Stalled Freilite Brevis S: <5L Gaming Case with internal PSU

iFreilicht

FlexATX Authority
Original poster
Feb 28, 2015
3,243
2,361
freilite.com
Yes, I think even the last few ones are gone now, but @Josh | NFC is working hard to bring it back. He was selling those cases at a loss, so he has to find a way to at least break even if he wants to sustain that. I'm sure he'll manage it, but it could take a while.
 

Thehack

Spatial Philosopher
Creator
Mar 6, 2016
2,800
3,650
J-hackcompany.com
Yes, I think even the last few ones are gone now, but @Josh | NFC is working hard to bring it back. He was selling those cases at a loss, so he has to find a way to at least break even if he wants to sustain that. I'm sure he'll manage it, but it could take a while.

Ouch. He did have a lot of premium industrial quality though. I would have spurged on it if it has offered an internal PSU. I'm a big fan of his industrial look.
 

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
5,827
4,902
The internal PSU from the Brevis is a plus if you are in the contra group about the external brick concept, although people are trying to fit a few hundred watts of power inside an S4 Mini too. I can't wait for the final form of the Brevis !
 

iFreilicht

FlexATX Authority
Original poster
Feb 28, 2015
3,243
2,361
freilite.com
I would have spurged on it if it has offered an internal PSU. I'm a big fan of his industrial look.

You mean like this? Yeah it's looking fabulous, the powdercoating quality is absolutely top notch as well.

I can't wait for the final form of the Brevis !

You and me both. I've played with the idea of replacing the aluminium sidepanels with frosted acrylic, that could look super dope. I think I'm at a point where I need to learn how to properly render with 3DSmax to try out different ideas for the outer shell and get a reasonably well idea of what it will actually look like.
 

hardcore_gamer

electronbender
Aug 10, 2016
151
125
This project made me create an account here. It just looks awesome. Two thumbs up!

Couple of questions tho, probably you've already answered it somewhere but I couldn't find it: Why didn't you choose to arrange the motherboard in between the GPU and PSU as shown below (sorry for the bad illustrations)





Also, have you explored using Athena Power AP-MFATX50P8 500W PSU ? It's nice to have 500W of power for future high end but tiny cards with HBM.



I know that these PSU are loud. But you can remove the stock fan and put a Noctua A-Series NF-A4x10 40mm in the PSU.

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Phuncz

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
5,827
4,902
Welcome !
HBM2 cards are expected to require less power than both GDDR5 and GDDR5X, so you wouldn't need a bigger PSU just for that.

That 40x10mm Noctua fan would not suffice most likely, since it would be replacing a 40x20mm from what I can tell, probably going to fall short on pressure. The picture is of a 80mm fan I'm guessing, this is the 40x10mm:

 

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
3,382
5,935
It's a pretty well known fact around here that the Athena supplies are terrible. They often don't meet their advertised wattage, have quality control issues, etc. It's the whole reason we're trying to crowdsource an FSP or Seasonic 500W unit through the community.
 

iFreilicht

FlexATX Authority
Original poster
Feb 28, 2015
3,243
2,361
freilite.com
This project made me create an account here. It just looks awesome. Two thumbs up!

Couple of questions tho, probably you've already answered it somewhere but I couldn't find it: Why didn't you choose to arrange the motherboard in between the GPU and PSU as shown below (sorry for the bad illustrations)




Those are all great questions, sorry it took me so long to reply.

First off the GPU position. First off, using a solid riser like you showed (your illustration are mirrored left-to-right, BTW) requires the GPU to intake air from the opposite side of the case to the CPU. So if you put the case flat on the table or hang it against the wall, you need a lot more space in order to get sufficient airflow and minimise recirculating air. Additionally, it allows the case to be placed upside down underneath a monitor without the monitors stand blocking any intakes.
So now, I could use a short flexible riser like HDPLEX uses in the H5 chassis to solve that problem, but then the problem of exhaust remains. You'd have two options: Either place the PSU next to the mainboard, as you did, or place it next to the GPU. Placing it next to the mainboard is hardly a good idea as that would block most exhaust air from the CPU cooler. You'd have to remove the motherboards I/O shield to prevent the CPU fan from recycling air, which is hardly an ideal solution. It will still be required for some ASUS boards that have tall daughterboards on the top edge, but ideally it should be avoided when possible.
So the other option is to place the PSU next to the GPU. While GPUs are designed towards rear exhaust more, quite a few have suboptimal cooler designs that just exhaust air everywhere. So the GPU should have a side exhaust as well.

Putting the PSU in the middle is the ideal solution in terms of airflow as the PSU can only intake from the front and only exhaust at the back. It is the only component that doesn't have a benefit from being located near a side exhaust.
So the airflow concept is all air comes from one large panel, and is exhausted towards the back and the two sides.

Also, have you explored using Athena Power AP-MFATX50P8 500W PSU ? It's nice to have 500W of power for future high end but tiny cards with HBM.


Personally, I didn't, but @Hahutzy did, and he found that the Athena unit isn't even close to being able to suppy 500W, so it would be a bad choice to include. Read more in the Wiki-Article and the linked sources. AthenaPower in general is well-known for sub-par quality, as @ilovelampshade said.
A much better choice would be the FSP500-50FSPT, which you might already know about. If not, be sure to follow the link and fill out the survey if you're interested.

I know that these PSU are loud. But you can remove the stock fan and put a Noctua A-Series NF-A4x10 40mm in the PSU.


As @Phuncz mentioned, this fan is way to weak for a PSU of this caliber. To put it into numbers, the airflow of the NF-A4 is 8.2m³/h. The FSP500-50FSPT, which is the most efficient FlexATX PSU on the market today, needs 19.54m³/h at full load. So even with two of these fans next to each other, the PSU would not be able to supply it's maximum load. If you only wanted to pull like 100W, it might not be a problem, but at that point the stock fan will be whisper quiet already.

If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: hardcore_gamer

Hahutzy

Airflow Optimizer
Sep 9, 2015
252
187
On the topic of the solid angled riser layout:

Yea the main downside is the 2-side intake.

The upside is you can build a system that's under 3L (external PSU). I've drawn up something with that layout in the past few weeks because I'm waiting for new pcie cables to arrive for XS and can't really work on it atm.
 

Josh | NFC

Not From Concentrate
NFC Systems
Jun 12, 2015
1,869
4,466
www.nfc-systems.com
This project made me create an account here. It just looks awesome. Two thumbs up!

Couple of questions tho, probably you've already answered it somewhere but I couldn't find it: Why didn't you choose to arrange the motherboard in between the GPU and PSU as shown below (sorry for the bad illustrations)




QUOTE]

What motherboard is that???!???!????x10 I would love to use one with a reverse/upsidedown/backwards layout like that! 0_o it is breaking my brain
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
Silver Supporter
Feb 22, 2015
4,969
4,780
Either the SketchUp models are inverted or the picture is mirrored. That board doesn't exist, it's a mockup someone made a while ago for a hypothetical ROG Impact model.
 

hardcore_gamer

electronbender
Aug 10, 2016
151
125
I see what happened now, all the parts got flipped ...my bad

haha. I'm bad at 3D modelling :( .
BTW, I follow your awesome YouTube channel. I'm the user that suggested using a Vicor small form factor ADC-DC converter inside S4 Mini to get rid of the external power brick.

Those are all great questions, sorry it took me so long to reply.

First off the GPU position. First off, using a solid riser like you showed (your illustration are mirrored left-to-right, BTW) requires the GPU to intake air from the opposite side of the case to the CPU. So if you put the case flat on the table or hang it against the wall, you need a lot more space in order to get sufficient airflow and minimise recirculating air. Additionally, it allows the case to be placed upside down underneath a monitor without the monitors stand blocking any intakes.
So now, I could use a short flexible riser like HDPLEX uses in the H5 chassis to solve that problem, but then the problem of exhaust remains. You'd have two options: Either place the PSU next to the mainboard, as you did, or place it next to the GPU. Placing it next to the mainboard is hardly a good idea as that would block most exhaust air from the CPU cooler. You'd have to remove the motherboards I/O shield to prevent the CPU fan from recycling air, which is hardly an ideal solution. It will still be required for some ASUS boards that have tall daughterboards on the top edge, but ideally it should be avoided when possible.
So the other option is to place the PSU next to the GPU. While GPUs are designed towards rear exhaust more, quite a few have suboptimal cooler designs that just exhaust air everywhere. So the GPU should have a side exhaust as well.

Putting the PSU in the middle is the ideal solution in terms of airflow as the PSU can only intake from the front and only exhaust at the back. It is the only component that doesn't have a benefit from being located near a side exhaust.
So the airflow concept is all air comes from one large panel, and is exhausted towards the back and the two sides.


If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask. :)

Thanks. I didn't think about the horizontal placement. :)

On the power supply, what would be the best choice to power a GTX 1070 mini ?
 

CXH4

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 18, 2016
136
87
haha. I'm bad at 3D modelling :( .
BTW, I follow your awesome YouTube channel. I'm the user that suggested using a Vicor small form factor ADC-DC converter inside S4 Mini to get rid of the external power brick.

Were you referring to this http://www.vicorpower.com/ac-dc/converters/isolated-ac-dc-converter-pfc ?
Or perhaps this http://www.vicorpower.com/products?productType=cfg&productKey=V24A28C500BL ?
That would be nice to put in a chassis especially if you want it to be compact.