Stalled Hutzy XS — Ultra Compact Gaming Case (<4L)
- Thread starter Hahutzy
- Start date
So as you can tell from the title, I made some changes to the case design.
Sadly, it is no longer <4L. It's 4.99L now.
In the end, it was not worth it to create a UCFF case, if end-users are not going to be able to source parts and build their machine on their own. This was especially a challenge since currently, no one makes a consumer FlexATX that uses an 80mm fan.
So I loosened the restriction on components by allowing my case to go up to <5L
The most significant change is that the case now uses TFX instead of FlexATX.
I made this change after scouting out the TFX selection, and found quite a few that can handle this case's builds. And they can be found on big etailers like Amazon and Newegg
One outstanding one is the SeaSonic TFX 350 Black, which has received high praises from multiple hardware review sites.
Now onto the positive sides of this:
The case that was once too short for 180mm cards, too narrow for Cryorig C7, and too short for anything but Flex ATX.
Now it can handle all of them, and possibly hold two 7mm SSD as well (not sure about this one yet)
Sadly, it is no longer <4L. It's 4.99L now.
In the end, it was not worth it to create a UCFF case, if end-users are not going to be able to source parts and build their machine on their own. This was especially a challenge since currently, no one makes a consumer FlexATX that uses an 80mm fan.
So I loosened the restriction on components by allowing my case to go up to <5L
The most significant change is that the case now uses TFX instead of FlexATX.
I made this change after scouting out the TFX selection, and found quite a few that can handle this case's builds. And they can be found on big etailers like Amazon and Newegg
One outstanding one is the SeaSonic TFX 350 Black, which has received high praises from multiple hardware review sites.
Now onto the positive sides of this:
The case that was once too short for 180mm cards, too narrow for Cryorig C7, and too short for anything but Flex ATX.
Now it can handle all of them, and possibly hold two 7mm SSD as well (not sure about this one yet)
Have you included the optional 5mm protusion fans on TFX are allowed to have? The TFX-350 is 65mm tall, but with the fan protruding, TFX is allowed to be 70mm.
Other than that, absolutely valid design decision. Maybe rename the case to Hutzy S now to keep the option of making the FlexATX version in the future? (EDIT: Wait, maybe that's a bad idea
)
Other than that, absolutely valid design decision. Maybe rename the case to Hutzy S now to keep the option of making the FlexATX version in the future? (EDIT: Wait, maybe that's a bad idea
)
Have you included the optional 5mm protusion fans on TFX are allowed to have? The TFX-350 is 65mm tall, but with the fan protruding, TFX is allowed to be 70mm.
Other than that, absolutely valid design decision. Maybe rename the case to Hutzy S now to keep the option of making the FlexATX version in the future? (EDIT: Wait, maybe that's a bad idea
I actually looked at a lot of available TFXs, they come in 63.5mm, 65mm, and 70mm with the protruded fan.
I chose to limit it to the 65mm flat ones. The 70mm height ones looks like they're older models, and protruding fan waste too much space.
Besides, between the SeaSonic 350 and the beQuiet! 300 80+ Gold both being 65mm, that should be enough choice for now.
I'll find some other name down the road for the FlexATX, but I'm sticking with XS for my first project
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The trend I've been seeing is that on 80+ Bronze units, the internal components are larger (because they're cheaper components?), so there isn't room to integrate the fan's volume inside.
The 80+ Gold ones don't have that problem.
YAY…! Cross forum posting…!!!
PCPartPicker part listhttp://pcpartpicker.com/p/8cV3cf/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular TFX Power Supply
246 watts…
I like the TFX PSU over the FlexATX, bigger fan & all…
Makes me change my build specs to a much cheaper one, but still getting that NVMe system drive speed & stepping down from a 970 to a 960 will still allow me to play WoW comfortably… Save a few bucks on the GPU now, see what comes out with Pascal & such in the future…
I personally would forgo anything but the M.2 drive, as to keep cabling at a minimum…
Going with the Gigabyte H170 MB has a 4-pin for the CPU power, which is what the SeaSonic TFX PSU also has, so just shorten &sleeve that as one bundle… But the power on/off connectors on the MB are right next to the MB power 24-pin connector (shorten & sleeve that as a bundle as well…), so I would hope the anti-vandal switch on the back of the chassis has the length to reach…
The 960 GPU comes with a dual Molex > 6-pin adapter, so there is the PEG connector needed to mod the wiring harness for a single 6-pin to the GPU…
Three bundled cable assemblies, black wire, black mesh sleeving, black shrink-wrap, all just the right length…
Sleeve & shrink-wrap the power cable (make it longer if needed), CPU fan leads come sleeved already and basically wrap around the fan & plug into the MB…
So the whole appeal here is the stripped down aspect of it all… MB, CPU, HSF, RAM, SSD, GPU, PSU; all small & efficient, forming compact assemblies in each chamber… Nothing extra… With larger chassis I feel compelled to fill them, thanks OCD…
Just test those Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD temps…!
Don't get me started on SLI/SFX(L) designs… Do you go mATX w/2 PCIe riser cables…? Do you still limit GPU lengths to the mITX-types…? We are still trying to keep it as small as possible, yes…? Do you total niche market a mITX build w/PCIe bifurcation & a custom cable…? If mATX, does your OCD demand you add a third PCIe riser cable for a x4 card (Intel 750 series, of course)…?
ARGGGGHHHHHH…!!!
So, when do we get more renders of the new design…? Overall external shots…? More…! ;^p
PCPartPicker part listhttp://pcpartpicker.com/p/8cV3cf/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular TFX Power Supply
246 watts…
I like the TFX PSU over the FlexATX, bigger fan & all…
Makes me change my build specs to a much cheaper one, but still getting that NVMe system drive speed & stepping down from a 970 to a 960 will still allow me to play WoW comfortably… Save a few bucks on the GPU now, see what comes out with Pascal & such in the future…
I personally would forgo anything but the M.2 drive, as to keep cabling at a minimum…
Going with the Gigabyte H170 MB has a 4-pin for the CPU power, which is what the SeaSonic TFX PSU also has, so just shorten &sleeve that as one bundle… But the power on/off connectors on the MB are right next to the MB power 24-pin connector (shorten & sleeve that as a bundle as well…), so I would hope the anti-vandal switch on the back of the chassis has the length to reach…
The 960 GPU comes with a dual Molex > 6-pin adapter, so there is the PEG connector needed to mod the wiring harness for a single 6-pin to the GPU…
Three bundled cable assemblies, black wire, black mesh sleeving, black shrink-wrap, all just the right length…
Sleeve & shrink-wrap the power cable (make it longer if needed), CPU fan leads come sleeved already and basically wrap around the fan & plug into the MB…
So the whole appeal here is the stripped down aspect of it all… MB, CPU, HSF, RAM, SSD, GPU, PSU; all small & efficient, forming compact assemblies in each chamber… Nothing extra… With larger chassis I feel compelled to fill them, thanks OCD…
Just test those Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD temps…!
Don't get me started on SLI/SFX(L) designs… Do you go mATX w/2 PCIe riser cables…? Do you still limit GPU lengths to the mITX-types…? We are still trying to keep it as small as possible, yes…? Do you total niche market a mITX build w/PCIe bifurcation & a custom cable…? If mATX, does your OCD demand you add a third PCIe riser cable for a x4 card (Intel 750 series, of course)…?
ARGGGGHHHHHH…!!!
So, when do we get more renders of the new design…? Overall external shots…? More…! ;^p
So my Seasonic TFX 350 arrived today. And it turns out the modular cable harness was much worse than I expected.
I had given it 15mm of clearance in my default layout (a total of 190mm internal length)
It turns out for the harness to make a 90-degree turn vertically, the extra width needed is 40mm
That brings the internal length up to 215mm, and it destroys any possibility of fitting the case under 5L
Right now, I'm thinking I will most likely return the SS TFX 350, and a have a choice to make:
I had given it 15mm of clearance in my default layout (a total of 190mm internal length)
It turns out for the harness to make a 90-degree turn vertically, the extra width needed is 40mm
That brings the internal length up to 215mm, and it destroys any possibility of fitting the case under 5L
Right now, I'm thinking I will most likely return the SS TFX 350, and a have a choice to make:
- Order a non-modular TFX, and test the clearance those need
- Revert back to old design with FlexATX
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Boil, no matter which case you choose to build in, I would suggest you to get a 970 over the 960. Either that or wait for an ITX 1070.
Imo, the value of a card being just shy of VR-capable sucks, and the price difference is not high enough to give it up.
ARRGGHHHH…!!!
You are KILLING me…! ;^p
No, not really, I think I might, aesthetically, actually prefer the FlexATX PSU, as it DOES allow for a shorter overall chassis…
I will probably go with the Asus GTX 970 DCMOC mITX GPU, seems like it WOULD be the best bang for the buck, and cheaper than any next-gen (Pascal) mITX GPUs that may or may not come out anytime soon…
But that does raise the overall max power draw from 246 watts to 271 watts…
I am STILL digging the overall idea of a 'bare-bones' sort of build… Not that anything is actually missing, but the overall idea that things a pared down to the essentials; MB, CPU, HSF, RAM, SSD (M.2), GPU, & PSU; all in a 4 liter chassis…!!!
So, where are we in regards to overall external dimensions & any new renders for us to drool over…?!? ;^p
You are KILLING me…! ;^p
No, not really, I think I might, aesthetically, actually prefer the FlexATX PSU, as it DOES allow for a shorter overall chassis…
I will probably go with the Asus GTX 970 DCMOC mITX GPU, seems like it WOULD be the best bang for the buck, and cheaper than any next-gen (Pascal) mITX GPUs that may or may not come out anytime soon…
But that does raise the overall max power draw from 246 watts to 271 watts…
I am STILL digging the overall idea of a 'bare-bones' sort of build… Not that anything is actually missing, but the overall idea that things a pared down to the essentials; MB, CPU, HSF, RAM, SSD (M.2), GPU, & PSU; all in a 4 liter chassis…!!!
So, where are we in regards to overall external dimensions & any new renders for us to drool over…?!? ;^p
Small update. Just printed the new base for the FlexATX
Current tech specs (most likely final this time, I promise)
Current tech specs (most likely final this time, I promise)
- Color: Black
- Material: Brushed Aluminum, Anodized
- Volume: 3.99L
- Dimensions: 181mm [L] x 99.9mm [W] x 221mm [H]
- Motherboard: Mini-ITX
- PSU: FlexATX, HDPLEX 250W
- GPU Length: Up to 177.8mm (7.0")
- CPU HSF: Up to 40mm
- RAM: TWO, Up to 40mm
- Storage (FLEXATX): ONE 2.5" Drive up to 9.5mm thickness, and ONE M.2 drive for compatible motherboards
- Storage (HDPLEX): THREE 2.5" Drive up to (1) 9.5mm and (2) 7.0mm thickness, and ONE M.2 drive for compatible motherboards
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A very rough cardboard mockup of the Hutzy XS, 13" MacBook & Magic Mouse for scale…
This thing is REALLY small…!!!
I really hope this chassis can go into production of some sort, even if it is limited to a small run… I DEFINITELY want one of these chassis for my next computer…!!! (replacing pictured laptop)
So sorry Hahutzy, I am gonna have to flip flop back over to the MI-6 chassis…
https://hardforum.com/threads/mi-6-nano-class-mini-itx-case-status-on-1st-page.1882784/
Yes, it is 2.5 liters larger than the Hutzy XS, but I DID just win the smallformfactor.net Corsair SF600 SFX PSU giveaway…!!!
So, back to a SFX-based build, back to the Asus M8I mITX MB, back to a 400GB Intel 750-series 2.5" SSD…
I WILL wait it out for an ITX-based GTX1070 though…! Maybe I can find a giveaway for that…?!? ;^p
(Yes, I DID just make a cardboard mockup of the MI-6…)
https://hardforum.com/threads/mi-6-nano-class-mini-itx-case-status-on-1st-page.1882784/
Yes, it is 2.5 liters larger than the Hutzy XS, but I DID just win the smallformfactor.net Corsair SF600 SFX PSU giveaway…!!!
So, back to a SFX-based build, back to the Asus M8I mITX MB, back to a 400GB Intel 750-series 2.5" SSD…
I WILL wait it out for an ITX-based GTX1070 though…! Maybe I can find a giveaway for that…?!? ;^p
(Yes, I DID just make a cardboard mockup of the MI-6…)
Haha no worries. Congrats on the giveaway win! Hopefully same time next year, we SFF makers can make the FlexATX big enough (in popularity!) that it too can be given away as a cherished prize.
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