Concept Asrock Deskmini case idea

[Da_Korn]

Hi.
I recently started to learn Fusion360, and tried some case design I had in my mind - this is one of them. This Case houses a mini STX Motherboard and a GPU. Of course I want to make it brickless.

Parts I want to use:

• Mini STX motherboard (Asrock´s new x300m-stx or h470m-stx)
• Noctua NH-L9i (am4 or lga1200)
• Rtx 2060 mini or 30 series successor
• 230v AC to 12v DC PSU
• 32gb crucial ballistix 3200mhz sodimm Ram
• MeanWell RPS-200-12-C

...

Case:
3mm sheet steel
3D-Prints

 

[Alloy Craft]

I like the Mini stx form factor, it nice to see new smaller options in the way of motherboards. Seems like most of the people on the forums here only care about itx though. I made a case for a Intel NUC awhile back, not a lot of interest on these forums or reddit.

 

[REVOCCASES]

True, STX is very niche. Probably also because you can't get the bare motherboards easily. If AsRock would sell their AM4 STX boards without the case I believe people would be more interested in custom case designs for that form factor.

Anyways, this shouldn't stop our creativity

 

[Da_Korn]

V2 concept:

what do you think?

 

[rfarmer]

If this is just for yourself I think it looks great, if you are thinking of selling the case I would make room for the 2x2.5 drives. I know I am using them in my DeskMini.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

As I mentioned a previous @ASRock System thread, I think the graphics solution for STX cases could be pairing them with low profile GPUS. Would keep the size down.

Interesting case, if you weren't water cooling, would you be able to make it brickless?

 

[Da_Korn]

Hey there,
I had a new idea for a Case layout with a GPU and of course Brickless.
It´s not finished yet, I just arranged all components.
what do you think so far, any changes?

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

What PSU's would you have in mind?

 

[Da_Korn]

What PSU's would you have in mind?

first I wanted to implement the HDplex 160 ACDC as well as the HDplex 160 DC-ATX board, but they aren´t available anymore.
Then I found the HDplex 200, which isn´t that bigger in size as the 160, but its better for GPUs which consumpt more power (I´m waiting for a mini ITX Ampere GPU from Nvidia, like a 3060 or 3060ti). now I need something like the HDplex DC-ATX board, but in a 200w version.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

I noticed the STX boards uses a DC Jack for power so the DC-ATX might not work. HDPLEX did this interesting brickless setup for getting a 200W AC-DC to work with a NUC if you are looking for ideas.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Why not get a Meanwell RPS 200-12-C? The A300 board also works with 12VDC. Just need to solder a suitable DC jack plus you get 12V for your GPU without the need of a stepdown converter.

 

[Da_Korn]

Why not get a Meanwell RPS 200-12-C? The A300 board also works with 12VDC. Just need to solder a suitable DC jack plus you get 12V for your GPU without the need of a stepdown converter.

Thats great Informations. If it also works with 12w I could only use one 230v ac to 12 dc psu and split the Power to gpu and motherboard. So no requirement for second 19v to 12v psu. I will rediesign the case with your psu recommendation


Does the motherboard and cpu, ram, ... still get enough power by only powering it with 12v instead of 19v ?

 

[REVOCCASES]

Thats great Informationen. If it also works with 12w I could only use one 230v ac to 12 dc psu and split the Power to gpu and motherboard. So no requirement for second 19v to 12v psu. I will rediesign the case with your psu recommendation


Does the motherboard and cpu, ram, ... still get enough power by only powering it with 12v instead of 19v ?

Gerne.

There are some people running the board with 12V. Didn't heard of any issues. Mainly 19V is used for notebooks and mini PCs because you need less current to achieve the same wattage. (means thinner cables, less voltage drop, smaller connectors, etc). But they also run fine with a stable 12VDC power supply like the Meanwell.

When it comes to the M2 to PCIe riser cable you should consider to use the GDC BEAST adapter. It has also a 12V input and switches the GPU on and off together with the A300 board. If you use a normal riser cable you might run into issues like GPU fans always spinning even when the PC is switched off.

 

[CC Ricers]

The mini STX cases live on! I had a case concept that would fit a full-length GPU over a year ago. But it depended on the HD-PLEX 300W which was discontinued, and the 400W replacement would have made the case so tall it would now be large enough for mini ITX anyway.

The 200W brick would work if you're okay with greatly limiting the GPUs that one can use. Though nowadays you can still run a lot of games well in 1080p with just a 1660 Super.

 

[Da_Korn]

Hi, Today I worked on the design a little bit. Now its 2.8L in volume, supports GPUs up to 185mm and for PSU I want to use the Meanwell RPS-200-12-C (without Cage).
measurements:
191 x 155 x 96,5 mm = 2.8...L

 

[Cellbuster]

It looks like the mobo is oriented with the DC power facing out of the case. Just want to clarify that there will be cable running out of the case and into the motherboard by doing this. I decided to orient the motherboard with the front IO facing out on my STX build like the STX160. You lose Ethernet and a couple of usbs (which I populated with wireless dongles for peripherals), but the buried video outputs are inconsequential because you have dedicated graphics.

 

[REVOCCASES]

the buried video outputs are inconsequential because you have dedicated graphics.

AFAIK you still might need access to the A300 HDMI output to access the BIOS and set up your system. Not sure if the A300 STX has an option in BIOS to boot up on the dedicated graphics card.

 

[pynix]

no PCIE slot, use m2 slot adapter?

 

[REVOCCASES]

no PCIE slot, use m2 slot adapter?

M2 to PCIe 16x riser