Prototype Flux A01 - 16l ITX silent airflow case - 2 chamber design

[The_Psyko]

the target is to get under 200€, for now i am way above that, but with some optimizations and larger number of orders i hope i can fulfill my target.

 

[The_Psyko]

sry for the bad image quality but i just want to show how small the case is

the case is already pealed of the security film and is ready to install the rest of the hardware

 

[The_Psyko]

i just installed all the hardware and run some first tests, i have to rework some parts and adjust a little bit.
the fan in back should not be outside of the case, but the space between the backplate and the cpu-cooler is 22mm ?
so my 3D model from the mainboard was not that accurate...

what do you guys think?

I will do some temp tests on the weekend.

Sry for the mess on the right upper side, behind the SSD, i have to make a plate/holder for the SSD and so i can also hide the cables behind

 

[Shatrod]

It looks beautiful. Have you considered just getting a 15mm thick fan for the back for now?

 

[The_Psyko]

no, its only 3mm, i will modify the plate where the mainboard is mounted and slide it to the front, so i have 4-5mm more space, for later i will adjust the mainboard-mounting-holes in the plate
i will fix it on monday, so i have access to a workshop where i can do this

 

[TeutonJon78]

Won't moving the MB forward pull it too far from the back for the IO portion to line up correctly?

 

[harry2009]

Will this case fit a Raijintek Morpheus with 25mm thick fans? At the moment it didn't look so?!

 

[Xenos]

On the look for the quietest sub 20l ITX case possible, NH-D15 is certainly an excellent option for the CPU. (noise level and temp wise).
-Should also go with Noctua fans for the case fans (NF-A12x25 PWM Fan)
-SFX psu are quiet enough now that we don't need to make the case larger for ATX psu
- What's your GPU? I readed that asus strix ROG GPU are the most silent one but they are 2.7 slots wide

can't wait to see the results for noise level.

 

[The_Psyko]

@TeutonJon78 yes but i can add an additional layer of acrylic, than the IO shield should fit

@harry2009 i checked it, and the distance from the PCB GPU to the fans is 44mm, so the Morpheus is 25mm in height, i dont know exactly the height of the GPU chip, but if i add 5mm in height to the case it would fit, or make a big cutout in the bottom plate of the case to sunk the fans into it it would fit

@Xenos yes i think the NH-D15 is the best performing Air Cooler on the market right now.
yes would be great to test some NF-A12x25 but the costs are very high for me, i do not like the design (colour) and i also like the RGB ones
but maybe in the future i will oder some to get the pest performing out of the case
i have a 5700xt pulse from Sapphire and i mounted a Arctic Accelero III Extreme on it, without the 3x90mm fans

if you want to use a card with more than 2 slots, you have to use smaller fans (15mm) in the bottom, or no additional fans (because there are already ones on the GPU)

 

[harry2009]

Hi,

I've already read that the case may be fit dtx but then without the midplate.

Since I already own a dtx board and like the concept of a two chamber with big air cooling, would it be possible to create a midplate with cutouts to fit?

 

[The_Psyko]

i am working on something like that, i rework the design now to make it even smaller and easier to assemble, it took me some time to assemble it and thats not for everyone.
i can check it with a 3D model wenn i am done with the redesign.

 

[harry2009]

Hi,

any news regarding thermals or rework?

 

[garousaitama]

I feel like it's a shame not to add about an inch of height at this point to fit the larger 3rd party GPU coolers like the Rajintek Morpheus. If you want to keep your volume down I get it but that's mostly a meaningless bragging point, for a big loss of functionality.

 

[BILLYKING]

You could learn from SG10, which changed fan position of power supply to the front panel, and leave half meshed front panel for ventilation. Psu can't take that much heat from D15. Also mounting a fan on the acrylic panel is feasible, so there are 2 fans to pull the heat away.

 

[harry2009]

For a straight airflow wouldn't it be better if you mount the psu to the side, like the m1 and create a front intake ? So you would have an airflow from front to back (sure a little bit obstructed by the psu).

 

[The_Psyko]

sry for no reply but i have another project house/garden/fence
i am waiting for some parts which i have ordered to do the rework. On the weekend i will work again on thermal testing.

for sure i will add another 4-5mm to fit the morpheus cooler, but not the MK26 from prolimatech, i have it at home but this 3rd party cooler is way too big to fit into this small case.

in parallel i am working on complete redesign of the case which will be aluminum and for the sidepanel acrylic or glas. i removed the riser-card and have a good idea to also get a 2 chamber design but i am not finished yet.

i also changed the name of the case / company i want to grow to FLUX

what do you guys think about the new name? from P-Case -> FLUX

 

[harry2009]

Why not take the unique selling point (at least for sff) of this case design, like FLUX (company) and CHAMBER or CHMBR for the case itself?

 

[The_Psyko]

yeah FLUX will be the company name and the type/model for the this case is A01 (A=air), because i also plan to make a W01 (W=water) case for watercooling in the future, but the Chamber aspect is also very nice, i will think about it thanks

 

[The_Psyko]

Hello, sry long time no update, i was so busy the last month, my 2nd daughter was born, much to do around the house, but now i have a update to share. i made the comparison between my old Inwin101 and my new selfmade Flux A1.

Here are the results:

you can see in green the Flux A1 case and CPU and Case temp are better than in my Inwin 101 (the Inwin 101 had 1 more casefan).
The GPU temps looks wired, i had a bug in the system
The GPU temps stays cooler than in the Inwin case and that results in lower temps, my custom fancurve of the 2x120mm fans spins lower in the Flux case, well thats good right... but the junction temp gets hotter and hotter because the fans spinning to slow -.- and so the memory junction temp gets up to 106 °C and the GPU starts throtteling and the GPU clock goes down and the fans spinning slower and slower.

So this was my 5700xt pulse from sapphire with the AC accelero extreme3:

and the ram cooler were way tooo small, for gaming no problem, but for stresstest too much heat.
so i made a custom RAM cooler plate for the AC accelero extreme 3:

this fixed my bug and the memory is now way cooler.
I also upgraded my RAM and CPU to a 3700x and now i am setting the CPU up and do again some testing.

please took the results not to serious... i am adjusting all the fan curves new, setup the right Vcore for the CPU and so on...

 

[The_Psyko]

so i am almost finished with the prototype and post some a update on the assembling process

the new SSD mount is behind the FLUX logo, 2x 2,5" SSDs can be mounted there

perfect fit for the NH-D15
space optimizied