Completed Lone Industries L4

[Lone]

Yes, the L4 always had it. Even if it's not used, it allows for swapping different input plates:

I was also going to include a mounting bracket for the HDPLEX 80W and 160W AC-DC units, but I'm not sure about that idea as the mounting holes seem to change with every new release.

 

[iFreilicht]

Well that's the beauty about a design like this, isn't it? If a new version has different mounting holes, someone can easily make a new bracket from a piece of sheet metal with just a saw and a drill.

The two slot version looks very good!

 

[devinkato]

IEC inlet? Going for an internal AC-DC unit in this one?

YESSSSSSS. Power bricks are the devil.

 

[Lone]

Well that's the beauty about a design like this, isn't it? If a new version has different mounting holes, someone can easily make a new bracket from a piece of sheet metal with just a saw and a drill.

The two slot version looks very good!

Yes, I guess so. Thankfully HDPLEX changed the mounting dimensions on the future AC300W to match the AC160W.

YESSSSSSS. Power bricks are the devil.

I prefer them up to a point. Once they start to make your case look small, you start to wonder.

 

[CC Ricers]

I prefer the power to be all internal if possible. Like the way In Win has with their BQ series of cases, they have a space for their own proprietary size PSUs. Similar in proportion to TFX, but smaller.

Maybe he's interested in cramming a 200W 12V PSU into it

http://www.meanwellusa.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=EPP-200

Or more likely the HD-Plex AC160W. That one alone has enough power to run a system with a low profile 1050 Ti.

 

[devinkato]

https://www.techpowerup.com/229427/...force-gtx-1050-ti-and-gtx-1050-graphics-cards !!!!

 

[Lone]

Or more likely the HD-Plex AC160W. That one alone has enough power to run a system with a low profile 1050 Ti.

Yup. It will fit the AC300W also. Using the AC160W or AC300W comes with caveats though. It occupies space normally used for mounting 2.5 inch drives. You can also mount 2.5 inch drives in the bottom, but if you also use a GPU then you might only be able to squeeze one 7 mm 2.5 inch SSD somewhere, or only be able to use M.2. Hope that makes sense.

https://www.techpowerup.com/229427/...force-gtx-1050-ti-and-gtx-1050-graphics-cards !!!!

Yay, another dual slot GPU. The dual slot L4 is only about 5-6 mm taller in height, so it's pretty hard to justify not including the extra slot.

On another topic, what sort of 2.5 inch drive spacing would people prefer? 9.5 mm? 7 mm?

 

[NRG]

Yup. It will fit the AC300W also. Using the AC160W or AC300W comes with caveats though. It occupies space normally used for mounting 2.5 inch drives. You can also mount 2.5 inch drives in the bottom, but if you also use a GPU then you might only be able to squeeze one 7 mm 2.5 inch SSD somewhere, or only be able to use M.2. Hope that makes sense.



Yay, another dual slot GPU. The dual slot L4 is only about 5-6 mm taller in height, so it's pretty hard to justify not including the extra slot.

On another topic, what sort of 2.5 inch drive spacing would people prefer? 9.5 mm? 7 mm?

M.2 NVME

 

[CC Ricers]

I have a m.2 drive also. Probably just need one 2.5" drive and that's it.

Is it possible to attach a single 2.5" on the very top?

 

[Lone]

I have a m.2 drive also. Probably just need one 2.5" drive and that's it.

Is it possible to attach a single 2.5" on the very top?

It would block the top vent. It is possible to put at least one 2.5" drive perpendicular to the front (beside the HDPLEX AC160W).

 

[Stan68]

Since there is an AC300W, any chance in making it dual slots and able to fit a mini GTX1060? And m.2 ssd tend to overheat and shut down, it would be perfect if you can allow a Noctua A4 fan to cool the m.2 ssd. This would make the L4 far more attractive than the Dan's A4 case! Coz at 11-12cm, it'll allow a decent CPU cooler (cooling issues are crippling the A4), but still a lot lighter to carry without the power supply comparing to the A4 and Ncase M1.

 

[Lone]

Since there is an AC300W, any chance in making it dual slots and able to fit a mini GTX1060? And m.2 ssd tend to overheat and shut down, it would be perfect if you can allow a Noctua A4 fan to cool the m.2 ssd. This would make the L4 far more attractive than the Dan's A4 case! Coz at 11-12cm, it'll allow a decent CPU cooler (cooling issues are crippling the A4), but still a lot lighter to carry without the power supply comparing to the A4 and Ncase M1.

The L4 only supports low profile (half height) cards. The NFC S4 Mini would be worth checking out if you haven't already.

 

[Stan68]

The L4 only supports low profile (half height) cards. The NFC S4 Mini would be worth checking out if you haven't already.

The problem with most designs is they try to be as thin as possible, and are happy with idle temp of 70C and 90C at load. This is one of the most common complaint with Mac users. The S4 and A4 share the same problem, but if you consider your target audience is the ones that want something smaller than the Ncase M1 or S4, coz it won't fit in a rucksack, and they won't allow liquid coolers on planes. And not yet realise that for load temp to be 60-70C they will need at least 62cm of CPU cooler clearance, which the A4 and S4 fails in (unless you add a fan outside of the case, and ruin the design). My two cents worth, is that the current L4 will target the unhappy mac mini users, light work, bit of gaming, watch a video or two, and surfing Internet most of the time. And miss a large group of people that are wanting both heavy work load and gaming. Which is a shame for such a good design in the L4. Having said that, the L4 is still a super product, and well done in it!

 

[Lone]

The problem with most designs is they try to be as thin as possible, and are happy with idle temp of 70C and 90C at load. This is one of the most common complaint with Mac users. The S4 and A4 share the same problem, but if you consider your target audience is the ones that want something smaller than the Ncase M1, coz it won't fit in a rucksack, and they won't allow liquid coolers on planes. And not yet realise that for load temp to be 60-70C they will need at least 62cm of CPU cooler clearance, which the A4 fails in. My two cents worth, is that the current L4 will target the unhappy mac mini users, light work, bit of gaming, watch a video or two, and surfing Internet most of the time. And miss all the "rich" people that cost is not really an issue: and wants both heavy work load and gaming. Which is a shame for such a good product like the L4. Having said that, the L4 is still a super product, and we'll done in it!

Unfortunately, I don't have any hands on experience with any of those cases, so I can't really comment. I would be surprised to see 70*C idle temps with a typical build though. You could talk with Josh @ NFC and see if your build would work.

I appreciate your suggestions. I've had others suggest adding support for full height cards a few times over the years. I don't have any plans to support them at this time.

 

[Kmpkt]

Good on you James for knowing your niche and not changing course. @Stan68 if you're keen to get a smaller case with full height support, I suggest checking out the Firewolfy MI-6 or Hutzy XS. Either one should meet your needs depending on the power supply you'd like to use.

 

[Stan68]

Unfortunately, I don't have any hands on experience with any of those cases, so I can't really comment. I would be surprised to see 70*C idle temps with a typical build though. You could talk with Josh @ NFC and see if your build would work.

I appreciate your suggestions. I've had others suggest adding support for full height cards a few times over the years. I don't have any plans to support them at this time.

With a room temp of 34C + i7 quad, 60-70C idle is quite normal

 

[Stan68]

Good on you James for knowing your niche and not changing course. @Stan68 if you're keen to get a smaller case with full height support, I suggest checking out the Firewolfy MI-6 or Hutzy XS. Either one should meet your needs depending on the power supply you'd like to use.

Thank you for the suggestions, but was looking for more compact cases that are not made to house a Sfx power supply. I was never trying to get James to change course, I think he is doing a great job! There is nothing wrong with Mac mini style, must have a big market or else all the big companies won't be making them, like gigabyte brix, Alienware alpha. I was only suggesting to add an extra option (L4 plus) for people that are looking for reasonably portable, yet still powerful with good temps, which nobody seem to have thought of at the moment.

 

[K888D]

With a room temp of 34C + i7 quad, 60-70C idle is quite normal

I wouldn't expect to see 26-36C above ambient temperatures for a modern i7 at idle if the CPU cooler is pulling in air directly through external vents, more like 10-20C which should put you somewhere in the region of 44-54C idle CPU temps.

 

[Stan68]

I wouldn't expect to see 26-36C above ambient temperatures for a modern i7 at idle if the CPU cooler is pulling in air directly through external vents, more like 10-20C which should put you somewhere in the region of 44-54C idle CPU temps.

for the average mini itx 4cm case (and through the years I've collected quite a few) the temp I've been getting: ~45C was outside the case, ~55C inside a case without the cover, >65C with the cover, cryorig C7 gave the best temps, LP53 (slim fan) was second best, Noctua gave the highest temps. Drill a big hole in the cover, add a 12cm fan on top of the C7 will give decent temps, but it's rather ugly. The L4 should have none of these problems, I'm just wondering how powerful is a gtx 1050?

 

[K888D]

~45C was outside the case, ~55C inside a case without the cover, >65C with the cover, cryorig C7 gave the best temps, LP53 a bit worse, Noctua was the worst. Drill a big hole in the cover, add a 12cm fan on top of the C7 will give decent temps

What case are you referring to for getting those temperatures at idle load? If its a completely sealed box without intake vents then I am not surprised as it will just heat up literally in the same way that an oven would.

But if the CPU is drawing through a vent then I am skeptical.