Stalled DICE CASES - FLOW : expandable SFF case for watercooling enthusiast (built in distroplate)

iwe

Caliper Novice
Feb 11, 2020
31
21
 
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AllXFrag

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 23, 2020
96
135
I see what you did there ?


Leaving that aside, @diceboii13 could we please have an update as to where we're at with the whole thing? Last couple days at least I couldn't even turn my pc on, has been so hot that the fans keep ramping up and down in a bid to cool the darn thing.

As I really need to go sff should I be considering an intermediary case whilst waiting? Cheers! ??
 

iwe

Caliper Novice
Feb 11, 2020
31
21
What vacation? During a pandemic?

Anyway, its been a month since he said that they will get done, one month of delays with no information what is going on.
I find it hard to believe that a paint company is this bad. Just call them few times a week saying you have angry clients also. How hard is it to paint few dozen cases? They probably do them in 1-2 days.
 
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AllXFrag

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 23, 2020
96
135
In all honesty I'm not gonna crucify anyone. Delays happen and as with the pandemic striking I can understand how it made things more difficult. All I am asking for is a bit better communication as to where we're at and regular updates.

As I already mentioned above, I am considering other options as I really need the downsize, it is inconvenient as it is an added cost but if no further communication soon I will probably just have to front it. Hopefully @diceboii13 will give us some good news soon.
 

diceboii13

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Nov 4, 2018
620
1,644
dicecases.com
Hey guys, sorry for the late reply! Im moving from my current location, and there is a lot of things to do so I dont have any spare time. No vacation this time, I have to ship all the cases, as the metal parts arrive. I know its frustrating, I feel the same. I texted them and called them every day, turned out they needed around 1000 threaded nuts in the remaining parts, thats why they didnt painted it. They want to paint all of them together, despite I told them to paint what they have and while they do the rest, I can ship the first ones... Didnt happened, so maybe its time to table tossing..
 

duynguyenle

Airflow Optimizer
Aug 20, 2019
329
331
Supposedly there will be new nVidia cards coming out in a couple weeks. I wonder how long it will take until we start seeing waterblocks pop up for the 3000 series RTX cards.
 

AllXFrag

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 23, 2020
96
135
Supposedly there will be new nVidia cards coming out in a couple weeks. I wonder how long it will take until we start seeing waterblocks pop up for the 3000 series RTX cards.

I'd say 2 to 3 weeks tops for the FE. Might even be at launch since I believe nvidia sends the pcb layout to partners like EK in advance in order to coe up with the blocks. Unless they actually pulled that funky heatsink business.... ?
 

Kokin

Cable Smoosher
Aug 20, 2020
9
5
Wow I've never been interested in SFF until I learned about this case. I read through all 78 pages and even signed up just to show a committed interest for a future batch.

I'm coming from a full custom loop in a CaseLabs Mercury S3 (~40L horizontal layout ITX case) and currently use an Asus X570 Crosshair VIII Impact, Ryzen 3900X and EVGA 1080Ti FTW3 with EK waterblocks on both CPU/GPU. I would love to see some sort of support for m-DTX in a future revision, but I could swap my Impact with my wife's X570i Strix. It just feels bad swapping from a $430 board to an "inferior" $260 board. ? I also use an MCP35X DDC pump and HWL GTS280+GTS240 rads, which can all be swapped over.

Some questions:
  1. I currently have a Seasonic 600W Titanium-rated fanless ATX PSU, but it seems like I would have to switch to an SFX/SFX-L PSU for this case. Just to make sure, an ATX power supply wouldn't work in this case right?
  2. Considering I'll have the smaller DDC pump, does SFX-L fill the space out better or is SFX the preferred choice for easier fitting/tubing/cable routing space?
  3. I'm using Noctua NF-A12x25 fans on the GTS240 but also on the GTS280 via the 120 to 140 Noctua adapter (NA-SFMA1). It measures out to about 56-57mm thick, which works for the Large Expand option. Would it be possible to bypass the extra 1-2mm of the adapter by mounting the NF-A12x25s to the 120mm mount and the GTS 280 to the 140mm mount of the Flow? I do understand I'd lose the sealing around the fan that the adapter provides, but will likely swap the fans to NF-A14x25s once Noctua releases them sometime next year. I'm trying to avoid the Extra Large Expand as the extra 14-15mm would go unused.
  4. I use 19/16 or 3/4"-1/2" soft tube fittings and would likely get EK ZMT for this build. Are these too thick to use in the Flow or would it have no problem due to the flexibility of soft tubing? I have lots of 45 and 90 degree fittings.
  5. With the upcoming Ampere and Big Navi GPUs having PCI-E 4.0 support, does the included riser cable support PCI-E 4.0?
  6. I love how the Lagune turned out! Are you planning on sticking with that same powdercoat color or revising it for future batches to match your renders?
I can help out with the wording for the manual if it's still needed and have some suggestions:
  • If you have varying lengths for the M3 screws, it may be helpful to include the appropriate lengths for each photo.
  • Add a how to install the riser cable page. I know it's an obvious installation, but people always find ways to screw it up!
  • I agree with brightening up the photos, the manual should emphasize on ease of installation versus realistic color representation
I am genuinely excited for this case and have been waiting for a well thought-out SFF case that would support dual 280/240 rads while showcasing the components well. No other case seems to fulfill this niche and the upcoming Lian Li O11 Mini is just as large as my Mercury S3. While I love my Mercury S3, I have had it for over 6 years and have been itching to upgrade it to something smaller.

I'm hoping the best for the first batch and will be watching this thread closely for when I can order a future batch.
 

diceboii13

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Nov 4, 2018
620
1,644
dicecases.com
Wow I've never been interested in SFF until I learned about this case. I read through all 78 pages and even signed up just to show a committed interest for a future batch.

I'm coming from a full custom loop in a CaseLabs Mercury S3 (~40L horizontal layout ITX case) and currently use an Asus X570 Crosshair VIII Impact, Ryzen 3900X and EVGA 1080Ti FTW3 with EK waterblocks on both CPU/GPU. I would love to see some sort of support for m-DTX in a future revision, but I could swap my Impact with my wife's X570i Strix. It just feels bad swapping from a $430 board to an "inferior" $260 board. ? I also use an MCP35X DDC pump and HWL GTS280+GTS240 rads, which can all be swapped over.

Some questions:
  1. I currently have a Seasonic 600W Titanium-rated fanless ATX PSU, but it seems like I would have to switch to an SFX/SFX-L PSU for this case. Just to make sure, an ATX power supply wouldn't work in this case right?
  2. Considering I'll have the smaller DDC pump, does SFX-L fill the space out better or is SFX the preferred choice for easier fitting/tubing/cable routing space?
  3. I'm using Noctua NF-A12x25 fans on the GTS240 but also on the GTS280 via the 120 to 140 Noctua adapter (NA-SFMA1). It measures out to about 56-57mm thick, which works for the Large Expand option. Would it be possible to bypass the extra 1-2mm of the adapter by mounting the NF-A12x25s to the 120mm mount and the GTS 280 to the 140mm mount of the Flow? I do understand I'd lose the sealing around the fan that the adapter provides, but will likely swap the fans to NF-A14x25s once Noctua releases them sometime next year. I'm trying to avoid the Extra Large Expand as the extra 14-15mm would go unused.
  4. I use 19/16 or 3/4"-1/2" soft tube fittings and would likely get EK ZMT for this build. Are these too thick to use in the Flow or would it have no problem due to the flexibility of soft tubing? I have lots of 45 and 90 degree fittings.
  5. With the upcoming Ampere and Big Navi GPUs having PCI-E 4.0 support, does the included riser cable support PCI-E 4.0?
  6. I love how the Lagune turned out! Are you planning on sticking with that same powdercoat color or revising it for future batches to match your renders?
I can help out with the wording for the manual if it's still needed and have some suggestions:
  • If you have varying lengths for the M3 screws, it may be helpful to include the appropriate lengths for each photo.
  • Add a how to install the riser cable page. I know it's an obvious installation, but people always find ways to screw it up!
  • I agree with brightening up the photos, the manual should emphasize on ease of installation versus realistic color representation
I am genuinely excited for this case and have been waiting for a well thought-out SFF case that would support dual 280/240 rads while showcasing the components well. No other case seems to fulfill this niche and the upcoming Lian Li O11 Mini is just as large as my Mercury S3. While I love my Mercury S3, I have had it for over 6 years and have been itching to upgrade it to something smaller.

I'm hoping the best for the first batch and will be watching this thread closely for when I can order a future batch.

Thanks for the kind words! ?

1.: Sure only SFX or SFX-L PSUs can be installed inside the case. Trust me I tried with my old ATX, and it didnt worked.

2.: I recommend you the SFX over the SFX-L because of the tubing. Its much more easier to work with. If you want to go with an SFX-L, it can work aswell, but tubing will be harder.

3.: With the large expand you have a clearance of 57mm, so its the absolute maximum. It may touch the outter panels, what can cause some vibrations. To be honest, I didnt tried it with that small of a clearance, so I dont know much about that. You can put some foam between the panel and the rad or fan, but screwing down the panels after it will be a suffer. But you can give it a shot.

4.: I think it will be fine, just make sure you use 90 fittings in the CPU/GPU blocks, and some extenders needed to connect the RAD OUT to the DISTRO IN. I tried that with 16od flex tubes, but didnt worked, so it must need a 90 fitting, and some extenders.

5.: Currently I dont know. Last time I asked about that from my PCI-e supplier, they experimenting with it. I hope they can make it, but if not I found someone who can.

6.: Yes I like that color in live aswell! Maybe a little more green added to it will look better, but to make custom powder coat colors I have to pay 2-3 times more than for existing ones, so I have to raise the price of that color, what I dont want. But who knows... :p

Yep I agree with the manual suggestions. I will make it before we ship tha cases.
 
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an_Age

Average Stuffer
Nov 21, 2018
67
46
Thanks for the kind words! ?

1.: Sure only SFX or SFX-L PSUs can be installed inside the case. Trust me I tried with my old ATX, and it didnt worked.

2.: I recommend you the SFX over the SFX-L because of the tubing. Its much more easier to work with. If you want to go with an SFX-L, it can work aswell, but tubing will be harder.

3.: With the large expand you have a clearance of 57mm, so its the absolute maximum. It may touch the outter panels, what can cause some vibrations. To be honest, I didnt tried it with that small of a clearance, so I dont know much about that. You can put some foam between the panel and the rad or fan, but screwing down the panels after it will be a suffer. But you can give it a shot.

4.: I think it will be fine, just make sure you use 90 fittings in the CPU/GPU blocks, and some extenders needed to connect the RAD OUT to the DISTRO IN. I tried that with 16od flex tubes, but didnt worked, so it must need a 90 fitting, and some extenders.

5.: Currently I dont know. Last time I asked about that from my PCI-e supplier, they experimenting with it. I hope they can make it, but if not I found someone who can.

6.: Yes I like that color in live aswell! Maybe a little more green added to it will look better, but to make custom powder coat colors I have to pay 2-3 times more than for existing ones, so I have to raise the price of that color, what I dont want. But who knows... :p

Yep I agree with the manual suggestions. I will make it before we ship tha cases.
Could you remind me what the top height and length of a gpu would be? Also is to too late to switch to a 3slot version of the case ?

Thinking about this: https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3090-graphics-card-pictured