Completed Lone Industries L5 - 4.6L Mini ITX

[Lone]

Thanks for your feedback.

If the G-Unique unit was more readily available do you think that would have affected your choice? It is so much more compact both in size and in wiring. I understand 19V AC adapters are a little more compact.

With the single 2.5” mount, if it were higher it may allow more room, at least for wiring underneath the drive. Not sure if you’d be able to mount anything thicker without hitting some component on motherboard. Not sure if that makes sense?

 

[smitty2k1]

Thanks for your feedback.

If the G-Unique unit was more readily available do you think that would have affected your choice? It is so much more compact both in size and in wiring. I understand 19V AC adapters are a little more compact.

With the single 2.5” mount, if it were higher it may allow more room, at least for wiring underneath the drive. Not sure if you’d be able to mount anything thicker without hitting some component on motherboard. Not sure if that makes sense?

That G Unique unit is awesome and it would be really cool if you offered it as an option when purchasing the case! I haven't heard of anyone having problems with his creations, but I personally want to buy products "off the shelf" and not 100% custom as I like to have support and replacement parts more readily available.

If I recall, you only need a few more millimeters to support the meanwell 200w unit

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

Same as what @smitty2k1 said.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

Time for part 2.


Took a bit of work to get the U.2 cable in. I'm also having problems with the USB 3 adapter detecting the Mirco SD card, so I need to figure that out.*

*Edit - Scratch that, I got it working using the timeless method of unplugging it then replugging it. Thinking about using it as a music drive.

Also one other thing, @Lone, I should of mentioned. Next time, could you make the gap between the pcie slots and tiny bit smaller. It's a very tight fit for my displayport cable and I have to nudge it for the pc to detect it.

 

[Lone]

Also one other thing, @Lone, I should of mentioned. Next time, could you make the gap between the pcie slots and tiny bit smaller. It's a very tight fit for my displayport cable and I have to nudge it for the pc to detect it.

Nice work!

Thanks for the feedback regarding the expansion slot and connector insulator interference. The expansion slot cutout follows the official specifications, but the thickness of the case material is thicker than spec (1.5mm / approx 1.8mm with powder coating), which can be an issue for some connectors. The material in that area is already minimal and a weak spot. I will take a look at some of the DisplayPort cables I have and see if there's anything I can do, or if any of them fit better than another.

 

[ebc92]

@Lone I noticed the planned april batch has been postponed. Is there any new ETA to go by?

 

[Lone]

@Lone I noticed the planned april batch has been postponed. Is there any new ETA to go by?

Nothing yet, but it is something I am working on.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

Good news, the DELOCK 63917 adapter with the DELOCK 84945 cable works. Bought a 64GB B+M SATA-3 M.2 off Ebay for under £10 to test. So if anyone wants a sneaky way of adding another SATA-3 drive to your Lone L5 with a 2 slot GPU, that's how you do it. Just bare in mind screwing in the drive is a massive pain.


Also here's how my current cable management is going...

Will be testing the M.2 to OCuLink to U.2 setup hopefully soonish. Planning on getting either the Micron 7300 or WD SN640 at some point, I want to know if this works before making that kind of investment.

 

[staircase]

my asus strix has a m2 in the back of the mobo. i am planning to add a second storage drive there but worry if the temperature would be too high since it lacks air circulation.


i also want to minimize cables. would something like th3se work?

 

[smitty2k1]

my asus strix has a m2 in the back of the mobo. i am planning to add a second storage drive there but worry if the temperature would be too high since it lacks air circulation.


i also want to minimize cables. would something like th3se work?

Looks OK and the price is right. Give it a go?
Do note that it only works with SATA M.2 drives and not PCIe/NVMe drives according to the description.

 

[Lone]

my asus strix has a m2 in the back of the mobo. i am planning to add a second storage drive there but worry if the temperature would be too high since it lacks air circulation.

i also want to minimize cables. would something like th3se work?

I would test out the M.2 on the back first. If you are using any case fans I think you'll find the temps are good.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

my asus strix has a m2 in the back of the mobo. i am planning to add a second storage drive there but worry if the temperature would be too high since it lacks air circulation.


i also want to minimize cables. would something like th3se work?

Seeing as this something I've been exploring, I will give you a quick summary. But before I start as the others say, you might not need to do this.

If you want to move the drive, you want this ADTLink R44SF adapter.


It works with NVMe and the 15cm/20cm cable should get the job done. Move it under the GPU like I did with the DELOCK 63917 SATA adapter. You should also have room to add a large heatsink. Although I've only been able to find adapters that go up to 2280 (22110 is only really enterprise use).

Your other option is to use M.2 to OCuLink to U.2 connectors like I have done, but I would not recommend it for you. As you can see it adds cables and the adapters are not cheap. I'm only going down this way because I plan on using a U.2 drive due to the amount of endurance they have and for the enterprise features. It's going to have client work on it, no games. Plus U.2 is very expensive.

Hope that helps.

 

[Lone]

I have a couple questions for anyone who has purchased or would like to purchase the L5:

1. Why did you choose the L5?

2. If there were a larger version of the L5 (sandwich style, 17-19mm wider) that only added support for a standard height graphics card, what would you choose?

 

[MvKeinen]

1. I have chosen the L5 because it is perfect for my workflow. I carry it every day from my home into the musicstudio and back. I have monitors at both places, so sticking it into my backpack is no effort at all. It's really small but it doesn't try to be the smallest which is good because you have enough space for aircooling of powerful CPUs. Especially in my case as I don't use a dedicated GPU.

2. I still would choose the small version. Sooner or later I will need a powerful graphics card for 3d realtime visualisation. But that would be something in the range of rtx2080. As soon as there is a intel mini-itx MOBO with full range TB3 I will add an eGPU case to the L5. That way I can decide if I can leave the eGPU at home or not.

... but that just me, very niche I guess :-)

 

[August]

1. Why did you choose the L5?

2. If there were a larger version of the L5 that only added support for a standard height graphics card, what would you choose?

Maybe not the most useful/representative data point (as a business user), but thought I'd chime in, nonetheless.

1. Size, understated design, compatibility. At any given point, I'm apt to maintain three machines: a laptop for taking on the road or working in-house somewhere; a workstation for our home office; and a PC for fun/gaming (still SFF, but apt to include something weird, like water cooling). My ability to work is not contingent upon high-performance graphics, and I don't need hardware acceleration beyond basic OS features, but a fast disk and CPU make things much more enjoyable. I expect to have the L5 for the next few iterations of my workstation—if my needs change, I'll be able to swap out cooling, power, and storage solutions.

2. Granted I will only ever need an APU, I don't see the need for additional space—unless it opened up the possibility for alternate cooling (i.e. dimensions at the front or bottom allowed for a radiator)!

In some respects, the L5 helped me realize how little a discrete GPU mattered in my day-to-day. I was able to shave off a couple hundred bucks from the build, and focus instead on simplicity + silence.

Hope you're well! ?

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

@Lone

1. Simplicity, portability, looks, noise and the fact it has two 92mm fan mounts up at the front.
2. I would consider the larger version on the condition that it had support for a HDPLEX 400W and I could transfer my current build to it as is. I have a Cintiq Pro 13 and having access to a GPU that has a VirtualLink (Type-C) connector would be a godsend for me. Means I can dump the awkward Wacom Link connector I currently have taped on my case.


I'm guessing this larger version would have the GPU on its side?

 

[Lone]

I'm guessing this larger version would have the GPU on its side?

I'm considering a sandwich design similar to what I believe was popularized by the Dan Cases A4. There's a ton of these cases out there now. I was just thinking of supporting external power supplies, but I would consider HDPLEX AC-DC support. The CPU cooler height would be reduced however, and that would make cooling higher performance CPUs a little more difficult.

Maybe I should open this question up to the forum, as it makes sense that those who purchased the L5 probably didn't need a standard height GPU, otherwise they would've picked a different case.

 

[Lone]

Here's a visual size comparison:

110 mm (left), 94 mm (right)

 

[August]

I'm considering a sandwich design similar to what I believe was popularized by the Dan Cases A4. There's a ton of these cases out there now. I was just thinking of supporting external power supplies, but I would consider HDPLEX AC-DC support. The CPU cooler height would be reduced however, and that would make cooling higher performance CPUs a little more difficult.

Maybe I should open this question up to the forum, as it makes sense that those who purchased the L5 probably didn't need a standard height GPU, otherwise they would've picked a different case.

The L5 form factor is special, in that there aren't many bespoke half-height / APU enclosures. J-Hack has the Pure (or Pure X?), but for the size, the Flex PSU is unnecessary (well, I s'pose some might argue that it being self-contained is nice, but I'd much rather reach for silent + discrete AC-DC and DC-DC components, even if that means having a brick). It also has the same fabrication problems as the Velka cases, wherein in the bends haven't been hidden.

FWIW, I think your aesthetic sensibilities and smart engineering would be welcome in the sandwich-verse, but it's also a crowded space with compromise on virtually every axis.

Casting a wider net for feedback (i.e. “Why did you *not* choose the L5”) may be more enlightening—I've gotten a sense that a lot of builders here did a bit of self-discovery in the process of building in the L5, rather than coming to it with a laundry-list of needs, or just transplanting some another case… and aren't solely focused on space-optimization, favoring proper cooling, quiet, etc. over shaving off a millimeter here and there.

Edit: What size fans, for the render, above? 92mm?

 

[Lone]

The L5 form factor is special, in that there aren't many bespoke half-height / APU enclosures. J-Hack has the Pure (or Pure X?), but for the size, the Flex PSU is unnecessary (well, I s'pose some might argue that it being self-contained is nice, but I'd much rather reach for silent + discrete AC-DC and DC-DC components, even if that means having a brick). It also has the same fabrication problems as the Velka cases, wherein in the bends haven't been hidden.

FWIW, I think your aesthetic sensibilities and smart engineering would be welcome in the sandwich-verse, but it's also a crowded space with compromise on virtually every axis.

Casting a wider net for feedback (i.e. “Why did you *not* choose the L5”) may be more enlightening—I've gotten a sense that a lot of builders here did a bit of self-discovery in the process of building in the L5, rather than coming to it with a laundry-list of needs, or just transplanting some another case… and aren't solely focused on space-optimization, favoring proper cooling, quiet, etc. over shaving off a millimeter here and there.

Thank you! It's nice to know people are choosing the L5 for similar reasons to me.

Edit: What size fans, for the render, above? 92mm?

Those would be for 92 mm fans.