Completed Circle Pro - Solid Alu CNCed mini-itx case - 240mm liquid cooling

[boof]

Beautiful! Well done, you. How are your thermals and noise?

I was thinking of doing something similar. HD Plex 400w Combo with 3D printed brackets, Nvidia RTX 2080 Founders Edition card, except with straight air cooling a 65w CPU (i9-9700 or i9-9900) using a Noctua NH-L9i with 25mm NF-A9 or NF-B9 (grey) fan.

3700X, hovering 76-77C after 15m on Small FTT
1070, 75C GPU after 10m on FurMark

Ran with the system fans on a Normal fan curve since I haven't found anything to sync fans with GPU temp. with a maxed curve GPU could be lower, CPU possibly as well. noise levels are expected for Noctua, silent when idle and reasonable under load

 

[Bonusround]

I love the aesthetics of this case. It is, by far, the most beautiful SFF design I have come across, and I say that as the owner a 7-year old FT-03 mini, a DAN A4, and prospective buyer of the upcoming Sidearm T1.

Know that I would forego all of these options for the Circle but for one detail: that it will not readily support a full-length graphics card.

I fully understand – and appreciate! – the discipline and restraint that lead to this design specifying mini-length cards. But I have faced a similar constraint with the FT-03 mini as its 'full-length' card spec was limited to 10 inches, the reference size for the contemporaneous GTX 680 generation. As graphics cards evolved and grew this constraint became more pronounced and I was drawn to the A4.

What is frustrating, from what I've gleaned from this thread, is that full-length (founders/reference-style) cards come close to fitting and could be formally supported with some adjustments to the design, specifically the placement of the card vertically within the case. From comments in the thread it appears the designers have explored but rejected this possibility. I can imagine such an adjustment might throw off the symmetry of the back panel.

Unfortunately, that rules out the Circle Pro from my trade space. And of course, I am but one prospective customer.

If the designers foresee a future in which this constraint may be lifted: please speak up! If not, you have my thoughts and feedback for what they are worth.

Regardless, thank you for designing something beautiful.

 

[WinterCharm]

The good news is that with sell outs like this, they will in all probability continue to produce them for a while to come.

Yeah, that's true. I'm just dreading the day we find out that they have stopped, and I still won't have snagged one I already missed out on the early bird pricing, because I kept missing the order windows due to work / having a busy life.

 

[WinterCharm]

I love the aesthetics of this case. It is, by far, the most beautiful SFF design I have come across, and I say that as the owner a 7-year old FT-03 mini, a DAN A4, and prospective buyer of the upcoming Sidearm T1.

Know that I would forego all of these options for the Circle but for one detail: that it will not readily support a full-length graphics card.

I fully understand – and appreciate! – the discipline and restraint that lead to this design specifying mini-length cards. But I have faced a similar constraint with the FT-03 mini as its 'full-length' card spec was limited to 10 inches, the reference size for the contemporaneous GTX 680 generation. As graphics cards evolved and grew this constraint became more pronounced and I was drawn to the A4.

What is frustrating, from what I've gleaned from this thread, is that full-length (founders/reference-style) cards come close to fitting and could be formally supported with some adjustments to the design, specifically the placement of the card vertically within the case. From comments in the thread it appears the designers have explored but rejected this possibility. I can imagine such an adjustment might throw off the symmetry of the back panel.

Unfortunately, that rules out the Circle Pro from my trade space. And of course, I am but one prospective customer.

If the designers foresee a future in which this constraint may be lifted: please speak up! If not, you have my thoughts and feedback for what they are worth.

Regardless, thank you for designing something beautiful.

If this case was reworked with a more traditional sandwich layout, and also made taller with 240mm bottom + top rad support, as well as 25mm fan support on the bottom (up from 15mm slims), it would become the endgame case.

Similar layout, similar form factor, just with a few improvements, and expansion of about 1L more, would do the trick. They could even keep the same PSU layout, and include an area to place a pump/res, and a cable management tunnel with some extra space. Keep all else the same, and they would have a top tier case with little compromise. You'd still need a "shorter" GPU, but designing around Zotac Mini cards was a mistake, IMO, because Zotac hasn't managed to give us a 2080Ti in the same dimensions, and it's unclear if they'll be able to give us more powerful mini cards in the future.

 

[thekinghippo]

The result of some Napkin math to visualize what I would consider the next logical size to be. I used the Louqe Ghost's length of 322mm as the basis for the smallest length possible to get the PSU in line with the mobo.

322 x 322 x 137 = 14.2 Liters

* Keeps the dimensions square
* The PSU is now in standard orientation for a sandwich case
* Full size graphics upto 295mm
* 2nd 240mm Radiator support on the bottom (Normal Rad with slim fans or Slim Rad with normal fans)
* Adds ~2.45 Liters (~21% larger)

 

[JDragon]

I’d pay $600 or more for a Circle Pro able to fit a reference size GPU and more powerful cooling.

Absolute endgame.

 

[DmanX]

Yeah, that's true. I'm just dreading the day we find out that they have stopped, and I still won't have snagged one I already missed out on the early bird pricing, because I kept missing the order windows due to work / having a busy life.

It will be a sad day if and when they stop making it. They are exceptional designers.
But yeah, with whole inventory selling out in minutes, it is hard to get. Wish they could do pre-orders. Perhaps next year they will have production down enough to take pre-orders.

The result of some Napkin math to visualize what I would consider the next logical size to be. I used the Louqe Ghost's length of 322mm as the basis for the smallest length possible to get the PSU in line with the mobo.

322 x 322 x 137 = 14.2 Liters

* Keeps the dimensions square
* The PSU is now in standard orientation for a sandwich case
* Full size graphics upto 295mm
* 2nd 240mm Radiator support on the bottom (Normal Rad with slim fans or Slim Rad with normal fans)
* Adds ~2.45 Liters (~21% larger)

This! So this!

But...

They are all about efficient use of space and there would be a bit of empty/unused space in this layout. I wonder is this size would allow for a 3.5" drive which might take up some of that free space.

 

[abunbohue]

does anyone have custom cable length for a build with a zotac mini?

 

[DmanX]

There's a new Circle Pro MK II with pre-order. Check the website

• Improved compatibility with square edge AIO radiators
• Pump block height allowance increased to 52mm (from 48mm).
• Improved magnetic panel latches.
• Numerous other design improvements. (Hey, do tell!)

Here's what makes me nervous: The preorder is crowdfunded with a minimum of $89,000US before production starts. Does that mean that if that threshold is not met, the production of this case ends ? (gulp!)

 

[WinterCharm]

There's a new Circle Pro MK II with pre-order. Check the website

• Improved compatibility with square edge AIO radiators
• Pump block height allowance increased to 52mm (from 48mm).
• Improved magnetic panel latches.
• Numerous other design improvements. (Hey, do tell!)

Here's what makes me nervous: The preorder is crowdfunded with a minimum of $89,000US before production starts. Does that mean that if that threshold is not met, the production of this case ends ? (gulp!)

guess I’ll be preordering that!!!

 

[mini-pc]

Just as I finish my build, they launch a MK II.

Anyways, to get y'all excited about this case again, here's my build as it currently stands:

 

[DmanX]

Just as I finish my build, they launch a MK II.

Anyways, to get y'all excited about this case again, here's my build as it currently stands:

Outstanding!

What pump and reservoir are you using?

 

[WinterCharm]

Just preordered the Silver Circle Pro v2 and got early bird pricing.

But OUCH $69 (lol) shipping.

I hope this crowdfunding for higher production volume works out. It's a nice case.

----

Just as I finish my build, they launch a MK II.

Anyways, to get y'all excited about this case again, here's my build as it currently stands:

Also, hey, I saw your post on reddit figured I'd say hello over here, too!

 

[jaruri]

Just as I finish my build, they launch a MK II.

Anyways, to get y'all excited about this case again, here's my build as it currently stands:

Nice build! I'm about to finish mine once work dies down a bit and am using that same barrow gpu terminal! Super happy when I found they also fit bykski blocks as well since the bykski version of it is too big to fit.
How is draining/filling the build? I see you have a qdc in there in the cpu side, is that mainly for the fill process?

 

[mini-pc]

Outstanding!

What pump and reservoir are you using?

Pump is a Sys-cooling SC-P67B I got off Amazon. Nothing spectacular, it does the job and is quiet - but it was one of the few that had the inlet/outlet ports oriented like I needed them to be.

Reservoir is also third party knock-off, but since it's only temporarily connected, it doesn't need to be anything fancy.

 

[mini-pc]

Just preordered the Silver Circle Pro v2 and got early bird pricing.

But OUCH $69 (lol) shipping.

I hope this crowdfunding for higher production volume works out. It's a nice case.

----



Also, hey, I saw your post on reddit figured I'd say hello over here, too!

Yeah, I recognized a couple names from this forum. Just re-posting it in case there's some people who don't follow r/sffpc. Good luck with your build!

 

[mini-pc]

Nice build! I'm about to finish mine once work dies down a bit and am using that same barrow gpu terminal! Super happy when I found they also fit bykski blocks as well since the bykski version of it is too big to fit.
How is draining/filling the build? I see you have a qdc in there in the cpu side, is that mainly for the fill process?

Nice! That was the riskiest part of the build since I couldn't find exact measurements for how these would fit together.

Draining/filling is super-easy with the quick disconnects. It's a little more expensive since you need an additional set for reservoir side, but I couldn't find a way to fit a reservoir inside the case that would still let me keep the clean aesthetic I was going for.

 

[DmanX]

Is CircleTech advertising this new campaign anywhere on the web? Moreover, advertising with a list of all the updates. Even the minor ones.

It would help to point out that that primary concern addressed in the Optimum Tech review, that being the incompatibility with square edge radiators, has been addressed in this latest iteration. Also, potentially, the fan filter offset... which needs some clarification.

At least update the thread title and front post to make an announcement of this new version and campaign.

 

[thekinghippo]

Any word on when the "limited time discount" goes away? I'm teetering on the fence of a hard decision and having a timeline would really help.

 

[CircleTect]

Hey guys, thanks for sticking in there. Some updates!

Also, potentially, the fan filter offset... which needs some clarification.

I think Ali from OT unfortunately made a mistake assembling the case - because we have a dedicated part called the fan offset bracket which is specifically designed to offset the fan from the fan filters. Unfortunately Ali didn't communicate his issues with me before publishing, so it seems a few of these inaccuracies are in the final review.

Is CircleTech advertising this new campaign anywhere on the web? Moreover, advertising with a list of all the updates. Even the minor ones.

Thanks for the reminder, I've since updated the first page of this post. Our main avenue of advertising is through our mailing list. We haven't done any external advertising otherwise.

Any word on when the "limited time discount" goes away? I'm teetering on the fence of a hard decision and having a timeline would really help.

We'll be updating the price once we hit 40 backers.