Production Borg - SFF Cube PC Case with mini GPUs (RTX3060Ti)

Allhopeforhumanity

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May 1, 2017
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I am going to test out the CPU tower coolers this week, hope it can fit a 160mm tall...

AND this case should support AIO liquid cooling (120mm), which should be a rare feature for a "cube" pc. More testing this week to confirm.

Sounds good, excited to see the results.
 

Nouvolo

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Preparing for fitting test ?. Went for the rarer 3800X, with higher TDP.

 

Allhopeforhumanity

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Preparing for fitting test ?. Went for the rarer 3800X, with higher TDP.

Looks like a great use case!

The 3700x and 3800x are functionally identical though as the motherboard sees them; although the 3800x might be slightly better binned, I haven't seen a good meta analysis of frequency/voltage regression yet to validate that claim.

While AMD might say that one is 65 and the other is 105 W, the motherboard long boost still applies ~120 W and short boosts up to ~155W with PB2. With PBO, the short boost can be as high as 250 W on the MSI board something hilarious like 650 W on the gigabyte (not that you'll ever get there on air/water). If you want to specify an actual hard power limit, you have to go in and manually turn all of the precision boost and XRF settings off, then go into the advanced power management and lock the power target.
 

D GATEZ

Minimal Tinkerer
Jul 16, 2019
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Will it accept tall cooler like NH-U12A(WHD: 125x158x112 mm) or Ninja 5(WHD: 138.5x155x180 mm )? CRYORIG H7(WHD: 126 x 145 x 123mm ) If it fits I think it will be unique 12L SFF case in the market which can handle 9900K with air cooling.

[EDIT]
Ninja5 seems horizontally too large...
 
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Nouvolo

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Will it accept tall cooler like NH-U12A(WHD: 125x158x112 mm) or Ninja 5(WHD: 138.5x155x180 mm )? CRYORIG H7(WHD: 126 x 145 x 123mm ) If it fits I think it will be unique 12L SFF case in the market which can handle 9900K with air cooling.

[EDIT]
Ninja5 seems horizontally too large...
Having tested the prototype 145mm is about the max it can take. 160mm class of coolers will just be too much for this design. This kind of height still allows some beefy coolers with TDP 150W territory.

Will think of another product that can handle 160mm but that will be more like mid tower class than sff...
 
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rfarmer

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Jul 7, 2017
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Having tested the prototype 145mm is about the max it can take. 160mm class of coolers will just be too much for this design. This kind of height still allows some beefy coolers with TDP 150W territory.

Will think of another product that can handle 160mm but that will be more like mid tower class than sff...

If you can get a hold of a H7 probably going to get pretty decent cooling.
 

D GATEZ

Minimal Tinkerer
Jul 16, 2019
4
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Having tested the prototype 145mm is about the max it can take. 160mm class of coolers will just be too much for this design. This kind of height still allows some beefy coolers with TDP 150W territory.

Will think of another product that can handle 160mm but that will be more like mid tower class than sff...
I understand that. It becomes large to keep it being cube shape.

What I'm thinking is it has a potential to be better air cooled small case around 15 Liter than like existing Raijintek Metis Plus, SKTC Q1, Q2. That's my 2cents.

I'm a fan of Silversonte FT-03 mini's design and layout. I like that Borg case has similar concept. It is rotated 180 degree and accepts larger CPU cooler.
 
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Nouvolo

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Jan 2020 Update : (photos to come later)

- Bulk production tooling - complete
- Accessories sourcing - complete
- Colorway prototypes underway, current plan to have 3 colors:
- Matte Black (done)​
- Frost White (done)​
- Charcoal Grey (prototyping)​
- (Jan 2020) Packaging design
- (Feb/Mar 2020) 1st batch bulk production, accessories preparation
- (Mar/Apr 2020) Launch

Confirmed so far:
- collaborating with Asetek to officially support 645LT liquid cooler!
- 3 colors, with mix and match panel parts (top panel)
- addressable RGB with remote supplied as standard (with SATA (5V) power connector)
- no screws for all panels (4 sides + top) with interlocking mechanism, and clip on top panel
- mini graphics card support only (up to 210mm), refer to high end recommendation:
 
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newzealot

Caliper Novice
Jul 26, 2019
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Jan 2020 Update : (photos to come later)

- Bulk production tooling - complete
- Accessories sourcing - complete
- Colorway prototypes underway, current plan to have 3 colors:
- Matte Black (done)​
- Frost White (done)​
- Charcoal Grey (prototyping)​
- (Jan 2020) Packaging design
- (Feb/Mar 2020) 1st batch bulk production, accessories preparation
- (Mar/Apr 2020) Launch

Confirmed so far:
- collaborating with Asetek to officially support 645LT liquid cooler!
- 3 colors, with mix and match panel parts (top panel)
- addressable RGB with remote supplied as standard (with SATA (5V) power connector)
- no screws for all panels (4 sides + top) with interlocking mechanism, and clip on top panel
- mini graphics card support only (up to 210mm), refer to high end recommendation:

I am sure we will know more later, but will OptimumTech or TekEverything review it first?
 

Nouvolo

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I am sure we will know more later, but will OptimumTech or TekEverything review it first?
Will sure ask them. But since we are already in business with Steck, we will just set our own launch schedule. We welcome any prominent reviewers to take a look at any time. I may ask randomfrankp also, since he has showcased Steck several times already.

We have a low quantity target, so believe we can move "enough" quantities with or without reviewers at this stage.
 
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Nouvolo

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Have you done any thermal testing?
Yes, CPU tested with:

Ryzen 3800X /w PBO enabled
Air cooler : Cryorig H7 (L126 x W123 x H145 mm), tallest supported with TDP140W
Chassis fan : Noctua NF-A9 PWM (92 x 25mm), Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM (120 x 15mm)

Multiple runs of Cinebench R20 (multi) CPU test and sustained temperature:
CPU : 80ºC
Motherboard : 50ºC
Chipset : 51ºC
VRM : 49ºC

CPU fan : 1473 RPM
Chassis fan : 1928 RPM

Comparing with other common "cube" pc cases, this case has no obstructions (e.g. PSU not covering the CPU) for CPU and graphics card (space extends directly to meshed side panels), which should provide the best possible ventilation.

Note: not yet tested with AIO water cooling, which it supports. It will probably be lower temp or quieter with similar temp.
 
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Allhopeforhumanity

Master of Cramming
May 1, 2017
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Status Update 2020:
Jan : Testing out different colorways (grey)
Jan/Feb : Packaging design / production
Jan/Feb : First batch production
1H 2020 : Launch (tentative, totally not confirmed)



Looks great, especially excited to see the other color options.

Hows the overall weight compared to the Steck out of curiosity?
 
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staircase

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Jan 26, 2018
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I like the qube (reminds me of cosair 250d), my ocd is a little disappointed when the top panel is not symmetrical on all 4 sides, hehehe.
maybe something thin like the "lightbar" at the bottom?

I wish it's a perfect qube including the 35mm stand, also my ocd. I like the cut out on the stand, would that be available to the steck?

I assume the top middle is the power button? I might have missed reading it.
 
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