Dreaming of a truly SFF (ITX) case for 3950X

[theGryphon]

Thanks guys!

You will have to wait until I share the case I am working on for that. It will take some time but I will eventually share the design and concept if I am not able to produce it myself so others can make it available.

It will be under 10 litters and slim enough to fit in your backpack but that is hardly something new. The best part is it will have better cooling than bigger cases, therefore will be more than capable to deal with the 3950x

I had started putting together a design using a FlexATX PSU but then I thought of a completely different design with an SFX PSU and I decided to present that instead. The SFX PSU design has other benefits than just SFX vs FlexATX. Overall, it's going to be around 305x305x100 with a 240mm AIO and slim 120mm fans. Yeah, I made that compromise with the purpose of biggest bang per liter, and because there are many more alternatives in 240mm.

I'd be happy to see your design as well. Maybe we'll inspire a good producer

 

[Luke NK]

I had started putting together a design using a FlexATX PSU but then I thought of a completely different design with an SFX PSU and I decided to present that instead.

Great! You presented it? Is there a link to your design?

I think by the measures you mentioned, our design could actually be quite the same.

 

[CaptainBigleux]

in my humbe opinion, I think the smaller you can go "reasonably " are the ncase M1 or the louqe ghost with large top hat to fit an AIO.
A Dan case with smaller AIO could be considered... but not sure about cooling performance

 

[YESWEKEN]

Looking forward to this design as well. Regardless of want or need, I like it when people push the boundaries of SFF builds in terms of power per liter since that's one of the driving forces for new designs and result in a lot of the SFF cases we know and love today.

 

[mr.squishy]

Just gonna leave this link here: https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...x-the-9l-case-with-atx-and-aio-support.10919/ The P-Atx comes out any day now and should have support for everything you need in a 9L form factor, and if not, you can wait for the 13L Version which will support more options for cooling.

 

[theGryphon]

Just gonna leave this link here: https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...x-the-9l-case-with-atx-and-aio-support.10919/ The P-Atx comes out any day now and should have support for everything you need in a 9L form factor, and if not, you can wait for the 13L Version which will support more options for cooling.

^ No support for 240mm CLC though.

I'm about to present my case design for 3950X 240mm CLC, SFX PSU, 285mm GPU, 9.5 liters.

 

[theGryphon]

OK, I settled on the design...
To summarize, I think I'm on to something here. What makes it special: Slim profile, low volume design with little to no compromises.


Dimensions: 306 (D) x 311 (H) x 100 (W) = 9.5 liters

Material: Outer shell and side panels (not pictured) 2mm aluminum, everything else 1.5mm aluminum.

Assembly:

• One-piece inner frame. May be challenging to manufacture, but a must-have for this design. Includes the 6.35mm-tall concealed-head motherboard stand-offs.
• One piece, enveloping outer shell to be attached on the inner frame (four screws at the bottom, two push-pins on top, four push-pins at the front).
• Side panels attach via push pins (not pictured).
• Anti-vandal power button (not pictured but visualize it on the opposite side of the PSU, towards the bottom).
• Not sure about front USB/audio.

Motherboard: Mini-ITX only

PSU: SFX only. PSU install point is adjustable (up-down). Internal power cable not pictured.

PCI-E Riser: Li-Heat Type B

Cooling:

• 240mm CLC + fan, total clearance 44mm
• 78.5mm clearance from CPU to side panel.
• Virtually any 240mm CLC with 15mm-thick fans, even those with tall pump blocks.
• 120mm or 92mm fan install points for VRM cooling.
• Maximum clearance between CLC fans and GPU board is 14.5mm. GPU install point is adjustable for up to 2.4-slot GPUs and a minimum CLC clearance of 8mm.
• One-side intake (fully perforated), one-side exhaust (perforated at the radiator area). Negative air pressure.

GPU:

• Up to 285mm GPU is safe (pictured). At this length, there is 14mm clearance for CLC tubing.
• GPU install point is adjustable for up to 2.4-slot GPUs.
• GPU height allowance depends on the power plug arrangement. As pictured, there is 24.5mm clerance between a standard-height (111mm) GPU and the PSU bracket (and there is 36mm from the PSU to the SSD drives). PSU install point is adjustable to give an additional ~20mm for the GPU height.
• A GPU-holding bracket will be added to secure the GPU in place.

RAM: Virtually any height.

Storage: 2 x 2.5" under the PSU (pictured) PLUS 2 x 2.5" above the motherboard (in place of the pictured fan) OR 1 x 3.5" (in place of the pictured fan)

User assembly:

1. Install motherboard (with CPU on) in the case.
2. Install the fans on the radiator using the center screws.
3. Install the radiator+fan assembly from the back of the case. Outer shell need not come out, but it can to help with installation.
4. Install the PCI-E riser cable.
5. Install the GPU on the case.
6. Install the PSU on the bracket, then the bracket on the case.
7. Install the CPU block on the CPU.
8. Optional: Install the SSDs on the bracket, then the bracket on the case.
9. Install the internal cables (power cables from the PSU, data cables, fan cables, etc.)
10. Optional: Install the 120/92mm fan above the motherboard.
11. Close the side panels

 

[theGryphon]

^ I just realized the case can support a back-loading slim ODD (in place of the fan above the motherboard)

Edit: Also just realized, perforated glass/acrylic panel can be used to show-off the internals

 

[mr.squishy]

It looks solid to me but that rad is going to be super choked for airflow.

 

[theGryphon]

It looks solid to me but that rad is going to be super choked for airflow.

Thank you for your comment!

You are however not entirely right. It's abundantly clear that the radiator is not going to perform as well as it would in open-air. Three reasons:

1. It's in a case. Duh, I know.
2. It's behind a GPU, exposed to its heat.
3. It's quite close to a flat surface (here, being the GPU PCB).

We cannot avoid number 1.

Number 2, we do not want to avoid in this case. The heat of the GPU needs to be expelled as quickly as possible, and the radiator serves the triple function to cool the CPU and the motherboard and the GPU, which is in total very much vital in a small case like this.

Number 3. It's been some time but someone at some point ran some test here in this forum to find that fans need around 10mm clearance from a flat wall, in order to perform well. Here, the fans are not facing a flat wall, so it's better than that. Secondly, using a regular 2-slot GPU, the fans have 14.5mm clearance, which should really be sufficient. I gave the 8mm number for those who must have a thick, 2.4-slot GPU in there. The last thing is that I'm showing in the pictures a 11.5mm clearance, and the longest possible GPU (285mm, which possibly is pushing things too far for this case).

While my feeling is that the radiator should perform "fine", what's for certain is that a prototype must be built to test exactly these concerns. By "fine" I mean that the 240mm radiator should perform better than any low-profile (<90mm) heatsink or any 120mm radiator operating in open-air. It might actually perform surprisingly well compared to these solutions in cooling high wattage chips like the 3950X.

Yet again, a prototype is a must, but I thought hard on this design and I believe it has merit. Not to sound like complementing myself, but it is structurally, ergonomically and aesthetically sound, and it should perform (cooling-wise) better than virtually all cases of similar volume.

Now, how should I go about having a prototype built?

 

[millionpeak]

Optimum Tech uploaded a video today about this CPU in the Ncase


I don't know if it will fit in your backpack, but this shows the 240 aio as a capable cooler for the 3950

Like this!
I also took some time on the SFF case for 3950X. seems ncase M1 and slinger SM580 are best two choices so far. I will go with ncase m1.

 

[msek]

Looking forward to this thread. You are going to print that case, or still looking for some?

It's such a pitty, that all cases are: which graphic card you can have, and noone think about CPU, or at last is seems like that.

 

[gwertheim]

@theGryphon the sidearm is going on sale in the new year if your still interested in checking out that case

Production - FormD T1 Classic (READ FIRST POST)

240 rads don't fit Alphacool LT240 is supposed to fit with 15mm fan under the motherboard in early version (and I hope it still does)

smallformfactor.net