Concept 730 Systems: "Ether" (12.95L) and "Serum" (15.75L) SFF ITX Cases.

[Intrepid_Cosmonaut]

I am also a fan of the rear power button and front cover design.

 

[gil]

I am also a fan of the rear power button and front cover design.

I am also

 

[Klasik]

I like the rear power button, but I think the old front panel design looks better.
The central channel is what makes this case unique, why hide it?

 

[ITX.NW]

That is not true. These are two completely unrelated case designs. Not sure what the "author" is saying, but neither Ether nor Serum have a "butterfly structure".

I will promote your case design in China. If Chinese players have good suggestions, I will let you know.

 

[tokes808]

Will be following your "Serum" case design.

 

[seven7thirty30]

I like the rear power button, but I think the old front panel design looks better.
The central channel is what makes this case unique, why hide it?

My OCD alarm was on blast since the front slot was off center. For Serum it works well and I'm going to keep it that way, but for Ether I think the cover gives it a distinguished appearance.

 

[seven7thirty30]

What do you think about this version of the side panel vents for Ether? I feel like it adds consistency to the overall appearance and ventilation should be good with 5mm holes.

 

[THUMPer]

That looks good too. Haha.

 

[tokes808]

In my opinion that looks a little to much like a microwave. I feel like something is missing in the front.

 

[ten13th]

I like the rear power button, but I think the old front panel design looks better.
The central channel is what makes this case unique. Why hide it?

100% my sentiment as well. Why cover up the signature with a ubiquitous cover piece? The offset opening could be very dynamic esthetically if you tweak the position. IMHO

 

[seven7thirty30]

Update: Serum

As I did with Ether, I had to make a few changes to Serum to align it with manufacturing tolerances. The panel thickness changes increased the volume very slightly from 15.47L to 15.75L. Dimensions on main page have been updated to reflect this change.

I also made a different version of the top shell vents to match the side vent slots. Let me know what you guys think.

I reduced the distance between the side panel vents that allowed the addition of more vents. This transferred to the top shell vents as well.

Power button position has been moved from the front panel to the rear panel, and under the front center.

 

[ten13th]

Update on Serum looks great. BTW, what does the bottom vents look like for Serum and Ether?

 

[seven7thirty30]

Update on Serum looks great. BTW, what does the bottom vents look like for Serum and Ether?

Both Serum and Ether have 5mm hole ventilation cutouts...for now. Debating whether or not I will match them to the top and side panels. I'm going to do a cost comparison between the two. My initial assumption is that the slots will be cheaper to make than the holes.

 

[seven7thirty30]

Update: Ether and Serum

Ran into an issue with the manufacturers that I've been working with regarding the GPU PCI-E cutout on the rear panel. More specifically, the retention tapped screw hole placement was too close to the sheet metal bend that was needed. I couldn't get around this, so I designed a retention block that will brace the top of the GPU bracket to the top of the rear panel cutout. I've seen this done before on a few cases, but I improved upon the design by making counter-sunk holes within the block itself to prevent any upward vertical movement of the block after the screws are installed. This will prevent stripping of the tapped holes over time since the screws will not need to be torqued as tight as possible to prevent movement, just their presence is enough to keep the retention mechanism in place.