Case design and expensive PC parts

chx

Master of Cramming
Original poster
May 18, 2016
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When you design a case, how do you get parts to check for dimensions? Getting a large TDP CPU + MB + GPU (multiple, even) is more expensive than getting a case designed and prototyped... Buy and resell? Buy broken parts from eBay so you can check for physical fit?
 

SumGhai

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jun 14, 2016
147
175
I disagree that getting components is more expensive than getting a case designed. If you're just checking for physical dimensions, you don't need to spend much to get what you need.

A super cheapo last-gen mobo can be had for less than $50, plus an intel box cooler just for fitment testing. As for GPU, again you can go super cheap and get cheap $10 network cards. If you want to, you can get a super last gen GPU. The physical standards don't change just because something is higher end. Overheight graphics card mockups can be made with network cards and cardboard. If you're feeling fancy, then grab a GTX 650 ti, some tape, and cardboard; and as a bonus you'll have a 650ti that you can actually use.
 
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Beardedswede

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jun 9, 2018
191
158
Designing case and protyping it is very exspensive and long process if you are doing it as a consumer product to sell so I'm not sure what you mean .
But you are correct they probbaly dont buy every motherboard,cooler and GPU in the world.but they probably use their friends and familys cards ,maybe has contact with a repairshop or just electric store to go and take measurments. And they just take the measurements from the manufacturers website
 
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Windfall

Shrink Ray Wielder
SFFn Staff
Nov 14, 2017
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When you design a case, how do you get parts to check for dimensions? Getting a large TDP CPU + MB + GPU (multiple, even) is more expensive than getting a case designed and prototyped... Buy and resell? Buy broken parts from eBay so you can check for physical fit?

There are accurate 3d models you can use in CAD.
 
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chx

Master of Cramming
Original poster
May 18, 2016
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Well, for example risers and their cables when running in a tight place. All sorts of cables...
 

Choidebu

"Banned"
Aug 16, 2017
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Also most started off while building pcs for friends and families, maybe even as a side business. You tend to come across a lot of different hardware that way.
 
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owliwar

Master of Cramming
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
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I seccond the 3d model approach. Its a bit hard here to get used hardware at really decent prices (only high end part get a good discount after a couple of years) so I mostly double and tripple check everything in the cad program. for that I Recommend our resources section and grabcad.com
One thing that I did a lot and helped was exporting my 3d model to .stl and importing in sketchup, since sketchup community warehouse is quite large compared to grab cad, but not all models are precise so thats also a bonus point for our resource area here in the forum.
 
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Damascus

Master of Cramming
Feb 27, 2018
550
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As someone who is currently making a physical prototype for an extremely high end rig/case, I have some input. I got the mobo used for $20, psu for $25 and the riser was $3. The frame itself has run me $20 in materials, and about $100 in tools (hacksaw, sawblades, drill, bits, rivet gun and rivets) making it easily twice as expensive as the base components I used for testing. When all is said and done I'll be dropping a grand in components into it, but for testing you need basically nothing

Frame time
 
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el01

King of Cable Management
Jun 4, 2018
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Well, for example risers and their cables when running in a tight place. All sorts of cables...
Well, then you get into an area of manfacturing and product feasibility. If you're going to use a metric ton of risers, perhaps it would not be an effective design for the masses?

My logic when designing things (since I don't own SFX power supplies, HDPlex, nor many components) is to think properly about the layout and usually just adding extra tolerances. I usually just make things slightly larger than they should be in case bad things happen.
 
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cleveland

Master of Cramming
Sep 8, 2016
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As someone who is currently making a physical prototype for an extremely high end rig/case, I have some input. I got the mobo used for $20, psu for $25 and the riser was $3. The frame itself has run me $20 in materials, and about $100 in tools (hacksaw, sawblades, drill, bits, rivet gun and rivets) making it easily twice as expensive as the base components I used for testing. When all is said and done I'll be dropping a grand in components into it, but for testing you need basically nothing

Frame time
You got me completely erect (no homo) with those pics... i'm starving to see the rest of the job done.
 

Damascus

Master of Cramming
Feb 27, 2018
550
387
You got me completely erect (no homo) with those pics... i'm starving to see the rest of the job done.
I've got all my components, only thing that's holding me up at this point is the gpu block/pump. I currently plan on using an asetek gen one block, but the pump is atrocious :/ I'm probably going to see about getting one of alphacools universal dc-lt gpu blocks for the 1080.

Oh, and a res. I wanted to get it from performance pcs but the shipping is nuts as always
 
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