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

[Aux]

Acrylic panels, sure they scratch, but the user can easily make new. There is also the weight. Glass is so heavy.

give you as much insight as I can to make sure you can learn from the ghost's production mistakes

ok,

 

[AlexTzone]

Guys we're updating the website & trailer with the new specs, I'll reply to all of you as soon as we're done! Give me about 1 week tops

 

[2blentendre]

Guys we're updating the website & trailer with the new specs, I'll reply to all of you as soon as we're done! Give me about 1 week tops

Love the website updates already. Very clean and to the point, just like the case itself.

 

[denzle]

Absolutely love the look of the case. It has definitely peaked my interest. The two things I would've been keen to see, would be more holes on the side panels and mounting(s) for fan(s) on the top of the frame for extra air flow. But obviously time is ticking. Regardless I'll be following the project closely.

 

[For_Science]

My low profile pci power connector came in today, here are the measurements with a finger tight custom sleeved 15 AWG cable. It's around 20 mm above the connector (total 30 mm)

 

[FoskcoRS5]

My low profile pci power connector came in today, here are the measurements with a finger tight custom sleeved 15 AWG cable. It's around 20 mm above the connector (total 30 mm)

Those are amazing! The sleeving job is great too! Nice work!

 

[optymyze]

Any reason the glass sidepanels are attached in the middle of each side rather than the corners. I think being attached in the corners would be much more aesthetically pleasing

 

[Supercluster]

Any reason the glass sidepanels are attached in the middle of each side rather than the corners. I think being attached in the corners would be much more aesthetically pleasing

To a degree this is a preference decision (I am sure that there is an engineering consideration as well);

And I disagree: mounting the panel in an elegant fashion discards the need for the mounting mechanism to be hidden or obscured in any way.

Doing this properly can complement the impression of the product as well as it's designers/engineers.

 

[2blentendre]

Guys we're updating the website & trailer with the new specs, I'll reply to all of you as soon as we're done! Give me about 1 week tops

Almost a week now. Looking forward to updates and your responses Alex. It would be very nice to receive a timeline as my build is literally on hold for this case.

Thanks.

 

[giraffesinmybalcony]

@AlexTzone
i may have missed it reading through this thread, but were the thickness of the body/panels explicitly stated? looking at how things are with the Louqe Ghost S1, i'm rather concerned that this particular case might suffer the same issues regarding bent panels, etc especially during shipping.

also, how are the tolerances of the design? while i understand that many would want a tight tolerance, i believe that it would be better if the tolerances are more realistic than it is idealistic.

 

[Flyingpepper]

Updated trailer:

 

[AlexTzone]

I have been following your case and this thread for a long time. Seeing your most recent changes, I finally had to create an account to share my thoughts. I absolutely love every single design decision you have made so far. This case is absolutely perfect and exactly what I am looking for.

I would like to add that a clean glass with no designs or perforations looks infinitely cleaner, better, and simply ultra modern. I love your most recent change giving us the option to mount the tempered glass inside or outside the case. I would keep it just like this and not change this design.

My only suggestion, is there any way eliminate the standoffs on the outside of the case if mounting the glass from the inside? Otherwise, I could not ask for anything more and I am eagerly await for the kickstarter.

Thank you very much, hearing such kind words really inspires us to create the best product we can for you guys. Yes, simply remove the standoffs if you decide to mount the glass panels on the inside

Allright, when can I buy this?

I'm wondering the same. Once this is on kickstarter, how long do you anticipate it will take to produce and ship these out?

Thanks.

We'll launch the Kickstarter campaign on January 1st 2019. The expected shipping time will be 6-10 months, we want to be careful and thorough so that you guys get the best cases possible. While no producers have given us lead times of more than 3 months, I just feel that we have to have a lot more time since this is our first mass production project. If you get the case sooner, that's just a bonus right?

So would the inside glass panel orientation still allow for airflow to enter around the glass? or would the outward orientation be the only option for airflow? I do like the appearance of the inside orientation much better with a clean glass panel. the design is really coming together well.

The inside mount looks pretty clean, but I'm definitely concerned about temps. Also, would the glass be sturdy enough with just those four bars holding it in place? If I remember correctly, your first design had the same border around the glass, but you eliminated it due to concerns about structural integrity.



No one has ever claimed that Louqe invented the cheese grater look that dates as far back as the 2003 PowerMac. No need to be obtuse about it.

A window kit on stand offs without cutout will result in very very bad temps +15°C. The cpu heatsink will recycle a lot of air. The stand offs doesn't help that much.

We'll run thermal tests (using test panels) and share the results in a couple of days; the deltas should give people a basic understanding of how MJOLNIR I thermals will vary in the final product.

@dondan Thanks for stopping by, I think you're on of the pioneers in the SFF industry!

Hi @AlexTzone , so I'm just curious: What is the dimensions of that fan filter? approximately of course. I like making things and one thing I'm thinking of is a panel of 92mm fans. You don't have to oblige me by changing your design, just want to know is all

Hey, the dust filter is approx. 96 x 300 mm So you're thinking 3 x 92 mm fans? Will be very interesting to see!

@AlexTzone
Creators and community can only suggest so much based on their own experiences. I understand that you may have a schedule to follow, but it would be prudent to create prototype of the different panel designs and test out the thermal in real life (just acrylic will do?). At this moment it's all guess work about which panels give what kind of thermal performance, which is not good engineering. Many have suggested that completely solid panels will not work, thermals will be off the roof, but you should test it out also just to see how it performs. Who knows? Maybe it works on your case? If not at least you know how far off you are. You could make some simple prototype panels in a few days easily, definitely better than relying on our "comments" or pure guesstimation.

If at all cutouts are an option, I do also think that @AlexTzone should test them with acrylic panels. I think I have come to accept that the tempered glass panels will be for pure looks while sacrificing thermals, and I will probably cut out some acrylic windows myself to get a true breathable panel that doesn't hinder acoustics either.

A video tells a thousand pictures worth of words, so here is a live demonstration of a honeycomb grille on a fan. Notice that the noise is not as bad if there is even a little space, but this may not be the case for all patterns.


The final configuration and how it comes out of the box should also to a degree should influence who you send out the product to review. If the performance is likely to be bad, then sending it to Gamers Nexus would be a really bad idea since they will rip the product to shreds. While I very much like Gamers Nexus content, if the objective was to put this product in a good light, I wouldn't send it there - Their focus is primarily on absolute airflow and temperatures "out-of-the-box". To take a recent example, they sort of have a stab at the Ophion Evo for not coming with a fan. Also their chart toppers are almost always the loudest cases and so to score "well" on their charts, its important to have a very breathable case with fans included, not what you are doing here.

Optimum tech is also a bit of a temperature nerd and so would be risky given his viewership. Bitwit is a bit more "gentle" and slightly less critical, and has a larger viewership. I think LTT is too big and they probably won't do another small case since "its not different from their Dan case video". I think since this is ultimately an aesthetic focus case, somewhere like Hardware Canucks would be the most suitable for review.

Another off-the-cuff video to demonstrate the effects of a solid glass panel vs a fan. Sorry for the quality, unedited, and unscripted nature of the video (and the fact that I am speaking at all), but I just did it quickly to get my point across. The "flow reversal" seems to happen at about 10 mm for most fans, and at about 15 mm qualitatively performance seems to be restored.

Obviously I'm no professional tester, but you get the point.

@macbosco I completely agree! We have created test panels that will be used to measure thermals delta in different configurations, these should give people a basic understanding of how MJOLNIR I thermals will vary in the final product. More on that later (aiming to have these tests ready in the next couple of days).

@For_Science Fantastic support and analysis as always! I completely agree with regards to YouTube reviews; we have to send MJOLNIR I to somebody that truly appreciates aesthetics, since its one of the most important factors with this chassis. I personally love how Optimum showcases the products in his videos, while also doing a fair bit of testing (something important for you guys). Will contact Hardware Canucks as well, they have a great mixture between aesthetic focus and subscriber size.

Great video, thorough and to the point. We'll do thermal tests and return with results in the next couple of days (have created test panels that should give you a basic understanding of how thermals will vary in the final product, depending on which panels are used). Also, we'll test different fans heights (14 mm vs 25 mm) to see how thermals vary with the inside / outside mounting position.

Here's the thing, you can get acrylic panels but they scratch easily and will look like trash inside of 3 months unless you handle them with rubber gloves. We have seen this a couple of years ago with the bigger case manufacturers and their acrylic side panels

You can do only so much airflow and temp testing without a 1:1 mockup of the case. You need to decide what characteristics the case needs to have and stick to that the best you can.

The case is solid, all the pieces are there to launch the Kickstarter. Once that is over, final tweaks can be made and everything can be built.

I am a mod on the ghost s1 slack server (and the QC volunteer). Over the last year I have learned 1 thing, this case will not fit everyone's needs. There is a point where you need to say that's enough and take what you have and run with it.

Yes you can try and plan for future hardware but you need to keep in mind that at the end of the day this is a SFF case and you can only fit so much into a small space without making the case bigger and defeating the purpose of the case or worse, changing the essence of the design to the point where it's unrecognizable.

Do the best with what you have and go from there.

I am more than happy to lend a hand with the community and give you as much insight as I can to make sure you can learn from the ghost's production mistakes @AlexTzone

I agree! This case has changed a lot in the past year, but we have been very careful about changing any visible characteristics. I feel that the design is now finalized and we're ready for the launch shortly. Also more than happy to listen to your feedback and experience regarding production

My low profile pci power connector came in today, here are the measurements with a finger tight custom sleeved 15 AWG cable. It's around 20 mm above the connector (total 30 mm)

Awesome cables! I think you can manage to get even lower PCIe connectors if you really needed them, something like 10mm right angle should be possible to find out there.

@AlexTzone
i may have missed it reading through this thread, but were the thickness of the body/panels explicitly stated? looking at how things are with the Louqe Ghost S1, i'm rather concerned that this particular case might suffer the same issues regarding bent panels, etc especially during shipping.

also, how are the tolerances of the design? while i understand that many would want a tight tolerance, i believe that it would be better if the tolerances are more realistic than it is idealistic.

Enclosure thickness is solid 5mm, I think it will be very hard to bend this chassis. Tolerances for the cast enclosure are ISO 8062:2007 CT5, i.e about 0.18mm - 0.3mm.

Updated trailer:

Thanks a lot for sharing the update

 

[AlexTzone]

Finally done updating!

This thread, trailer and website are now all up to date. Feel free to check them out and see if you find anything strange. We have expanded the compatibility section to have much more detailed dimensions, this should help many people avoid headaches regarding GPU fit etc. Check them out below:

Spoiler: Hardware Compatibility

Graphics Card (GPU)

Note: Standard PCIe power connectors with cables add about 22 mm (0.86") of height to your GPU, a solution might be to use GPUs with recessed power connectors or buy low-profile PCIe power connectors from electronics vendors.

AIO

Note: Only compatible with SFX PSUs

CPU Cooler
Max height: 53mm (2.1")

Case Fans
2 x 120 mm fans
Max height – Under the PSU: 55mm (2.2")
Max height – Under MOBO: 15mm (0.6")
Note: Case fans over 25mm (1.0") in height are only compatible with SFX PSUs

Motherboard (MOBO)
mini-ITX

RAM
Max height: 57mm (2.3")

Power Supply (PSU)
SFX and SFL-L

Storage Drives
2.5" Standard
Max height: 7mm (0.28") or 15mm (0.6")
Max number: 2 x 7mm (0.28") or 1 x 15mm (0.6")

Spoiler: Thermal tests

Also, we have created test panels for some final thermal testing. The goal is to measure thermal deltas from no panels vs metal panels, no panels vs inside glass mounting and no panels vs outside glass mounting. These tests will be carried out on the 92 mm prototype, but should nonetheless provide you with some useful insights with regards to thermal behavior of the final product. Expect these tests to be posted here in the next couple of days.

Spoiler: Kickstarter launch

The Kickstarter campaign will launch on January 1st 2019 The expected shipping time will be 6 - 10 months, I know its a lot but we want to be careful and thorough even if most producers have given us lead times of 3 months max. A new prototype will be sent out for review 1-2 months after the Kickstarter campaign, this will more or less be identical to the final product.

This has been quite a journey, but it's just starting and we'll keep you guys up to date on everything even after the campaign.

Best,
Alex

 

[giraffesinmybalcony]

Enclosure thickness is solid 5mm, I think it will be very hard to bend this chassis. Tolerances for the cast enclosure are ISO 8062:2007 CT5, i.e about 0.18mm - 0.3mm.

glad to hear that! but i have a further question regarding the tolerances; is the ISO compliance a prospective standard on your end or is that already achievable on a consistent basis by the producers that you have in mind already?
additionally, have you thought about how the quality control and assurance process will proceed when the cases are being manufactured? do you plan on inspecting each case individually or will your team inspect a few random case during the entire production period? how about your experience in design and project management? i think it would be extremely helpful to the Kickstarter campaign if you share some of your past experience like what sort of work do you do and etc.

i apologize if im asking too much questions, but seeing that both you and louqe are making/made promises in regards to the quality and tolerance, etc of the product, im worried if this project may follow the path of the louqe case. (also before i get bashed, ive purchased the second batch of the louqe cases, but the complaints about bent pcbs and panels, missing magnets and screws, discoloration and dents are disappointing and worrisome to say the least)

edit:: you might want to revise your wording on this 'improper storage resulting in product get wet, corrosion, fell off, squeezed or exposed to inadequate temperature/humid environment' in the website. 'product get wet, ... fell off' doesn't sound grammatically correct

 

[theGryphon]

Kudos on where you've arrived! Last update looks exquisite!
If you can deliver on manufacturing quality, I believe this will be a case to remember for many years to come.

A few comments though:
Inside mounted glass panels should suffer in terms of GPU temps while the AIO can save the CPU.Outside mounted glass panels should fare much much better.

The metal panels... I really think you should tweak the perforation to substantially increase the open-air %.

Or, I would go a step further and offer an "airflow" option by including a filter-panel like in the filter assembly you showed in but with the filter (not the frame) on the surface. That filter assembly looks really nice but you should already consider mounting the filter assembly with the filter side on the surface, since it would increase the fan effectiveness by giving them more room for airflow (especially at intake). I would include two of them in that "airflow" option so that all four sides come with the same filter design. Trust me, this "airflow" option would improve the case performance drastically.

 

[For_Science]

Awesome cables! I think you can manage to get even lower PCIe connectors if you really needed them, something like 10mm right angle should be possible to find out there.

Yes, if you used unsleeved cables, it is posssible to achieve a much tighter bend radius. It's quite hard to get a nice look using this method, I would either use silver cables or white cables.

Silver crimped 15 AWG cables next to normal and low profile PCIe side-by-side

Its important to note that the low profile nature of the PCIe connector means that a portion of the metallic crimp will be exposed and so some kind of sleeving must be used, otherwise you do risk shorting out and probably damaging components or the PSU. However as I showed in my previous post, if you use normal sleeving, the bend radius is compromised.

So you have to wrap it up with heatshrink.

This method gets you pretty dang close to 20 mm

BUT you must be very careful with working with these cables (and it should be true to the ones Alex linked too) since the crimp part is outside the connector, it is fairly easy to bend the cables in such a way that the wire breaks off the connector. For the average user, I would imagine this would be catastrophic.

 

[gwertheim]

Thank you very much, hearing such kind words really inspires us to create the best product we can for you guys. Yes, simply remove the standoffs if you decide to mount the glass panels on the inside





We'll launch the Kickstarter campaign on January 1st 2019. The expected shipping time will be 6-10 months, we want to be careful and thorough so that you guys get the best cases possible. While no producers have given us lead times of more than 3 months, I just feel that we have to have a lot more time since this is our first mass production project. If you get the case sooner, that's just a bonus right?







We'll run thermal tests (using test panels) and share the results in a couple of days; the deltas should give people a basic understanding of how MJOLNIR I thermals will vary in the final product.

@dondan Thanks for stopping by, I think you're on of the pioneers in the SFF industry!



Hey, the dust filter is approx. 96 x 300 mm So you're thinking 3 x 92 mm fans? Will be very interesting to see!







@macbosco I completely agree! We have created test panels that will be used to measure thermals delta in different configurations, these should give people a basic understanding of how MJOLNIR I thermals will vary in the final product. More on that later (aiming to have these tests ready in the next couple of days).

@For_Science Fantastic support and analysis as always! I completely agree with regards to YouTube reviews; we have to send MJOLNIR I to somebody that truly appreciates aesthetics, since its one of the most important factors with this chassis. I personally love how Optimum showcases the products in his videos, while also doing a fair bit of testing (something important for you guys). Will contact Hardware Canucks as well, they have a great mixture between aesthetic focus and subscriber size.

Great video, thorough and to the point. We'll do thermal tests and return with results in the next couple of days (have created test panels that should give you a basic understanding of how thermals will vary in the final product, depending on which panels are used). Also, we'll test different fans heights (14 mm vs 25 mm) to see how thermals vary with the inside / outside mounting position.





I agree! This case has changed a lot in the past year, but we have been very careful about changing any visible characteristics. I feel that the design is now finalized and we're ready for the launch shortly. Also more than happy to listen to your feedback and experience regarding production



Awesome cables! I think you can manage to get even lower PCIe connectors if you really needed them, something like 10mm right angle should be possible to find out there.



Enclosure thickness is solid 5mm, I think it will be very hard to bend this chassis. Tolerances for the cast enclosure are ISO 8062:2007 CT5, i.e about 0.18mm - 0.3mm.



Thanks a lot for sharing the update

I sent you an email through your contact us page, lets chat soon

 

[JDK]

@AlexTzone
Thanks for the update.

How much will the cases & panels cost in Euro?
Will you ship from within the EU?
Did you register a company or are you handling production & sales as a private person? I cannot seem to find an imprint on your website.

 

[htko89]

UPDATE - Finalizing the Glass Panels

Really small update, but I feel that we have to solve this issue before moving on. What do you think of below design; is it better than the previous hexagonal shapes? Top panel will have these cutouts as well. I personally like these over the previous design since they are less obtrusive, simplistic, robust and cover a large area airflow-wise

Best,
Alex

I initially didn't like this but its really growing on me. Functional and minimalistic. Goes well with the design language.

Also, what thickness for the 120mm RAD are you aiming for?

 

[wolfatpno]

It's getting better and better.