Production Lazer3D CG7 Cravo - Low profile silent case (slim mATX | mini itx)

[owliwar]

I just have a hard time understanding what motherboad does it support with a tfx psu
Mini itx yes but micro atx ?

with TFX psu only mini itx (and the ones like this asrock that is almost mini itx) will fit. so its around 19cm by 19cm the motherboard area for TFX psu layout

like this. in orange is the size of the motherboard I got, that greenish blue are is mini itx.


For the DC-ATX layout:
in orange, a micro Atx board by spec, and in greenish blue the recommended dimensions for this case.


hope that helps?

--
I brought cravo to my in law's house because I'm lacking a decent background at home but I couldn't take photos of the inside today because I forgot to bring my tools......... *facepalm*

but I think this piece here will make things a bit clearer:


this piece here is the part that is swaped to allow the case to have that DC-ATX layout.
basically in the box will have what you already saw + this extra i/o panel, an extra fan bracket (for 2x 92mm or hdplex 300w) and a piece that adds another 2 standoffs for the motherboard.

I'll try to take more photos this week.

 

[Phuncz]

The pin-striping looks amazing. Out of words to describe my love for projects like these.

 

[jujudk]

Ok so mini itx and small micro atx are fine with tfx psu

Well i haven't found any small micro atx board so i'll go itx

The hdd bracket (2.5 inches) is operationnal ? I can't wait to have all the pictures, sorry ^^

 

[owliwar]

The pin-striping looks amazing. Out of words to describe my love for projects like these.

Thanks!!!

Ok so mini itx and small micro atx are fine with tfx psu

Well i haven't found any small micro atx board so i'll go itx

The hdd bracket (2.5 inches) is operationnal ? I can't wait to have all the pictures, sorry ^^

ITX is a great choice I'm not getting ITX because its not really worth here for me :/ especially for an old plataform. its way overpriced.

the 2.5" drive is working, and it seems good. the screw hole that lock it into place is a bit bigger for the m3, So I'll fix that in the next revision, but I think it looks quite nice

I took some pictures. sorry for the quality, as I had to take these here at home and my camera is a bit old now.

I have some comments on some of the photos, not sure it shows embed here
but one thing I'd like to point out is that the screws fixing the legs arent final. I had the dimmensions of that hole wrong by a tiny bit and had to source another screw. It wil be the same screws for the rest of the case


One thing I'm thinking for the next prototype is removing the fan+drive bracket. what you think?
I'm a little on the fence about this. I will be using, mostly because I really like that 140mm fan as intake, but ... I'm not sure that's usefull for most people? the cpu cooler will act as intake for most builds I believe. anyway I'd like to hear some thoughts on this

 

[jujudk]

Yeah might just remove it, but you might keep it as an option (for better airflowand bigger cooling)

I d'ont really understand how the 2.5 inches drive bay work ( i believed it was like 3 drives max but stacked up)

And pictures are fine, i love the vertical position, and that power button looks so satisfying

 

[owliwar]

I d'ont really understand how the 2.5 inches drive bay work ( i believed it was like 3 drives max but stacked up)

yeah its like this as well. I only had one 2.5 drive lying around (from a dead external hard drive). I will be moving my system to this case this week and I'll try to show better how multiple drives will work

 

[jujudk]

yeah its like this as well. I only had one 2.5 drive lying around (from a dead external hard drive). I will be moving my system to this case this week and I'll try to show better how multiple drives will work

OK ^^ thanks !
After further reflexion with myself, i might go apu first then upgrade to a better cpu and dedicated gpu so yeah

 

[GucksTV]

Thanks!!!



ITX is a great choice I'm not getting ITX because its not really worth here for me :/ especially for an old plataform. its way overpriced.

the 2.5" drive is working, and it seems good. the screw hole that lock it into place is a bit bigger for the m3, So I'll fix that in the next revision, but I think it looks quite nice

I took some pictures. sorry for the quality, as I had to take these here at home and my camera is a bit old now.

I have some comments on some of the photos, not sure it shows embed here
but one thing I'd like to point out is that the screws fixing the legs arent final. I had the dimmensions of that hole wrong by a tiny bit and had to source another screw. It wil be the same screws for the rest of the case


One thing I'm thinking for the next prototype is removing the fan+drive bracket. what you think?
I'm a little on the fence about this. I will be using, mostly because I really like that 140mm fan as intake, but ... I'm not sure that's usefull for most people? the cpu cooler will act as intake for most builds I believe. anyway I'd like to hear some thoughts on this

Now we are getting closer...this is looking very promising! I like it a lot! Will the case be distributed directly by LAZER3D or through Overclockers? Are there going to be any more changes to the layout? I ordered the Asetek 545LC anyways as it was nearly sold out...going to work with the case by myself when I’ll get my hands on it! It’s always the best way to plan a build. Ceep the infos coming! I am glad to see this project at its way to the top! Cheers

 

[owliwar]

Thanks Gucks!
Cant wait to see what you come up with

Are there going to be any more changes to the layout?

not really, only minor things like screw holes dimensions and the pci bracket shape.

Will the case be distributed directly by LAZER3D or through Overclockers?

I believe we will have a initial batch directly trough us for the first cases, to make sure we are ready for 'mass' production and then it will be available on Lazer3D website some time after. I cant really tell right now if it will be sold by Overclockers UK, But I'll keep you all updated.

 

[jujudk]

As long as people can obtain it it's not really an issue

 

[owliwar]

Hi everyone!
I didn't had much time this week to post here but I've been working quite a lot on testing this case and its quite promising.

First of all, I'd like to send a Huge thanks to Noctua for sending us their products for testing, as requested. They helped me get to this stage quite faster than expected. I'll write my impressions of their products later in the week but I can say that these fans, NF-A9x14, were a great choice for this case, and I'll try to write about them and about the NH-L9i in the near future




Also, thanks to Cryorig for sending us their C7, by my request, as I know its a really popular cooler among you guys and its helping me understand a lot about how this case should be set up.


---

I spent this weekend taking pictures of this case to explain better some points and I already began some thermal testing on the C7. I already have some result but I'll wrap it up tomorrow. I can't do too much testing at once as I'm very time limited these weeks but I'll try my best to reply here and give my impressions. Overall I'm very satisfied with my initials results



Thermal Testing

All tests will be made with blender rendering using the BMW scene. its a 10min render on my processor.

My test setup is this:
Layout: TFX PSU
CPU: i7 4790
Ram: 16gb DDR3 1600mhz
voltage offset: -0.08 V
motherboard: Asrock H81M-VG4 R3.0
case fans: 2x Noctua 92x14 on side bracket

Fan configurations and side panels
The case fans will be set to intake and exhaust, and I'm testing with either the default side panel/lid ( with the venting holes) and with a panel without venting holes.

I'm setting up the fans speed in bios, to Max speed, silent and a custom fan curve for better performance.
I'll try to test the case with a fan above the CPU area later in the week.




Footer note:
I took quite a lot of pictures and I'll post them on the following days here. As you can see, I got no GPU yet and I'll have to wait till next month to get one. I don't game and since this case is very CPU focused, I think that's ok. I hate that this motherboard have only VGA and my monitor image is shit right now lol. If I had HDMI I wouldn't care too much about it.
I guess that's the quirks of dealing with aging tech, but this motherboard's on board sound is a lot better than my old one so that's a bonus.

Thanks for the patience

 

[Phuncz]

I would like to see long duration testing (2 to 4 hours) as well, as this is more usual for gaming scenarios and video rendering. Can't wait to see this project finished, it's looking amazing.

 

[dumplinknet]

Ugh . ImIm tired of this! When will this case be available?
I need one now. It's good damn beautiful.

 

[jujudk]

Beautiful, i really love the noctua design, just not the colors (they seem really nice with builders aud such)

 

[owliwar]

Ugh . ImIm tired of this! When will this case be available?
I need one now. It's good damn beautiful.

Thanks! and I know its been a long thread. sorry for making you all wait this much.

the HT5 is just going into production. after this first run is complete then CG7 production will begin.
CG7 will be available for order at the Lazer3d website on a build to order basis around late June. We will have a few cases ready to be shipped so that initial orders will ship faster.

Please understand that, I still need to fix somethings, specially in the gpu bracket area so that extra time with the case in hand is really important so that all of you receive a polished version of this case.

 

[owliwar]

I would like to see long duration testing (2 to 4 hours) as well, as this is more usual for gaming scenarios and video rendering. Can't wait to see this project finished, it's looking amazing.

Thanks!

I'm in a bit of corner here. While I can run 2 hours testing no problem, I dont know how to log these temperatures. is there any software for it? only min and max temps wont be enought for these kind of testings

I don't have right now a way of measuring room temperature. I dont have AC, and our houses are build from ceramic tiles so outside temps are kinda weird here. this city I live in also have 10ºC delta temps in a few hours so its a bit hard for me to normalize these. (inside temp change are much more stable though)

any tips appreciated!

 

[blubblob]

Thanks!

I'm in a bit of corner here. While I can run 2 hours testing no problem, I dont know how to log these temperatures. is there any software for it? only min and max temps wont be enought for these kind of testings

I don't have right now a way of measuring room temperature. I dont have AC, and our houses are build from ceramic tiles so outside temps are kinda weird here. this city I live in also have 10ºC delta temps in a few hours so its a bit hard for me to normalize these. (inside temp change are much more stable though)

any tips appreciated!

HWiNFO can log it's readings to a csv file. In the settings you can filter the sensors down to whatever you need and set a polling interval. Once you start logging it generates a table with all active sensor values each polling interval.
Not sure how you can handle ambient temp readings. I don't suppose your mainboard has a temp probe connector?

 

[owliwar]

HWiNFO can log it's readings to a csv file. In the settings you can filter the sensors down to whatever you need and set a polling interval. Once you start logging it generates a table with all active sensor values each polling interval.
Not sure how you can handle ambient temp readings. I don't suppose your mainboard has a temp probe connector?

Thanks! I'll check this out latter today
I'm already sourcing some room termometer. my motherboard doesnt have this conector :/ but I think that writing down the room every 10 min or 20 min should be ok? I dont think the temps will oscilate that much inside my house

 

[jujudk]

Every 20 min should be fine ^^

Edit : something is bugging me a bit, there's no way to fit a beefier gpu inside this case ?
I mean can't we put one horizontally instead of vertically (there is 4 low profile slot after all)

 

[GucksTV]

Every 20 min should be fine ^^

Edit : something is bugging me a bit, there's no way to fit a beefier gpu inside this case ?
I mean can't we put one horizontally instead of vertically (there is 4 low profile slot after all)

I think a vertical GPU mount would be so sweet...that would utilize the 92mm fans for better airflow through the full case and especially that there are TFX PSUs with 6pin and even 8pin PCIe conectors which would be just usable with a non low profile GPU. It’s easily possible and would make the 7L case more interesting for a lot of users as this is the first case that goes the TFX route. FINGERS CROSSED