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

[jeshikat]

Oh man, you guys are going to love this when it's done.

The amount of configuration options the case supports now is nuts

How important is front audio connectors?

We have some things in mind for the case but we'll probably only have room for either 2 x USB 3.0 OR audio, not both.

 

[jeshikat]

Ok, did some rejiggering of the frame and both will fit and looks aesthetically pleasing to boot

 

[QinX]

About the DC-LT I will do some measurements for you next week.

 

[Phuncz]

Ok, did some rejiggering of the frame and both will fit and looks aesthetically pleasing to boot

ARGH must see !!
This is the R9 390X all over again

 

[jeshikat]

About the DC-LT I will do some measurements for you next week.

Thanks!

ARGH must see !!
This is the R9 390X all over again

I hate to be such a tease but we're saving the big reveal for later. Lots has changed though, about the only thing I haven't seriously tweaked or completely redesigned is the dust cover for the expansion slots.

 

[jeshikat]

Poll time again!

Today's topic is adding a bit more height and depth to also support ATX power supplies where the SFX is currently.

This came about because I'm tired of listening to either the fan on the SX600-G running at high speed at idle or the clacking on the SX500-LG

Cons:

The volume is currently sitting at 18.0L, adding front ATX support would increase it to 18.6L

It wouldn't be perfect, 140mm ATX units would fit just fine but 160mm modular units would only work if the card isn't too long. 10.5" cards like the reference 980 would work provided the connectors on the PSU are either centered or offset towards the fan side of the PSU.

Of course this limits use of the front, a 120mm fan may just fit with a 160mm PSU. Depends on how much extra height I can add without going over the volume increase budget.

If we can't get a 16 gauge internal AC cord it would also limit the PSU to less than 1000W at least, I'd probably limit it to 850W to be safe.

Like the M1, some PSUs won't work due to bad AC inlet position/orientation that could cause the power cord to interfere with the frame.

Pros:

Can use ATX PSU along with air cooler or side bracket.

Poll: 0.6L volume increase for front ATX Support?

 

[Phuncz]

So you're approaching 19L ey ? Size creep alert
Personally I don't think it's needed if it only allows to install a very short ATX unit when there is already ATX support on the back of the case.

Now that we're on the subject: would 2 SFX PSU's fit ?

 

[jeshikat]

160mm is "normal" though, funny how 140mm is spec but it's considered short. Maybe we'll start seeing better 140mm units too.

Where were you thinking of putting dual SFX?

 

[Phuncz]

Front-top and rear-side. Watercooling the CPU might be a problem but with short GPU's, it might work. I'm just considering other fringe build options

The 140mm is "short" to me because most are 160mm or 170mm I believe.

 

[jeshikat]

Ah, I don't see why that wouldn't work if, like you said, figured out something for CPU cooling. Not sure why you would do that over a higher wattage ATX unit though.

160m is pretty much the standard for high-end PSUs until get to the high wattages where it's usually 180mm+. There's a few 170mm units but they're not common.

 

[Phuncz]

Yeah it shouldn't be needed for an mATX build in this case, it is ofcourse insane to consider a build like that (cooling-wise). Nonetheless it's nice that it's possible.

The Corsair AX760 and Seasonic Platinum 760W seem like good ATX PSU's for most dual-card builds. Both are 160mm long if I'm correct. It would allow <75% load in heavy scenarios allowing for quiet operation. Did you account for the modular cable plugs adding some more depth ?

 

[jeshikat]

Did you account for the modular cable plugs adding some more depth ?

Yes. It'd be like the M1 SFX-L bracket I prototyped. With 10.5" cards the connectors would clear past the end of the card.

 

[Phuncz]

Ah that sounds great. While I voted against including the ATX PSU front support, it won't affect my desire for the case . If it's a 60-40 split with a lot of votes (more than the 15 votes or so there are now) I'd say go with your own and PlayfulPhoenix's opinion, since it will be both your product and you need to stand behind it's choices.

 

[Jeffinslaw]

I'd like to weigh in on the water cooling configuration options. What you should do (if you haven't already done it) is design the case to fit a certain range of radiators and pump/reservoir combos. This is what I am doing.

For radiator compatibility, my case will be compatible with all radiators that follow the 105MM hole to hole mounting locations and 15MM fan distance on radiators up to 45MM thick at the front and 35MM at the top. I had to change the top radiator thickness so save space but I should be able to move things around to add those extra 10MM back to the top radiator.

For pump and reservoir compatibility, it's actually a much wider range. If you use short length cards, you'll be able to mount a D5 and an 80-100MM reservoir on the front radiator no problem! If you want to use full length cards, then you will have to use a DDC pump with a very short reservoir. Compromises.

I am very happy about radiator compatibility though. You could use Alphacool ST30/XT45, Hardware Labs Black Ice Stealth, EK CoolStream PE, XSPC AX240/EX240 and the Darkside radiators from Dazmode. I think that that is quite a decent range to choose from! And if EK introduces another radiator in the 30MM category, then you have another option!

-Jeffinslaw

 

[jeshikat]

If it's a 60-40 split with a lot of votes (more than the 15 votes or so there are now) I'd say go with your own and PlayfulPhoenix's opinion, since it will be both your product and you need to stand behind it's choices.

Yeah, we'll be dropping the idea with this design. After implementing some other stuff it turns out it'd require more like a 1.1L increase. Reception has been lukewarm for the 0.6L so that won't fly.

For pump and reservoir compatibility, it's actually a much wider range. If you use short length cards, you'll be able to mount a D5 and an 80-100MM reservoir on the front radiator no problem! If you want to use full length cards, then you will have to use a DDC pump with a very short reservoir. Compromises.

How are you doing pump mounts?

 

[Jeffinslaw]

How are you doing pump mounts?

I'm designing a two piece mounting mechanism. Part one will mount to the radiator on the front. Part two will mount to part one and have some flexible mounting positions for DDC pumps and D5 pumps. I'm working on that drawing today.

-Jeffinslaw

*EDIT* Here is the pump mount. It will mount on the radiator and then you can mount your DDC or D5 pump to it. You can mount the mount to any of the spots on the radiator, specifically four if you keep the mount strictly horizontal or four more if you want to get crazy and mount it vertically.

 

[Phuncz]

About the new Nova name, some suggestions:

Kimera Absolute
Kimera Vex
Kimera Habanero
Kimera Phobos (or any other moon)
Kimera 9AC716E2F (or any other hexadecimal combo)
Kimera C-C-C-C-Combo Breaker !!
Kimera Vegas
Kimera Acolyte

I could go on and on. Hmm it seems a pepper has snuck in, can't help it.
Just had chicken wings with habanero sauce :rolleyes: I still feel a slight burn on my lips

 

[esplin2966]

About the new Nova name, some suggestions:

Kimera Absolute
Kimera Vex
Kimera Habanero
Kimera Phobos (or any other moon)
Kimera 9AC716E2F (or any other hexadecimal combo)
Kimera C-C-C-C-Combo Breaker !!
Kimera Vegas
Kimera Acolyte

I could go on and on. Hmm it seems a pepper has snuck in, can't help it.
Just had chicken wings with habanero sauce :rolleyes: I still feel a slight burn on my lips

Can I second Kimera Habanero?

 

[jeshikat]

*EDIT* Here is the pump mount. It will mount on the radiator and then you can mount your DDC or D5 pump to it. You can mount the mount to any of the spots on the radiator, specifically four if you keep the mount strictly horizontal or four more if you want to get crazy and mount it vertically.

Don't think it's practical to bend that part. Here's some info on minimum flange length: http://sheetmetal.me/air-bend-force-chart/

Also general guidelines for sheet metal design: http://sheetmetal.me/design-guidelines/

Thanks for the name suggestions, not sure on Habanero though

 

[Phuncz]

Can I second Kimera Habanero?

Yes. Yes you can.

Delicious and painful.