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Mini ITX build with Noctua-D15 Performance Gaming PC
- Thread starter neyurt
- Start date
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- Tags
- mini itix build
I've gone back to update the broken images. When I first started I was using link but as of late i"ve just copy and paste the pics into the posts directly and those seem to be sticking better.
Let me know if you guys are still having issues!
Let me know if you guys are still having issues!
All images work fine now for me.
Just wanted to say : this is positively fabulous work. Small build that leverages the fact that optical drives and large hard drives are not required (m.2 is plenty) and instead focuses entirely on silent operation while being as small and efficient as possible.
I think you may be misjudging the commercial appeal of such a venture; I for one would almost certainly buy one, for a living room build. If you build the case do that it can also be laid horizontally (don't really see why you couldn't), you'd appeal to an even broader swathe of people.
Keep up the good work - if you ask me, easily one of the most tantalizing projects on here.
Just wanted to say : this is positively fabulous work. Small build that leverages the fact that optical drives and large hard drives are not required (m.2 is plenty) and instead focuses entirely on silent operation while being as small and efficient as possible.
I think you may be misjudging the commercial appeal of such a venture; I for one would almost certainly buy one, for a living room build. If you build the case do that it can also be laid horizontally (don't really see why you couldn't), you'd appeal to an even broader swathe of people.
Keep up the good work - if you ask me, easily one of the most tantalizing projects on here.
Thanks for the encouraging comments! I haven't even thought about commercializing something like this. While my day job is an engineer, business is definitely not my strong suite.
How would I even approach this? Sell a case? Sell a complete product? Get a patent, sell the idea to PC builders?
Update #8 : The "Dark Tower" build
The Dark Rock Pro 4 & TF combo came today so I'd put it together for testing. I call this the "Dark Tower".
With this combo, there's no change in temp performance, if anything the GPU now runs 1C lower! But thats within margin of error so I'd deem the performance the same as the noctua d15 & c14s combo.
But the biggest difference here is obviously the "dark look", it's probably more appealing to most people. AND I was able to shave some about 1L in volume (~1 inch shorter stack and some side space)
The Dark Rock Pro 4 & TF combo came today so I'd put it together for testing. I call this the "Dark Tower".
With this combo, there's no change in temp performance, if anything the GPU now runs 1C lower! But thats within margin of error so I'd deem the performance the same as the noctua d15 & c14s combo.
But the biggest difference here is obviously the "dark look", it's probably more appealing to most people. AND I was able to shave some about 1L in volume (~1 inch shorter stack and some side space)
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BTW - second image above doesn't load for me.
I'm afraid I'm the very least qualified to answer this (business aspect queries). The good news is, several here have done exactly that and are likely in a very good position to offer counsel. I don't think they'd see it as competition - people here generally have a pretty good idea of what they want, so it's either already available (in which case - there's a sale), or not - in which case, it's either in development, or just doesn't exist. But I still maintain that, for a niche group (always the case here!), this concept of yours would be fantastic. I count myself amongst those. Ever since I've seen this concept, I've been REALLY excited about it. My current S4 Mini is fantastic, totally love it - but it's not nearly as silent as I'd like. (Not the case's fault, obviously.) Knowing what I know now, if I had to do it again, I'd prioritize noise and allow the case size to grow a bit to accommodate.
For this crowd, I'd just say offer the case. A complete product wouldn't fly - I only know of one here, and while it seems to me to be a great product, it's perceived as overpriced (can't say I entirely disagree). If you offer the case and specify what its intent is, and what components go it's intended to be used with, people will gladly supply those.
For what it's worth - the Be Quiet! stuff is awesome. =) Even better if the case volume shrinks too!
One last thing : isn't the precise die location on the GPU critical for precise alignment of both coolers? If you're doing this for a broader audience, you might have to find some way to vary the GPU's position vertically a bit. (I'm assuming here that most GPU dies are centered 'vertically', when in a normal horizontal position - so that, in your vertical position, the GPU cooler wouldn't jut out to the side too much if one used a different GPU...if that makes sense.)
Keep it up - this is a rapid development cycle indeed. =)
I'm afraid I'm the very least qualified to answer this (business aspect queries). The good news is, several here have done exactly that and are likely in a very good position to offer counsel. I don't think they'd see it as competition - people here generally have a pretty good idea of what they want, so it's either already available (in which case - there's a sale), or not - in which case, it's either in development, or just doesn't exist. But I still maintain that, for a niche group (always the case here!), this concept of yours would be fantastic. I count myself amongst those. Ever since I've seen this concept, I've been REALLY excited about it. My current S4 Mini is fantastic, totally love it - but it's not nearly as silent as I'd like. (Not the case's fault, obviously.) Knowing what I know now, if I had to do it again, I'd prioritize noise and allow the case size to grow a bit to accommodate.
For this crowd, I'd just say offer the case. A complete product wouldn't fly - I only know of one here, and while it seems to me to be a great product, it's perceived as overpriced (can't say I entirely disagree). If you offer the case and specify what its intent is, and what components go it's intended to be used with, people will gladly supply those.
For what it's worth - the Be Quiet! stuff is awesome. =) Even better if the case volume shrinks too!
One last thing : isn't the precise die location on the GPU critical for precise alignment of both coolers? If you're doing this for a broader audience, you might have to find some way to vary the GPU's position vertically a bit. (I'm assuming here that most GPU dies are centered 'vertically', when in a normal horizontal position - so that, in your vertical position, the GPU cooler wouldn't jut out to the side too much if one used a different GPU...if that makes sense.)
Keep it up - this is a rapid development cycle indeed. =)
I have fixed the pics again, no idea why it kept happening. It'd work one day and fail to load the next.
And thanks for the thoughtful reply, I'd definitely try to see if I can spend some time to design a case not only for myself but maybe it can be put into production for those who wants it. It'd definitely would be a long reach for me since I have no idea on how to get it to that point.
Yah, if I plan to design a case for others I'd definitely would try to make it adaptive for a few GPU design. The alignment of the coolers isn't as critical as it seems because you can place the 2nd fan either in the front as a push configuration or in the back for more of pull configuration. The critical issue is the vertical placement of the die in reference to the PCB. For example, the die on the gtx 10 series is closer to the pcie mounting bracket whereas the rtx series is more to the opposite direction which makes it sit closer to the mid-point of the pcb. It's some I'd definitely test and model if I were to design a case for others to use.
Update #9.
I made some effort toward case design today as performance testing is paused until I get Li-Heat PCIE riser that he's gracefully offered.
For simplicity, here's a first draft of the case design:
Here is a "frame design", the internal skeleton of the case. The red plate is what the GPU will be mounted directly to, it can have various mounting holes for different type of GPU models. I will need to work that out when testing different card. The mounting bracket then will be screw and attached to the frame.
Also, not included in the above pic, I think the top part of the front (opposite the PSU) is a good place to mount a few SSD or 1 HD if that is ever needed. That's one of the few "dead space" inside the tightly fitted rig.
I haven't gone too far with with the external panels yet, I will continue to work on various design of panels that can be attached to this skeleton/framework to form a finished case.
I made some effort toward case design today as performance testing is paused until I get Li-Heat PCIE riser that he's gracefully offered.
For simplicity, here's a first draft of the case design:
Here is a "frame design", the internal skeleton of the case. The red plate is what the GPU will be mounted directly to, it can have various mounting holes for different type of GPU models. I will need to work that out when testing different card. The mounting bracket then will be screw and attached to the frame.
Also, not included in the above pic, I think the top part of the front (opposite the PSU) is a good place to mount a few SSD or 1 HD if that is ever needed. That's one of the few "dead space" inside the tightly fitted rig.
I haven't gone too far with with the external panels yet, I will continue to work on various design of panels that can be attached to this skeleton/framework to form a finished case.
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are you going to support some of the weight of the heatsinks to the chassis? o_o I kinda worry about the heft of the GPU cooler exerting its weight around the GPU die mounting point
also don't forget to look at the PCIe slot later, I think the GPU is directly above the socket as of now? (it's probably a rough sketch, but don't forget, LOL)
also don't forget to look at the PCIe slot later, I think the GPU is directly above the socket as of now? (it's probably a rough sketch, but don't forget, LOL)
Update #9.
I made some effort toward case design today as performance testing is paused until I get Li-Heat PCIE riser that he's gracefully offered.
For simplicity, here's a first draft of the case design:
Here is a "frame design", the internal skeleton of the case. The red plate is what the GPU will be mounted directly to, it can have various mounting holes for different type of GPU models. I will need to work that out when testing different card. The mounting bracket then will be screw and attached to the frame.
Also, not included in the above pic, I think the top part of the front (opposite the PSU) is a good place to mount a few SSD or 1 HD if that is ever needed. That's one of the few "dead space" inside the tightly fitted rig.
I haven't gone too far with with the external panels yet, I will continue to work on various design of panels that can be attached to this skeleton/framework to form a finished case.
hmm... just a thought: turn the gpu cooler 90 degrees and line up all the fans and move the psu under the motherboard, better airflow and no need for gpu output routing? the cpu cooler just seems to be choking a little, otherwise looks good!
All great v
Can't move the GPU&heatsink 90 because that add a lot of empty space to the front (due to how long the GPU cards are), moving the PSU under also add extra space ( PSU is roughly 63x125mm whereas the motherboard is 170*170. Doing both will at lot more volume to the rig without any meaningful way to use up those empty space.
So currently in the current design, CPU is pulling hot air upward through the bottom heatsink and into the GPU heatsink to "meet" the parallel stream of air from the front of the case and immediately exist through the back .This is done by design.
Also note that the PSU is also pulling a bit of hot air into its fan when it's running and that also helps a bit with exhausting hot air through the PSU exhaust.
I'll add an airflow diagram eventually to visualize this.
All great concerns and I'm planning to address them as I encounter the intimate issues while I attempt to build the case
A sturdy plate "should" give the pcb extra support to held up the giant heatsink. But you might be correct that I might need extra support directly to the case to prevent sagging overtime.
Regarding the pcie slot and riser placements, this is something I plan to play around with a bit more when I get the LiHeat cable in the mail. That flexibility will largely dependent on how foldable the LiHeat cables are. But I know what your concern is, pcie riser is definitely not fun to play with lol.
Added Update #11 - Li-Heat Pcie cables
Added Update #12 - V3 using pcie cable
Added Update #12 - V3 using pcie cable
Amazing work!
Did you by any chance see this as inspiration?
I saw an older video of his where he was using a d14 on a 980 ti and that's when I got the idea. Someone else linked me this video at a much later time but it's equally impressive. I really like his mods and I think I'm more of DIY type guy just like he is, in contrast to the more mainstream modding community.
