Hello Community,
first of all - I'm Thomas from Germany and an absolute newbie in desiging a case and working with CAD programms. I startet with FreeCAD and some youtube tutorials about 3 weeks ago.
Since I build my PC 2 years ago I constantly searched for better cooling solutions and was very dissapointed that there is nothing on the market to support easily the 2x 280mm radiators variant (yes, I deeply miss the WinterOne...).
My current rig is an AliExpress sandwich-style case, which was originally capable for 1x 240mm radiator support. With some modifications it now works with 2x 240mm slim rads, 2x Noctua A12x25 on top and 2xNoctua A12x15 on the bottom. Currently running a 11700k with a EK Waterblock and a 3080ti FE with a Alphacool waterblock.
Inspired by the WinterOne and the fact, that there is nothing compareable I tried to design a case with 2x 280mm radiator support by myself.
For the case material I decided to use PMMA. Why? Because I have so much possibilities with PMMA! I'll explain it later...
So here is what it could look like, but keep in mind - this is a draft version! Nothing final and I have some work to do left...
All following images and used elements may be not 100% exact in positioning and dimensions.
This is a clear transparent version:
And here how it could look like if there is some "life" in the case:
Side panels are also designed...
Let me explain some specifics and what we see here:
General measurements:
Outer dimensions:
L: 356mm H: 346mm (366mm with feet) W: 165mm
Volume: ~20,32l
Inner dimensions (useable space):
L: 340mm H: 330mm W:155 mm
Volume: ~17,39l
Front, rear, top & bottom plates are 8mm thick (stability reasons)
Mainboard spine & PSU holder are 5mm thick
Side panels are 4mm thick
Key features & compatibility:
- ITX Mainboard
- SFX PSU
- Support for 2x 280mm radiators (max. length: 320mm due to the mounting mechanism of the plates / max. width 155mm - so the popular HW Labs Nemesis 280GTS will fit)
- 4x 140mmx25mm Fans (2x top/2x bottom)
- 3 slot GPU
max. L 335mm (some space left to breathe, but if it goes really hardcore then 340mm is absolute max )
max. H ~165mm (not 100% sure, cause there is til now no exact position for the standoffs)
max W. ~65mm (same standoff issue).
- CPU cooler height clearance is not exact measureable, but I would say ~60-62mm.
My key goal for this case is to make it a litte bit bigger first because the 280mm rad support and second if I change in the future to a little bigger GPU like the 4080 or 4090.
Since I'm already on a full custom loop the additional length of 40mm compared to my existing case will cause no problems for me.
Here how it looks like at the moment.
Current case has 300mm length and the GPU waterblock has ~200mm. The pump/res combo is from Barrow and fits perfectly in my current case.
Second reason and why I considered PMMA was to make plates easily interchangeable - let's say: I want an other color of the case (maybe orange transparent) or get rid of the front USB (but I don't think this will happen - I'm a huge fan of front USB's
) - no Problem! New PMMA plate is relatively cheap and can be easily ordered cutted online and changed.
As I said there are some thing on the to-do side for me:
- Mounting mechanism of the mainboard spine.
- Standoff length/positioning on the GPU side.
- Standoff positioning on the CPU side.
- Fixing mechanism of the GPU on the back side
- No final power switch model.
- things I forgot here...
So let's end for now my introduction of my little project here - I'm hungry
I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions so feel free to comment
If it's interesting for you, I will post updates.
Have a nice sunday
Thomas
first of all - I'm Thomas from Germany and an absolute newbie in desiging a case and working with CAD programms. I startet with FreeCAD and some youtube tutorials about 3 weeks ago.
Since I build my PC 2 years ago I constantly searched for better cooling solutions and was very dissapointed that there is nothing on the market to support easily the 2x 280mm radiators variant (yes, I deeply miss the WinterOne...).
My current rig is an AliExpress sandwich-style case, which was originally capable for 1x 240mm radiator support. With some modifications it now works with 2x 240mm slim rads, 2x Noctua A12x25 on top and 2xNoctua A12x15 on the bottom. Currently running a 11700k with a EK Waterblock and a 3080ti FE with a Alphacool waterblock.
Inspired by the WinterOne and the fact, that there is nothing compareable I tried to design a case with 2x 280mm radiator support by myself.
For the case material I decided to use PMMA. Why? Because I have so much possibilities with PMMA! I'll explain it later...
So here is what it could look like, but keep in mind - this is a draft version! Nothing final and I have some work to do left...
All following images and used elements may be not 100% exact in positioning and dimensions.
This is a clear transparent version:
And here how it could look like if there is some "life" in the case:
Side panels are also designed...
Let me explain some specifics and what we see here:
General measurements:
Outer dimensions:
L: 356mm H: 346mm (366mm with feet) W: 165mm
Volume: ~20,32l
Inner dimensions (useable space):
L: 340mm H: 330mm W:155 mm
Volume: ~17,39l
Front, rear, top & bottom plates are 8mm thick (stability reasons)
Mainboard spine & PSU holder are 5mm thick
Side panels are 4mm thick
Key features & compatibility:
- ITX Mainboard
- SFX PSU
- Support for 2x 280mm radiators (max. length: 320mm due to the mounting mechanism of the plates / max. width 155mm - so the popular HW Labs Nemesis 280GTS will fit)
- 4x 140mmx25mm Fans (2x top/2x bottom)
- 3 slot GPU
max. L 335mm (some space left to breathe, but if it goes really hardcore then 340mm is absolute max )
max. H ~165mm (not 100% sure, cause there is til now no exact position for the standoffs)
max W. ~65mm (same standoff issue).
- CPU cooler height clearance is not exact measureable, but I would say ~60-62mm.
My key goal for this case is to make it a litte bit bigger first because the 280mm rad support and second if I change in the future to a little bigger GPU like the 4080 or 4090.
Since I'm already on a full custom loop the additional length of 40mm compared to my existing case will cause no problems for me.
Here how it looks like at the moment.
Current case has 300mm length and the GPU waterblock has ~200mm. The pump/res combo is from Barrow and fits perfectly in my current case.
Second reason and why I considered PMMA was to make plates easily interchangeable - let's say: I want an other color of the case (maybe orange transparent) or get rid of the front USB (but I don't think this will happen - I'm a huge fan of front USB's
) - no Problem! New PMMA plate is relatively cheap and can be easily ordered cutted online and changed.As I said there are some thing on the to-do side for me:
- Mounting mechanism of the mainboard spine.
- Standoff length/positioning on the GPU side.
- Standoff positioning on the CPU side.
- Fixing mechanism of the GPU on the back side
- No final power switch model.
- things I forgot here...
So let's end for now my introduction of my little project here - I'm hungry
I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions so feel free to comment
If it's interesting for you, I will post updates.
Have a nice sunday
Thomas
