Stalled DICE CASES - FLOW : expandable SFF case for watercooling enthusiast (built in distroplate)
- Thread starter diceboii13
- Start date
Looking pretty good, but a bit big for me too. I wonder how much the price will be.
Test piece arrived and looks incredibly solid. Doggy likes it too 
They look so damn well done and solid, this is fantastic man, cannot wait to see the full prototype assembled! ?Test piece arrived and looks incredibly solid. Doggy likes it too
Just one case now for testing. Its just a trial piece for make sure its rigged enough to hold the PCs weight. And it is!
Hi Dice. I was actually thinking of having something like the case you're currently designing/building. Itx machine with dual 240mm rads and distroplate in front. Would you be interrested in sharing the cad design, so i can look into it in Fusion360? - Also if i may try and build it myself, or do you plan to sell it like the other SFF cases?
- Also if i may try and build it myself, or do you plan to sell it like the other SFF cases? 
Thank you, as you can see in the second picture when you expand it, u can fit a 240rad both top and bottom, so you can make a full loop with separate rads for gpu, and cpu. The bottom one pull air under the case and a top rad can exhaust. But you can use only one rad, if you want aswell.
That distro plate really catches the eye...!
Good looking project, would definitely like to see this go into some sort of production, even if a limited run boutique kind of thing...!
A few comments:
1 - Please make compatible with Mini-DTX motherboards as well
2 - A distro plate with two D5 pumps, set up to run the CPU & GPU on separate loops would be sweet
3 - Since it is a distro plate, I was kind of expecting to see eight ports on the plate (not counting the pump), for 'home runs' to & from each component (cpu. gpu. two rads)
Hi maslygan!Hi Dice. I was actually thinking of having something like the case you're currently designing/building. Itx machine with dual 240mm rads and distroplate in front. Would you be interrested in sharing the cad design, so i can look into it in Fusion360?
Im planing to sell it, so currently I cant send it to you. But if the first production line is coming, for personal use I can share with you. If its okey for you
Alright, thanks! Where are you based/thinking of getting it manufactured? - i was looking at something like the Chimera Cerberus, but shipped to Denmark, it will cost me 300 USD, not including tax or import fees, so i kinda ditched that idea.Hi maslygan!
Im planing to sell it, so currently I cant send it to you. But if the first production line is coming, for personal use I can share with you. If its okey for you
Its funny though, that we had the exact same idea, only your cad skills are way better haha
Thanks!
1 - For Mini DTX boards I need to redesign the case from ground, but its not the biggest problem. If I make it bigger, it will be like 15l volume and I really want to keep it as small as possible. But if I can find a way to do it, I will! Its a good idea.
2 - There is no space for 2 pumps in this form factor. I spent month to figure out where I can mount a single pump
But 15 pump is enough for gpu and cpu, and It can go like: distro - cpu - rad1 - gpu - rad2 - distro, so its efficent! And It can cool 1 component a time, for only a cpu, or the gpu. I will make some drawings about it.3 - I can add 2 more for it, in the middle of the plate, but the pump really need to be on the distro, because as I mentioned there is no efficent space for it.
If I can manufacture in here Hungary, it will be very nice, but China is a nice "cheap" place too. In Alibaba, you can find thousands of manufacturers, who can help you but not single prototypes. Only mass production. I tried to get a prototype from china but it will cost around 1000 - 1500usd lol.. I want to keep my case around 200usd. Because of the distro it will be really hard but I try as much as I can.Alright, thanks! Where are you based/thinking of getting it manufactured? - i was looking at something like the Chimera Cerberus, but shipped to Denmark, it will cost me 300 USD, not including tax or import fees, so i kinda ditched that idea.
Its funny though, that we had the exact same idea, only your cad skills are way better haha
Thanks! I learn CAD like 4-5 months so Im not that pro.
If I can manufacture in here Hungary, it will be very nice, but China is a nice "cheap" place too. In Alibaba, you can find thousands of manufacturers, who can help you but not single prototypes. Only mass production. I tried to get a prototype from china but it will cost around 1000 - 1500usd lol.. I want to keep my case around 200usd. Because of the distro it will be really hard but I try as much as I can.
Thanks! I learn CAD like 4-5 months so Im not that pro.
Do you have access to any Cnc/ laser cutter or 3d printer? Currently i have access to 3dprinter and laser cutter, but might know one that know one who have access to cnc machines too. But i cannot see which parts need to be cnc machined(other than distroplate) and which ones that can be 3d printed or laser cut
*edit* also, you might try and reach out to Custom_mod based in ukraine i think. It seems like they manufacture cases for people and sell them. they dont seem too expensive
You can use the distro plate to distribute the water between the two chambers (cpu & gpu), no need for any tubing to bend from one chanber to the other...!
Pump is on distro plate, doing its pump thing...
Four ports each chamber
two short (one top, one bottom, for radiators)
two long (to & from components)
That is a lot of ports...!
Especially on the GPU side, which has a substantial portion of the distro plate taken up by the D5 pump...
What about a single 280x55mm radiator / dual 140x25mm fans exhausting up top & dual 140x25mm fans intaking from below...?
With a single radiator the flow could be distro > cpu > radiator > gpu > distro & repeat
Distro plate moves water from GPU side to CPU side
Radiator moves water from CPU side to GPU side
Only two ports needed per chamber...!
280x55mm radiator more than enough for TDPs up to 16C Ryzen / Radeon VII levels...!
Especially once Noctua releases the NF-A14x25 PWM Sterrox fans...!
And since it is a visible distro plate, maybe a flow indicator mounted within...?
Oh...! And will a PCIe 4.0 x16 compliant riser cable be included with this chassis (hopefully 3M)...?
Thanks...!
I fouind a guy whos got cnc machine and a bending table. For prototyping its enought for me. Hes name is Andrew: https://www.pcdesignfoundry.com/
Check him out!
In my case only the distro need cnc machining. The case is laser cutted from aluminium, and bent it.
Ah nice! Hope that i will not be too expensive to make then
because i am all in then. I wanted to watercool my 2700x and my Pny rtx 2080 xlr8 dual fan, but my node 304 has a too stupid layout to do that properly What is your plan atm regarding prototyping etc? - not to put any pressure on you Since the case is expandable, it probably wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to mod the case to support dtx in the expanded form, but dtx is so rare I really wouldn't worry about making it compatible out of the box. This is especially true since the one dtx board for x570 wouldn't fit in this case anyway because of the giant daughter board that sticks out as far as a gpu would.
Because of the PSU placement there is no way to use it like that. I make a lot mesurements and the rads are enought to distribute the loop between the gpu/cpu. The only important thing is the loop need to end at the top radiator if 2 of them used (basically not the only way but the most efficent) . It can be used to cool only the gpu or only the cpu or both together with 1 or 2 rads both top and bottom. The distro plate is used like a "styled" reservoir in that case, and a place to put the pump.
You can use the distro plate to distribute the water between the two chambers (cpu & gpu), no need for any tubing to bend from one chanber to the other...!
Pump is on distro plate, doing its pump thing...
Four ports each chamber
two short (one top, one bottom, for radiators)
two long (to & from components)
That is a lot of ports...!
Especially on the GPU side, which has a substantial portion of the distro plate taken up by the D5 pump...
What about a single 280x55mm radiator / dual 140x25mm fans exhausting up top & dual 140x25mm fans intaking from below...?
With a single radiator the flow could be distro > cpu > radiator > gpu > distro & repeat
Distro plate moves water from GPU side to CPU side
Radiator moves water from CPU side to GPU side
Only two ports needed per chamber...!
280x55mm radiator more than enough for TDPs up to 16C Ryzen / Radeon VII levels...!
Especially once Noctua releases the NF-A14x25 PWM Sterrox fans...!
And since it is a visible distro plate, maybe a flow indicator mounted within...?
Oh...! And will a PCIe 4.0 x16 compliant riser cable be included with this chassis (hopefully 3M)...?
Thanks...!
The flow indicator is a good idea. I will try
Its about the pcie manufature. Li-Heat contacted me, and if they make, It will be included!
Last edited:
I want to get a rig like that maybe in July for testing. And a monoblock for the asus x470-iAh nice! Hope that i will not be too expensive to make then
My plan is not so clear yet. Crowdfunding or Preorder. But the mass production is still a question. I hope my case will interest more than 10 ppl, so I can make it. 
