Completed MJOLNIR: The minimalistic – but not boring – 9.7L Case

[Brude27]

As I've said before, this case has me concerned with thermals... but if there's one thing that can be said with certainty... @AlexTzone is a great voice for this project! You take feedback very well, and make the community feel involved, which is awesome! Also, this case is gorgeous! Ok, so there are two things that can definitely be said, haha! Keep up the good work!

 

[Necere]

I understand what it means when related to the vent area only. I was not referencing that. My understanding was that the perforated area was a percentage of the insert, not the vent area. For me it is not a default assumption either way.

See Alex's previous post, and note the open area % on the pics. The original hole pattern is shown as 13% open area, while actually occupying more of the panel than the newer 33% OA hole patterns. That makes it clear that he's using the standard method to calculate open area.

Mostly yes, however: Is it that far from the fan area if extended only in planar size and not in density?

Cases using back-to-back layouts typically have the component fans right up against the vents, so the airflow will be effectively limited to ventilated area covering the diameter of the fan. Any extra ventilation holes outside of that will just be passive exhaust, which you may not actually want in the immediate vicinity of the intake to avoid recycling air.

 

[wolfatpno]

Is it possible to install the intake fan on the side separately after installing the AIO?

Have vertical stands been discussed inside the team?


Just curious.

 

[AlexTzone]

@AlexTzone

I've pondered whether to suggest to make the pattern symmetrical. I like how you knew that already .

I just might have read your mind

As I've said before, this case has me concerned with thermals... but if there's one thing that can be said with certainty... @AlexTzone is a great voice for this project! You take feedback very well, and make the community feel involved, which is awesome! Also, this case is gorgeous! Ok, so there are two things that can definitely be said, haha! Keep up the good work!

Thank you very much for the kind words friend, and likewise; the help / ideas we've received from so many peeps here has been invaluable!

Is it possible to install the intake fan on the side separately after installing the AIO?

Have vertical stands been discussed inside the team?


Just curious.

Say a 120 mm fan next to a short GPU? Is that what you have in mind?

 

[AlexTzone]

Heey guys, update time!

Metal panels
Organic design won in our recent poll, big thanks to everybody who voted! Still, my gut feeling tells me that we should go for the Industrial design, mainly because it's more in line with the rest of MJOLNIR and offers better intake area directly over the CPU / GPU fans. I'll have 100% confirmation on this soon, just need to digest both designs a bit more first. Also, we're up for expanding the panel range once production has stabilized, so you may still be able to get both designs (and more) in the future.

Glass panels
While the previous design was doable and held upp well in non-dramatic environments it didn't have the structural integrity we originally envisioned for MJOLNIR (an elephant-proof case ). Moreover, we removed the top glass panel for 2 reasons:

1. A see-through top wasn't as pretty as we originally thought (judging by the 92 mm prototype).
2. Restricted airflow.

I would strongly recommend using an AIO & blower-style GPU when using the TG panels. @For_Science probably has good ideas on how to maximize performance in below designs. We'll make sure to test all of those configurations once the parts arrive. V2.1 is completely closed off from the sides, while V2.2 has 2 wide slots on top / bottom. It's questionable how effective those slots actually are when using an AIO / blow-style combo.

Glass V2.1

Glass V2.2

As always, please let me know what you think

Best,
Alex

 

[Sahaj]

Sad to hear you're leaning away from the organic design! I strongly disliked the asymmetry at first but it came to grow on me as the revisions were made.

Also sad to see the changes to the glass design, but if it makes the case stronger...

 

[Supercluster]

It this a cardinal design sin:

Or are mechanical reasons why you cannot extend the design and make it equivalent in performance to the industrial one?

Dimensions and spacing approximate. Some people would call it "eyeballing".
Number of apertures is current in the violet piece and proposed extended in the cyan one.

 

[For_Science]

Heey guys, update time!


As always, please let me know what you think

Best,
Alex

In short for now (I'll post why in a moment) I like V2.1 for the glass panels. With a reduction of 1 panel, will there be any price reduction associated with purchasing additional panel set?

 

[Metroversal]

As always, please let me know what you think

I think you took good decisions, the "Industrial" design fits perfectly with the aestetic of the case.

As for the glass panels, both look great! Personally I'd prefer V2.1 because it looks super clean, but at the end of the day I'd be happy with any.

 

[wolfatpno]

Say a 120 mm fan next to a short GPU? Is that what you have in mind?

I thought of covering the main board.


I think the glass panel is the best 2.1 for stability and simplicity.


Is it possible to make industrial ventilation panels symmetrical?
If it was a symmetrical design, I would have voted for industrial design.

 

[AlexTzone]

Sad to hear you're leaning away from the organic design! I strongly disliked the asymmetry at first but it came to grow on me as the revisions were made.

Also sad to see the changes to the glass design, but if it makes the case stronger...

Sorry to hear that you don't like the new designs, but perhaps they will grow on you too

It this a cardinal design sin:

Or are mechanical reasons why you cannot extend the design and make it equivalent in performance to the industrial one?

Dimensions and spacing approximate. Some people would call it "eyeballing".
Number of apertures is current in the violet piece and proposed extended in the cyan one.

The main reason is aesthetics, industrial felt more inline with the rest of the design. I really like the organic pattern but it felt a bit out of place in MJOLNIR. We also wish to keep the same clearance (17.5 mm) around the mesh.

In short for now (I'll post why in a moment) I like V2.1 for the glass panels. With a reduction of 1 panel, will there be any price reduction associated with purchasing additional panel set?

Can't wait There may be a price reduction since both sets use the same top panel; however, TG side panels now consist of a CNCd aluminium frame and a TG panel, instead of only a TG panel. I'll provide a definitive answer once we get them quoted.

I think you took good decisions, the "Industrial" design fits perfectly with the aestetic of the case.

As for the glass panels, both look great! Personally I'd prefer V2.1 because it looks super clean, but at the end of the day I'd be happy with any.

Glad you like the new designs! Awesome, we'll most likely go for the V2.1 panels.

I thought of covering the main board.


I think the glass panel is the best 2.1 for stability and simplicity.


Is it possible to make industrial ventilation panels symmetrical?
If it was a symmetrical design, I would have voted for industrial design.

Please note that CPU Cooler height is 51 mm, and a 120 x 15 mm fan + Noctua NH-L9i (37 mm) will be 52 mm. On top of that, we would need to set up rails (2 mm thick) which would increase total height to 54 mm

Glad you liked the V2.1 panels! Oh thanks for pointing it out, I actually didn't notice the asymmetry. Will make them symmetrical!

 

[CaBrAcHo83]

Hi Alex,

I bring my vote with a preference for glass panels v2.1 for the more aesthetic side, after technically the v2.2 would not have a better airflow with its openings? Always this eternal concession between aesthetics and performance ... Apple is very impacted by this for example!

Otherwise the industrial look is more consistent with the design MJOLNIR indeed, although I had a preference initially for the organic ...

Axel (France)

 

[Brude27]

Just popping in to say that Glass V2.1 is the much more visually appealing option in my opinion.

Also, I find it amusing how the industrial vs organic grill design is giving so many people an inner struggle (myself included). The industrial design is what "makes sense", and yet the organic design won the vote. Not everything has to make sense for it to be the favorite option, and certainly shouldn't sway the vote just for the sake of making sense. Just my 2 cents...

 

[Shinken1]

I like Glass panel V2.2, looks unique in a classy way.
Organic is my favourite panel style but even if Industrial was the only panels available the Mjolnir is still one of the best looking case I've seen.

 

[AlexTzone]

Heey guys, updateee!

Aluminium and tempered glass panels have now been finalized! Just like @Brude27 said, it's pretty funny how this has become such a hard decision. I think it's due to similarities between both panel designs. In any case, we decided to stick with the industrial pattern since it made more sense in the context of the overall design. Thanks to @wolfatpno the industrial panels are now also fully symmetrical.

PANELS 2

GLASS 2

Best,
Alex

 

[Sahaj]

All right, sheesh, it still looks great! I suppose I can get over the loss of the organic pattern...

 

[wolfatpno]

One of the advantages of this case is that the aio can be mounted under the roof.

In this form I imagined keeping the dust filter down and placing the laptop cooling pad under the case.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=laptop+cooling+pad


or...





What do you guys think?

 

[Sharknose]

One of the advantages of this case is that the aio can be mounted under the roof...
What do you guys think?

Thermal management is going to be all kinds of complicated with this case. AIO mounted on top (flipping the inner chassis) might help - but only 1 120mm fan on a 240mm radiator? If you flip the chassis, then the PSU fan is exhausting out the bottom of the case. Should the AIO fan push, blowing hot air out (but also blowing warmer air over the radiator) or pull (pulling cooler air over the radiator, but adding that warmed air inside the case).

If you don't use a blower-style GPU, will the single 120mm fan and PSU fan be enough to exhaust hot air from the case?

Is there any advantage to a 120mm AIO with 2x 120mm fans? Positive pressure or negative pressure?

Still have concerns about the side/top panel options - solid TG panels vs. the industrial slots with ~30% open area?

Very low CPU clearance means only the lowest profile air coolers will be an option, which makes internal air flow even more critical.

Your radiator choice is limited to 120mm + 1 fan, or a thin 240mm radiator with 1 fan (does this even make a difference?) Right now, it looks like there are only two 240mm radiators available that can even fit.

I know the temptation is to ask for it to be enlarged to accommodate a second fan on the 240mm radiator, or taller CPU coolers, but then the case is the size of an N1 before you know it. The current configuration makes an interesting challenge - it can't be a single case for everyone.

I appreciate all that Alex and his team are doing to stay true to their vision, and how they are sweating over the details. I'm looking forward to their thermal testing with great interest.

 

[JDragon]

So to clarify for the tempered glass panels, there will be no airflow from the side panel?

 

[For_Science]

@AlexTzone with the new glass panel design is the external panel mount still going to be a thing?