Concept Owliwar's concept thread

[owliwar]

Disclaimer: for my graduation project I'm doing a whole family of pc cases, this is post contains concepts for my final graduation project, and even though I plan on selling this at some point I'm not sure when.

I'm studiyng a bunch of product design methodology and i'm posting here to keep track on the feedbacks and evolution of the project.

edit: I updated the post title so i could merge all my concepts in a single post so I wouldn't spam the forum

concept list:
1- sff atx windowed case / slim version
2- 2.2L htpc ODD case
3- sff diy NAS

concept :SFF ATX windowed case
In my studys on the project gregory, I stumbled upon two ideas that reflected this first concept.

At first i wanted to do something I could only with tfx psus, but then quickly moved to being able to adapt to different needs and tradeOffs and all under 15L.

TFX psus are usually 300w which is enough for a gtx 1070 and a 65w cpu

what I'd like to achieve with this case is somewhat in lines of:

Window for cpu and gpu
good air cooler support
midtower like layout
focus on aesthetics
gpus up to 27cm~​

what I come up with was 4 layouts:

1 ATX + tfx psus with the first 3 slot for fullzise gpus and other 4slot for low profile pci stuff
2 ATX + tfx psus with the first 3.5 slot for fullzise gpus and other blocked pci ports
3 mATX + sff psus with 4 full slots and fans on top
4 mATX + ATX psus with 4 full slots


size comparison with s340:








micro atx form factor with sfx psu and atx psu:



Any thoughts?

 

[Kooki]

First two PCI brackets as standard-sized and the rest as half-sized is a first for me. Very creative! D

Have you tried in a way to use glass instead of acrylic (I'm assuming it's designed with acrylic because of the tags of the thread)?
? Could you give us CPU cooler height? I know it's just a designing project, but I like to wonder what could fit in it. lol

 

[owliwar]

First two PCI brackets as standard-sized and the rest as half-sized is a first for me. Very creative! D

Have you tried in a way to use glass instead of acrylic (I'm assuming it's designed with acrylic because of the tags of the thread)?
? Could you give us CPU cooler height? I know it's just a designing project, but I like to wonder what could fit in it. lol

Thanks!

I'm using @Necere's reference from componets space requirements thread so I'm focucsing on a 150mm internal space measurements, so its for heatsinks under 130mm height.

I'm not sure I'll be able to do it with glass, but there some good cast acrylics that can hold scratches fairly well. I might have to double check, though.

 

[Biowarejak]

Thanks!

I'm using @Necere's reference from componets space requirements thread so I'm focucsing on a 150mm internal space measurements, so its for heatsinks under 130mm height.

I'm not sure I'll be able to do it with glass, but there some good cast acrylics that can hold scratches fairly well. I might have to double check, though.

Cost of tempered glass goes down with less screw holes, just btw

 

[owliwar]

today's concept: A thin ITX htpc case for disc media.
I realised there a niche for disc media, and I did like how project gregory looked with a slot loading odd But it would compromise in airflow and I wasnt happy about it. This concept came as a simple and reasonable way of consuming disc midia in a form factor that makes a little more sense to me, in a even smaller package, at 2.2L~2.5L.
I didnt model the vents but they would be placed on the top piece this time

I'm tottaly going to build one like this for my father someday, as he does still watch a lot of movies in disc, and he is still using my ancient Imac.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Hey Owliwar, I just wanted to drop in and let you know that you have advanced small form factor cases in a way that I haven't seen before, and in a way that I never would have thought of. Combining a multi-expansion slot motherboard and limiting the subsequent slots to half height cards to fit in a flex PSU. This might look simple but it is genius. I've modeled thousands of unique layouts and I don't think I have ever thought of that, but it would actually be quite useful.

I really like ATX motherboards as they get all the goodies at launch, and it is handy for network cards, storage, and specialty cards, all which can be found half height.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and tell you that.

 

[AleksandarK]

This is awesome thread. You are really creative person. Keep 'em coming.

 

[Biowarejak]

I really love the idea especially with multi-gpu waning I see this being a very useful configuration.

 

[owliwar]

Hey Owliwar, I just wanted to drop in and let you know that you have advanced small form factor cases in a way that I haven't seen before, and in a way that I never would have thought of. Combining a multi-expansion slot motherboard and limiting the subsequent slots to half height cards to fit in a flex PSU. This might look simple but it is genius. I've modeled thousands of unique layouts and I don't think I have ever thought of that, but it would actually be quite useful.

I really like ATX motherboards as they get all the goodies at launch, and it is handy for network cards, storage, and specialty cards, all which can be found half height.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and tell you that.

Hi josh! Thank you very much Its really an honor

This is awesome thread. You are really creative person. Keep 'em coming.

I really love the idea especially with multi-gpu waning I see this being a very useful configuration.

Thank you guys!!!

 

[owliwar]

today playng with the layout of the ATX window case i realized how hard it is to offer support for storage in general without compromising size. most cases here can handle 2 or 3x 2.5 inch drives and thats pretty much it. I dont recall seing one but,
is there any indie sff NAS case?

I came on this concept by using thin itx motherboards and external power bricks. The layout is based on a vertical tunnel airflow. my main concern is to keep footprint to a minimum, and keeping it all coll and quiet by using 2x92mm fans.

the 4x3.5" drive model is 5.6L and the 7x3.5" is 7.8L in the same footprint

 

[CC Ricers]

Yeah gotta agree that's an ingenious way to use ATX boards in your case while acknowledging that the majority of users will not use more than one GPU anyways. If you want, you can make a slimmer variant that mounts the GPU vertically on a riser (albeit with less room for CPU cooling), while retaining the space for low-profile cards for the other slots. Theses are for more esoteric setups, but picture a Flex-ATX PSU in place of TFX, or even a HD-PLEX setup.

Another appeal is is offloading costs for the complete build, to spend on expansion cards. Size for size, ATX boards on the cheaper end are still more affordable than mainstream ITX boards.

 

[owliwar]

Yeah gotta agree that's an ingenious way to use ATX boards in your case while acknowledging that the majority of users will not use more than one GPU anyways. If you want, you can make a slimmer variant that mounts the GPU vertically on a riser (albeit with less room for CPU cooling), while retaining the space for low-profile cards for the other slots. Theses are for more esoteric setups, but picture a Flex-ATX PSU in place of TFX, or even a HD-PLEX setup.

Another appeal is is offloading costs for the complete build, to spend on expansion cards. Size for size, ATX boards on the cheaper end are still more affordable than mainstream ITX boards.

hey, thats a good idea. I'll check what I can mockup with it

 

[owliwar]

If you want, you can make a slimmer variant that mounts the GPU vertically on a riser

ok so i tested that.
To make it more cpu friendly (since no one would use an atx board with a pentium) I had to add a top 240mm rad support. I would have to be on exaust to complement the bottom intake fan (on basement)
I dont know if its worth it to be honest.
The mains benefits would be fatter and taller gpus and i can see that being a main selling point so theres that. its 13cm wide, and by placing the gpu at least 2cm from window there is still 58mm cpu cooler """clearence""" (to backside of gpu). i dont think its enought for that hot oven, so watercooler is there for us

 

[CC Ricers]

Yep, these vertical cases are the bomb. I'd gladly go for the mATX version for a "power gamer" build. A water cooled CPU with a powerful GPU to show off. The PSU space can easily fit your own passive/HD-PLEX options as well.

 

[GucksTV]

Oh my god...I felt in love with the mATX version! That’s so sweet!
As I am going to sell my GTX 1080 Ti during this month for some nice cash (LOL), I am thinking of a new concept, as I get bored by the regular micro-ATX enclosures!
And as my MSI Z370M Gaming Pro AC is everything I ever wanted from a mATX board, I would love to reuse it. Any chance that the Asetek 92mm AIO will fit together with the vertical GPU? Cheers

*I noticed that it is designed for even 240mm AIO support (?!) is that correct? Jesus...I want it now.

 

[GucksTV]

micro atx form factor with sfx psu and atx psu:

I am really looking forward into this concept. I am a huge fan of the micro ATX case with a SFX PSU and I hope it’ll be a real thing one day. Especially this concept with the availability of a vertical GPU inside this enclosure combined with the option for an 240mm AIO would be a great featureset for a mATX enclosure! Especially with its size it would fit definitely into a great niche. Did you consider to mount the GPU vertically with the SFX PSU vertically on the back? So the back can be hidden and just a perforated pannel for a lot of breathing-room for the GPU & PSU and the front with the motherboard could be a clean showcase with the AIO cooling and a windowed pannel? Would be glad to see how compact this concept could be! Ceep this idea alive!