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10L Acrylic PC case! (Previously 14L ATX PSU compatible case!)

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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You shouldn't have any problem getting things especially so close to Singapore, most of this stuff is made in this area of the world so really everyone else is on the other side of the world in that regard. I have no problem finding things in Northern Thailand and I would say that is more "isolated" than Singapore.

http://www.lazada.co.id/power-supply-silverstone-sst-st45sf-g-5807242.html - Lazada Indonesia has it listed and from what I can see at a decent price.

http://www.lazada.sg/silverstone-sfx-450w-80plus-gold-229211.html - Lazada Singapore has a great selection of SilverStone stuff as well if they will ship to you or you can ship to someone in Singapore and pick it up on a trip there.



I can vouch for this, it doesn't get much worse than New Zealand... so if New Zealand has them you can probably pick them up from a street vendor in Mongolia.

Thanks Mr. Michael for making it easier for me! I decide that SFX PSU is indeed the way to go with my future build; I might want to find some potential buyers to my older components before that.
 

PlayfulPhoenix

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I'm happy you've decided as such - present SFX power supplies are pretty good, and they're only going to improve over time. The "need" for gargantuan ATX power supplies is shrinking pretty rapidly among many enthusiasts.

Going with SFX is looking towards the future! :thumb:
 

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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I'm happy you've decided as such - present SFX power supplies are pretty good, and they're only going to improve over time. The "need" for gargantuan ATX power supplies is shrinking pretty rapidly among many enthusiasts.

Going with SFX is looking towards the future! :thumb:

Thanks for the overwhelming support! At first glance that 450W is pretty small wattage to be dealing with but since mini-ITX builds don't necessarily spell big power consumption, it's going to be ample even if its with the R9 Nano.
 

ignsvn

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Thanks for the overwhelming support! At first glance that 450W is pretty small wattage to be dealing with but since mini-ITX builds don't necessarily spell big power consumption, it's going to be ample even if its with the R9 Nano.

I'm a lurker here, and I've seen some really nice designs, but as soon as you said you live in Indonesia with a ferry trip away to Singapore, I know I have to register :)

I assume you live in Batam?
 

XeaLouS

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Dec 29, 2015
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Is your current design 10L~? Because the silverstone sg13 is 10.5L and allows 10.5" gfx cards and atx psu's. It has limited cooling height but allows you to use a 120mm AIO.

What's your maximum air cooler height?

I feel that if your design only allows sfx psu's you should try and stay under 10L unless you are allowing larger air coolers.
 

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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I'm a lurker here, and I've seen some really nice designs, but as soon as you said you live in Indonesia with a ferry trip away to Singapore, I know I have to register :)

I assume you live in Batam?

You guessed it. :D
 

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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Is your current design 10L~? Because the silverstone sg13 is 10.5L and allows 10.5" gfx cards and atx psu's. It has limited cooling height but allows you to use a 120mm AIO.

What's your maximum air cooler height?

I feel that if your design only allows sfx psu's you should try and stay under 10L unless you are allowing larger air coolers.

Thanks for your concern.

I'm still figuring out a good thermal profile for my choice of materials. I'd hate to see acrylic deform because of all that heat in such a small space.
 

ignsvn

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You guessed it. :D

I'm a fellow countryman but living and working in Singapore. Let me know if you need any help finding things not available in Batam.

I like your design. I personally agree that back to back mobo & GPU placement is the way to go to to reduce footprint, as shown by recent SFF systems (Dan Case, MSI Blade, etc). However each will have their own pros & cons.

Perhaps I missed it or what, but I didn't see any size measurement (W x H x D)?
 

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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I'm a fellow countryman but living and working in Singapore. Let me know if you need any help finding things not available in Batam.

I like your design. I personally agree that back to back mobo & GPU placement is the way to go to to reduce footprint, as shown by recent SFF systems (Dan Case, MSI Blade, etc). However each will have their own pros & cons.

Perhaps I missed it or what, but I didn't see any size measurement (W x H x D)?

Oh boy, count me my lucky stars.

Haha, great! I hope you're ready for some shopping in the next few months. :)

For now I can't really give specifics about the dimensions because the design is pretty fluid this early in the preplanning stage.

I'd give the dimensions out once I've released the 3rd revision, so look out!
 

ignsvn

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For now I can't really give specifics about the dimensions because the design is pretty fluid this early in the preplanning stage.

Hmm I guess you're right.

And by the way, i assume what you have designed so far is more like a layout & hardware placement? Any possibility of different look & feel? Perhaps using metal / aluminium, rounded corners, etc :)
 

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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Hmm I guess you're right.

And by the way, i assume what you have designed so far is more like a layout & hardware placement? Any possibility of different look & feel? Perhaps using metal / aluminium, rounded corners, etc :)

Pretty much. Layout and stuff.

I'd like to keep this case to cost under $100 to prototype if possible. Sadly, going for aluminum and steel is pretty much out of the question considering the costs to machine a single case isn't cheap as they usually take orders in the bulk! I could try going for CNC milling, but I'm not familiar with the method. Laser cutting is really cheap in comparison.

Keeping it simple is the way to go. Acrylic seems to be a robust material I can handle responsibly cost-wise.

Any possibility of different look & feel?

I'd love to know where I can get those 3M Di-noc vinyls though, they can help improve the feel of the acrylic by a mile. Rounded corners is definitely an essential feature in laser cut acrylic pieces, as acrylics can get pretty brittle in the edges, and that might lead to chipping in the long run. Laser cut cases FTW!
 

ignsvn

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I see.. would love to see a next iteration with metal / alumunium, just like Silverstone or Lian Li cases :)

You can try to promote in forums. When you get enough minimum orders, I guess you can then try CNC milling and/or kickstarter.

Anyway, do PM me if you need to find something you can't get in Batam.
 

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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I see.. would love to see a next iteration with metal / alumunium, just like Silverstone or Lian Li cases :)

You can try to promote in forums. When you get enough minimum orders, I guess you can then try CNC milling and/or kickstarter.

Anyway, do PM me if you need to find something you can't get in Batam.

Aight, sure.

It might be my mistake for not telling you guys that this is a bit of a personal project and not a jab in the PC case industry. I'm just a 17 year old trying to figure a smaller case to take with abroad! :D

Casing is to be able to be assembled with minimal outside components as possible (It's going to be fastened by M3 screws! they're pretty plenty out there in various shapes and sizes. Anti-vandal switches as well as those super useful PCI risers too.) as well as the choice of 5mm acrylic the user might want to cut out of. I'm talking something that the builder could personalize themselves.

I plan to have this case's schematics released in .dwf ; sure, I might lose a big business opportunity, but I want to give some kind of tribute towards the maker/ PC builder community.
 
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ignsvn

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I admire your will to try new DIY things at such young age. When I was at your age, I didn't do much except studying.

Heck I didn't even complain about that ugly beige ATX tower cases we all had at that time, let alone SFF stuffs :p
 

Sigmaeleven

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I admire your will to try new DIY things at such young age. When I was at your age, I didn't do much except studying.

Heck I didn't even complain about that ugly beige ATX tower cases we all had at that time, let alone SFF stuffs :p

Oh boy. Studying has never been my forte, and joining the science major hasn't been forgiving (read: horrible!) for me either.

Illustration and Design's where I'm at!
 

Sigmaeleven

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Some quick renders on the third revision:




13.7 cm x 34.5 cm x 23.4 cm....

Drumroll......

Exactly 11 L! Where did that extra 1 L come from? D:

It now fits long GPUs. Now you could easily slap a GTX Titan in it. It contributed to extra liter gained, I suppose.

Another that might cause the extra liter is the airflow chamber (as well as PSU mounting). Shaving off that chamber can really save some space but I want a properly ventilated and portable rig too! It can fit two slim 120mm fans up top (no support for radiator due to how the motherboard mounts, currently.

Also, I guess I will need vents on the side panels now. I really can see why the A4-SFX layout is really dominant around designing SFF cases.
 

ignsvn

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My 2c for intake case fans, I suggest to put them at the bottom, sucking cool air from the bottom of the case, and use positive pressure to exhaust from the top (or wherever you decide to put exhaust vents).

Reason being;
1) Naturally, cooler air tends to stay on the lower side of the room. So you'll have plenty. Granted, the difference is not big, but well..
2) Dust & dirt fall from top. Combined with top case fans sucking air in, you'll have a nice dust trap :) (Happen to me with my Silverstone SG08). This is with the assumption that SFF case is placed on the desk, not on the floor..
 

Sigmaeleven

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Mar 31, 2016
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My 2c for intake case fans, I suggest to put them at the bottom, sucking cool air from the bottom of the case, and use positive pressure to exhaust from the top (or wherever you decide to put exhaust vents).

Reason being;
1) Naturally, cooler air tends to stay on the lower side of the room. So you'll have plenty. Granted, the difference is not big, but well..
2) Dust & dirt fall from top. Combined with top case fans sucking air in, you'll have a nice dust trap :) (Happen to me with my Silverstone SG08). This is with the assumption that SFF case is placed on the desk, not on the floor..

Good point, but I need some way to route PSU extension cable as well as mounting the PSU itself. It might mean taller cases, though. If you're game with it, it's a pretty quick revision.