Completed DSX1 - DeskMini Series X Game Console Style Case - STX with internal PSU and GPU Support

[REVOCCASES]

REVOCCASES DSX1 Game Console DIY Case for AsRock Deskmini A300/X300

Build your own Xbox Series X:

Prototype review by GucksTV:





DSX1 DIY Complete Set includes:

• DSX1 Case (space grey metallic powder coated Aluminum)
• MEANWELL RPS-400-12-C Power Supply
• GxR Load Switch Module
• ADT R43-ML M.2 to PCIe Riser Cable
• USB 2.0 Pigtail Cable
• Audio Pigtail Cable

What you still need:

• AsRock DeskMini A300 or X300 Barebone
• APU, RAM, SSD, WiFi
• CPU Cooler with max. 50mm height
• Case Fan: 140 x 25mm
• Graphics Card:
  • max. 200W TDP/TBP
  • max. 220mm long
  • 2 slots wide (max. 48mm)
  • max. 120mm high // 130mm with PCIe Power angled adapter
• IEC C5 Power Cord

DSX1 is now available Build-to-Order

 

[REVOCCASES]

1st update for DSX1

Today I made a prototype of the chassis to show you the layout and to see if all fits together.

It is really a shame that AsRock does not sell their STX motherboards without the case. But well, since the case is already there I can at least put some parts of it to good use for the DSX1.

As you can see below, I will keep the original mounting tray and also the power button:

I could have made the case quite a bit shorter but having 220mm GPU clearance allows for better compatibility especially in times like these where (ITX size) components are hard to get.

keeping the original motherboard tray has several advantages: you can keep compatibility for SATA drives and I don't have to make a special part to hold everything together. Also, I don't like wasting stuff.

as expected, the first prototype still has a few issues: I forgot to make a cutout for the fan cables, DC cable for the motherboard and....

... obviously I measured the cutout wrong so that the holes with the chassis do not align well. Probably the same will happen with the front I/O and I'm not yet sure if this will work out at all.

Someone on Reddit asked me which cooler I am going to use and I would love to try out a semi-passive build with the ID-Cooling IS60. This cooler is quite heavy for that small STX board and does not come with a backplate but here is an easy DIY mod for you: just drill away the standoffs and you'll have a nice backplate for your cooler:

just make sure to clean off all burrs / metal chips before mounting

fits perfectly on the X300-STX

 

[REVOCCASES]

made the cover parts today and put together a working test build to check my airflow concept and assembly

Prototype Build Log

first step, preparing the chassis:

1. attach the foot to the chassis
2. fix the fan to the chassis
3. fix the power supply and M2 PCIe riser
4. fix the DeskMini motherboard tray to the chassis

for powering the GPU I am using the GxR-DIY Module. If going brick-less the Meanwell RPS-400-12C can power both, the motherboard and GPU. But you can also use the original 19V adapter for the DeskMini and then the RPS-400-12C just takes over to power the GPU.

at this point the M2 riser cable and SATA cables should be connected to the back of the motherboard but the M2 riser cable I have on hand is way to long so this has to go to the front M2 port for now...

to check out the airflow concept of the case I am going to use a IS60 cooler on my 4650G without a fan

time to plug in all the cables... the GxR-DIY Module can be triggered to turn on the GPU by any +V source coming from the motherboard. For now I am using the +12V CPU fan header but I am going to use the 3.3V signal from the M2 slot when the new riser cable arrives ...

time to put in the graphics card... the space between GPU and motherboard tray can be used for cable management

clearance below the chassis is only 20mm, so angled HDMI/DP adapters are mandatory

to put on the cover, just pull out the sides a little bit and then slide it over the chassis

last but not least, fix the cover and the fan panel on top

and finished is the DIY Xbox Series X

First the good news: the XSX- style airflow works amazingly well. During thermal stress testing the (passive cooled) CPU will stay well below 80C and GPU below 75C. During normal gaming both CPU and GPU will stay at around 65 +/-3C with fans set to silent. The whole thing is not louder than the original XSX.

Now the bad news: I already expected that the front I/O might not align well but considering manufacturing tolerances I'm not sure I can find a solution to assure that it always will. Even if I move the cutout now, tolerances of the next parts could add up in another way so that it might not align again. As much as I want to keep the front I/O, unless I come up with some other idea I probably have to remove these cutouts.

 

[ssouthall6]

Here from Reddit - very interested, keeping an eye on your website and here for releases - still trying to decide whether to keep milking my a300 or scrap the project!

 

[rfarmer]

That's pretty cool. Did you do any testing with the fan on the IS-60?

 

[REVOCCASES]

That's pretty cool. Did you do any testing with the fan on the IS-60?

Thanks.

Not yet. I think the fan would sit too close to the side panel to work really well. But I can check it out.

 

[REVOCCASES]

@rfarmer

I tried to put the fan on the IS-60 today but the clearance to the side panel is literally zero. Had to do the "screw mod" to get the case closed.

Thermals during stress testing are not that much better (74C with fan vs. 78C without fan) but it is much more noisy due to fan turbulences.

 

[rfarmer]

Thanks for the test, I was just curious on the temps but it sounds like it does better passively cooled.

 

[ssouthall6]

@REVOCCASES , any plans for an a300 case that negates the need for the separate brick, but isn't built around the requirement for a separate gpu?

The deskmini with a 4650g does everything I need but damn it's ugly!

 

[REVOCCASES]

@REVOCCASES , any plans for an a300 case that negates the need for the separate brick, but isn't built around the requirement for a separate gpu?

The deskmini with a 4650g does everything I need but damn it's ugly!

I haven't started on designing the details of DSS1 and still looking for feedback and suggestions.

I could make something similar like I did with my Subor APU Build:

Log - how to turn a game console into an SFF PC - or - the fastest APU build to date

Introduction: Have you ever heard something about the AMD FireFlight APU? Probably not, because this is a custom AMD APU made for a Chinese Game Console called the SUBOR Z+ which was supposed to compete with the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X on the Chinese market. Well, the SUBOR Z+ was a quite...

smallformfactor.net

And then make something like an extension case for the GPU. So one base case for the DeskMini with internal PSU and another one which you could use as add-on if you'd like to have a dedicated GPU.

Let me know what you think.

 

[ssouthall6]

I haven't started on designing the details of DSS1 and still looking for feedback and suggestions.

I could make something similar like I did with my Subor APU Build:

Log - how to turn a game console into an SFF PC - or - the fastest APU build to date

Introduction: Have you ever heard something about the AMD FireFlight APU? Probably not, because this is a custom AMD APU made for a Chinese Game Console called the SUBOR Z+ which was supposed to compete with the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X on the Chinese market. Well, the SUBOR Z+ was a quite...

smallformfactor.net

And then make something like an extension case for the GPU. So one base case for the DeskMini with internal PSU and another one which you could use as add-on if you'd like to have a dedicated GPU.

Let me know what you think.

In all honesty, after looking over the two designs, I prefer the DSX1. Even despite the performance uplift with the 4650g you're still going to make more money from the DSX1. Even without the GPU I've got two ssd's in there that would benefit from the airflow. If I could offer one recommendation it would be maybe look at some way of integrating the extra two USB knockouts on the Asrock side panel into your design - I can't speak for others, but these are really important for me as I have a Yubikey inserted permanently into the front port!

Once you're sorted with the DSX1, let me know - I'm in for one for sure.

 

[REVOCCASES]

In all honesty, after looking over the two designs, I prefer the DSX1. Even despite the performance uplift with the 4650g you're still going to make more money from the DSX1. Even without the GPU I've got two ssd's in there that would benefit from the airflow. If I could offer one recommendation it would be maybe look at some way of integrating the extra two USB knockouts on the Asrock side panel into your design - I can't speak for others, but these are really important for me as I have a Yubikey inserted permanently into the front port!

Once you're sorted with the DSX1, let me know - I'm in for one for sure.

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.

May I know how important the front I/O is for you? I am thinking to drop these cutouts on the DSX1 as it would look cleaner and honestly I haven't found a solution yet to add this feature without driving up the cost for the case too much.

Instead I would add the two USB 2.0 ports and the 3.5mm audio jack, using the motherboard headers.

I mean, if you need more than one USB 3.0 port you could still use a hub...

 

[ssouthall6]

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.

May I know how important the front I/O is for you? I am thinking to drop these cutouts on the DSX1 as it would look cleaner and honestly I haven't found a solution yet to add this feature without driving up the cost for the case too much.

Instead I would add the two USB 2.0 ports and the 3.5mm audio jack, using the motherboard headers.

I mean, if you need more than one USB 3.0 port you could still use a hub...

Yeah I use a hub at the moment, but it takes desk space, so the idea is to try and get away from it.

Personally I'm not too bothered about the location of the ports, just retaining the number without the need for a hub.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Short status update: I am finalizing the drawings of DSX1 V1.0 and going to make a small batch for everyone interested.

You can see that I have dropped front I/O. Mainly because: for a very low volume qnt custom case like that it would drive up complexity and cost beyond a reasonable level... Also IMHO the clean front looks somehow better.

As a compromise I've got pigtail cables made for USB and Audio which would route out from the bottom of the case. So you will more or less keep connectivity despite not having the front I/O.

If you need more USB 3.0 ports, just get some small hub and fix it on the back side or stow it away under the case:

Last but not least I found the correct riser cable for DSX1. Now this can be plugged in the rear M.2 slot and therefore allows for cleaner cable management.

 

[celestialz]

Any update?

 

[REVOCCASES]

Any update?

If everything goes as planned I'll have a few samples of DSX1 ready next week.

 

[REVOCCASES]

parts came back from powder coating today, not 100% satisfied with the finish this time but I have seen worse...

time for an update build log to show you the changes of DSX1 V1.0

cutout added below the chassis for USB and Audio pigtail cables

installing and wiring up the PSU is a bit tricky... if someone is interested to get a DSX1 I will pre-install it

corrected a few errors in my drawings so now all four screw holes to fix the motherboard tray do align well ...

... and can be fixed with four M4 screws

the new M2 to PCIe riser cable fits pretty well. I could have used a even shorter one, but ...

plugging it in the motherboard is already tricky enough

after the riser is hooked up, the motherboard can be installed on the tray and all cables can be connected:

last time I forgot to make some holes for the WiFi antennas, these have now been added:

time to install the graphics card

I'm usually too lazy to do proper cable management on my builds but I used few zip ties to prevent cables touching the fan

since I have removed the front I/O I got a nice little USB 3.0 hub with SD card reader

with a few zip ties this can be nicely hidden away behind the case

the four black rubber nubs on the fan will make sure that the fan does not touch the fan cover and will prevent vibration

perhaps I should get shorter WiFi antennas ...

if you choose a fan with LED it will look pretty cool to shine trough the top of the case... I think the AsRock STX boards even have a header for RGB or ARGB!

If someone is interested to get one DSX1 sample, just let me know.

 

[celestialz]

How much is the total cost? I might consider on this.

 

[celestialz]

parts came back from powder coating today, not 100% satisfied with the finish this time but I have seen worse...

time for an update build log to show you the changes of DSX1 V1.0

cutout added below the chassis for USB and Audio pigtail cables

installing and wiring up the PSU is a bit tricky... if someone is interested to get a DSX1 I will pre-install it

corrected a few errors in my drawings so now all four screw holes to fix the motherboard tray do align well ...

... and can be fixed with four M4 screws

the new M2 to PCIe riser cable fits pretty well. I could have used a even shorter one, but ...

plugging it in the motherboard is already tricky enough

after the riser is hooked up, the motherboard can be installed on the tray and all cables can be connected:

last time I forgot to make some holes for the WiFi antennas, these have now been added:

time to install the graphics card

I'm usually too lazy to do proper cable management on my builds but I used few zip ties to prevent cables touching the fan

since I have removed the front I/O I got a nice little USB 3.0 hub with SD card reader

with a few zip ties this can be nicely hidden away behind the case

the four black rubber nubs on the fan will make sure that the fan does not touch the fan cover and will prevent vibration

perhaps I should get shorter WiFi antennas ...

if you choose a fan with LED it will look pretty cool to shine trough the top of the case... I think the AsRock STX boards even have a header for RGB or ARGB!

If someone is interested to get one DSX1 sample, just let me know.

I keen on the sample.

 

[REVOCCASES]

How much is the total cost? I might consider on this.

Still didn't calculate the cost. You can send me PM and I'll check for you.