Enclosure Logic Supply MC600 Questions/Advice

[zovc]

Hey!

(Logic Supply MC600 product page.)

So, I know there's a review of the case here and Jay has a video review on his @Tek Everything YouTube channel, but I don't feel like I'm getting the info I need on GPU fitment in the MC600. Has anyone else fooled with the case?

The review here mentions that there's a maximum GPU length of 7.75" (which google converts to 196.85mm) and says it accommodates a "full height" video card. (I assume this means it allows up to the bracket's height in clearance.) What gets me is that the review says "Just make sure you have enough room for your power connector." but doesn't really specify what that means...

I'm considering following Jay's suggestion in the video review and adding either fan mounting or just ventilation, and I might even go so far as to try hitting up a shop with a CNC mill to see if they can add perforations to the entire/majority of the top panel.

So far, my i7-4790K has been doing fine with a little bit of undervolting/underclocking inside of the mini-box M350 so I'm pretty confident that the little bit of extra room will mean my thermals stay fine (especially if I'm adding better ventilation and possibly a fan through modding). I will also probably end up ditching my 2.5" SSD and just use the M.2 drive I have in there... maybe upgrading it.

Here are a few questions I have about the case:

• Does anyone have the list of dimensions for what size video card will fit in the case? With PCI-e power connectors plugged in? (I tried emailing Logic Supply about this.)
• Is there enough clearance for a GPU with (a) power connector(s) and two of the 60mm fans?
• Is there enough clearance above or below the video card for additional fans to be installed?
• Is it feasible to cram any 1060's or 1070's in there?
• Is it possible to upgrade the front panel USB 2.0 ports to USB 3.0?
• Any cool stuff I can do with the replaceable front plate? Or just material suggestions?

 

[GreatestUnKnown]

I was considering the MC600 as an interim for my S4 build but ultimately did not purchasing it, still a great case though. I am sure you probably saw the dimension drawing pdf but figured I would get the ball rolling with some rough measurements.

IIRC someone built in an MC600 on another forum...[H]ard to remember which one... @Runamok81 might know? Same or different user?

 

[zovc]

Yeah, I saw the dimension drawing, it just doesn't have the two 'partitions' blocked off or their measurements anywhere that I can see.

That is an awesome build and pretty close to what I'm gunning for. Knowing that that 970 fit in there with custom fans is pretty reassuring and I can try to roughly gauge thermals off of it.

 

[jØrd]

@DarekLogic might be a good person to ping on this one

 

[breakfast]

Hey, Hans here! Darek pinged me, I lead/do chassis design at Logic Supply.

First thing, we offer a USB 3.0 board that's a drop-in replacement for the 2.0, might work for you.

Something like that? We don't get a lot of enthusiast customers, so that set of dimensions isn't really found anywhere. I can provide others also if you need - at least ballpark things for you. Take these and subtract a few mm, I'm just grabbing dimensions quickly.

The fans can mount in two positions, inside and outside of their shroud - that's the ~123 and ~133 dimensions. Or you could also remove them and do your own thing - that's the ~144 dimension.

Bonus question, how likely would you say you are to move forward with this build and post a bunch of cool pictures of the process? I like seeing what folks do with our products.

I'd go with a brushed aluminum front

 

[zovc]

Hi Hans! Thanks so much! That drawing gives me much more confidence at figuring GPU fitment. I think GALAX's 1070 mini will fit!

Do you guys have any tech/accessories that would make inverting the GPU any easier? Similar to how the user ended up doing in the build @GreatestUnKnown linked in here?

Could you explain the fan position a little more? Is that if I wanted to put fans 'up top' like in your hard drive bracket?

I am starting to think it's pretty likely I end up giving this case a shot. I will probably at least document the before/after but I'm not a great photographer, I only have my phone's camera, and I often find myself forgetting to take pictures when I'm trying to record an entire process. Haha

Right now I have a pretty cool idea for the front panel and I don't want to spoil it until I give it a try. (Or hear an idea I like more! ) What's really cool is it's a pretty simple design and I'm confident that 'even I' can make a decent looking one by hand.

 

[breakfast]

Of course, glad it helps!

We don't currently have a PCIe flex riser that I'd recommend for graphics card use on our site. The one runamok used seemed to do alright, but my recommendation is the ones 3M makes. They're stupid expensive, but bulletproof for interference and build quality in my experience.

Fan position - I'll use a picture again. You can see that they (two 60x60x10) mount to a 'muffler' to reduce noise and turbulence, which is often fine space-wise. But in your case, you may want to mount them on the other side - inside - to give yourself a little more space. If you instead go full custom, and do different bigger fan positions like runamok, you can just chuck them and bracket and get another 10mm of space.

On pictures - I totally understand, I'm the same way. Before and after on a phone are usually what I end up with too.

Do you like the silver/orange or the black/gray more? If I told you I have a black/gray case with a few light scratches on the front, but at the gloriously low cost of $0.. would that sway you? Haha

 

[zovc]

Okay, cool. Now I see what you were talking about, the pictures do help a lot! I think I would have to see how everything fits together to see if I liked you guys' fan bracket. (No offense!) It's possible I'd have to do away with the PCI-e support bracket included if I wanted to flip the video card... but it's looking like I could possibly make it fit upside down on it?

I would humbly and graciously accept a $0 Logic Supply MC600 even if it was quite scuffed up! Is the black/gray case painted? Would I be able to repaint it or wire brush it down to silver steel?

 

[breakfast]

Totally fair. Do what you need to do to make it all fit.

Yeah, if you flip the card (fan pulling from the top) you might need to ditch the support bracket, it would just be in the way at that point I think. Paired with a custom lid that sort of eliminates the two side fans as needed also.

It's painted, just like it looks on our site. Nickel plated steel with black paint on the exterior surfaces, and gray paint on the front plate. Just has a few scuffs on the front plate, but I figured since you were doing custom stuff that might be unimportant. To repaint you could probably just take a pass at it with some sandpaper and then mask the vents etc. and hit it with whatever you want for paint.

Shoot me a mailing address by private message and I'll get it out to you when I have a free second. Just remember me when you're done fabricating/building so I can see the finished product

 

[zovc]

The only reason I'm thinking it might make sense to keep the bracket if I flip the card (pulling from the top, like you said) is if I'm able to run the PCI-e riser card under it, which it kind of looks like I might be able to do that in the drawing. No idea how the clearances/fitment would work out around that, though. It shouldn't be hard to cut out room for the power connector though.

Cool, it being painted might actually make it easier to go to another color via paint if I decide to go that route. I probably would lean towards the silver/orange if it was also free but I'm just as excited to work with the black/silver. The black might also look better with the front plate I am conceptualizing right now, and would probably look better on an entertainment center if this ends up being a HTPC case.

It's a really, really minor thing, but are you folks able to make a USB 3.0 board with black--I don't know what to call them--'spacers' in them? Instead of the blue.

Edit: I'm sure you saw, but I did send a private message with the info you requested!

 

[DarekLogic]

It's a really, really minor thing, but are you folks able to make a USB 3.0 board with black--I don't know what to call them--'spacers' in them? Instead of the blue.

Darek from Logic Supply jumping in quickly to field this one. The USB ports come to us from our vendor with blue inserts because that's how many vendors differentiate USB 3.0 (blue) from USB 2.0 (black). It should be noted though that, like most things USB, there's little consistency and we have seen blue USB 2.0 ports out there. As USB 3.0 has aged, black USB 3.0 ports have started to appear, and while we can certainly see the reasons why PC builders would prefer the black ports, for our market/customers there's still distinct value in differentiating between USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 visually.

Thanks for the question though @zovc, and keep Hans and I updated on your build, I'm glad to see he was able to provide the information you were looking for. Good guy that Hans!

 

[zovc]

Thanks, Darek. Like I said, it's a pretty minor aesthetic gripe and I could use port covers if it bothers me that much. (Hey, I noticed you guys sell port covers!) I guess I'll let it slide since you guys are sending me a free case and all...

So far, I'm a big fan of Hans'!

Definitely going to keep him posted on how things are going. And, for anyone else interested, my coworker used to work at a local machine shop and put me in touch with them. It looks like they might have a reasonable rate for doing some work on the case. (And maybe fabricating an inverted pcie plate for the I/O of my video card!)

 

[Sicaris]

It's awesome to see this thread come up today, I've been wondering about modding the MC600 to flip the GPU and try and use the space underneath to fit a DVD drive. I eagerly await your progress!

 

[Runamok81]

Builder of Little Mac 4.2L reporting in ... Hope I can help.

Most any Mini GPU 170mm-180mm will fit in the MC600.
You may need low profile PCIe power plugs

to fit some of the larger mini cards.


The biggest issue with fitting any GPU into the MC600 is the GPU IO bracket orientation.
Off the shelf, GPUs have IO plates that look like this.

Compare the image above with how I modified the card below.

The metal IO plate has been flipped. So, without modifying the MC600 chassis, or rigging something up, you're pretty much locked into cards with mirrored ports.

As for space above the GPU, I would say there is NOT extra room for another deep fan. 13mm measured.

MAYBE a Scythe slim fan. Deshrouding a card net you more space, for me it was 21mm.

Enough for some of the nicer 20mm fans. The Deep Cool gamer storm was most powerful. I settled on Yate Loon 20mm because of sound profile. I interviewed quite a few slim fans and have temp results for all, PM me if interested.

Also above, you can see that two 60mmx10mm fans on the edge can fit, but whether they stay will depend on whether you have a PCIe power plug exiting that side AND whether the bend radius of your PCIe riser is tight enough.

For your other Qs, the Guys at Logic Supply already answered. Yes on faceplate swapability and yes on USB 3.0 support. If you put a GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 in there you WILL have cut ventilation holes. No double there.

Good luck!

 

[zovc]

Builder of Little Mac 4.2L reporting in ... Hope I can help.

The legend! Hey, thanks for the input!

Going by the measurements I'm looking at, I shouldn't need a low-profile PCI-e power connector. But, I'd be interested in knowing where I could source one if I happened to, do you know of any good places to get those? Flipping the GPU like you did is brilliant. It looks like you were able to morph your stock plate to your needs but I am not sure I'll be able to do that with the card I'm currently looking at. The Galax 1070 mini looks like it will be an excellent fit, and it's got two fans to boot. Unfortunately its I/O is not symmetrical.

I'm going to see how that local machine shop feels about fabricating an inverted plate for me and if they can't do it I'll probably be able to hack something myself that just won't be pretty. Which is ultimately fine.

Did you end up being able to use the two 60mm fans? Did they seem to help?

 

[jottwehh]

Builder of just another 4.2L Gaming Case reporting in ... Hope I can help. ( https://hardforum.com/threads/just-another-4-2l-gaming-case.1897093/ )
first of all maybe some pictures:

So as you can see, my GPU isn't symmetrical either. I just cut of a little piece of the case and was able to fit in the GPU without modding the I/O. Maybe its not as clean as

The legend!

's, but its working fine for me.
Also i added 2x 140mm fans, so in my opinion there is no need for the 60mm ones.... there is simly already so much airflow! I tested it, as you maybe can see on the first picture in the right corner, but its not worth it.

Just wanted to say something to the PCI riser... Maybe I'm just very unlucky, or stupid, but I ordered a 40$ ( https://www.moddiy.com/products/Pre...dE-Extension-Shielded-Cable-Riser-(30cm).html ) but I got heavy lags under load. So I decided to invest some more money and got the HD plex one ( http://www.hd-plex.com/HDPLEX-Silicon-PCIEx16-3.0-Flexible-Riser.html ) for another 35$, but it wasn't working... no signal at all.. I ordered another one, same result. Pc wasnt even starting. thought i broke my GPU... inbetween all these riser changes i used a really cheap one from ebay, just added some aluminium tape and insulating tape. That was the only solution, thats was working fine. Its simply not that nice looking and a bit thick, but I'm still able to place 2 SSDs underneath the GPU.

Nothing against HD-Plex! They are doing great work and obviously the riser is working for other people. maybe something is wrong with my GPU... i dont know.

I hpoe i could help you out a bit. If you need more pictures feel free to ask (sorry for the messy look inside the case... after changing the riser 100 times i was a little bit frustrated. maybe I will change the SSDs soon, then I will add a cleaner look )

Have fun!

 

[Ceros_X]

When I was looking for a case about a year ago I really considered the MC600 (after reading about it here and other places). The main detergent was not being able to get a top cover with vents in it (after the base cost of the case trying to pay for CNC cutting out the circles would have put me over budget.

Looking forward to seeing your build @zovc !

I'd just flip the bracket and then rebend it outward using a vice, perhaps?

Builder of just another 4.2L Gaming Case reporting in ... Hope I can help. ( https://hardforum.com/threads/just-another-4-2l-gaming-case.1897093/ )

first of all maybe some pictures:

So as you can see, my GPU isn't symmetrical either. I just cut of a little piece of the case and was able to fit in the GPU without modding the I/O. Maybe its not as clean as 's, but its working fine for me.
Also i added 2x 140mm fans, so in my opinion there is no need for the 60mm ones.... there is simly already so much airflow! I tested it, as you maybe can see on the first picture in the right corner, but its not worth it.

Just wanted to say something to the PCI riser... Maybe I'm just very unlucky, or stupid, but I ordered a 40$ ( https://www.moddiy.com/products/Premium-Gold-Plated-16x-PCI%2dE-Extension-Shielded-Cable-Riser-(30cm).html ) but I got heavy lags under load. So I decided to invest some more money and got the HD plex one ( http://www.hd-plex.com/HDPLEX-Silicon-PCIEx16-3.0-Flexible-Riser.html ) for another 35$, but it wasn't working... no signal at all.. I ordered another one, same result. Pc wasnt even starting. thought i broke my GPU... inbetween all these riser changes i used a really cheap one from ebay, just added some aluminium tape and insulating tape. That was the only solution, thats was working fine. Its simply not that nice looking and a bit thick, but I'm still able to place 2 SSDs underneath the GPU.

Nothing against HD-Plex! They are doing great work and obviously the riser is working for other people. maybe something is wrong with my GPU... i dont know.

I hpoe i could help you out a bit. If you need more pictures feel free to ask (sorry for the messy look inside the case... after changing the riser 100 times i was a little bit frustrated. maybe I will change the SSDs soon, then I will add a cleaner look )

Have fun!

That looks awesome, btw. Great job!

 

[Runamok81]

@jottwehh Ahh yes, the upgraded MC600 version! Love your build. BTW it is just as clean. Very nice. I'm envious of those 140mm cutouts. They just feel better on the case. Skillfull mods too. Your chassis mods open up the case for ALL Mini GPUs! This is huge. Both @zovc and I will want to pick your brain on modding/cutting the back chassis. I've got a Gigabyte 1070 Mini sitting on shelf. Teach us!

Low profile 6-pin PCIe - ModDIY has them. There are also some on eBay. I have a pair on the shelf I could send your way. PM address.

PCIe Riser - Yes, I did use tinfoil tape and vinyl, but I am now using a riser from LiHeat and very happy. Great product. It's been 2.5 years, so I've got one of their original designs. They've since made several improvements. @yawacool [Li-Heat] is in this thread. Maybe he can contribute?

60mm fans - Agreed with jottwehh - Not required. Marginal benefit. 60x10mm doesn't push that much CFM. At full bore they can be loud. Yes, they are still installed in my rig, but are optional. Testing they made a 2 degree difference. There's that much delta in GPU fan selection.

How do you plan on powering it? Cable management is huge. Bending, stuffing, and hiding extra wires eats up space quick. I threaded a lot of mine around the top "crown" of the chassis. The chassis bend which the lid rests on. Sealed down with electrical tape all around.
If you go HDPlex they have a short wire kit. Look into custom wires where possible.

 

[eth0lo]

Hi, I also have mc600 currently, here are my two cents

1. The case with the top cover runs very hot (80ºC) under low load (gaming at 1080p MKX, SFV, D3), so definitely need some kind of ventilation on the top; my cpu is I5 6400.
2. For better cable management remove the fan holders on the side, this way you can push further down to the left the hd-plex (I have the 250 first version). If you plan to use the included pcie holder then removing the fans are mandatory otherwise the hdplex won't fit.
3. You need a short GPU ex. the MSI 1050 ti won't fit with the shroud, instead a evga 1050ti fits perfectly fine
4. Temps for the GPU in my setup are normal, that's without any ventilation at the bottom, basically I'm running the default config for the GPU (fan pointing down).
5. I use a dell 330 for my setup (I know overkill), I moded the case at the middle (between io shileld and the gpu) to make their center hole bigger and plug from there instead from the left or top.

I can't upload pictures, since I have my system packed now.

 

[zovc]

Hey I just realized you and I are practically using the same motherboard, @Runamok81! I have the Z97E-ITX/ac, it was one of the only ITX Z97 boards I could get my hands on and so far it seems pretty nice. Are you still using tinfoil tape with your new LiHeat riser cable?

At this point, I'm kind of waiting to get my hands on everything to see how it can come together. Looking at the pictures from these two builds gives me way more confidence that I can tackle the project, though.

I'm waiting to hear back from that machine shop to see what they think they can do (if anything), and for how much. I probably can cut holes for the fans and hack away at my own PCI plates, I just really don't have confidence in my ability to do the job cleanly by hand. And I don't have access to my own tools.

I have no idea how I'm going to power the computer. I'm assuming that an external brick will be necessary since I'm trying to power a GTX 1070, along with an i7-4790K. Is that red 4-pin rectangular port on the back where you plug your power connector, Runamok?

It's pretty interesting that your GPU has good thermals in the 'normal' orientation, @eth0lo. I think it might be because of how efficient the GTX 1050/Ti is, Palit even offers a passively cooled version!