Completed DSE Breathe - A 7.3L Vertical Format ITX Tower

anoldfriend

Trash Compacter
Jun 23, 2018
44
61
Greetings! I am about to order a DSE Breathe, gorgeous case!
I`m for a black one as well. 1080ti ftw3 waiting.
Would a msi 1080 ti gaming x trio fit? (that is the most silent 1080 ti i have ever used)
 
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Damascus

Master of Cramming
Feb 27, 2018
550
387
Greetings! I am about to order a DSE Breathe, gorgeous case!
I`m for a black one as well. 1080ti ftw3 waiting.
Would a msi 1080 ti gaming x trio fit? (that is the most silent 1080 ti i have ever used)
I'm having a hard time figuring out it's thickness but anything over 2 slots will be very iffy
 

anoldfriend

Trash Compacter
Jun 23, 2018
44
61
"I like heatsinks" -> Love that quote!

MSI GAMING x TRIO:
325 x 140 x 48

DSE:
  • Maximum card height: 152mm (bottom of card PCIe tab to top of power connector wires)
  • Maximum card length: 330mm
It will fit =) Will post some pictures when it is done.
I have a 8700k (not planning on OC), I will use the nh-l9i with a redux 25mm fan.
Thanks for the reply!
 
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Damascus

Master of Cramming
Feb 27, 2018
550
387
"I like heatsinks" -> Love that quote!

MSI GAMING x TRIO:
325 x 140 x 48

DSE:
  • Maximum card height: 152mm (bottom of card PCIe tab to top of power connector wires)
  • Maximum card length: 330mm
It will fit =) Will post some pictures when it is done.
I have a 8700k (not planning on OC), I will use the nh-l9i with a redux 25mm fan.
Thanks for the reply!
I'd be worried about how the shroud goes over the PCIE slots, the other dimensions are picture perfect
 
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DSE

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
DSE
Feb 8, 2017
137
390
Greetings! I am about to order a DSE Breathe, gorgeous case!
I`m for a black one as well. 1080ti ftw3 waiting.
Would a msi 1080 ti gaming x trio fit? (that is the most silent 1080 ti i have ever used)
Thanks, I'm glad to hear it!

The MSI 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio will not fit. Its cooler/shroud protrudes past dual-slot width.

45.6mm max width/thickness on graphics cards in the case is a hard limit that cannot be exceeded.
 

anoldfriend

Trash Compacter
Jun 23, 2018
44
61
Thanks, I'm glad to hear it!

The MSI 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio will not fit. Its cooler/shroud protrudes past dual-slot width.

45.6mm max width/thickness on graphics cards in the case is a hard limit that cannot be exceeded.

Thanks for the reply! Mr. DSE. Much appreciated! I will use the FTW3 for the build.

I just bought the black DSE, really Gorgeous case, well done!

I hope you can bring the Vertex to life, that would be awesome!
 
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veganzombiez

Caliper Novice
Jan 13, 2018
27
29
Yay, Breathe came in today. Some initial thoughts before I start building:
  • There's some flex halfway on the case itself, like in gunpalcyril's previous post, but it's really not too bad. I can't think of many situations where there'd be pressure there anyway.
  • It's really light, and I could hang it up via one of those 3M medium command hooks. Of course, this means the spine itself has more flex than I'd like (I haven't built in a Dancase, so unable to compare), but this won't be a problem when it's built and supported by the case sides, which are pretty solid. Spine flex is less than half that of a credit card.
  • The red is really nice: not too dull, not too bright.
  • No instruction manual, but shouldn't be too hard to figure out.
  • While my personal preference is to want rubber on the feet, the plain metal isn't too bad, as I won't be sliding this around much.
  • Fits in my backpack (Synapse 25) with enough room for accessories + clothes if it's an overnight lan/trip.
Welp, enough looking. Time to build.
 

DSE

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
DSE
Feb 8, 2017
137
390
Yay, Breathe came in today. Some initial thoughts before I start building:
  • There's some flex halfway on the case itself, like in gunpalcyril's previous post, but it's really not too bad. I can't think of many situations where there'd be pressure there anyway.
  • It's really light, and I could hang it up via one of those 3M medium command hooks. Of course, this means the spine itself has more flex than I'd like (I haven't built in a Dancase, so unable to compare), but this won't be a problem when it's built and supported by the case sides, which are pretty solid. Spine flex is less than half that of a credit card.
  • The red is really nice: not too dull, not too bright.
  • No instruction manual, but shouldn't be too hard to figure out.
  • While my personal preference is to want rubber on the feet, the plain metal isn't too bad, as I won't be sliding this around much.
  • Fits in my backpack (Synapse 25) with enough room for accessories + clothes if it's an overnight lan/trip.
Welp, enough looking. Time to build.
Woo! Glad to hear; I'm excited to see your build.

Yep. It was my preference to have the case made out of steel so that it would be even more rigid with my latest design changes. We'll go back to steel for the next revision to really minimize flex.
 

veganzombiez

Caliper Novice
Jan 13, 2018
27
29
Here's the 3 biggest takeaways during the build process:
  1. You need a low-profile power cable (hopefully Sliger can include one in future batches). Since your power cable will come out the bottom of the case, it'll stick out and your case won't be level.

  2. The stock ATX cable from the Corsair Gold SFF PSU is atrocious for this case in both stiffness and length. The CPU, PCIe, and SATA cables are fine, but they're definitely too long. I can't install my 2.5" until my new cables arrive.

  3. My GPU (Gigabyte 1080 Turbo OC) was impossible to install, and I still have no idea how I did it besides brute force. I might've done something wrong, though.
Some other thoughts:
  • When installing the GPU, gently push the power button assembly in a bit, since the two prongs at the bottom of the GPU support bracket will slide in-between the power button and the case.
  • Took probably less than an hour to put together. Everything's pretty self-explanatory from the pictures on Sliger's site.
  • The riser (coming out of the motherboard) will push up against the side of the case. After screwing in the sides, the riser flattened a bit and isn't pushing out as much.
  • The GPU-side on the riser has a retention clip that you slide to open.
  • After installing the PSU, the spine had very noticeable flex, though I may just have overtightened the screws. Made me a bit worried to move it around at first.
 
Last edited:

Damascus

Master of Cramming
Feb 27, 2018
550
387
Here's the 3 biggest takeaways during the build process:
  1. You need a low-profile power cable (hopefully Sliger can include one in future batches). Since your power cable will come out the bottom of the case, it'll stick out and your case won't be level.

  2. The stock ATX cable from the Corsair Gold SFF PSU is atrocious for this case in both stiffness and length. The CPU, PCIe, and SATA cables are fine, but they're definitely too long. I can't install my 2.5" until my new cables arrive.

  3. My GPU (Gigabyte 1080 Turbo OC) was impossible to install, and I still have no idea how I did it besides brute force. I might've done something wrong, though.
Some other thoughts:
  • Took probably less than an hour to put together. Everything's pretty self-explanatory from the pictures on Sliger's site.
  • The riser (coming out of the motherboard) will push up against the side of the case. After screwing in the sides, the riser flattened a bit and isn't pushing out as much.
  • The GPU-side on the riser has a retention clip that you slide to open.
  • After installing the PSU, the spine had very noticeable flex, though I may just have overtightened the screws. Made me a bit worried to move it around at first.
Strange that the GPU has issues, I'll be careful installing my much larger gpu
 

DSE

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
DSE
Feb 8, 2017
137
390
Here's the 3 biggest takeaways during the build process:
  1. You need a low-profile power cable (hopefully Sliger can include one in future batches). Since your power cable will come out the bottom of the case, it'll stick out and your case won't be level.

  2. The stock ATX cable from the Corsair Gold SFF PSU is atrocious for this case in both stiffness and length. The CPU, PCIe, and SATA cables are fine, but they're definitely too long. I can't install my 2.5" until my new cables arrive.

  3. My GPU (Gigabyte 1080 Turbo OC) was impossible to install, and I still have no idea how I did it besides brute force. I might've done something wrong, though.
Some other thoughts:
  • Took probably less than an hour to put together. Everything's pretty self-explanatory from the pictures on Sliger's site.
  • The riser (coming out of the motherboard) will push up against the side of the case. After screwing in the sides, the riser flattened a bit and isn't pushing out as much.
  • The GPU-side on the riser has a retention clip that you slide to open.
  • After installing the PSU, the spine had very noticeable flex, though I may just have overtightened the screws. Made me a bit worried to move it around at first.
Thanks for the write up.

Interesting. Could you elaborate on why it was difficult to install your graphics card? I didn't have that issue, but I would appreciate your feedback for working on the next revision.
 
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veganzombiez

Caliper Novice
Jan 13, 2018
27
29
Strange that the GPU has issues, I'll be careful installing my much larger gpu
Thanks for the write up.

Interesting. Could you elaborate on why it was difficult to install your graphics card? I didn't have that issue, but I would appreciate your feedback for working on the next revision.

I think my GPU's mating thing was slightly too long for the retention clip (or my clip doesn't move far enough). I couldn't fully seat the GPU into the riser, and the support bracket wasn't flush with the case. The retention clip also wouldn't move.

The prongs on the bottom of the support bracket slid pretty easily between the power button and the case, so it wasn't that.
 
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DSE

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
DSE
Feb 8, 2017
137
390
I think my GPU's mating thing was slightly too long for the retention clip (or my clip doesn't move far enough). I couldn't fully seat the GPU into the riser, and the support bracket wasn't flush with the case. The retention clip also wouldn't move.

The prongs on the bottom of the support bracket slid pretty easily between the power button and the case, so it wasn't that.
I see. Thanks for telling me. I value it greatly.
 

Jello

Airflow Optimizer
Nov 15, 2016
376
163
You need a low-profile power cable (hopefully Sliger can include one in future batches). Since your power cable will come out the bottom of the case, it'll stick out and your case won't be level.

I thought the case was designed to have the cables coming out the top?
 

jwlarocque

Cable Smoosher
Jan 24, 2017
12
17
Here's the 3 biggest takeaways during the build process:
  1. You need a low-profile power cable (hopefully Sliger can include one in future batches). Since your power cable will come out the bottom of the case, it'll stick out and your case won't be level.

  2. The stock ATX cable from the Corsair Gold SFF PSU is atrocious for this case in both stiffness and length. The CPU, PCIe, and SATA cables are fine, but they're definitely too long. I can't install my 2.5" until my new cables arrive.

  3. My GPU (Gigabyte 1080 Turbo OC) was impossible to install, and I still have no idea how I did it besides brute force. I might've done something wrong, though.
Some other thoughts:
  • When installing the GPU, gently push the power button assembly in a bit, since the two prongs at the bottom of the GPU support bracket will slide in-between the power button and the case.
  • Took probably less than an hour to put together. Everything's pretty self-explanatory from the pictures on Sliger's site.
  • The riser (coming out of the motherboard) will push up against the side of the case. After screwing in the sides, the riser flattened a bit and isn't pushing out as much.
  • The GPU-side on the riser has a retention clip that you slide to open.
  • After installing the PSU, the spine had very noticeable flex, though I may just have overtightened the screws. Made me a bit worried to move it around at first.

Gah! I've got an old SF450 and don't have a low profile/90 degree AC cable. :/

Not sure they should include one though, for the people who already happen to have one.
 
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Damascus

Master of Cramming
Feb 27, 2018
550
387
Gah! I've got an old SF450 and don't have a low profile/90 degree AC cable. :/

Not sure they should include one though, for the people who already happen to have one.
I happen to have one already (old monitor needed it) but most people probably don't. I could see something cheap being an optional add-on for $5 or $10, with a small stock held by @KSliger

Something like these, with a low upfront cost to the sellers. Maybe get something higher quality though lol
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32720...ZVf&aff_short_key=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=msite
 
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DSE

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Original poster
DSE
Feb 8, 2017
137
390
Gah! I've got an old SF450 and don't have a low profile/90 degree AC cable. :/

Not sure they should include one though, for the people who already happen to have one.
Yep, I learned from selling the prototype batch that including the power cable is a tricky deal since customers are all around the world and not everyone uses the same electrical plugs/sockets.

It would be kinda nuts to stock volumes of power cables with the 15 different types of plugs used today. So the best course of action is just to let the customer buy one for themselves since they can do the appropriation for what they need according to where they live, respectively. 90 degree power cables are dirt cheap anyway.