Log 16L high end SFF case in wood and aluminium!

[Ameubius]

Made a custom bracket for the PSU. Unfortunately I've managed to strip one of the treads, thus I've ordered M3.5 self tapping screws.

It will be screwed onto the radiator bracket, resting on top of the fan.

I'll use screws to secure it to the upper aluminum L-profile.

One interesting detail I figured out is that by momentarily removing the lower L-profile (shown in the last picture), I'm able to first place the radiator, and then the motherboard. It's not hard to mount the L-profile back afterwards, and then fasten the mobo. This makes it much easier to properly secure the radiator.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Really enjoying seeing your build come on, the contrast of organic and silicone, I find really pleasing, takes me back to when I was a kid (40years ago) and used to take old radios to bits. Teak is really lovely wood, hard wearing and can achieve beautiful finishes. Looking forward to seeing how your build continues.

 

[Ameubius]

Made some new holes for the riser cable (which I think may be 1-2 cm too long) and the power cables for the GPU (which could be at tad bit longer ). Anyway, the project is still rolling, but a bit slow at the moment.

Cheers!

 

[Ameubius]

Okay, long time since my last posting here, but lately I've found time to make some progress.

Basically, all major parts are now cut to size, and as you can see from the pics the side panels are mounted. I'll trim down the overhanging parts flush with the wooden frame eventually.

Next I'll start cutting ventilation holes in the aluminum side panels, and we'll see how that goes...

A

 

[Ameubius]

It's time to test fit all components, and maby see if the system will boot.

I still need to finish the side panels and do a lot of fine tuning, but I'm getting closer to a final product.

If all goes well, that is...

It works, but I've never had more pain working in a case...

I need to figure out how to improve the cable mess under the PSU. It's just not possible to cram in an SFX-L PSU as I had envisioned. However, the CM 850W seems to do just fine with the 3080ti.

At the moment the lower part of the PSU isn't flush with the rest, so I'll have to see if I can figure out how to push it in 1-2mm.

Next I'll start on the side panels, making ventilation holes, and do some spray painting.

 

[Valantar]

Okay, long time since my last posting here, but lately I've found time to make some progress.

Basically, all major parts are now cut to size, and as you can see from the pics the side panels are mounted. I'll trim down the overhanging parts flush with the wooden frame eventually.

Next I'll start cutting ventilation holes in the aluminum side panels, and we'll see how that goes...

A

Looks gorgeous, but looks like you've got some pain coming in the near future sanding those ventilation holes

 

[Ameubius]

Looks gorgeous, but looks like you've got some pain coming in the near future sanding those ventilation holes

Yeah, it did take time, but I'm a bit sloppy when it comes to sanding, so I guess some people will frown at my work. Anyhow I gave it a first coat with a hard wax oil, and it doesn't look too shabby. I'll give it some more finish when I'm done wit the side panels.

 

[Ameubius]

Wow, all by hand, beautiful!
Even with the right tools I would probably have half of the holes off centered or have destroyed parts of wood between the holes!

That's the beauty of using a template, thus guiding the blades and clamping the wood to avoid tear outs.

 

[BaK]

That's the beauty of using a template, thus guiding the blades and clamping the wood to avoid tear outs.

The template technique has been dully noted, but it implies that you make a perfect template in the first place. Doesn't it, speaking especially about centered holes?
At least that's easier to start over a new template than the final product!
But still, this 52th hole on the template must have been quite stressful to drill!

 

[Ameubius]

The template technique has been dully noted, but it implies that you make a perfect template in the first place. Doesn't it, speaking especially about centered holes?
At least that's easier to start over a new template than the final product!
But still, this 52th hole on the template must have been quite stressful to drill!

The template was made with a drill press, where I made a sort of guide system with wood spacers of defined widths that were shuffled to make the 52 holes. That's why the hole distances became rather perfect.

 

[BaK]

The template was made with a drill press, where I made a sort of guide system with wood spacers of defined widths that were shuffled to make the 52 holes. That's why the hole distances became rather perfect.

Combo to success seems to be a good technique with the right tools and good skills!

 

[Ameubius]

I found the culprit of that PSU issue, where it was sticking 1-2 mm out at the bottom. It was a slight misalignment between the screw holes at the front and the back parts of the the bracket I made to mount it to the rest.

I solved it by just dropping to use the inner ones, and instead place a 2-3 mm piece of foam for the back part of the bracket to rest on, thus pulling the lower part of the PSU in so it stays flush with the wood frame.

I also managed to fix some of the cable clutter. I forgot that I'd bought a special 100 mm SATA power cable from Cable Mods, with only one output connector for the occasion . The 3 PCIe cables for the GPU I've made myself, they're about 120 mm long. The cables for the motherboard are the original ones that came with the PSU, as they fit rather nice.

 

[Ameubius]

Small update.

Right side panel with ventilation holes, removing hot air from the GPU section.

Also, on the top the on/off switch is placed in one of the ventilation holes.

Next I'll cut out do the left side panel, and finally decide whether I should paint the panels, or not?

Then I'll do some testing to evaluate the temperature and noise levels.

 

[BaK]

Looks great, really digging the matching big ventilation holes on these two sides!
Are you going to apply that same pattern on the left panel too, or do you stick to bigger openings we see in the renders?

Also, on the top the on/off switch is placed in one of the ventilation holes.

Looks good too!

Next I'll cut out do the left side panel, and finally decide whether I should paint the panels, or not?

Hard to tell, as it is this silver right panel goes well with the wood casing.
Black would be nice too I guess, and will match the power button color!

 

[DillThePill]

Love the case! I've gone for a similar aesthetic but lack the skill to build the case myself. I would love to see more commercial options with console layouts like this. Wood is probably too niche but it's what I want in a living room PC.

How effective is the AIO when it's above the PSU?

 

[Elaman]

It looks really well, better than the render to be honest. Side panels look good like that, (white if anything?). The only thing that I'd have done is (if you haven't varnished it) varnishing with a darker tone.

Wow, all by hand, beautiful!
Even with the right tools I would probably have half of the holes off centered or have destroyed parts of wood between the holes!

Hell yeah, at least I know I have, and also some ruined aluminum bars in the pile of shame...

 

[Ameubius]

Love the case! I've gone for a similar aesthetic but lack the skill to build the case myself. I would love to see more commercial options with console layouts like this. Wood is probably too niche but it's what I want in a living room PC.

How effective is the AIO when it's above the PSU?

Thanks man

Wood certainly has some drawbacks, and as you say is probably too niche to work commercially, but esthetically it's quite nice.

The layout in this build needs to stay upright, because it's generally not recommended to place the AIO rad below the CPU. You wouldn't want air pockets to assemble in the pump house.

I could try and mount the radiator behind the motherboard, but then the build has to be at least 2-3 cm thicker I believe.

Anyway, the AIO cooler seems to work just fine despite being so close to the PSU intake. It's probably not ideal, but both the PSU, CPU and motherboard parts are cool enough. The main reason, I believe, is because the hot air from the GPU isn't mixed with the rest of the system, but gets exhausted directly by the two 140mm fans behind it.

A.

 

[Ameubius]

It looks really well, better than the render to be honest. Side panels look good like that, (white if anything?). The only thing that I'd have done is (if you haven't varnished it) varnishing with a darker tone.


Hell yeah, at least I know I have, and also some ruined aluminum bars in the pile of shame...

Thanks!

I've bought black, gold and green spray paint, or I could just go with brushed aluminum.

I've coated the wood with some hard wax oil, but I plan to do an extra coat. The picture gives a bit too bright impression, as it is somewhat darker in real life though.

A.

 

[Ameubius]

Picture showing that it's possible to access the motherboard by temporarily removing the radiator. I also was able to switch back to some Corsair fans, as the ones from BeQuiet didn't work that well.

Did a preliminary stress test running both Cinebench and Furmark (both alone and at the same time), and the system managed better than expected. CPU temp below 60°C and GPU around 65°C. Haven't done much tweaking of the fan curves yet. The room temperature in the basement, however was a bit cold, so I'm expecting somewhat higher temps running it upstairs. The sound levels from the fans weren't too bad, but the GPU unfortunately has quite a bit of coil whine. Nothing much to do about I guess?

 

[BaK]

I also was able to switch back to some Corsair fans, as the ones from BeQuiet didn't work that well.

Did you record some temps with the Bequiet fans for comparison?
You are getting really nice ones with the Corsair fans btw!

Looking at the picture, isn't the SSD blocking a lot of the PSU exhaust?