@AlexTzone
TLDR Version:
- Great step forward, love the direction
- Recessed GPU shroud! Otherwise the "flap" will be extra obvious
- All vented panels need more holes, all the way to edge if possible (Glass panels too, if possible)
- The small feet of the case means that while the vented bottom is good, the table surface is now the equivalent of the closed cover
Flat Rear Panel & Recessed GPU Bracket
I love the new flush design of the rear panel (I didn't notice the previous one wasn't until you pointed it out)
But now that you have, I like it a lot. It's great you can expand the length without significant impact on the footprint
However, I have concerns over how the GPU is and will be mounted.
In most cases, there is a flap out of the GPU bracket so that the pcie bracket can be screwed in
However, that would mean you have 5~10 mm of metal jutting out the back. Not a good look in my opinion
As mentioned earlier, if you have a recessed GPU mount that would provide an advantage over a lot of competing SFF cases since most designs implement "the flap". This would obviously reduce the GPU tolerance from 319 mm to 309 mm (ish) however there are not many cards that lie in the 310-319 mm range. For the 1080Ti cards, this seens to be 4 of them (KFA2 HOF, Colorful Vulcan X, and PNY XLR8)
and honestly, they aren't even 2-slot cards so they wouldn't have fit anyway.
The popular Openshroud GPU for the 2-slot Pascal 1080Ti generation are 300 mm (EVGA), 290 mm (MSI). and therefore implementing a recessed GPU shroud has near to 0 impact on GPU compatibility but proviodes a premium feature that is not offered by competing products.
As a side note, I understand that you aren't offering any PCIe shields or any options for bifurcation (which just to be clear, is totally not necessary for this case) and therefore there are literally no cards that are single slot width, and so I question what this piece is for, it only makes it difficult to connect the display adaptors (especially DP). I would say it is safe to assume that all cards going into this case will be a 2-slot card, and so this middle pole seems unneccesary to me.
Great Holes, but I would like more
I LOVE the vented panels, and the new bottom panel design, this would give the case a chance to breath and is a fantastic step forward into a viable product.The side panels are clearly to keep the GPU, and the CPU cooler, and PSU fed with air. So I would say it is important to think about the language and functionality.
On the GPU side, there are vents running almost across the case, but if the drilling tolerances allow for it, I believe there need to be more of them. Blower cards tend to only have one intake vent, so are completely accounted for.
From my rough ruler attached onto my monitor, I think I see about 30 mm of solid aluminium from the left to the first whole. Where as the cards likes of the EVGA have the tip of the left most fan at ~10 mm for a big card like the FTW or ~20 mm for a RTX founders edition. Similarly in the vertical direction, the Fans extend far beyond the pcie connector for the EVGA card, and the up to the pcie bracket for the RTX FE. My strict belief is that is that a fan should have holes over it completely, Air should be allowed to go straight from the outside into the blades without having to turn corners. This even more important for the inverted orientation since the GPU will be lower down relative to the vents since the GPU is not centered in the Y direction.
This also extends to the ventiliation of the glass panels, the holes should really be allowed to extend as much as the tolerances allow for it. (with glass, I worry about the structural integrety, so I will let you tell me that the limits are). We obviously don't want side panels that will shatter if you press upon them.
Fans have nearly no airflow through the center (due to the hub being there) and so it is far more important to have good ventilation off the sides of the radiator than the center. As far as I can see fron the isometric renders, the vents probably only go over ~20% of the AIO area.
To sum it up, the vents in the side panel need to go all the way to the edge as far as it would allow for at your manufacturer.
The table is your new closed off bottom panel
I really think you need at least 20 mm of space between a hard surface and an intake/exhaust for air to have a chance to escape. Given the miniscule feet on this case, I seriously question the viability of the standard orientation. Having said that, I am not opposed to the feet as they are now, it is just unrealistic to expect any heat exhaust or good intake from the bottom of this case. Venting the bottom chamber is good, but without feet height, the table becomes the equivalent of a closed panel.
I would personally be tempted to put the new bottom panel on the top, It's just a little bit weird to have a very obvious 8-pack on the top of the computer, so I wonder if it can be mounted "upside down" where the filter is on the top and the metal is on the inside. This would look sleeker and would provide adequate airflow to the AIO and an exhaust route for the GPU heat.