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

Which MJOLNIR I are you interested in?

  • Standard Version - 299 USD

    Votes: 485 74.4%
  • RGB Version (No controller) - 319 USD

    Votes: 63 9.7%
  • RGB Version (With controller) - 349 USD

    Votes: 104 16.0%

  • Total voters
    652

N9neBreak3r

Airflow Optimizer
Jul 17, 2020
349
468
Thanks again for the tips. :) - Didn't know they existed.

Looking forward to seeing your completed build! - Have you settled on a position for your quick-disconnects? Will they be on the back plate or are you positioning them to be closer to your external radiator?
Their going to be about 4 inches off my backplate, just enough room to have slack to disconnect them.
Hoping to have it done Saturday. I have some fittings coming in the mail today that I needed and after I get those it'll be done. Then I have to leak test the pc, I already leak tested the external radiators and pump section and it's good to go. So probably Saturday night will be when I can boot it up for the first time!
 

AlexTzone

I design minimalistic – but not boring – PC stuff
Original poster
THOR ZONE
Silver Supporter
Sep 23, 2017
1,349
2,825
thor-zone.com

Advertising photo

Photo of the item I received

Anodizing color is very different. to be disappointing

That does indeed look a bit different. The one on top is almost white and on the bottom it is more of a silver / grey.
I know that it is very difficult to take photos with accurate colors and obviously the lighting and also the monitor play a significant role.
Maybe the photo Alex took was just not accurate color-wise or postprocessed, or the anodization is different.

First of all, very sad to hear you’re disappointed :/

White anodizing unfortunately doesn’t exist, and that Steel looks almost white under many lighting conditions (natural light, morning light, etc). Just yesterday someone thought we had a white MJOLNIR on the weight scale, but it was just steel in morning light. I posted a pic here comparing it to a silver MacBook and the results were very similar, aka silver. Also I didn’t know much about cameras and exposures when the first pic was taken (nor did I have any studio equipment, lighting etc) — you have to be well beyond professional to take a near 100% color-accurate photo. I have that original part still and comparing it to steel today it’s basically identical.

The manuals have probably the most accurate version of Steel I’ve taken to date: https://thor-zone.com/manuals/TZ-MJ1-UM_eng.pdf

I apologize deeply if you had a different color in mind :/ For what it’s worth, thank you for posting a pic of Steel, happy to see one in the field and IMO it’s very beautiful.
 
Last edited:

OshanTama

Cable Smoosher
May 21, 2021
10
8
I received the Mjolnir Stealth yesterday.

I know you are new to the sff market.
So, some defects (3~4) in the internal parts are not a problem.
I think it could happen because you are new to everything. I'm fine with it.

However,

defect(5mm * 1.5mm) on external part(unibody) is not acceptable.
what do you think?
 

AlexTzone

I design minimalistic – but not boring – PC stuff
Original poster
THOR ZONE
Silver Supporter
Sep 23, 2017
1,349
2,825
thor-zone.com
I received the Mjolnir Stealth yesterday.

I know you are new to the sff market.
So, some defects (3~4) in the internal parts are not a problem.
I think it could happen because you are new to everything. I'm fine with it.

However,

defect(5mm * 1.5mm) on external part(unibody) is not acceptable.
what do you think?

Yeah that's a very noticeable mark! :( Please email us rather than writing here, as this is something we need to keep track of and fix (which isn't something I can do here).
 

AlexTzone

I design minimalistic – but not boring – PC stuff
Original poster
THOR ZONE
Silver Supporter
Sep 23, 2017
1,349
2,825
thor-zone.com
Small update, it seems a couple of screws were found again and we’ve assembled 28:
• MJOLNIR S in Steel w. Performance panels and Kickstarter bonuses.

Booking them for shipping later today, now the screws are really finished. But we’ve got new ones coming in on June 25:th.
 
Last edited:

keepcoding

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 16, 2019
121
134
blog.keepcoding.ch
Yeah that's a very noticeable mark! :( Please email us rather than writing here, as this is something we need to keep track of and fix (which isn't something I can do here).

How many reports of external defects were there so far? If I'm not mistaken here in the forum there were only 2 with scratches and 1 or 2 with color mismatch (which would mean ~1%). Have there been more complaints?
 
  • Like
Reactions: N9neBreak3r

hoanghiep2111

Caliper Novice
Jan 25, 2019
21
48
How many reports of external defects were there so far? If I'm not mistaken here in the forum there were only 2 with scratches and 1 or 2 with color mismatch (which would mean ~1%). Have there been more complaints?
Technically I have an external defects too, although not as bad as those other example.


In this picture you can see a black scratches/nicks/hanging point? at the corner of the front facia. I tried to wipe it away but it's deep in the metal. I'm not sure if it's due to the anodization process and that's where they're hanging it from or what but since it's at the very front of the case it's pretty noticeable.
 

hoanghiep2111

Caliper Novice
Jan 25, 2019
21
48
Also it's probably the lighting, I honestly can't confirm since my Mjolnir is now somewhere deep inside my garage but one of my side panel is not matching very well.


 

cwolf

Cable Smoosher
Jun 2, 2021
11
32
Hi guys! me again. Having some issues with my PSU leaning against the side and bottom panels, which seems attributable to the bracket only being held in by two small screws that aren't quite up to the task. Every time I check in, the screws have loosened. Anyone have any tips for keeping the PSU in place and flush with the case?
 

AlexTzone

I design minimalistic – but not boring – PC stuff
Original poster
THOR ZONE
Silver Supporter
Sep 23, 2017
1,349
2,825
thor-zone.com
How many reports of external defects were there so far? If I'm not mistaken here in the forum there were only 2 with scratches and 1 or 2 with color mismatch (which would mean ~1%). Have there been more complaints?

Over email we've gotten something like 2 more with small scratches w. factory origin and 1 which was caused because the package got punctured during transit. 99% of all defects are either magnets, plastic bits or both.

A tricky one is panel-mismatch, because sometimes there's a problem with the anodizing and other times it's simply because of tolerances and how light bounces on 2 adjacent "flat" objects. Let me get down into the details:

First check these pics. Looks nice yeah?

Now let's look at the exact same case but with strong direct point light (i.e. a nearby incandescent bulb or a phone camera):





You can see that the anodizing between the Shell and the Panels is much closer in the green area versus the red area. The color is obviously the same on the whole panel and the shell, but there is a gradient on the shell that is absent on the panel. The closer and stronger your point light is to both parts the stronger the gradient difference becomes, hence why you see almost no difference when looking at that case in broad daylight (the lighting is very far away...i.e. the sun) but it starts to emerge when having a strong lamp right above it.

This happens because the Shell is less "flat" than the panels, i.e. flatness is a type of tolerance that affects all parts but most notably extrusions. Since the Shell is a very big aluminium profile it's affected a lot more than the relatively small and thin panels. Most notably this would be visible comparing Panels vs Shell along the length of the case (since this is the largest dimension). So even a fully acceptable 0.5-1mm flatness error over 350mm could lead to such "mismatch" when viewed under direct & close-by light source.

Here's an example I've got from a user over email:



Once again, match at the center but difference at the ends (because Shell curves more than the Panels).

Below example from @TerryUSA is actually very hard to judge, because it's very pronounced:



Now this may actually be a faulty anodizing for real, but still, we similar things happening here (i.e. match at the center and difference at the ends). It would help if we could see a "360" video (or photos) of it in broad daylight.

If I remember correctly, the flatness-tolerances for a rectangular extrusion are like below (mega exaggerated). The bigger the aluminium profile the more you'll suffer from this (also the reason we're vary about making a huge MJOLNIRs XXXL for ATX).



Apple has a pretty cool method to deal with this, basically take a picture of every part and let an algo match them up so the difference is as close as possible. But we're obviously not Apple and to make an aluminium extrusion the size of the shell be flat within <0.5mm over 350mm would cost a gazillion dollars and price out 99% of everybody who's got a MJOLNIR thus far. One solution is to not have removable panels and just CNC them directly into the Shell, this would eliminate the possibility of this happening by 100%...but it would also remove any possibility to mix/swap panels and potential for future addons for the sides. We unfortunately seek perfection in an imperfect world and try to achieve it with the tools that are available to us under the budget we have. If you have experience with extrusion you'll know just how ridiculously precise that unibody Shell is, we've basically searched the globe trying to find someone to match our extrusion requirements.
 
Last edited:

beerbuddha

Cable-Tie Ninja
Apr 27, 2021
222
213
Hi guys! me again. Having some issues with my PSU leaning against the side and bottom panels, which seems attributable to the bracket only being held in by two small screws that aren't quite up to the task. Every time I check in, the screws have loosened. Anyone have any tips for keeping the PSU in place and flush with the case?
im having a bit of that issue too (then again I've been bending it because of cables) i noticed that there are some FLAT screws on the side of the GPU you can lock in. take a look at that.
 

saonexus

Caliper Novice
Nov 29, 2020
27
42
Planning to use this to make sure Mjolnir is protected during transport. If you guys are able to find better form fitting options in the future, please let me know.

Apache 4800 protective case

3D-printed name plate (Apologies for poor painting skills, this was the best I could do.)

Tried using the Apache 3800 but was a tad bit too small so had to opt for this.
 

cwolf

Cable Smoosher
Jun 2, 2021
11
32
im having a bit of that issue too (then again I've been bending it because of cables) i noticed that there are some FLAT screws on the side of the GPU you can lock in. take a look at that.
Yeah - those are the screws that are pretty consistently coming loose for me. I'm considering a command strip or something similar to hold the PSU in place, but not sure what that'll do to the anodizing.
 

keepcoding

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 16, 2019
121
134
blog.keepcoding.ch
Over email we've gotten something like 2 more with small scratches w. factory origin and 1 which was caused because the package got punctured during transit. 99% of all defects are either magnets, plastic bits or both.

A tricky one is panel-mismatch, because sometimes there's a problem with the anodizing and other times it's simply because of tolerances and how light bounces on 2 adjacent "flat" objects. Let me get down into the details:

First check these pics. Looks nice yeah?

Now let's look at the exact same case but with strong direct point light (i.e. a nearby incandescent bulb or a phone camera):





You can see that the anodizing between the Shell and the Panels is much closer in the green area versus the red area. The color is obviously the same on the whole panel and the shell, but there is a gradient on the shell that is absent on the panel. The closer and stronger your point light is to both parts the stronger the gradient difference becomes, hence why you see almost no difference when looking at that case in broad daylight (the lighting is very far away...i.e. the sun) but it starts to emerge when having a strong lamp right above it.

This happens because the Shell is less "flat" than the panels, i.e. flatness is a type of tolerance that affects all parts but most notably extrusions. Since the Shell is a very big aluminium profile it's affected a lot more than the relatively small and thin panels. Most notably this would be visible comparing Panels vs Shell along the length of the case (since this is the largest dimension). So even a fully acceptable 0.5-1mm flatness error over 350mm could lead to such "mismatch" when viewed under direct & close-by light source.

Here's an example I've got from a user over email:



Once again, match at the center but difference at the ends (because Shell curves more than the Panels).

Below example from @TerryUSA is actually very hard to judge, because it's very pronounced:



Now this may actually be a faulty anodizing for real, but still, we similar things happening here (i.e. match at the center and difference at the ends). It would help if we could see a "360" video (or photos) of it in broad daylight.

If I remember correctly, the flatness-tolerances for a rectangular extrusion are like below (mega exaggerated). The bigger the aluminium profile the more you'll suffer from this (also the reason we're vary about making a huge MJOLNIRs XXXL for ATX).



Apple has a pretty cool method to deal with this, basically take a picture of every part and let an algo match them up so the difference is as close as possible. But we're obviously not Apple and to make an aluminium extrusion the size of the shell be flat within <0.5mm over 350mm would cost a gazillion dollars and price out 99% of everybody who's got a MJOLNIR thus far. One solution is to not have removable panels and just CNC them directly into the Shell, this would eliminate the possibility of this happening by 100%...but it would also remove any possibility to mix/swap panels and potential for future addons for the sides. We unfortunately seek perfection in an imperfect world and try to achieve it with the tools that are available to us under the budget we have. If you have experience with extrusion you'll know just how ridiculously precise that unibody Shell is, we've basically scoured the globe trying to find someone to match out extrusion requirements.

Thanks for the elaborate explanation.
I agree that spot light sources are very bad to judge color matching. The only way to be sure is to either use a diffuse light source or daylight. Anything that creates specular highlights is just not reliable due to the different texture of the panel and shell.
 

N9neBreak3r

Airflow Optimizer
Jul 17, 2020
349
468
OMG you guys, ive been scared since Monday that I broke my 3080 Ti from installing the waterblock and had no way to test it! That is, till now. Just finished the loop! I'm leak testing her right now but had to do a quick boot up to see if everything works and ... ITS ALIVE!! I already leak tested with air (ekwb leak tester) and it was fine. Going to let her run overnight with an external power supply on the pump only just to be sure! More to come in a few days.
 

beerbuddha

Cable-Tie Ninja
Apr 27, 2021
222
213
OMG you guys, ive been scared since Monday that I broke my 3080 Ti from installing the waterblock and had no way to test it! That is, till now. Just finished the loop! I'm leak testing her right now but had to do a quick boot up to see if everything works and ... ITS ALIVE!! I already leak tested with air (ekwb leak tester) and it was fine. Going to let her run overnight with an external power supply on the pump only just to be sure! More to come in a few days.
I just finished and plugged mine in...its no where clean as yours...wow simply amazing