What a BEAUTY!
When vertical, it reminds me of smaller Evolv Shift.
When vertical, it reminds me of smaller Evolv Shift.
You know it
Oh, interesting solution. Though that means it's impossible to tighten those screws when they're coming lose, right?
I see, good to know you tested it. This case could also work with a passive cooler, might be even quieter. Is there enough space to filter the 80mm fans? It seems like an ideal setup for that.
Why not use rivets instead of screws?
Well it's at least partially acrylic - a rivet would crack the ever loving hell out of that. Not to mention that using rivets would prevent flat-packing and raise shipping costs.
-Edit-
Sorry if that seemed harsh... Welcome to the forum!
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Welcome to the forum!
The main reason is because the case will be using pre-threaded metal corner joints. I'm not sure whether you can rivet them, let me know if you have any suggestions on how to do this.
Everyone's asking for internal photos, there's not really much to the insides to be honest, just a couple of panels that slot together! Here you go anyway:
Bare in mind that it's just a first draft prototype and the inside panels are likely to change!
It looks amazing, the solid wood panel also makes it enticing. This is looking like another must-buy for me !
nice cooler, wouldnt mind if I asked you what it was, wouldja?
EDIT:
Noctua NH-L12S?
EDIT:
Noctua NH-L12S?
Just carried out some quick stress tests to see what kind of ball park the thermals are in for this case. I've also received some comments regarding whether the 80mm fans are a worthwhile addition, so I wanted to test that aspect as well.
Test System = Noctua NH-L12S, 4x 80mm case fans, Intel i7-7700 stock with IGP, 16Gb DDR4, MSI B250i, 256Gb M.2 SSD.
Power Supply = 12V Pico PSU + 120w 12V AC-Adapter
CPU fan curve = 0% @ 0C up to 100% @ 80C.
TEST RESULTS:
4x 80mm case fans @ 100% speed (set to intake)
Idle
CPU: 25C
SYS: 28C
8 thread Prime95
CPU: 64C
SYS: 29C
2 thread Prim95 + Unigine Valley
CPU: 55C
SYS: 29C
No Case Fans (CPU Fan Only)
Idle
CPU: 28C
SYS: 36C
8 Thread Prime95
CPU: 70C
SYS: 37C
2 Thread Prime95 + Unigine Valley
CPU: 61C
SYS: 37C
CONCLUSION
I was surprised by the 8 thread Prime95 temperatures with the i7-7700 only reaching 64C with the case fans on, and 6C warmer with them off.
Whether a 6C difference is enough to justify the need for case fans is up for debate. For me personally this extra cooling headroom can be used for lowering fan speeds for a quieter running system than without case fans. For others it could be used to squeeze out that extra bit of overclocking.
The NH-L12S exhausts upwards through the top vent, so this will be helping to keep system temps down by reducing heat recirculation. Most coolers however are downdraft and so I expect may see higher system temps but perhaps lower CPU temps as they will be feeding off fresh air from the top vent.
More testing will be done as the case develops to better understand the different cooling setups that are possible.
Perhaps a down draft cpu cooler and the 80mm fans as exhaust if you go that route. It seems to make sense but would love to see it tested. 
Gorgeous prototype btw!
Gorgeous prototype btw!
I'd consider having the 80mm fans at a very low duty cycle and exhausting if it's a "downdraft" CPU cooler. I'm thinking about only using one side for 80mm fans (if useful) and the other for the external power brick so it becomes brickless. No need to go "external brick" when there's enough room in the case
Just carried out some quick stress tests to see what kind of ball park the thermals are in for this case. I've also received some comments regarding whether the 80mm fans are a worthwhile addition, so I wanted to test that aspect as well.
Test System = Noctua NH-L12S, 4x 80mm case fans, Intel i7-7700 stock with IGP, 16Gb DDR4, MSI B250i, 256Gb M.2 SSD.
Power Supply = 12V Pico PSU + 120w 12V AC-Adapter
CPU fan curve = 0% @ 0C up to 100% @ 80C.
TEST RESULTS:
4x 80mm case fans @ 100% speed (set to intake)
Idle
CPU: 25C
SYS: 28C
8 thread Prime95
CPU: 64C
SYS: 29C
2 thread Prim95 + Unigine Valley
CPU: 55C
SYS: 29C
No Case Fans (CPU Fan Only)
Idle
CPU: 28C
SYS: 36C
8 Thread Prime95
CPU: 70C
SYS: 37C
2 Thread Prime95 + Unigine Valley
CPU: 61C
SYS: 37C
CONCLUSION
I was surprised by the 8 thread Prime95 temperatures with the i7-7700 only reaching 64C with the case fans on, and 6C warmer with them off.
Whether a 6C difference is enough to justify the need for case fans is up for debate. For me personally this extra cooling headroom can be used for lowering fan speeds for a quieter running system than without case fans. For others it could be used to squeeze out that extra bit of overclocking.
The NH-L12S exhausts upwards through the top vent, so this will be helping to keep system temps down by reducing heat recirculation. Most coolers however are downdraft and so I expect may see higher system temps but perhaps lower CPU temps as they will be feeding off fresh air from the top vent.
More testing will be done as the case develops to better understand the different cooling setups that are possible.
You did run the case fans at 100% which adds noise.
Lower their speeds still means you got annoying 80mm fans running. Probably better off just cranking up the 120mm for similar performance without spending $50 on 80mm fans, and similar noise output.
Also interested in down draft configuration works.
Seems like a big shuriken 2 with a 120 x 25mm would be good for noise. Not sure how the vents would affect turbulence though, and can be tested set to exhaust as well.
Unfortunately I couldn't set the case fans any lower than 100% for this testing as the fan splitter I was using was a powered PWM fan splitter, but the fans I was using were 3 Pin DC so they just run at 100%. I will be getting some 80mm PWM fans for future testing.
Although the Noctua 120mm slim fan is quiet, it's not silent when the CPU is stressed, just quieter than other similar fans. I need to test it, but I still think you will be able to build a quieter system with 4x 80mm fans + CPU cooler, compared to just the CPU cooler, even when the CPU cooler is a Noctua.
The case fans do make a difference to system and CPU temps though, so I think having the option for them is a worthwhile addition to the case design. I expect most people will opt for just 2x 80mm fans and use the extra space left over for something else such as a low profile GPU or AC-DC internal power supply of some sort. Thats the cool thing about this design, it's very versatile and you can adapt the case to suit your needs/priorities.
With the 73mm CPU Cooler clearance there is even a possibility that an AIO can be fitted to the top panel (again needs to be tested).
What I'm trying to do with this case is give you plenty of CPU cooling headroom in a compact space, allowing you to build a system with a top tier APU and not have to worry about thermals. I expect AMD will release some 95W TDP Ryzen APU's that will turn low ventilation cases into ovens, I want this case to be able to comfortably cool them, perhaps even with room for a bit of overclocking.
Although the Noctua 120mm slim fan is quiet, it's not silent when the CPU is stressed, just quieter than other similar fans. I need to test it, but I still think you will be able to build a quieter system with 4x 80mm fans + CPU cooler, compared to just the CPU cooler, even when the CPU cooler is a Noctua.
The case fans do make a difference to system and CPU temps though, so I think having the option for them is a worthwhile addition to the case design. I expect most people will opt for just 2x 80mm fans and use the extra space left over for something else such as a low profile GPU or AC-DC internal power supply of some sort. Thats the cool thing about this design, it's very versatile and you can adapt the case to suit your needs/priorities.
With the 73mm CPU Cooler clearance there is even a possibility that an AIO can be fitted to the top panel (again needs to be tested).
What I'm trying to do with this case is give you plenty of CPU cooling headroom in a compact space, allowing you to build a system with a top tier APU and not have to worry about thermals. I expect AMD will release some 95W TDP Ryzen APU's that will turn low ventilation cases into ovens, I want this case to be able to comfortably cool them, perhaps even with room for a bit of overclocking.
That was generally what I was considering when I did the stratos 3.
I think you'd need about 10 mm more to fit most pump and slim radiator assembly.
Have you tried to check if you can set the fans to DC mode? Most good quality Mobo have that feature.
The motherboard has that feature, but unfortunately it's a limitation of the splitter which is SATA powered, so without the PWM signal the fans just run flat out as it bypasses the fan header DC current.
I'm loving the design so far. There is indeed a lack of APU-only cases on the market, so I don't think you'll have much problem finding a consumer base. I just need a basic machine for Steam In-House Streaming and Kodi, and buying NUC kits just feels that I'm putting my skills to waste
Just have a few comments I want to throw out:
1) I feel as though 4x 80mm case fans seems a bit overkill. As your tests show, there's only about a 8 degree difference between no case fans and 4 case fans. Maybe try a test with only 2 case fans?
If removing fan mounting from one side gives you the ability to shrink the overall size and/or provide dedicated space for a front I/O with USB 3 and audio jacks, then I feel that would be the better way to go
2) Customization of the front wood stain is a must. The entertainment center that this will be going in has a black color scheme going for it, and I would heavily prefer an Ebony stain option.
3) As much as RGB is the hot new thing right now, I don't feel as though this case needs to cater to it. RGB is seen alot in gaming rigs, and I just don't see many people creating APU-only gaming rigs, especially when there are cases out there that are only a bit more bigger that can support graphics cards. I could be wrong (and you might want to do some polling on this), but I see this case more being used as a HTPC where noise and muted lighting takes higher priority
Just have a few comments I want to throw out:
1) I feel as though 4x 80mm case fans seems a bit overkill. As your tests show, there's only about a 8 degree difference between no case fans and 4 case fans. Maybe try a test with only 2 case fans?
If removing fan mounting from one side gives you the ability to shrink the overall size and/or provide dedicated space for a front I/O with USB 3 and audio jacks, then I feel that would be the better way to go
2) Customization of the front wood stain is a must. The entertainment center that this will be going in has a black color scheme going for it, and I would heavily prefer an Ebony stain option.
3) As much as RGB is the hot new thing right now, I don't feel as though this case needs to cater to it. RGB is seen alot in gaming rigs, and I just don't see many people creating APU-only gaming rigs, especially when there are cases out there that are only a bit more bigger that can support graphics cards. I could be wrong (and you might want to do some polling on this), but I see this case more being used as a HTPC where noise and muted lighting takes higher priority
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Are you 100% you don't want to allow for a different back panel for an 1050 Ti LP ? You are soooo close to the ideal case for that and no, other cases do not cover this market, if you think they do let me know but I am unaware of any sub 5L case with great airflow and two slot LP support.
More, this could allow for stripping the LP fans and attach two thinner 80mm fans for ideal, blissful quiet...
You are soooo close to the ideal case for that and no, other cases do not cover this market, if you think they do let me know but I am unaware of any sub 5L case with great airflow and two slot LP support.More, this could allow for stripping the LP fans and attach two thinner 80mm fans for ideal, blissful quiet...
Are you 100% you don't want to allow for a different back panel for an 1050 Ti LP ?
More, this could allow for stripping the LP fans and attach two thinner 80mm fans for ideal, blissful quiet...
Guys.. OP do consider supporting LP dual slot GPU:
(Which is a bit unfortunate as I'm currently considering for an APU-only case)
I did read all that and considered the dimensions in questions and came to the conclusion that the case as is should fit an LP card already. A low profile card is 80.06mm high http://www.sonnettech.com/product/images/echoexpresssel_lowprofilepciecard.png so if the case supports 80mm fans then LP cards should just fit.
If you read my post I specifically said I read OP considers the LP market already covered and I asked: by what?
But if all this off topic, sorry for the noise.
If you read my post I specifically said I read OP considers the LP market already covered and I asked: by what?
But if all this off topic, sorry for the noise.
Are you 100% you don't want to allow for a different back panel for an 1050 Ti LP ?
The plan is to have 2 different rear panels, the first for an APU based system without the rear PCI blank cut out, the second with the rear PCI cutout and whatever card securing method I come up with (not looked at this aspect yet).
I will see what I can do add support for a mounting panel that should allow you to do this, so long as there is enough space as it may be tight.
I'm loving the design so far. There is indeed a lack of APU-only cases on the market, so I don't think you'll have much problem finding a consumer base. I just need a basic machine for Steam In-House Streaming and Kodi, and buying NUC kits just feels that I'm putting my skills to waste
Welcome to the forum! Thank you also for your feedback, the more you guys provide the better! You've made some REALLY good points, I'll try and answer them below.
8 degrees doesn't seem like much, but if you're running a 65w TDP CPU moderately for a couple of hours then that 6 - 8 degrees could be the difference between keeping your CPU under for example 70C with a silent fan profile.
It all depends on your priorities though, I expect most people will not run 4 case fans, but the option is there if you want to, most people will likely use the space instead for extra HDD's, a Low profile GPU, or some kind of power supply for example.
I'm hoping to have v0.2 prototype done in a couple of weeks along with some new hardware to test inside it, I will certainly be testing just 2 fans along with a bunch of other stuff. So if you guys have any requests please let me know and I'll try to include it.
I don't want to mount the front IO on the Front panel, but I'm thinking perhaps the top panel along the front edge. Unfortunately there is not enough space to fit the IO vertically on the side panel as the PCB is just a bit too long.
I'm hoping to have at least 3 wood types available including Walnut, Oak and Cherry. The wood shown in the photos in Walnut and is the darkest of the 3. The wood used is a special variety suited especially for safe laser cutting and is also exactly 5mm thick which is hard to come by, therefore the selection of wood types is quite limited. I've not seen an Ebony wood sorry, the Walnut is the darkest I've found so far, but if I do find anything in my searching I'll give it a go.
If you need a dark finish then I could always offer a Matte Black Acrylic front panel instead of wood.
I really like this point you've made. I'm aiming this to be a HTPC style case suitable for the living room, yet catering for "gamer" RGB with the front frosted strip is counterintuitive to subtle aesthetics of Home Theatre appeal.
Even though I'm sort of pushing this case towards the HTPC usage scenario when lay horizontal, I'm sure that many users would be looking at it as Mini Desktop vertical tower case and the RGB element may be of interest, especially when combined with the top panel window which would become a side panel window. May look nice with a slightly tinted dark window panel, the AMD Wraith cooler with its LED ring would look pretty smart.
I'll start a poll to see what you guys think.
The way I envisioned the front frosted strip was as a subtle low light glowing strip, which may look nice in some living rooms. You could always disable the motherboard LED's or not install your own LED's if you don't want the strip to light up. I think the case looks quite good with the strip cutout even without lighting, but then aesthetics are subjective. My concern is that a completely plain front panel would look too...... plain?
What do you guys think about the frosted strip?
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