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Completed Custom SFF/mITX Aluminum Case
- Thread starter grsychckn
- Start date
Just got my case today. After unpacking it, my initial impressions are that it's very well protected while shipping. The build quality is very good on the main case body and cover. However, my white side panel doesn't seem to have a very solid coat of powder on one side. I think it may be because of the blue film that the case and panel were wrapped in. One side is much better than the other so I think it should be fine. I'll post more thoughts and some pictures later.
I'm glad to hear the feedback. I'd like to address the side panel issue because it's two-fold. First, white is by far the most difficult color to paint. It's very hard to discern what thickness I've applied as the surface looks very uniform after the powder starts sticking. That said, if there are any impurities on the surface or foreign substances it shows easily. This is primarily why I paint both sides of the panels - not so the panel can be rotated, but so I can have two chances at getting one good surface to display. The benefit is sometimes I get both sides painted well. Also, I could apply a second coat but my experience has been the surface texture changes to make it rough and sometimes it can crack or have unusual peaks and valleys due to the electrical properties changing with the first coat applied (especially if the thickness varies a lot).
All that said, if you are disappointed with your panel I'd be happy to paint another one and try to get it looking better on both sides, just contact me. I look forward to more of your feedback and pictures.
Edit to add: The blue is not from the plastic film. I remember your panel had that light blue when I painted it. Most likely this is some foreign substance that was on the surface of the panel from before I baked it. The machine shop used a chemical to clean it and I think even though I cleaned it again with a specific pre-paint cleaner, it still showed through.
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Looks like the pdf for the led manual is broken on the first post. It just points to "lednet-user-manual-led-wifi-controller-5-channel.pdf/" which is not a valid link.
Got it, I think the better side turned out well enough. I just remember you saying that a user could put a decal on one side and flip it if they wanted a change of pace. I honestly don't see myself wanting to flip the panel anytime soon and I don't want to put you out of more time/money by requesting that you send me a new panel. I do, however, appreciate the offer.
I'm currently running a LZ7 (see profile pic) and I will be porting my system over from there. I would have already done so, but I actually customized all my PSU power cables to fit the LZ7 and I don't have spares at the moment. None of the cables will reach in the new case, so I need to wait until I 1) have the connectors/cables/tools/ and 2) time. I'll let you know how the build goes when I get the time to do it - hopefully sometime over thanksgiving weekend.
Thanks for the great case!
I ended up just putting the case together with nothing in it.
A few suggestions/feedback:
1) Find a way to make the cover panel more flush with the frame. I think most commercial cases do this by putting tabs on the front and a screw in the back, but one screw in the front and one in the back would be fine as well. It's minor, but the cover does tend to bulge a little bit since there isn't anything forcing it against the frame.
2) There is a similar issue with the stand since there is a fairly thick set of foam padding between the stand and the case body. The places where there are screws that force the foam to compress look a bit different than nearer to the center of the case, where there is nothing forcing the stand to conform to the case. This creates another minor bulging appearance when the case/stand interface is viewed from the side.
3) The USB A connector cutout on the front panel could be smaller to hide the metal tabs around the connector. The actual board could be recessed a tiny bit and this would make it look a bit better. My USB C connector looks great, but the USB A looks a little lopsided.
A few suggestions/feedback:
1) Find a way to make the cover panel more flush with the frame. I think most commercial cases do this by putting tabs on the front and a screw in the back, but one screw in the front and one in the back would be fine as well. It's minor, but the cover does tend to bulge a little bit since there isn't anything forcing it against the frame.
2) There is a similar issue with the stand since there is a fairly thick set of foam padding between the stand and the case body. The places where there are screws that force the foam to compress look a bit different than nearer to the center of the case, where there is nothing forcing the stand to conform to the case. This creates another minor bulging appearance when the case/stand interface is viewed from the side.
3) The USB A connector cutout on the front panel could be smaller to hide the metal tabs around the connector. The actual board could be recessed a tiny bit and this would make it look a bit better. My USB C connector looks great, but the USB A looks a little lopsided.
Thank you! This is definitely good feedback. If I make more of these I'll make a concerted effort to address all of them.
I was wondering about the stand (#2) - it looked to me like it did bow in the middle but I was unsure if it was an optical illusion. I might try removing the middle part of the foam strips and attach a base on a case at home and see if that addresses that issue. The foam needs to stay on the ends to avoid paint on paint rubbing and keep the longer screws from contacting the USB adapter inside.
I really wanted to address the USB interfaces but the problem was that the adapter I used had the front of the Type C interface recessed compared to the Type A. I tried fitting a Type C cable from the front and there was little to no room to recess it any further. I was debating grinding down the metal tabs on the Type A interface to make it more sleek, but decided against requiring I manually modify each adapter. Maybe the cable I test fit with was an exception and not the rule - but either way if there is a version 2 I'll try to tidy things up.
zhl146 - Thank you so much for your feedback. This is the only way I can try to make things better in the future given an opportunity to make more. If you have questions or problems, please contact me - I'll be glad to help anyway I can.
Also, the offer for a new side panel is a standing offer. Just contact me and we'll work out what you want and how I can make you happy.
I cried a little inside when I read this
On a more serious note though, it's a great case so I don't blame ya!
Update with a picture of a silver case and black side panel and stand going out tomorrow.
Haha, I love your case but I'm traveling with it a lot and I'm always afraid of breaking it. My friend also has one and he already cracked the back panel on his.I cried a little inside when I read this
On a more serious note though, it's a great case so I don't blame ya!
An all metal case such as this one will certainly be better suited for transportation!
Regarding your friend's case: did he get a First Edition? There were some improvements to the rear panel for v1.0.
The black case that you posted looks great. If black is easier to get right, then I would be interested in a black side/stand. Now that I've got the side panel on next to the stand, you can tell that they are slightly different shades.
We both have first edition cases.
Yes, I'll work on getting you a black set painted tonight so I can ship it out tomorrow hopefully. I'd like very much to have the white set back if you can. I can send you a shipping label for them. I'll be in touch when I ship the black ones.
Yes, I'm sorry to say but I am pretty sure that card is not going to fit. It will definitely cause interference with the PCIe slot on the mainboard. If you try it out let us know but the widest card I managed to cram in was 120mm (~4.92") and that card claims to be 5.5" which isn't even close.
Once i have the card, I will try to not to put on any screws on the PCIe extender and see how it goes.
BTW, for your VEGA 64, what is the dimension of that card? i thought Vega 64 LE card should be larger than your Nitro RX470 but you mentioned that the Nitro gives pressure on the PCIe slot (from your previous post)
The stock Vega 64 is 10.63" x 4.41" x 1.7" or 270mm x 112mm x 43mm. The Vega card is a little longer, but narrower. The 470 Nitro+ is 9.06" x 4.96" x 1.7" or 231mm x 126mm x 43mm. I don't really see how the MSI Gaming X is going to come close to fitting but maybe you'll figure out some magic, and if you do let us know!
I won't be back to my apartment until next week, but I will send them back when I can. I really appreciate your dedication to your creation.
I just bought another card (single fan) from Newegg, will test both.
I love the look of Gaming X but its a BIG card unfortunately.
