SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review

Manufacturer: SSUPD SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review

In a world of PC Cases named such things as the Area 51 BR-459 Dynamic Mesh Air RGB, the SSUPD Meshlicious is an outlier. Reviewers and tech-tubers have been ranting for years about the naming schemes of products, and now we’ve gotten what we asked for: The Meshlicious. Aside from the naming scheme SSUPD apparently wanted to give us a lot more that we’ve been asking for:

  • Under 15 liters: Check
  • Unrestricted air flow: Check
  • Support for full size graphics cards: Check
  • Easy to build in: Check

Let’s get back to the name, SSUPD Meshlicious. According to the SSUPD website, Ssu was a lead designer with Lian Li for over 10 years, but has now split off and founded this sister brand; SSUPD, which stands for Sunny Side Up Designs.

I think we can come up with some better acronyms as we go (Sebastian Sets Up Podcasts Delinquently?). As the immortal bard once penned “what is in a name? A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.” So is the SSUPD (Steven Seagal Unwittingly Punched DeNiro?) Meshlicious a rose by another name? Continue reading to find out.

SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review - Cases and Cooling 31
Product Specifications
  • Motherboard compatibility: Mini ITX / Mini-DTX (need additional 20cm PCIe riser cable)
  • Power supply type: ATX, SFX-L, SFX
  • Expansion slots:
    • Full Length GPU : Up to 4 slot
    • Small Form Factor GPU : 3 slot
  • Front fan: 2x 120 mm or 2x 140 mm
  • Side Panels:
    • Tempered glass version side panel: One tempered glass panel (3mm thick) and one mesh panel (1mm thick)
    • Full mesh version side panel: Two mesh panels (1mm thick)
  • 3.5” drive support
    • Up to 2 x 3.5” HDD (with Small Form Factor GPU)
  • 2.5” drive support
    • 2 x 2.5” SSD (with full length GPU & ATX PSU)
    • 3 x 2.5” SSD (with full length GPU & SFX PSU)
    • 7 x 2.5” SSD (with SFF GPU & SFX PSU)
  • Front ports: 1x USB 3.0; 1x Type-C 3.1 Gen 2; Power LED
  • Tool-less push-to-lock: Both side, Top side, and Front side Panels
  • Component Clearance:
    • Front radiator: 120 / 140 / 240 / 280 mm (Up to 320mm length, 143 mm width, 63 mm thickness with fans, dependent on GPU position / type)
    • GPU max length: Full length GPU: 4 slots mode up to 336mm length / 3 slots mode up to 332mm length and 155 mm tall; small form factor GPU: Up to 211 mm length (without radiator)
    • PSU max length: 170mm ATX PSU (with front fan only) / up to 160mm ATX PSU (with upward tubing AIO) / 140mm ATX PSU (with downward tubing AIO)
    • CPU cooler max height: 3 slots GPU mode: Up to 73mm Height / 4 slots GPU mode: 53mm Height
  • Case dimensions (L x W x H): 245 mm x 166.4 mm x 360 mm / 9.65 x 6.55 x 14.17 inches
  • Volume: 14.67 liters
  • Net weight: Tempered glass version – 3.7 kg; Full mesh version – 3.6 kg
Pricing
  • Tempered Glass w PCIe 3.0 Riser Cable – $119 USD
  • Full Mesh w PCIe 3.0 Riser Cable – $129 USD
  • Full Mesh w PCIe 4.0 Riser Cable by LINKUP – $189 USD
Manufacturer Description

“Meshlicious is a combination of MESH and Delicious. There’s so much mesh that your mouth will water. Breathable, mesh panels lets you savor the airflow and minty temps.”

The Meshlicious Case

To start off with, this is by far the smallest case I’ve ever built in, eclipsing some of the more miniscule M-ATX cases on the market like the Silverstone FT-03, or SG10, and the only other ITX case I’ve previously used, the Metallicgear Neo Mini.  The Meshlicious comes in at 245mm L x 166.4mm W x 360mm H.  That’s 9.64 x 6.55 x 14.17 in the units used by nations who have landed men on the moon (I’m aware that NASA and their contractors used predominantly metric, just go with the joke).

SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review - Cases and Cooling 32

The internal volume of the Meshicious is 14.67 liters, and the footprint is an unbelievably small: 0.44 square feet.  The front I/O consists of a power button with power and drive activity LEDs, one USB 3.1 type A, and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C port.

The front, top, and both side panels on the Meshlicious are easily removed.  They’re held on by a pressure pin, and are completely tool less.  When in place, the fit and finish of this chassis is absolutely top notch.  The panels fit tightly together, with uniform seams and a high quality feel.

The bottom and rear of the chassis are not removable, but they are still designed for air flow, with plenty of ventilation slots cut into the steel.  Depending on the options chosen at purchase, you can get either one mesh and one tempered glass side panel, or both mesh.

The Mesh pattern on the panels is actually fairly dense. They don’t flow as much as some of the more open metal mesh panels I’ve seen, but because of the density, they still offer very good airflow, and at least some level of dust filtration.

The all mesh panel version sells for $119 US, the mesh/tempered glass model is $109.  Both are available in either black or white, and you can also choose a version that comes with a PCI-E gen 4 riser (instead of the Gen 3) for $60 more.

SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review - Cases and Cooling 41

Regardless of the options you pick, with all the panels removed, the Meshlicious is so open, that in spite of its size, it becomes extremely easy to work in.

Meshlicious Build Notes

SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review - Cases and Cooling 42

Ready for a mini-ITX build

The SSUPD (Sharon Stone’s Upskirt Paid Dividends?) Meshicious offers a few different configurations, depending on your choice in hardware. The motherboard tray can be shifted to allow for either a taller CPU cooler, or to allow for a thicker GPU (up to 4 slots). In the default motherboard tray location, there is even enough space to use an ATX power supply instead of having to use an SFX unit. You also have the option to use a short GPU, and add up to three 3.5” hard drives.

The drawback here is that the included PCI-E extension cable is not quite long enough, and you’d need to source another to make this work. With the included accessories, a new owner is essentially limited to the GPU vertically mounted behind the motherboard tray. The good news is that, unlike many of the sub 20 liter PC cases, I have yet to see a GPU that will not fit in this case. The GPU used (well over thirteen inches and exceeding three slots thickness) during testing this case fit with no issues.

Speaking of the included PCI-E extension cable, I’ve seen some comments here and there showing concern over the durability and longevity of the cable, specifically because of the 45-degree fold in the ribbons. I tested several different layouts in the case, and removed and re-installed this cable a number of times with no ill effects to this point. Despite the fold in the cable, it doesn’t appear that any extra care would need to be taken with it, over the care one would show to any other PCI-E extension.

One of the great things about this case is that, despite its vertical orientation, the rear I/O of the motherboard and the GPU output do not exit the top of the tower. The rear I/O faces back, and the aforementioned Graphics output is at the bottom. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vertical tower style case that utilizes space like this, and it really is an excellent design.

SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review - Cases and Cooling 51

Due to the GPU layout which places the PCI-E bracket toward the bottom of the case, you will most likely need to use a display cable with a 90-degree angled connector. SSUPD (Super Speed Ultra Planar Driver?) does provide an angled HDMI cable, but disappointingly no angled DisplayPort cable.

Unless you are going to some extra lengths to personalize your system (full closed loop hardline build, custom sleeved cables, or something along those lines) building a basic system with an AIO for the CPU cooling, and an air cooled GPU will be a relatively simple and pretty straightforward process. Depending on your goals, in most situations I would probably recommend going with the full mesh version of this tower, using a 240mm or 280mm AIO to cool your CPU, and positioning the fans as exhaust (pulling air in from the sides and pushing it out the front of the chassis). This would allow for better cooling of any components that don’t have active cooling.

My case arrived with one mesh and one tempered glass panel. In this circumstance, I would place the tempered glass over the CPU side and letting the GPU pull in its own air through the Mesh. I would also position the front fans as intakes. Using this method and an SFX power supply there is enough of a gap between the PSU fan and side panel that the PSU would not be starved for air.

When building the closed loop system for the photos of the Meshlicious, I did a little experimentation with the included accessories and discovered that if I used the extra standoffs included, I could space the graphics card a little further from the motherboard tray, which allowed me to use that gap for better cable management. It actually turned out very well and the loop was much easier than I had initially anticipated. The biggest limitation I ran into was the overall width of the EVGA Hydro Copper block. Anyone using a standard height card, with a lower profile port connector would find the build even easier.

Performance Testing

As I had never reviewed an ITX case before, and didn’t have a pre-existing test system for such an occasion, I took measurements with the equipment I used on an open bench, then inside the Meshlicious. Inside the case, I configured the two 120mm fans for the AIO as intakes, and placed the mesh panel on the graphics card side of the enclosure.

Specification of Test System:

  • AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
  • ASRock B550M-ITX
  • 16 GB (2×8) GSkill Trident Z 3333 (Overclocked to 3600 MHz)
  • Zotac Amp Extreme GTX 1080ti with Arctic Cooling Accelero Extreme III (Fans locked at 50%)
  • Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 500GB
  • Cooler Master ML240 V2 All in One CPU cooler (fans locked at 100%)

Test Conditions:          

  • CPU Temperature Testing:  OCCT set to Small FFTs for 30 minutes
  • GPU Temperature Testing: Unigine Heaven set to Extreme at 1080p for 30 minutes.
  • Ambient temperature was set to and monitored at 23℃
SSUPD Meshlicious Temps Chart

Using an AIO cooler for the CPU in the Meshlicious yields amazing results.  The maximum CPU load temps were only 1℃ warmer, which is really within margin of error.  The GPU temperatures were not quite as amazing, but still satisfactory.  They were 7℃ warmer than on the open bench, but this is still an air-cooled, factory overclocked GTX 1080 Ti getting max temperatures of only 40℃ over ambient (63℃ total).  No matter how you look at it, that’s still extremely good, especially considering that it was shoehorned into this sub-15 liter case.

Conclusion

After my experience with the SSUPD (Severus Snape Used Potions Deviously?) Meshlicious I have to say that I’m exceedingly impressed. Despite its size, the Meshlicious was both versatile and easy to build in, with many fewer hardware limitations than I’ve seen on many of its competitors.

SSUPD Meshlicious Mini-ITX Case Review - Cases and Cooling 60

Once built, the mesh, airflow focused, design performed better than many mid and full towers I’ve reviewed. I have to believe the all mesh version could do even better then my version with one tempered glass panel. Because of its well thought out design, I think even a novice PC builder could build in this chassis without trouble.

I’m very happy to recommend this case to anyone looking for a small footprint build, but not wanting to sacrifice performance. The SSUPD (OK, Sunny Side Up Designs) Meshlicious gets our Gold Award.

pcper gold award

Review Disclosures

This is what we consider the responsible disclosure of our review policies and procedures.

How Product Was Obtained

The product is on loan from SSUPD for the purpose of this review.

What Happens To Product After Review

The product remains the property of SSUPD but is on extended loan for future testing and product comparisons.

Company Involvement

SSUPD had no control over the content of the review and was not consulted prior to publication.

PC Perspective Compensation

Neither PC Perspective nor any of its staff were paid or compensated in any way by SSUPD for this review.

Advertising Disclosure

SSUPD has not purchased advertising at PC Perspective during the past twelve months.

Affiliate Links

If this article contains affiliate links to online retailers, PC Perspective may receive compensation for purchases through those links.

Video News

About The Author

6 Comments

  1. Grumpy wolf gaming

    Did a review on this case about a month ago. This is by far my favorite itx case I’ve ever built in. Though I disagree with you on ease to build in. If you do proper cable management and a full size psu it can be difficult.

    Reply
    • Kent Burgess

      Unfortunately, I didn’t take many detail photos of the hardline build, but all the cables run between the motherboard tray and the back of the PSU. I did use the additional included standoffs to create enough space to in the gap to use it in this manner. Aside from where the cables connect to the PSU, they are only visible where they exit the space to plug into the GPU or motherboard. I actually could have hidden them better with an ATX PSU as it would have covered the visible space beneath the motherboard. I did consider cutting and painting an L shaped piece of acrylic to conceal the cables where they are visible around the power supply, but I didn’t think such a mod would be an accurate representation of the case for a review.

      Reply
  2. Nick thomas

    Came here after listening to last weeks podcast to see the glorious photos and I can safely say that I’m not disappointed.
    Great build and read Kent!

    Reply
    • Kent Burgess

      Thanks. It means a lot to hear that people are liking our work, and to me personally as well.

      Reply
  3. Daman

    May I know what fittings are you using on the CPU block?

    Reply
    • Kent Burgess

      I apologize for not seeing this sooner. Those fittings are called the Koolance Swiveling Elbow Low Profile. I picked them up from Performance-PCS.com.

      Reply

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Latest Podcasts

Archive & Timeline

Previous 12 months
Explore: All The Years!