It's a CNC machined case (not sheet metal or plastic) with dual tempered glass side panels magnetically held in place (no screws or studs). A no compromise case made in Australia.
It's not for you buddy.
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Completed Circle Pro - Solid Alu CNCed mini-itx case - 240mm liquid cooling
- Thread starter CircleTect
- Start date
It's not for you buddy.
No freaking way. I had no idea it was made that way. Like this is totally my first time looking at this project. Thanks for clearing it up.
Grey sold out instantly. Like within 2 minutes. I was processing my order when it returned that grey was sold out, and I had to start over.
I contemplated getting the black one, but it also sold out while I sat and mulled over it.
I’m not sure if I want the silver case... it’s tempting but I think if I’m paying $450 (including shipping) I want exactly the color I want... so I guess I’m waiting for the Grey.
I also haven’t seen anyone’s build pictures for a silver or black case and I would like to before buying.
Realistically, the constraints are such that we're basically stuck with the 2070 Mini (with its 175-185W TDP) for this generation. I haven't seen even rumors that anyone is planning a 2080 mini...
If AMD's Navi comes in punching above its weight class you might get lucky. Right now, rumors are saying that the Navi top-tier part is going to pull just 150W, cost $250 match or slightly exceed the performance of a 2070.
That would be a huge boon to SFF builders, but of course I'm going to be waiting until we see some benchmarks.
by the way, @Nanook, I'm trying to plan out my Circle Pro build, and wanted to ask you about the Cryorig C7 Cu. In your Circle Pro air-cooled build, you used the heat sink, but swapped out the fan. Was there an issue getting the original fan to fit, or did you do it because of the noise?
Thanks!
Thanks!
It was mainly because of noise. With the glass window, I was thinking to give it a little bit more space / airgap. It wasn’t ideal for cooling a 6700K. I think a lower power chip with a L9i / L9A (more space) might be better.
The most Applish case out there, especially due to the space gray color and overall build quality. The only nuance that prevents me from buying is limited compatibility with modern top-end graphics. How about a version that can hold larger GPUs?
This has turned out to be more challenging than expected. If we make the case longer to accomodate full size cards, the following happens:
- We lose the perfect square shape. It might seem like a small detail, but it changes the look and feel of the case significantly, and we'd lose an element that makes this case unique.
- The layout suddenly becomes a lot less efficient. There are awkward empty spaces all over the place that can't even be used for things like extra drives, reservoirs, etc.
- Increasing the length of the most expensive parts (the top and base panels) would increase the cost of the case even more. We'd have to fundamentally change the materials and processes to avoid passing that cost on to you.
More likely is that we'll release a completely new design to support full length cards. Circle Pro is unique and optimised for its particular layout, and we're not likely to change it dramatically. We know it's not for everyone, but for the people who prioritise CPU performance and are happy with a 2060 or 2070 (as of March 2019), we think the layout is pretty close to perfect.
Keen to hear people's thoughts on this. If we were to design a new case, what features would you like to see?
Currently the case needs ~53mm over the current GPU clearance to fit a Founder’s Edition full size card. Extending both depth and height by that keeps the shape and allows for full size fans on the case bottom, while retaining SFF status at <20L. Not sure what to do with the other 43mm height extension, besides bottom radiator support for people that want dual 240mm rads for custom loops or dual AIOs.
Pushing right up to 20L by expanding width also gives 280mm radiator support, dual 280mm rads would be enough to run some pretty powerful hardware.
I totally agree with everything you've said and definitely like your approach. There's only one way to do that: proportionally increase all other dimensions , change the orientation of GPU to horizontal and use a mATX motherboard and ATX PSU. In other words, an enlarged copy of the current design. This may make sense, considering that nice mATX cases are even rarer than ITX ones.
1. Keep the airflow and fans. I love that this case has 4 fan support
2. Maybe make it taller so we can use 4x 25mmx120mmx120mm fans, and bottom + top 240mm slim radiators. Increased cooling capacity would be welcome. Keep the bracket design for the fans that you have now. It’s good.
3. Raise the motherboard plate off the bottom allowing for another slim 240 rad?
4. Another thought - Change just the interior - a v1.5 version of the circle pro case that keeps the same layout, but allows for half the PSU shroud to be removed? - this way someone can go with an FLEX ATX power supply and full length card. It also lets you preserve the outer compartments and save on parts cost, as you’re building out the inner frame but leaving the outer machined bits unchanged. Also let’s you sell an upgrade kit to anyone who’s already bought the case. Also, doesn’t disrupt the SSD bracket you designed.
I like this idea a lot! Making the entire layout bigger and keeping it the same but scaling up for mATX would be sweet. Especially because I’d love to be able to use a Thunderbolt Card in addition to the GPU.
^ This. Enabling additional component tradeoffs within the same basic design is exactly what DonDan has done with the A4.
If there’s a way to keep your machined pieces unchanged, and only changing the inside brackets to help mount a flex PSU properly. Mine was stuck on with 3M tape 
Another idea is to move the graphics card downwards, and find a different home for the SSDs. This might open up the possibility of accommodating a Founders Edition gpu? Not sure if we’ll still need to use flex PSU.
Another idea is to move the graphics card downwards, and find a different home for the SSDs. This might open up the possibility of accommodating a Founders Edition gpu? Not sure if we’ll still need to use flex PSU.
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Thick: agree. Long: define 'long'?
It would be nice to fit a FE-style GPU when using an alternative PSU, and this need not grow the case nor ruin its uniqueness.
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Can anyone be specific about what brand/make of PSU people would prefer? We are working on an alternative FE card kit and I want to make sure we're making it for the right PSU model(s).
Wow this is unexpected, and incredibly exciting! I’d say Corsair and Silverstone SFX PSUs are your front runners to design around.
