Completed MJOLNIR: The minimalistic – but not boring – 9.7L Case

[Shinken1]

There's this little thing in 2020 that happened called COVID-19, just sayin'...

I agree the team have been really “nice & friendly” with their communication.
Alex & the team knew months ago that their cases would arrive in winter but were happy with lightning arriving last minute - not great, I’d have thought Alex would have expected delays by now.

The final cases have been in their possession for weeks now & we’ve only had a handful of pictures.
Considering the good communication the team have previously had I find this quite concerning.

 

[AlexTzone]

Production has been on a while now, so the lighting and pictures are not delaying actual case manufacturing. However, this lighting stuff takes too long so we’ll do the best we can with what we have and post an update in 3 days. Apart from small areas-of-improvement we’ve already fixed for production, the cases are flawless.

 

[BAS1C]

Production has been on a while now, so the lighting and pictures are not delaying actual case manufacturing. However, this lighting stuff takes too long so we’ll do the best we can with what we have and post an update in 3 days. Apart from small areas-of-improvement we’ve already fixed for production, the cases are flawless.

Great to hear. Looking forward to the pics. I think your backers will really appreciate pics now, even if the lighting isn’t PERFECT. The cases will/should speak for themselves

 

[N9neBreak3r]

Money is on their hands a year ago and they don't have any pressure more than a couple of forum comments so... They can assure pictures, Gen4 risers, delivery times, etc... and don't comply anything as nothing will happen...
As they have neve kept they word I won't be expecting the case anytime soon (before new Chinese year they say... Hahahah)

The factory doesn't get the full amount of money until production is complete. The factory wants that money on their books before Chinese new year. The cases will get done before then. Its obvious the cases are in final production based on the pictures shared. I fully expect this goal to be met simply based on the evidence and the factory wanting to get paid.

 

[AlexTzone]

The factory doesn't get the full amount of money until production is complete. The factory wants that money on their books before Chinese new year. The cases will get done before then. Its obvious the cases are in final production based on the pictures shared. I fully expect this goal to be met simply based on the evidence and the factory wanting to get paid.

This is more or less exactly the reasoning of our main factory! Thus far they have been very up front and clear with everything.

We still have to complete certification (CE, FCC) and shipping logistics, then everything is done. If anyone has experience that they think can help, please DM us. We’re so close to the finish line now guys.

 

[uber_shnitz]

I think there's a disctinction between "press photos" (so photos more for official things like KS updates) and maybe casual ones you can snap with your phone. I'm not sure what exactly people want to see (as we had an update of the latest production samples) but maybe it'd be ok if you considered taking requests for photos and just snapping them with your phone.

Changes in the project happen. The Gen4 riser was put to a vote if memory serves and the majority was ok with going Gen3 given the situation. Whether you personally believe it shouldn't have been an issue is another matter, but the issue was brought forth and resolved. There was the bigger scare with the case not being forged/unibody way back when which was also resolved. I'm not saying KS projects can't be criticized, but I think we need to understand how difficult sometimes some of these projects are.

 

[N9neBreak3r]

We still have to complete certification (CE, FCC)

In the instance that you are unable to get the certifications completed by the end of production, will the cases still ship? Or does certification have to be completed before shipping can begin?

 

[AlexTzone]

In the instance that you are unable to get the certifications completed by the end of production, will the cases still ship? Or does certification have to be completed before shipping can begin?

No, it’s a legal requirement before importing into EU/US. So certification has to be completed. Good thing is that there’s not a lot to test.

 

[YdderMkIV]

No, it’s a legal requirement before importing into EU/US. So certification has to be completed. Good thing is that there’s not a lot to test.

I apologize for the snark earlier, but again, you are being wayyyyy too optimisitc in how smoothly and quickly things are proceeding.

We still have to complete certification (CE, FCC) and shipping logistics, then everything is done. If anyone has experience that they think can help, please DM us. We’re so close to the finish line now guys.

It seems like you haven't looked too deeply into the certification process so far. It's good that you're looking for help. But even I remember @Alloy Craft talking about the issues you might run into with FCC certification. They seem like they have some experience with the process, and didn't seem to confident in the outcome. This was in mid-October and something that surely should've been looked into at some point in the year since the Kickstarter got funded? Or if not, during the last few months when waiting for production samples etc.

Your going to fail Fcc if you send them one with the window. They will fail it by just looking at it. You might want to skip FCC certifications as they can cost tens of thousands of $. Most small case manufactures don't do FCC testing anyway.

FCC EMC directive title 47 part 15 requires all class A devices to contain any high frequency EMC noise within the chassis. It would fail because glass and plastics are electromagnetically opaque. Meaning the window on the side panel would not contain any of the radiation that the high frequency busses on the motherboard emit. These are regulations that the FCC is very loosely enforcing anymore, if at all. But technically they can enforce them at any time. The fines for infringement are six figures. In your case, unless you are selling prebuilt systems I would skip any sort of regulatory compliance testing. That way you will save yourself around $30,000.

Shortsighted-ness and lack of accounting for issues until they pop-up is a theme with this project that has been recurring far too frequently.
Like others have said, I hope to be proven just a contrarian cynic. Its certainly in my best interest that everything goes smoothly. But you can't blame some of your backers from having some doubts.

 

[N9neBreak3r]

I'm no expert in this, but how do all those cases on ali express get sold and shipped to the USA and EU countries when they don't have any certification? They don't seem to have any problems. I wouldn't want you guys to get into any legal trouble (as I said I'm no expert in this) but from my quick research I've done today, it would seem both FCC and CE certification can take up to 6 weeks optimistically. That would put us outside of the Chinese new year ship date. While you guys are exploring certification please check all your options, perhaps for the kickstarter and June pre-orders there is a way to ship without certification as those weren't technically retail, or maybe a waiver can be obtained for them?

 

[AlexTzone]

I'm no expert in this, but how do all those cases on ali express get sold and shipped to the USA and EU countries when they don't have any certification? They don't seem to have any problems. I wouldn't want you guys to get into any legal trouble (as I said I'm no expert in this) but from my quick research I've done today, it would seem both FCC and CE certification can take up to 6 weeks optimistically. That would put us outside of the Chinese new year ship date. While you guys are exploring certification please check all your options, perhaps for the kickstarter and June pre-orders there is a way to ship without certification as those weren't technically retail, or maybe a waiver can be obtained for them?

Most of CE directives in our case can be self-certified without a lab, since all our materials and their origins are well documented. Basically we’re looking at FCC (unintentional radiator) and EMC directive that need a lab test.

Lab test don’t take 6 weeks for simple products like ours, I think what you found included the creation of documentation etc. We just need lab data and just fill in the documentation ourselves.

 

[Paul_the_Octopus]

Most of CE directives in our case can be self-certified without a lab, since all our materials and their origins are well documented. Basically we’re looking at FCC (unintentional radiator) and EMC directive that need a lab test.

Lab test don’t take 6 weeks for simple products like ours, I think what you found included the creation of documentation etc. We just need lab data and just fill in the documentation ourselves.

And when is this lab data going to be available ? Chinese new year is less than a month away alteady.

 

[AlexTzone]

And when is this lab data going to be available ? Chinese new year is less than a month away alteady.

Hopefully about 2 weeks, there are plenty of certified labs in Shenzhen so our goal is to send something to them early this upcoming week. Just need to make sure we send the right stuff (i.e. the lab will happily run tests on a door knob...so we want to make sure to only send what is really necessary).

 

[Hami1tonian]

Are you guys gonna send one to Optimum Tech for review since he has all the hardware that you guys currently don't?

 

[Sazexa]

Is everyone planning on using the 120mm AIO for the CPU? I saw OptimumTech's video where he used the AIO for the GPU and it looks really promising, but with the limited CPU cooler height I'm afraid any air cooling is a no-go for this case (even with V2 performance panels) on any mid-range CPU.

Air cooling is relative to the CPU you're using and how hard you're pushing it. If you're not overclocking (or overclocking hard), and primarily gaming, air cooling is likely more than enough.

I'm planning on running my i9-10900 on a Cryorig C7G cooler with a Noctua NF-A9x14 HS fan. I can almost guarantee that'd be suffiecient for my needs even on that CPU.

 

[For_Science]

Air cooling is relative to the CPU you're using and how hard you're pushing it. If you're not overclocking (or overclocking hard), and primarily gaming, air cooling is likely more than enough.

I'm planning on running my i9-10900 on a Cryorig C7G cooler with a Noctua NF-A9x14 HS fan. I can almost guarantee that'd be suffiecient for my needs even on that CPU.

For me, its about space usage. Converting a 2-2.5 Slot GPU to a 1 slot using a waterblock is one thing, but I cannot think of how to utilize the freed up space in a productive and effective manner. I guess if you were really creative a slim radiator and slim fan could be slid in that area, but then the waterblock would be blocked. And so in my opinion, the space in the GPU compartment is most effectively utilized by the heatsink of the GPU.

On the other hand, the limited CPU cooler height means that no space is being wasted by using a pump/block or a CPU waterblock in that place, and a 120 mm radiator is more likely to be effective than a smaller air cooler. So in my iopinion, you can get the max out of the space allocated by leaving the GPU aircooled, and watercooling the CPU.

 

[AlexTzone]

For me, its about space usage. Converting a 2-2.5 Slot GPU to a 1 slot using a waterblock is one thing, but I cannot think of how to utilize the freed up space in a productive and effective manner. I guess if you were really creative a slim radiator and slim fan could be slid in that area, but then the waterblock would be blocked. And so in my opinion, the space in the GPU compartment is most effectively utilized by the heatsink of the GPU.

On the other hand, the limited CPU cooler height means that no space is being wasted by using a pump/block or a CPU waterblock in that place, and a 120 mm radiator is more likely to be effective than a smaller air cooler. So in my iopinion, you can get the max out of the space allocated by leaving the GPU aircooled, and watercooling the CPU.

You can fill that empty GPU space with lots and lots and lots of 2.5" SSDs haha!

 

[uber_shnitz]

For me, its about space usage. Converting a 2-2.5 Slot GPU to a 1 slot using a waterblock is one thing, but I cannot think of how to utilize the freed up space in a productive and effective manner. I guess if you were really creative a slim radiator and slim fan could be slid in that area, but then the waterblock would be blocked. And so in my opinion, the space in the GPU compartment is most effectively utilized by the heatsink of the GPU.

On the other hand, the limited CPU cooler height means that no space is being wasted by using a pump/block or a CPU waterblock in that place, and a 120 mm radiator is more likely to be effective than a smaller air cooler. So in my iopinion, you can get the max out of the space allocated by leaving the GPU aircooled, and watercooling the CPU.

Well I was thinking more along the lines of a hybrid solution but there haven't been many options along those lines for the newer GPUs that would fit inside the Mjolnir.

 

[MaZo]

Anyone happen to be keeping a list of which RTX 3080 cards will fit (ideally without modding)? Or will that just be the FE and the EVGA XC3 (Black?)?

 

[uber_shnitz]

Anyone happen to be keeping a list of which RTX 3080 cards will fit (ideally without modding)? Or will that just be the FE and the EVGA XC3 (Black?)?

As far as I know those are the only two 3080s that fit out of the box. The Asus TUF is also like 0.7mm over the stated dimensions so maybe you could squeeze it in there.