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Not for the LZ7 or XTD, but perhaps future new cases. For instance the CG7 has this feature as the bottom panel can be removed whilst the motherboard is installed. But for the LZ7 it would need some fundamental design changes which isn't possible at this stage.
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates on this, progress is still being made.
I've spent a bit of time with this as my main PC and played a few games on it, I still can't get my head around how quiet this thing is when gaming thanks mainly to the Noctua U9S exhausting directly out the case, it's been a real pleasure to use.
Here are a few more photos of the latest prototype to give you a bit more of an idea of how the internal layout looks, it would look much better with some custom cables.
I'm using the Noctua fans from the U9S in another build and so instead I am using 2x 92mm Fractal Design fans which actually match this colour scheme quite nicely:
And a couple more outer shots showing the contrast between the matte Grey and Black pieces with the smoked gloss sides:
You can also see that the power cable is now routed inside the case compared to the first protoype which routed the power cable externally:
I've spent a bit of time with this as my main PC and played a few games on it, I still can't get my head around how quiet this thing is when gaming thanks mainly to the Noctua U9S exhausting directly out the case, it's been a real pleasure to use.
Here are a few more photos of the latest prototype to give you a bit more of an idea of how the internal layout looks, it would look much better with some custom cables.
I'm using the Noctua fans from the U9S in another build and so instead I am using 2x 92mm Fractal Design fans which actually match this colour scheme quite nicely:
Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates on this, progress is still being made.
I've spent a bit of time with this as my main PC and played a few games on it, I still can't get my head around how quiet this thing is when gaming thanks mainly to the Noctua U9S exhausting directly out the case, it's been a real pleasure to use.
Here are a few more photos of the latest prototype to give you a bit more of an idea of how the internal layout looks, it would look much better with some custom cables.
I'm using the Noctua fans from the U9S in another build and so instead I am using 2x 92mm Fractal Design fans which actually match this colour scheme quite nicely:
And a couple more outer shots showing the contrast between the matte Grey and Black pieces with the smoked gloss sides:
You can also see that the power cable is now routed inside the case compared to the first protoype which routed the power cable externally:
Looks really neat. Will there be enough vertical space for a huge top-down cooler like Noctua C14S and Bequiet Dark Rock TF?
Thanks!
CPU clearance is limited to 135mm height and within the boundary of the ITX board.
The Dark Rock TF is 112mm tall so will be fine in that regard, but it's quite a wide cooler and so you may see issues with it hanging over the edge of the motherboard and fouling on the side fan or PSU.
The Noctua C14S will fit height wise with the fan installed under the fins making it 115mm, but again it's a big cooler so you will need to make sure it stays above the motherboard and doesn't hang over the edge. This can vary between motherboard due to a variable socket position.
135mm is not too bad. I think the C14S overhangs too much in my mobo. I made similar measurements back when I was using a SG13 with front-mounted PSU (same layout as the XTD). I look forward to seeing this being released (if at all?). Any timeline?
Just 2 slots, I don't think I would release an ITX case that is triple slotted!
I would estimate it will be released around the middle of the year, sorry I can't be more concrete than that.
That timeline is good enough for me. It will give me enough time to save up.
Is the case strictly 2-slot? My RX580 Nitro+ is 3mm over the 2-slot limit.
Any plan to test some top-down cooler (e.g. 131mm Dark Rock TF)? I am worried that the PSU and CPU cooler will be fighting for air.
There is about 3mm gap between the EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC and the side panel, I would advise to stick to purely standard thickness 2 slot cards, mainly to ensure compatibility, but secondly if the fans are right up against the side vents you will get increased fan turbulence noise and reduced thermal performance.
The original prototype was tested with a Silverstone NT06 PRO with an RGB Akasa fan installed on top, the performance with the 8700K was very good, but the Noctua U9S is better.
I think either style of cooler will give you plenty of thermal headroom to install some real high end CPU's with room for Overclocking if wanted.
The Noctua U9S is giving me temps of 64C with 12 thread Prime95 load for the 8700K at stock settings.
Yup, I am aware of the increased noise when fan is right up against the side vents. It seems to be the same for Dan A4 and all premium SFF cases. I guess I am in an extreme minority though, having an inconveniently-sized card for small form factor cases.
Thanks a lot for the information. I'll keep myself updated with the XTD. Who knows if I could swap it away for another card.
I was humbled to be invited to have a look at and give some thoughts on that first prototype, @K888D has forgotten to mention here that we had the 8700k in that rig in the pics running on a low volts 5ghz all core. It's seriously impressive !!!
He's a decent engineer, not just a brilliant case designer!
The thermals on his cases are one of his top priorities, this sets him leaps and bounds above his competitors !!!
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I think I need to hire you as my own personal ego inflator! Thanks for the comments!
Hi, I was wondering if there is any updates on this project since mid-March, Im very interested in upgrading but the majority of mini-ITX cases I've seen are not very attractive compared to this amazing design.
Thank you!
Sorry for the lack of updates, 2019 has been a whirlwind of a year so far! I am hoping to get this launched within the next 2 month's, most of the pieces are in place to start production.
The design is complete and ready to go, its just a logostical exercise now to get everything ready for launch. New packaging has been received, I'll post some photos of this soon. Power cables have been ordered and have just been released from customs, hoping to receive them next week. Only big tasks left to complete are the user manual, photography and building a new website configurator.
Next step is to discuss with Overclockers UK the launch plan and put some ball park dates in place, once they have confirmed they are happy to proceed then we can kick off production.
Estimated lead time from kicking off production to the stock arriving at Overclockers would be 4 - 6 weeks. I will confirm in this thread once production has started.
Hope that helps, I will try to post more frequent updates.
MicroATX with full-length full-height card support, SFX PSU, and 120mm AIO in 11.1L? How is this possible? I feel like I'm missing something.
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