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

owliwar

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
In the meantime, I'll write up my specs:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600
GPU: Nvidia Quadro P620
Mobo: Gigabyte B450M S2H mATX - soon to be changed for an Asrock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2 x 8 GB DDR4 3200
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9A-AM4
Case Fans: 2 x NF-A9x14 PWM Slim 92mm
SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 250GB M.2
PSU: HDPLEX 400W DC-ATX w/ external Dell Alienware 330W power brick

For the case I went for the Bourbon front and matt black shell and internals. Not the most adventurous of combos, but to my eye the most aesthetically pleasing.

I plan on adding more 2.5" SSDs, but wanted to have the build in front of me to figure out how much space I will have left for them. As things currently stand (new mobo permitting) I should be able to add four using the dedicated SSD bracket and the fan bracket with SSD mounting holes.

I'm sure many of you will have already guessed, but this is going to be more of a small workstation rather than a gaming PC. I'm an architecture student, and will need do to some reasonably hefty CAD modelling whilst maintaining as much desk space as possible for sketches and real life model making. I had my eye on the Nvidia Quadro P1000, as it will also fit inside this case, but I can't currently justify the extra £180 jump in price.

Hopefully your imaginations can fill in the gaps left by forum newbishness!

sweet! what kind of programs do you use?

also, on images on this forum, I use imgur https://imgur.com/
I upload the images and copy the Linked BBCode line, hope that helps!
 

Bls

Efficiency Noob
Mar 9, 2019
5
7
Thanks!

OK, here's what I have:



And here is that interference issue I was describing:



Obviously I've got the case assembled in the mATX layout. I think I will actually leave it this way even when using the mini ITX board. I have the HDPlex now anyway, and don't feel the need to replace it with a TFX PSU, and this configuration gives me plenty of space and airflow around the GPU and HDPlex.

I'm using largely AutoCAD Architecture, some Sketchup and occasionally Solidworks (mainly for designing personal woodworking projects, I'm sure my uni won't mind me using their licence this way!)

Let me know if anyone has any more questions, or wants any more pics!
 

chewie13

Caliper Novice
Feb 19, 2018
32
37
@K888D long time fan of your cases. Just a quick question would it be possible to fit 1-2 3.5inch HDDs on the fan bracket over the motherboard using HDplex power supply if the cooler is nocuta NH-L9i.
 
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K888D

SFF Guru
Lazer3D
Feb 23, 2016
1,483
2,970
www.lazer3d.com
@K888D long time fan of your cases. Just a quick question would it be possible to fit 1-2 3.5inch HDDs on the fan bracket over the motherboard using HDplex power supply if the cooler is nocuta NH-L9i.

3.5" drives are 25mm thick, so there should technically be enough clearance when using a sub 40mm cooler. I think a bigger issue you may face by doing this is blocking the L9i intake fan with the drives, you may find CPU cooling is quite poor.
 

ThePilgrim

Cable Smoosher
May 14, 2019
8
38
oh wow! thats an honor
Please take some pictures for us :) Hope you have a great time with your new case!

Definitely enjoying this case so far... it’s not perfect but it is a great case! I’d already like to build another. Heh.

The current spaghetti of the Silverstone FX-350-G does not do this case any justice. I’ll definitely update some pics when a proper psu and cable treatment is done. Also, the FX-350-G does not fit the flex adapter plate due to its power switch(I knew this going in as I plan on a Hdplex or Dynamo mini in the near future).

Here’s a tease while I work on a build log...





 

owliwar

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
I have some questions that I'll work on later but i'm loving this!
what are your specs?
the purple interior is definitely my favorite. its nice how the purple shine through the front panel a bit

I didn't realize that this model had this switch. bummer. I imagine that these 2 screws + the cables are holding the PSU in place for now?

Thanks a lot for the pics!

Cheers
 

ThePilgrim

Cable Smoosher
May 14, 2019
8
38
I have some questions that I'll work on later but i'm loving this!
what are your specs?
the purple interior is definitely my favorite. its nice how the purple shine through the front panel a bit

I didn't realize that this model had this switch. bummer. I imagine that these 2 screws + the cables are holding the PSU in place for now?

Thanks a lot for the pics!

Cheers

Current Specs:
CPU: R5 2400g
Cooler: stock
MB: Asus Strix B450 I
Ram: Team Dark Pro 16gb 3200 cl14
GPU: (rockin the iGPU for now. 1050ti to come if no next gen lp cards are released soon)
PSU: Silverstone FX-350-G flex atx.
Case Fans: insignia 80mm x 25mm.

Indeed, the purple interior panels are just what the doctor ordered. And they do play nicely in the light

Aye, the 2 screws are holding it in place for now. They hold the psu fairly secure. The cables do help hold it snug as well. They are super stiff. The flex adapter will actually fit on the outside of the case and make the mount more secure but it makes the switch access tricky.

As for the psu...It works fine, but the cables have nearly zero flex anywhere near the plugs or the psu itself, the rubber wraps for the sleeves are huge and glued to the wires. And the “silent fan”, ha ha... NOT SILENT. All in all, it’s really ok, but it’s not the best psu for the CG7 by a long shot.

I’ll be testing out the hdplex 200w and 400w combos as soon as I can get my hands on them and may even entertain an external brick at some point.
 

K888D

SFF Guru
Lazer3D
Feb 23, 2016
1,483
2,970
www.lazer3d.com
Current Specs:
CPU: R5 2400g
Cooler: stock
MB: Asus Strix B450 I
Ram: Team Dark Pro 16gb 3200 cl14
GPU: (rockin the iGPU for now. 1050ti to come if no next gen lp cards are released soon)
PSU: Silverstone FX-350-G flex atx.
Case Fans: insignia 80mm x 25mm.

Indeed, the purple interior panels are just what the doctor ordered. And they do play nicely in the light

Aye, the 2 screws are holding it in place for now. They hold the psu fairly secure. The cables do help hold it snug as well. They are super stiff. The flex adapter will actually fit on the outside of the case and make the mount more secure but it makes the switch access tricky.

As for the psu...It works fine, but the cables have nearly zero flex anywhere near the plugs or the psu itself, the rubber wraps for the sleeves are huge and glued to the wires. And the “silent fan”, ha ha... NOT SILENT. All in all, it’s really ok, but it’s not the best psu for the CG7 by a long shot.

I’ll be testing out the hdplex 200w and 400w combos as soon as I can get my hands on them and may even entertain an external brick at some point.
Thanks for posting pics of your build, it looks great!

Sorry about the Flex ATX bracket, we didn't plan on originally including it but it was a last minute addition, we will update the bracket design for future production.

In terms of better PSU, are you able to get hold of the BeQuiet TFX Gold model? I've been using this in my own personal CG7 media PC and it runs absolutely silent:

 
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owliwar

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
New build video!!⭐
Hi all!!
today we got a lovely message from Timothy - Fashionable Father - with a video of his build process!! he got the case from overclockers uk so I'm not sure he is in the forum. either way, the video is great and I'm linking it here, hope you all like it, I sure did
its the first time I saw the white with oak on the wild ?

The specs are also top notch! 8700k with 1050ti, 32GB of ram, almost 2TB of ssd storage !!! the noctua NH-L12s also apears again :) but check it out for yourself. the result is awesome!


 

rtrt

What's an ITX?
New User
Jul 15, 2019
1
2
Hi. I'm new to here.

First of all, congratulations to CG7!
I just run into this awesome project while looking for an ideal M-ATX case.
So I'm really looking forward to seeing CG10(?) coming out in the near future!
4 DIMMs with under 10L is really amazing!!!!

Thanks.
 
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owliwar

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
Hi. I'm new to here.

First of all, congratulations to CG7!
I just run into this awesome project while looking for an ideal M-ATX case.
So I'm really looking forward to seeing CG10(?) coming out in the near future!
4 DIMMs with under 10L is really amazing!!!!

Thanks.
Hi Rtrt, welcome to the forum!
and Thanks a lot for the comment :)
 
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owliwar

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
Hi there all

Just found some CG7 in the wild
and I just love how the wood match his floor! looks really lovely.
the person in particular had some exotic low profile card that I'm not sure if its radio or wifi;

 

owliwar

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
Hey all, its Been almost a year of the case launch! I'd like to thank you all for helping me go through that!

and I got some other ideas to work on as well ?
I've beem following the OCUK forum as well and some people recently mentioned wanting to use 3.5 drives in this case, as a NAS Build. the user in particular wanted to use 2x 10TB NAS Drives for a compact storage solution.

I mean, I had to test it out and I may be up to something.

heres an Idea:


simple to install, simple to make. not a very expensive set. that would require external power but for a NAS that should be very doable.
for the matx layout, it hangs over the first pci Slot, but not very far from that, so the same clearance as a default setup. no fans on the lower end of the case, but it still clears the space for the top bracket fans.
what do you think?
 
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