Kimera Industries Project Nova: 17 liters of 5-slot mATX goodness

[PNP]

Samsung drives have got the performance and now capacity but you definitely want reliable electricity if you use them. They have no power loss protection. And even when you do a proper shutdown, loss of +5VSB can result in some odd behavior (for Windows at least). My 840 Pro needs an additional restart if my rig has been completely discharged. Not sure about the 850 Pro, since mine lives in a laptop.

 

[VirtualVoid]

At the risk of sounding like I'm nagging, how soon can we expect to see the final dimensions/layout of this case? I understand it will be a while yet before it can be purchased, but I want to buy other components soon and I'd like to feel more certain that things will fit.

 

[jeshikat]

Layout is basically the same, dimensions are H x W x D: 303 x 170 x 354mm

CPU heatsinks can have a maximum height of 141mm with the side bracket installed, and 147mm without.

Maximum PCI device length for all slots: 329mm.

Maximum PCI device height for all slots: 133mm at the power plugs; 153mm overall.

useable frame rad mounting space: 329mm depth on bottom x 142mm width on bottom x ~290mm height on front (height is a little fuzzy due to the screws holding the frame pieces together, ignoring the screws and studs there is about 297mm)

 

[VirtualVoid]

Layout is basically the same, dimensions are...

Thanks for the quick response, Aiboh. I'm afraid the data that I'm most interested in isn't in your post. An update to the old sketchup model would be very helpful; I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate it. If that's too much work, maybe you can answer the following instead:

1) What's the max CPU heatsink height if an ATX PSU is installed? Should I estimate it with the 147mm you've given minus 86mm for the PSU: 61mm? Or does the PSU mounting bracket take up more space?

2) If I decide that an ATX psu is not feasible, how close will a SFX-L PSU be to the top PCI-E slot? And will there enough room around the lower-front fan to install a 120mm radiator (for an R9 nano, for example)?

Thanks again.

 

[jeshikat]

We're not quite ready to update the SketchUp file.

From the top of a socket 2011 CPU to the ATX PSU is ~48mm. It's about 8mm from the top of the CPU to the top of the motherboard.

It's ~153mm from the bottom of the SFX bracket to the top of a video card's backplate (assuming backplate thickness conforms to the PCI spec). Though with the reference 980 the connectors clear the end of the card with the SilverStone SX500-LG.

With a SFX-L PSU it isn't possible to mount a 120mm to the front of the case. There's enough room for a 120mm, but only because with the SX500-LG (and the other units based on the same Sirfa platform), the connectors are offset and with the fan facing forward, there's just enough space to fit a 25mm thick fan between the connectors and the frame.

With a single card or dual short cards there's plenty of space on the bottom of the case for a 120mm radiator though.

 

[VirtualVoid]

Thanks a ton, Aiboh, that was very helpful.

 

[wovie]

Maximum PCI device height for all slots: 133mm at the power plugs; 153mm overall.

So let's see... after carrying the 1 and taking the derivative of the remainder... my calculations yield a 20mm clearance for GPU water blocks.

 

[wovie]

Gathered some measurements regarding GPU water block clearance with top terminals:

EKWB (EK-FC Titan X / 980 Ti): 25mm
Aqua Computer (Kryographics Titan X / 980 Ti): 23mm
Swiftech (Komodo NV Titan X ECO): 22.5mm
Watercool (Heatkiller IV XL Titan X / 980 Ti): 20.5mm

There's also this option with side terminals, aka SLI Nightmare Setup.

So any thoughts, Aiboh, would the WC Heatkillers make the cut? If it helps, they were cool enough to send me this drawing:

 

[jeshikat]

Different manufacturers measure video card height differently. Double-checking physically, there's ~38.5mm between the PCB of a reference GTX 980 and the frame.

 

[wovie]

Oh, 38.5mm means everything will fit!

I must've misunderstood this:

Maximum PCI device height for all slots: 133mm at the power plugs; 153mm overall.

What's that referring to?

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

What's that referring to?

A PCI device can be as tall as 153mm (including PCB, heatsink, and so forth) without hitting or interfering with the side panel of the case. However, for graphics cards that have 6 or 8-pin connectors, you need additional room between the power plugs and the case, since the plugs themselves have some height/thickness.

In other words, even though the max supported height is 153mm, cards that don't breach that might still not fit since the power plugs may stick out beyond that threshold. So you have to check both the overall height, as well as the height at the plugs, to ensure fitment.

 

[wovie]

Edit: Nevermind, I figured it out. I was mistakenly assuming the height of a reference GTX 980 was 133mm, leaving only a 20mm gap.

But in actuality the card height is ~111mm, so adding in ~38.5mm from Aiboh's last post sums to ~150mm. Which checks out, more or less, to the aforementioned 153mm.

In that case, there should be no issues with any GPU water block with top terminals.

 

[jeshikat]

The height limit figure is derived from the NCASE M1's listed specs. I figure since so much effort has gone into figuring out what cards fit in the M1 that would help figure out what will work here.

Ideally the card manufacturers would all just standardize on the same way of measuring their cards.

 

[jeshikat]

About time, Nvidia finally came out with their nice looking SLI bridges in single slot spacing: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/sli/bridges

 

[16bitEra]

Very much looking forward to this case. It's what I was hoping the Sugo SG09 / SG10 was going to be in terms of layout. I'm already planning parts haha.

 

[jeshikat]

Welcome to the forum!

The SG09/10 are decent layouts if ATX PSU support that doesn't compromise CPU heatsink compatibility is required. But it is strange that SilverStone is the biggest maker of high-wattage SFF power supplies but isn't willing to design a case that can really make use of them.

 

[Vittra]

We don't know what they have planned for 2016. I'll I'm saying is get your "Nova" out ASAP.

I have no personal reasons for trying to rush you. Nope, none at all.

 

[jeshikat]

I've talked to Tony at SilverStone about it though and basically they're coming out with the 700W because some OEM customers wanted it. At least at the time, they didn't seem to have any plans for a microATX case that was designed around SFX/SFX-L.

 

[Vittra]

Yeah, I'm not surprised, ITX is their focus. There really isn't much more to be done in mATX for cases that focus on aircooling beyond the SG09 design - at least nothing with the cooling capabilities that are a requirement/staple for their designs.

I'm not actually in any rush. Rumours seem to be suggesting that Broadwell-E will be announced at Computex, which means it's running late. It's getting to the point where Skylake-E might just supersede it, as has been the case on the consumer LGA side.

 

[Phuncz]

If Broadwell-E launches in March, I would expect Skylake-E to launch in August, which is more than the time between Broadwell (July) and Skylake (September). But at this point it's more as an end-point for people who have an X99 board and want to upgrade to a beefier CPU. Especially if they are going to up the core-count. But I personally would also wait for the X190-series if it's possible.