Concept 20 L case, custom laser cut mild steel case

[Day VReamer]

Hi all,

I've designed a new case for my gaming PC and before I get panels laser cut just thought I'd post it in case anyone has any ideas of potential improvements.

So it is just over 20L in size, dimensions are 36.4cm tall, 17.2cm deep and 32.9cm wide. It will be made from 2mm mild steel, I will weld certain 'tabs' around the case and grind flush before painting.

Can fit the following:
Mini itx motherboard
triple slot GPU (up to about 14cm tall) and about 32cm long
5 x 140mm (25mm thick) fans (2 on the bottom, 2 on the front panel and then 1 inside next to the PSU)
2 x 80mm (25mm thick) fans on the rear.
ATX PSU upto 180mm with the 140mm fan in place near it or longer if the fan is not fitted.
CPU up to about 155mm tall without one of the 140mm fans on the front panel, or about 130mm with the fan fitted.
I have a modular PSU and won't need many cables for this build so I will keep any excess length of cable in the PSU compartment and there is a cutout towards the back of the PSU 'shelf' for the cables to drop down. I will then be welding a piece of metal trim to hide any cables being run.
There is a PSU and cable 'cover' which hides any cables and the bottom fans and fan near the PSU are also hidden behind a lip. The lip will also provide a place for any RGB strips if I decide to go that route later.

Storage initially will be M.2 SSD as that's what I have and I will add a 2.5" SSD cage to the right of the motherboard if needed - there is plenty of space still.

My main aim is to build as small a case as possible which can deal with high performance in future as I upgrade. At present I have a 3.8L K39 case from Taobao or somewhere similar with a 1070, 500w flex atx psu, Intel 6700k. I will keep all of the parts the same for the moment other than the PSU and then upgrade/overclock etc. The temps were being pushed a bit too much for what I wanted to do with it, hence the change and focus to cooling.

I have considered water cooling options but I have always preferred air cooling so don't plan to go that route but could fit one or two 140mm radiators if i change my mind.

I know the styling is a bit basic but I am hoping to develop the look with paint finish etc.

Any ideas/developments would be appreciated.

 

[Day VReamer]

Also I am looking at what cooler might be best and going through the list here: https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/cpu_air_cooler_mega_test/3

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will have approx 150-155mm clearance without the case fan above it or about 125-130mm clearance with the case fan fitted.

Currently considering Noctua NH-U9S, NH-D9L or NH-C14S so any views on which is best or alternatives would be great

I have intel at the moment but am likely to switch to the newer AMD chips at some point, thanks

 

[Thehack]

2mm steel?

It'll be really heavy.

 

[Day VReamer]

Yep
I want this thing to be built like a tank! I only ever keep it in the same place/room so weight doesn't bother me. I have also made a trial version from wood-but it adds quite a bit to the size.

 

[Daniel.f2277]

2mm steel?

It'll be really heavy.

It should also soak up more heat lol

 

[Day VReamer]

It should also soak up more heat lol

Good point, If I only I could connect some heat pipes from my CPU to the case ?

I decided to go ahead with it, and I have the panels as of today. Really pleased with, just got some welding/grinding and painting to do

 

[Thehack]

Wow.

That thing is gonna be a tank alright.

I got a small panel made in 1.2 mm it's hefty. Can't image a 20L with 2 mm.

 

[Day VReamer]

I'll be welding it together this week and will report back on final weight (prior to paint)

I have also thought of a better use for that space on the right hand side next to the motherboard. I am considering for a cooler to get the Raijintek Morpheus II and laser cut a metal mount for it. I am currently looking at what VLP ram I can get to make this possible and will update over the coming weeks!

 

[Day VReamer]

So I welded it all together and ground down the welds today. Only concern was that I did have some laser cut 4mm thick washers which were tapped to allow me to screw in the standoffs but they were useless. So I had to grind them off and may resort to putting a bolt through the back with some acrylic spacers.

I also stated earlier that I would weigh it, so the case weighs.......7.42 kg in total, which is heavy but I don't think that is too bad it's probably about 1.5kg heavier than other cases this size.

Pics so far:

 

[Day VReamer]

Images of it now painted, just got to let it dry, spray the bottom and then I can re-assemble the PC. I am still figuring out ways of fitting the Raijintek morpheus 2 and have posted in the mod section of the forum regarding this.

 

[Day VReamer]

Case pretty much finished, just need to spray the front removable panel again and make some adjustments to a panel which will hide the PSU and cables, and get a few more bits to finish the build (switch, 2 more 140mm fans, 2 x 80mm fans) and I am now in the process of finding a way to fit the Raijintek morpheus 2 cooler which I will update through the mod section.
So at the moment it has 2 x 140mm fans as intake at the bottom, 1 x 140mm fan taking out at the top, 1 x 135mm in the psu at the top taking air out, space for 2 x 80mm fans at the rear to take air out, and then space for 2 x 140mm fans on the removable pan which I will use as an intake.

So far I have an ID Cooling IS-30 cooler (only 30mm in height) so that definitely needs changing although the temps are pretty good, after 10mins in intel extreme tuning utility, with a 7600k at stock, all case and CPU fans in silent mode and not all the fans in place that this case can take it only got to 68 degrees C