FPS-CASE1

Should FPS-CASE1 project carry on?


  • Total voters
    18

4RTEX

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Feb 24, 2015
51
11
Hello fellow designers!

Quick introduction.
I have been to the forum for while, but never really shown the project here. FPS-CASE1 has been out there for few years. It's a simple custom made mITX enclosure that also fits ATX power supplies and wide graphics cards.

Purpose.
The case was initially my own way of improving Hadron Air's biggest flaws. When it caught few eyes, it started to be more of a business plan as well.





Ending Credits.
Future of FPS-CASE1 project is highly uncertain. I would like to hear from you guys about any negative feedback you can think of aimed at this case. Thanks for looking.
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
Silver Supporter
Feb 22, 2015
4,969
4,780
Welcome back! Long time no see :)

I think it's an awesome design and should continue, but wasn't manufacturing cost the biggest holdup?
 

cmyk78

Master of Cramming
Jun 7, 2016
384
432
Yeah what are the specs?
It looks great but we need more info.
 
Last edited:

4RTEX

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Feb 24, 2015
51
11
Welcome back! Long time no see :)

I think it's an awesome design and should continue, but wasn't manufacturing cost the biggest holdup?

Thanks, manufacturing was a holdup, but I think there is more behind it and I'm not sure what. I'm hoping to find out from the experts ;)

It looks awesome, can you tell us more about the case? Size, compatibility etc?

Yeah what are the specs?
It looks great but we need more info.

Thanks guys.

Some basic specs:
  • 360mm x 385mm x 191mm (H x L x W)
  • mITX support
  • 1.5mm aluminium material (powder coated)
  • 1.5mm + 3mm stainless steel
  • ATX power supply support up to 165mm long
  • graphics cards up to 305mm long (you could fit longer but ATX psu cables would be in the way)
  • 2 x 120mm fans at the top
  • 2 x 120mm fans at the bottom
  • interchangeable fronts
  • 2 x 2.5" hdd/sdd slot
  • 5kg overall weight

There is a bit more to it, psu mount can be adjusted in height slightly, if using SFX psu, it is possible to mount 240 radiator at the top. Side window is 2mm acrylic, side panel is on quick release. There are also two USB 3.0 ports to the side.

Guys, please give me all negative comments, what is it that you don't like. I will be making a list. Thanks :)
 

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
5,827
4,902
I like the design, for me it's spot-on between sober and racy (what Marketing calls "Gaming" these days) which can be achieved by switching the front panel with a monochromatic color. I like the finish of the materials very much.

26,5L is quite large for an mITX case (it's in "efficient mATX" territory) but then I saw it supports ATX PSUs up to 165mm long, which is quite nice.

I'll start with some more general questions that people would want to know:

1. Does the 165mm PSU size spec take modular PSUs into consideration which have protruding ports or connectors ? Manufacturers don't take into account the 20-30mm excess generally.

2. Does the size equal the bounding box of the case itself (+ front brace) or a level bounding box when placed on a desk ?

3. When using an SFX-L PSU, how thick a radiator is supported when also 25mm fans ?

4. How much clearance is there between a reference dual-slot GPU and the bottom ? I'm thinking about aftermarket air-coolers and >2 slot cooler-cards.

5. How wide of a GPU is supported to still allow installation and closing the side panel ?


Great project, I wish you many success !
 

CC Ricers

Shrink Ray Wielder
Bronze Supporter
Nov 1, 2015
2,233
2,556
Like others have said, great design, I remember this winning the OCN case mod contest. It really did a good job addressing the shortcomings of the Hadron case.

My first question is with a case like this, how much are watercooling options improved from the Hadron? I see there is potentially room for thicker radiators at the top, but what about the bottom? Can you use standard 25mm thick fans with a 30-40mm thick radiator?

Could it be possibly expanded to fit a mATX board (if no radiators are used at the bottom)? It looks like you can fit in a board with at least 3 slots. A possible obstacle is the bottom side wall which would make installation of extra cards difficult. Clearly it's not meant for dual GPUs as it is, but it could be done with a couple of design tweaks.

Those are some suggestions I can think of at the moment. You've already got a great case to begin with!
 

4RTEX

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Feb 24, 2015
51
11
I like the design, for me it's spot-on between sober and racy (what Marketing calls "Gaming" these days) which can be achieved by switching the front panel with a monochromatic color. I like the finish of the materials very much.

26,5L is quite large for an mITX case (it's in "efficient mATX" territory) but then I saw it supports ATX PSUs up to 165mm long, which is quite nice.

I'll start with some more general questions that people would want to know:

1. Does the 165mm PSU size spec take modular PSUs into consideration which have protruding ports or connectors ? Manufacturers don't take into account the 20-30mm excess generally.

2. Does the size equal the bounding box of the case itself (+ front brace) or a level bounding box when placed on a desk ?

3. When using an SFX-L PSU, how thick a radiator is supported when also 25mm fans ?

4. How much clearance is there between a reference dual-slot GPU and the bottom ? I'm thinking about aftermarket air-coolers and >2 slot cooler-cards.

5. How wide of a GPU is supported to still allow installation and closing the side panel ?


Great project, I wish you many success !

Thank you for the feedback. I will try to answer the questions to my best knowledge.
1. Yes, the clearance is actually taking into account modular PSUs
2. The size is measured on a flat surface to the highest, widest etc. points.
3. SFX-L would not actually make so much difference in radiator support at the top. 130mm long SFX-L unit (please correct me if I'm wrong), would allow to fit 30mm x 240mm radiator at the top as you would gain extra 30mm opposed to 160mm long PSU. The case allows to move the PSU bracket down by 30mm.
4. I used to have a 780ti clssy kinpin in there and I took some photos of top and bottom clearance. It would be possible to utilise all this only by using SFX PSU. With ATX PSU the top clearance is hugely sacrificed. At the bottom you are looking at reasonable amount of room once a water block is used on a GPU. It's abount 50mm to a dual-slot GPU.


5. Again, I'm not sure how wide they are but GTX 780Ti kingpin fits OK, I mean the PCI-E cables were slightly bent.

I hope these are acceptable :)

How is an SFX psu mounted in the case?

Thank you for the question. THE SFX power supply would be mounted with adapter included with the PSU.

Like others have said, great design, I remember this winning the OCN case mod contest. It really did a good job addressing the shortcomings of the Hadron case.

My first question is with a case like this, how much are watercooling options improved from the Hadron? I see there is potentially room for thicker radiators at the top, but what about the bottom? Can you use standard 25mm thick fans with a 30-40mm thick radiator?

Could it be possibly expanded to fit a mATX board (if no radiators are used at the bottom)? It looks like you can fit in a board with at least 3 slots. A possible obstacle is the bottom side wall which would make installation of extra cards difficult. Clearly it's not meant for dual GPUs as it is, but it could be done with a couple of design tweaks.

Those are some suggestions I can think of at the moment. You've already got a great case to begin with!

Thanks again. This case has grown so much mainly for all the watercooling support. This is one of the reasons I'm in doubt as volume has grown a lot and it could be a lot smaller than this. I have allowed for three possible spots to mount a small pump (never physically implemented though). I have even made a bracket to mount 5,25" type pump/res combo inside for maximum compatibility.

At the bottom you are looking at about 65mm of space with a single-slot card. 25mm +40mm radiator should all be good to go.

mATX support is No1 on my list of improvements. There is more than enough volume to accommodate.

I hope these were helpful for some. I'm looking forward for more questions / suggestions. Thank guys :)