Concept First Crack at Custom Case Design 7.9L

[Ryuji009]

Hello SFF Forum! I'm an ITX fan who has been craving tiny PC solutions for a while now. I have always had my own ideas on how I would design a small case, and when I happened across this forum, I knew I had found my tribe!

So after marveling at the designs of others, I decided to take a crack at designing a case of my own. So far this is all Sketchup, so I don't have a physical prototype. At this point, I want to see if there are suggestions on things I should change, or be mindful of from more experienced designers.

The design is setup with acrylic panels and 12mm mod cubes for the structure. Power is provided by the HDPlex PSU and internal brick (so brickless setup). Photos below, and dimensions at the very bottom.

Below is a Google Photo Album as I am unable to embed photos from IMGUR etc. at the moment.

https://photos.app.******/erxZ6WwJVVQhr21N2

External Dimensions (in millimeters):

Width: 170mm
Length: 223mm
Height: 257mm

Internal Dimensions:
Width: 86mm
Length: 213.68mm
Height: 234.22mm

Mobo Chamber Volume: 4.3L
GPU Chamber Volume: 3.3L
Total Internal Volume w/o Mobo Panel:7.9L

Component Dimensions:
Motherboard 10mm standoff
CPU Cooler Max height: 74mm
GPU Max Length w/Front Fan: 180mm
GPU Max Length w/o Front Fan: 200mm

 

[jtd871]

Image links are broken. Try imgur?

 

[theGryphon]

Nice!

An idea: Maybe you can swap the brick and the PSU, and install the PSU vertically under the GPU? This way I believe you can save some volume and footprint.

74mm CPU cooler clearance is very good. There is a good number of very potent top-down coolers at around that height

I'm also digging the vent pattern

But I really do not think you need the front fan. If you ever need a fan in this layout, it should be either on the top, or on the bottom...

 

[Ryuji009]

@theGryphon Thank you for the input! I'll try that out and see how it works. I was fearful of interference with the motherboard VRM/Heatsinks touching the brick, but because it is wider in that chamber, it should work out.

Regarding the 74mm clearance, I am hoping to have enough room to accommodate the Noctua HD-L9x65 and taller DIMM sticks.

Also, glad you like the vents! I do agree about the fan position. I initially wanted a bottom fan to help move hot air upward. Unfortunately the internal PSU location would block it. I'm up for ideas though!

 

[theGryphon]

Once you remove the fan, it may be possible to put the brick on the front wall (now non-vented), and install the PSU vertically under the GPU, and install the fan on the bottom.

Or, put the PSU on the front, the brick where it is now, and the fan on the top (exhaust).