Completed Lone Industries L5 - 4.6L Mini ITX

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
Hi @Lone

Just writing there to thank you. This is the most amazing case I had the chance to play around with.
I was lucky enough to purchase it at at a great price from a fellow french SFF lover (also ringing @GuilleAcoustic :)

The case is housing a secondary workstation from leftover parts, that I can easily carry around. To do so, I had to find a way to fit an internal PSU, while keeping the 80mm fans and a dGPU.
WITHOUT MODIFYING THE CASE !

The solution came from an AIO 180W Platinum PSU, namely Lite-On PS-2181-08 and a Weipu SF12 AC connector, which perfectly fits into the original 13 mm diamater hole.




Parts are as follow :

Case : Lone L5 Black
MOBO : DFI CR101-D
CPU : i7 3630QM
CPU Cooler : modded Zalman VF900
GPU : Palit GT 1030 (soon to be replaced by a Radeon Pro WX4100). Fan has been modded to be controlled manually. Unbearable otherwise.
STORAGE : 1TB WD Blue SSD
RAM : HyperX Impact HX316LS9IBK2/8
PSU : Lite-On PS-2181-08 and a Weipu SF12 AC connector
FANS: Noctua Chromax 2x NF-A8 PWM




Some temperature results : after 20 min of OCCT (20°C ambiant temp), CPU temp is stable @ 70°C while the GPU remains at a steady 61°C.

All fans are fed with 5V straight from the onboard Molex connector, since the mobo does not offer PWM control (the PWM fans came with the case).
5V = pretty silent system.



Some poor pics of this little build :






 

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122


Received the custom Schuko to WEIPU connector for the HDPLEX AC-DC brick from Solidstrands today. Really looking forward to building in the case without having to grind a part of the PCI slots away ?

I had not seen not that you were the first to use a Weipu connector @robinpfeiffer !

I found this one after spending hours searching for the right connector.
I did not trust noname GX12 connectors from Amazon to withstand 230V AC.
 

Lone

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Lone Industries
Feb 25, 2015
731
1,248
loneindustries.com
Hi @Lone

Just writing there to thank you. This is the most amazing case I had the chance to play around with.
I was lucky enough to purchase it at at a great price from a fellow french SFF lover (also ringing @GuilleAcoustic :)

The case is housing a secondary workstation from leftover parts, that I can easily carry around. To do so, I had to find a way to fit an internal PSU, while keeping the 80mm fans and a dGPU.
WITHOUT MODIFYING THE CASE !

The solution came from an AIO 180W Platinum PSU, namely Lite-On PS-2181-08 and a Weipu SF12 AC connector, which perfectly fits into the original 13 mm diamater hole.

@aquelito You're welcome! Thank you for posting your amazing build. :)

I've added the Weipu SF12 connector to the website.
 

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
Alternatively, you could use the slightly beefier and cheaper Weipu SP13 (OEM also sold by Bulkin, Cliff, etc.) :


For those who do not want to solder anything, you could also place a pushbutton switch like the Switchcraft 913X into the 13 mm diameter bottom hole and slightly enlarge the original switch 16 mm hole to get a panel mount IEC C6 connector to fit :




BTW, do you understand the wiring schematic of the 913X switch ?
 

Lone

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Lone Industries
Feb 25, 2015
731
1,248
loneindustries.com
@aquelito not sure about that switch wiring. If you wanted a switch like the original you could use a 12mm anti vandal switch like the Langir L12. I'm not sure if it's available in black though.
 

Analogue Blacksheep

King of Cable Management
Dec 2, 2018
831
688
Anyone using a Gigabyte A520 or B550 ITX board with a HDPLEX 200W DC-ATX? Does it clash with the front 25mm fans?
 
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deeeeeeeeee

Caliper Novice
Aug 21, 2020
25
11
@Lone hopefully you would be able to find that motivation again. NFC has recently announced their S4T and to be honest i find this case more versatile for most people's APU purposes, plus the minimalistic design of this case is absolutely lovely. maybe you could consider a small production run with a higher price instead of letting this die
 

vlad1966

Average Stuffer
Sep 21, 2017
57
31
@Lone hopefully you would be able to find that motivation again. NFC has recently announced their S4T and to be honest i find this case more versatile for most people's APU purposes, plus the minimalistic design of this case is absolutely lovely. maybe you could consider a small production run with a higher price instead of letting this die
Ditto please - count me in for another one - like a dummy I sold the last one i had & have been regretting it ever since.
 

Lone

King of Cable Management
Original poster
Lone Industries
Feb 25, 2015
731
1,248
loneindustries.com
@Lone hopefully you would be able to find that motivation again. NFC has recently announced their S4T and to be honest i find this case more versatile for most people's APU purposes, plus the minimalistic design of this case is absolutely lovely. maybe you could consider a small production run with a higher price instead of letting this die

Thank you! Part of my problem is I keep thinking I want to improve the design somehow, but haven't had any inspiration as to how. I have considered making the left and right side covers the same/interchangeable, with the split in the center. This should reduce costs, but would mean there would be a vent on both sides. Not sure how I feel about that.

I must say, I really like the S4T. I'd consider buying one myself if the price isn't too high (which it probably will be).
 

deeeeeeeeee

Caliper Novice
Aug 21, 2020
25
11
@Lone the split down the centre and the vented panels on both sides would definitely take away some of its aesthetic appeal, however i dont see why there is a need to improve on the design, or at least on the outer appearance as it is. perhaps tiny improvements such as supporting more power jacks out of the box or minute improvements like that. as it stands i think the case is close to perfect.

considering that you need an additional S4T on top of the one you've purchased to have a GPU in your system, i dont think it is a viable or cost effective solution for anyone at all to begin with. besides, the way the top and bottom panels of the S4T are affixed into place, there is this horrible scratching on the inner surface of the panels with the screws and chassis on the other side and it majes me cringe every time i close it off
 
Last edited:

GuilleAcoustic

Chief Procrastination Officer
SFFn Staff
LOSIAS
Jun 29, 2015
2,967
4,390
guilleacoustic.wordpress.com
Honestly, there's nothing I'd change about the L5 as it is and the asymetrical side panels is part of its charm. Maybe a metal case badge like the one on the old IBM stuff to push the industrial look even further and an AT style red power switch :D.

Maybe increase its length to fit an HDPLEX400 DC-DC or an AC-DC unit between the motherboard and the front fans, but that wouldn't be an L5 anymore.
 

smitty2k1

King of Cable Management
Dec 3, 2016
967
492
I would say the only thing to add is a way to get an internal PSU + LP GPU. Maybe something smaller than the 200w Meanwell has come about in the last year or so, I haven't been keeping up on my DC PSUs.
 
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Jello

Airflow Optimizer
Nov 15, 2016
376
163
I don't own a case myself. However, I would leave the L5 as is, but apply the aesthetic and design to a different style of case, like a sandwich or shoebox layout. The look of the L5 is a huge part of the appeal, imo.
 
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