to give you a little bit more exhaust and also the p200a won't have a great time with those extra thick long gpus that we're seeing nowadays towards the top end with the 4080s 1490s of this sort of world but if you are considering a compact gaming rig and want to make use of a full-size ATX power supply or want a bit of extra room for storage or more fans than the p200a is definitely a solid option in for the price what do you guys think could this be your next ITX case or if you'd like me to check out any other cases please let me know down in the comment section below if you've enjoyed this video make sure you give it a like and if my face hasn't offended you don't forget to get subscribed and if you're interested in checking out the p200a or any extras I've mentioned in the video please feel free to check the affiliate links down in the description down below thank you very much for watching guys I'll catch you in the next one hopefully sooner than five or six months time bye [Music]

Channel: Tech Hunter

Views: 3,753

Keywords: tech hunter, techhunter, pc gaming, budget pc, Phanteks P200A Build, Phanteks P200A Review, Phanteks P200A Build guide, Phanteks P200A in 2023, Phanteks P200A performance, phanteks p200a build, phanteks p200a drgb, Phanteks P200A first look, Phanteks P200A 2023, Phanteks p200a review 2023, gaming pc, p200a phanteks, P200a review, Phanteks P200A cable management, Phanteks P200A pros and cons, Phanteks P200A airflow

Id: 7feIKJ2_OP8

Length: 9min 16sec (556 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 26 2023