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

jujudk

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Oct 1, 2017
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Yep 1050 ti is maxed now, but i don't know why i think we could see vega in this format (as the pcb is smaller than others card)
 
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blubblob

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Jul 26, 2016
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Sorry NoSk0pz, we couldn't find a way to do it without too much manual labor :/
We're using m3 with 8 or 9mm long thread. If you now a better option that don't need countersunk, please let me know!
I've had the same issue a while ago. Aside from step-engraving the countersink or manually drilling it I couldn't find a way to countersink screws in acrylic either. One is only feasible if you don't pay for the laser time and the other requires a lot of manual labor.

Despite being blessed with not having to pay for laser cutting I eventually settled on using screws with an ultra low head. (I was using 3mm acrylic, and the countersink weakened the acrylic around the screw to much.)
The black nickel plating looks pretty decent (they are also available in nickel plated steel and stainless steel), the head is only 0.8mm high and they are available in M3 in lengths between 5 and 16mm. Maybe those are an option for you?

I've uploaded 3 images showing a screw in contrast to a matte black 3mm acrylic piece.
 

owliwar

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I've had the same issue a while ago. Aside from step-engraving the countersink or manually drilling it I couldn't find a way to countersink screws in acrylic either. One is only feasible if you don't pay for the laser time and the other requires a lot of manual labor.

Despite being blessed with not having to pay for laser cutting I eventually settled on using screws with an ultra low head. (I was using 3mm acrylic, and the countersink weakened the acrylic around the screw to much.)
The black nickel plating looks pretty decent (they are also available in nickel plated steel and stainless steel), the head is only 0.8mm high and they are available in M3 in lengths between 5 and 16mm. Maybe those are an option for you?

I've uploaded 3 images showing a screw in contrast to a matte black 3mm acrylic piece.


Thanks @blubblob ! I'll give it a look
 
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GucksTV

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Do you have an aimed timetable when the CG7 will be available on the lazer3d store? :)
I could live with the sacrifice of slightly thicker screws...:D
I guess we are lucky as both Z390 and X470 (next month) will get an ITX board by Asrock! Cheers
 
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owliwar

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Do you have an aimed timetable when the CG7 will be available on the lazer3d store? :)
I could live with the sacrifice of slightly thicker screws...:D
I guess we are lucky as both Z390 and X470 (next month) will get an ITX board by Asrock! Cheers
hey thats great news

somewhere between late april and may, but we will have a small prototype batch early. I'll keep you all informed ;)
 

jujudk

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Oct 1, 2017
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nice =p

I could build in it but not with the full blown hardware i'd like, i might try to get a cheaper r5 1600 when the new gen comes out, same for the mobo ...
As for ram well it's a shitty time
 
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GucksTV

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nice =p

I could build in it but not with the full blown hardware i'd like, i might try to get a cheaper r5 1600 when the new gen comes out, same for the mobo ...
As for ram well it's a shitty time

I am looking for some good deals right now too...the RYZEN 5 2400G and an Asrock B350 ITX are a sweet match especially as I’ve got my hands on some 16GB Patriot Viper from eBay! But as you said I will wait for the X470 launch as well! There might be some interesting ITX options, especially with the new chipset will support finally bootable M.2 RAID! If Asrock will release a dual M.2 ITX board...that’s my choice! ;) I think most of the board partners will jump in the AMD game with more money this time. AMD got a good amount of reputation through RYZEN among the industry. But as this will be my portable workstation and streaming PC (will add a PCIe capture card) I might even use Intel, if they finally drop the Z390 chipset with some reasonable eight cores...
 
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jujudk

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Oct 1, 2017
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Hope so as well, expecting more from b460 personnally
A dual M.2 ssd would be sweet but again, i like the apus but they should have dedicated board with hbm on those (yes i'm serious)

But the real wonder would be that ram and gpu prices finally come down (and nvidia relase the 2050 ti =p )
 
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GucksTV

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Hope so as well, expecting more from b460 personnally
A dual M.2 ssd would be sweet but again, i like the apus but they should have dedicated board with hbm on those (yes i'm serious)

But the real wonder would be that ram and gpu prices finally come down (and nvidia relase the 2050 ti =p )

Then you have an Hades Canyon NUC...even when the idea of on board HBM2 would be a very sweet solution, the idea is to ceep the APU setup for the general customer as cheap as possible and uncomplicated (interchangeable)... there has to be the upgradepath to be competitive. :) That’s why there will be no retail HBM ITX board for APUs...sadly!
 

GucksTV

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Nope i don't want to buy intel, i really dislike this company ....

I didn’t want to recommend you Intel or the NUC, I just wanted to show you that a motherboard with integrated HBM is possible, way to expensive and obsolete in just a few months without any upgrade path. ;) Cheers
 

jujudk

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Oct 1, 2017
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Well it might not be obsolete, let's say a company relase and am4 itx board with 2 gb of HBM, it act as GPU ram with apus, so zen, zen + and zen, as the memory is the main drawback here i wouldn't mind paying more for the mobo but have more perfs out of vega,j it could cut off pcies lanes (or ram i'm not an engineer )
 

GucksTV

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hey thats great news

somewhere between late april and may, but we will have a small prototype batch early. I'll keep you all informed ;)

I know this might be a bit „out of the box thinking“ but as that’s exactly what this project is about, I can’t stop thinking of the CG7 with a vertical GPU mount over the CPU, which would extend the cases graphics card capabilities by quiet a bit. Not only that, without the low profile gpu at the top pcie spots there might be enough room for something like a dual 80 or 92mm radiator (Alphacool has both) or Asetek 545lc at the top, just an idea. But even without the watercooling in mind the cpu could be cooled with a low profile top blower like a Noctua NH-L9i/AM4 and still fit the GPU (opens up the full lineup of GTX 1060-1080 mini cards) I mean TFX PSUs and the HDPLEX stuff are equipped with up to 8pin PCIE power and with generally being around 300-500W it might be enough to consider a more powerful GPU then a 1050ti, especially as Nvidia seems to release new GPUs not earlier then in the end of 2018. (no new low profile GPUs in the near future) With this vertical GPU mount the 7L case would appear even more versatile and could reach a more spread out audience! :) At least as an extra that would be available in the configuration? It might be a needed feature to be competitive with something like an Asrock Deskmini GTX for example. I would really appreciate the vertical GPU mount! :) Cheers
 
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jujudk

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Oct 1, 2017
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I know this might be a bit „out of the box thinking“ but as that’s exactly what this project is about, I can’t stop thinking of the CG7 with a vertical GPU mount over the CPU, which would extend the cases graphics card capabilities by quiet a bit. Not only that, without the low profile gpu at the top pcie spots there might be enough room for something like a dual 80 or 92mm radiator (Alphacool has both) or Asetek 545lc at the top, just an idea. But even without the watercooling in mind the cpu could be cooled with a low profile top blower like a Noctua NH-L9i/AM4 and still fit the GPU (opens up the full lineup of GTX 1060-1080 mini cards) I mean TFX PSUs and the HDPLEX stuff are equipped with up to 8pin PCIE power and with generally being around 300-500W it might be enough to consider a more powerful GPU then a 1050ti, especially as Nvidia seems to release new GPUs not earlier then in the end of 2018. (no new low profile GPUs in the near future) With this vertical GPU mount the 7L case would appear even more versatile and could reach a more spread out audience! :) At least as an extra that would be available in the configuration? It might be a needed feature to be competitive with something like an Asrock Deskmini GTX for example. I would really appreciate the vertical GPU mount! :) Cheers
there is a bigger version coming in after that one
 

GucksTV

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there is a bigger version coming in after that one

I know that. And I really like the design and features of the slightly bigger version. But it supports mATX and full-sized GPUs. So this one could be ITX, Low Profile (horizontal) and Mini / Half Hight (vertical)...it was just an idea and I am sure it could work out without changing any internals. Nevertheless I am really stoked about both cases! <3
 

owliwar

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I can’t stop thinking of the CG7 with a vertical GPU mount over the CPU

oh I actually tried that once
I stumbled upon 2 problems:
1st would be the cpu cooling. for it to have a 2 slot gpu I would have to limit cooling at 47 or 45mm whitout increasing the case width.
2 I was a bit scared to have that much holes in that panel. even using 5mm acrilyc. I think it would be doable with some tabs to support it, but since I'm new to actually making cases for anyone but myself I focused on making some more reliable.

keep in mind that, as part as the lazer3D team I actually share quite a lot of the base principles, that is the care on thermals and silence as much as we care about looks. I didn't know about that watercooling units but I usually focus on air cooling first, as it is a bit more universal

If I made the case a bit bigger or a bit smaller, I think it would end up being be too close to what the LZ7 can offer, and we aren't that big yet to release cases that are just a bit different from each other :)

But I appreciate the enthusiasm :)
Cheers
 

GucksTV

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oh I actually tried that once
I stumbled upon 2 problems:
1st would be the cpu cooling. for it to have a 2 slot gpu I would have to limit cooling at 47 or 45mm whitout increasing the case width.
2 I was a bit scared to have that much holes in that panel. even using 5mm acrilyc. I think it would be doable with some tabs to support it, but since I'm new to actually making cases for anyone but myself I focused on making some more reliable.

keep in mind that, as part as the lazer3D team I actually share quite a lot of the base principles, that is the care on thermals and silence as much as we care about looks. I didn't know about that watercooling units but I usually focus on air cooling first, as it is a bit more universal

If I made the case a bit bigger or a bit smaller, I think it would end up being be too close to what the LZ7 can offer, and we aren't that big yet to release cases that are just a bit different from each other :)

But I appreciate the enthusiasm :)
Cheers

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)
Okay, so now I’ll have to wait until I get my hands on that beauty and then I will see how and what can be done! Will be definitely a fun case to work with! 19.04 is the day for RYZEN getting it’s CPU- and Motherboard-Lineup updated! Hopefully we’ll see some improved ITX ones! Maybe Asrock will finally squish two M.2 slots on the PCB! :D
Cheers