That looks amazing, can't wait to see this with metal side-panels. I can already see people foam at the mouth for some interesting Hackintosh builds.
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Completed Circle Pro - Solid Alu CNCed mini-itx case - 240mm liquid cooling
- Thread starter CircleTect
- Start date
That is slick, it's like the SFF spiritual successor the the G5. I agree, it screams Hackintosh
Check it out!
Wow. nicely done, well executed.
Those CNCed vents look pretty expensive.
Out of curiosity, how many kg is the case?
As a case collector, any chance you will make another one and I can get one too?
Impressive indeed, bravo!
Can you give us a hint how you did manage to get a prototype, glass panels included, of that quality in such a short time (<20 days)???
I guess you knew beforehand which local shops to ask ... I wouldn't even know at what door to knock here...
Can you give us a hint how you did manage to get a prototype, glass panels included, of that quality in such a short time (<20 days)???
I guess you knew beforehand which local shops to ask ... I wouldn't even know at what door to knock here...
Thanks guys! Appreciate the kind words.
Industrial design is my day job, so I'm at a bit of an advantage there, and the company I work with has some great suppliers. Add to this highly detailed and considered parts and there aren't usually many major errors that require a full re-fabrication. This time there was a small error in the PSU mounting bracket, so I had to manually bend some metal to fix it, but aside from that, the build went pretty smoothly!
I haven't actually weighed the case yet - I would say it's 5.5kg fully assembled? Just a guess. It's pretty heavy for its size, which I kind of like. Feels like quality. I'll let you know the real weight when I get some scales.
Yeah totally! I have some friends who want to buy it and use it for exactly that.
You not keen on the glass? I've never been keen on viewing panels on computers either, but I must say, it's really beautiful in person and has changed my mind. I am still considering metal panels - would like to find a way to make them appealing, because on first attempt they look a bit boring.
Yes, fairly expensive. But the most exciting thing to announce is that it's not THAT expensive. I've got quotes for 100 units as a first batch, and the price looks like great value to me. For the quality of this thing, I think the premium price is worth it. Ballpark figure is probably double the cost of most other cases here. Is a fully machine anodised aluminium case worth twice as much as a bent sheet steel case? That's for you to decide.
Just a few notes on the design so far:
1. The 240mm water cooling on this thing is awesome.
2. The general look and feel of the unit blew my mind when I first saw it.
3. Cable management has been the biggest challenge, which is what I expected. The dedicated cable management area worked perfectly, but I need a bit more room. This is being provided for in the next revision.
4. I'm already using a custom IEC cable, but am thinking I should get customised power cables. Having cables of the right length and configuration would make the installation experience a dream.
5. Speaking of the installation experience - it's beautiful. Assembling the unit upside down, attaching the radiator to the top panel. Separately attaching the motherboard and gpu to one side panel, and then the PSU to the other, slotting the side panels onto the top panel, now attaching the water cooling loop, and installing all cables (everything super easy to access), then finally installing the base panel, with four neat screws and the whole unit seals up perfectly. I was honestly so surprised how well the assembly experience came together.
6. The glass side panels attach with an amazingly satisfying 'click'. I don't need the finger indents in the bottom, you can just use a card to pop the panels off.
7. I'm using 4 Noctua fans, two in the base and two on the radiator, and they are virtually silent. I couldn't be happier with their performance. The Silverstone 450W SFX PSU on the other hand, is ruining the pristine silence with a rattling fan. I will be replacing it with the Corsair in the next revision to see if it improves the fan noise.
8. Speaking of noise, running a 7700k at synthetic 100% load for 20 mins, and the radiator fans are still quiet. The whole system runs quiet and stable. I need to do full testing of course, but first impressions, I am impressed.
9. Overall I'm fairly happy with the custom button, but it needs more work. I used a cheap commodity switch behind the button, and it makes the 'click' feel cheap and annoying. I'm going to implement a proper steel dome style clicker for the next revision and reduce the travel of the button considerably.
10. I also need to improve the way the SSD caddy fits onto the frame, it's too hard to perfectly align the holes and remove it.
11. The general machining quality and finish of the anodised aluminium is amazing.
Overall - I think I'm on to something here, so I'm going to do another revision on the design, get another prototype, and go from there.
Industrial design is my day job, so I'm at a bit of an advantage there, and the company I work with has some great suppliers. Add to this highly detailed and considered parts and there aren't usually many major errors that require a full re-fabrication. This time there was a small error in the PSU mounting bracket, so I had to manually bend some metal to fix it, but aside from that, the build went pretty smoothly!
I haven't actually weighed the case yet - I would say it's 5.5kg fully assembled? Just a guess. It's pretty heavy for its size, which I kind of like. Feels like quality. I'll let you know the real weight when I get some scales.
Yeah totally! I have some friends who want to buy it and use it for exactly that.
You not keen on the glass? I've never been keen on viewing panels on computers either, but I must say, it's really beautiful in person and has changed my mind. I am still considering metal panels - would like to find a way to make them appealing, because on first attempt they look a bit boring.
Yes, fairly expensive. But the most exciting thing to announce is that it's not THAT expensive. I've got quotes for 100 units as a first batch, and the price looks like great value to me. For the quality of this thing, I think the premium price is worth it. Ballpark figure is probably double the cost of most other cases here. Is a fully machine anodised aluminium case worth twice as much as a bent sheet steel case? That's for you to decide.
Just a few notes on the design so far:
1. The 240mm water cooling on this thing is awesome.
2. The general look and feel of the unit blew my mind when I first saw it.
3. Cable management has been the biggest challenge, which is what I expected. The dedicated cable management area worked perfectly, but I need a bit more room. This is being provided for in the next revision.
4. I'm already using a custom IEC cable, but am thinking I should get customised power cables. Having cables of the right length and configuration would make the installation experience a dream.
5. Speaking of the installation experience - it's beautiful. Assembling the unit upside down, attaching the radiator to the top panel. Separately attaching the motherboard and gpu to one side panel, and then the PSU to the other, slotting the side panels onto the top panel, now attaching the water cooling loop, and installing all cables (everything super easy to access), then finally installing the base panel, with four neat screws and the whole unit seals up perfectly. I was honestly so surprised how well the assembly experience came together.
6. The glass side panels attach with an amazingly satisfying 'click'. I don't need the finger indents in the bottom, you can just use a card to pop the panels off.
7. I'm using 4 Noctua fans, two in the base and two on the radiator, and they are virtually silent. I couldn't be happier with their performance. The Silverstone 450W SFX PSU on the other hand, is ruining the pristine silence with a rattling fan. I will be replacing it with the Corsair in the next revision to see if it improves the fan noise.
8. Speaking of noise, running a 7700k at synthetic 100% load for 20 mins, and the radiator fans are still quiet. The whole system runs quiet and stable. I need to do full testing of course, but first impressions, I am impressed.
9. Overall I'm fairly happy with the custom button, but it needs more work. I used a cheap commodity switch behind the button, and it makes the 'click' feel cheap and annoying. I'm going to implement a proper steel dome style clicker for the next revision and reduce the travel of the button considerably.
10. I also need to improve the way the SSD caddy fits onto the frame, it's too hard to perfectly align the holes and remove it.
11. The general machining quality and finish of the anodised aluminium is amazing.
Overall - I think I'm on to something here, so I'm going to do another revision on the design, get another prototype, and go from there.
Yes, I have a big update to present in about a week. Looking forward to getting everyone's feedback!
We're ok with hints
. This case does look truly awesome though... I have been lurking around for a new-build case for a while now, and I am most excited on this one over everything else. Can't wait to see a big bright pre-order sign to click on!
Hey guys!
Time for a pretty big update. Since the last design revision posted here, there have actually been a few prototypes, and this humble case project, with the help of a few good friends, has suddenly turned into a business concept called Circle Studio - the website for which is here:
http://circlestudio.co
First up - to address the elephant in the room, our business model is selling assembled systems, not a case (EDIT - I have now changed my mind on this, skip to later pages and read this post with a grain of salt ). I know this will be a bit controversial in these forums, as we all like to build our own systems. The thing is, we did some back-of-the-napkin calculations, and for the price it costs us to make the case, we simply couldn't make any money on it if we wanted to sell it at a reasonable cost. Because of the quality of this thing, the premium materials and manufacturing processes, selling our case by itself for a ‘normal’ price would be an act of charity, and it simply doesn’t make any financial sense at this point.
Selling an entire system however, we are able to leverage volume pricing and vendor discounts, and by doing so, we can absorb the increased cost of the case into a system that is still priced very competitively with competing products (professional workstation computers like the Dell Precision Desktop series and Apple’s Mac Pro).
So why have we decided to start this business? For one, the feedback we’ve been getting from people about the case has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve had a number of people put money on the table for full systems after seeing the computer in real life, way before we even finished our website.
Second reason, is that I’m personally crazily passionate about making the ultimate modular computer, and I think Circle Pro is a great embodiment of that. It’s quiet, powerful and incredibly satisfying to use. It has made the work I do so much faster and easier and I want other people to enjoy it too.
For now, we’re taking it slow - we haven’t even officially launched yet. We want to keep the concept in these forums for a while and develop the idea further with everyone’s help.
All feedback is welcome! Please keep in mind however, especially when reading the text, that people on this forum probably won't be the core market. The market is primarily people who don’t want the hassle of building a computer, but want a powerful, beautiful, modular, upgradeable workstation. I know that’s all I wanted when I started this project.
Aside from the case itself, we've also developed lots of custom components inside: a completely original power button design (with custom PCB), custom IEC cable, a SATA loom which combines data and power into one cable assembly, saving lots of space and making our plug-and-play SATA drive concept a reality - among lots of other little details I can't wait to show you.
Thanks guys, hope you like the new design and really looking forward to hearing your thoughts
Time for a pretty big update. Since the last design revision posted here, there have actually been a few prototypes, and this humble case project, with the help of a few good friends, has suddenly turned into a business concept called Circle Studio - the website for which is here:
http://circlestudio.co
First up - to address the elephant in the room, our business model is selling assembled systems, not a case (EDIT - I have now changed my mind on this, skip to later pages and read this post with a grain of salt ). I know this will be a bit controversial in these forums, as we all like to build our own systems. The thing is, we did some back-of-the-napkin calculations, and for the price it costs us to make the case, we simply couldn't make any money on it if we wanted to sell it at a reasonable cost. Because of the quality of this thing, the premium materials and manufacturing processes, selling our case by itself for a ‘normal’ price would be an act of charity, and it simply doesn’t make any financial sense at this point.
Selling an entire system however, we are able to leverage volume pricing and vendor discounts, and by doing so, we can absorb the increased cost of the case into a system that is still priced very competitively with competing products (professional workstation computers like the Dell Precision Desktop series and Apple’s Mac Pro).
So why have we decided to start this business? For one, the feedback we’ve been getting from people about the case has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve had a number of people put money on the table for full systems after seeing the computer in real life, way before we even finished our website.
Second reason, is that I’m personally crazily passionate about making the ultimate modular computer, and I think Circle Pro is a great embodiment of that. It’s quiet, powerful and incredibly satisfying to use. It has made the work I do so much faster and easier and I want other people to enjoy it too.
For now, we’re taking it slow - we haven’t even officially launched yet. We want to keep the concept in these forums for a while and develop the idea further with everyone’s help.
All feedback is welcome! Please keep in mind however, especially when reading the text, that people on this forum probably won't be the core market. The market is primarily people who don’t want the hassle of building a computer, but want a powerful, beautiful, modular, upgradeable workstation. I know that’s all I wanted when I started this project.
Aside from the case itself, we've also developed lots of custom components inside: a completely original power button design (with custom PCB), custom IEC cable, a SATA loom which combines data and power into one cable assembly, saving lots of space and making our plug-and-play SATA drive concept a reality - among lots of other little details I can't wait to show you.
Thanks guys, hope you like the new design and really looking forward to hearing your thoughts
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Great job on the website and product. I didn't know that you are from Denmark. This is very close to my location near the Danish border
Well.....darn....but best of luck to you.
Great design! Looks like it may be even a great case to do a custom watercooled loop if you can find a post for the res/pump.
Great design! Looks like it may be even a great case to do a custom watercooled loop if you can find a post for the res/pump.
Great job on the website and product. I didn't know that you are from Denmark. This is very close to my location near the Danish border
Thanks man! Means a lot coming from you. Loving the C4 SFX. Yes, I'm, living in Denmark for work, but I'm actually originally from Australia.
so, uh, what's the "unreasonable" cost?
I am genuinely curious about this
Congrats to you and your team @CircleTect ! Glad you chosen to bring to bring the case to market however you could. Given strong compatibility for all four x86 and graphics card platforms, I sure that the case (and resulting sytems) will sell well. Will you be offering AM4 and Radeon RX configurations as well?
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