My second 3D printed computer case...

[Jaxel]

I have very specific needs for a computer case...

• Must be powerful
• Must be shorter than 10 inches
• Must be less than 50lbs (air freight limitations)

This is because I use this computer for live streaming. So it needs to be strong, light and small so it doesn't incur extra costs as checked baggage. I actually previously printed a case back in March and it has been working extremely well. It was 3U, and only 8 inches deep.

But for my new computer; I plan on putting a 3950X in it... and those can get pretty hot. So I wanted to build a case with a little extra room to fit a 360mm AIO cooler in it. Unfortunately, that would bit in the old case. So I made this new case at 4U, and 10 inches deep. I used the experience I learned from the first case for this new second case...

As you can see, the front panel has room for a 360mm radiator. It also has a top row with various keystone jacks and audio inputs. As well as holes for vandal switches on the right side. I've actually re-arranged how I am doing this top row since I took this picture, I will take a new picture once everything is done.

Sides have 140mm fan cutouts. Won't be putting fans on these.

Back of the case shows an SFX power supply, the motherboard I/O cutout, two 80mm fan cutouts, 5 expansion slots, and an FDD/ODD cutout.

I plan on putting an alternate power Neutrik Powecon jack above the power supply. The 5 expansion slots, even though this case will only fit an mITX motherboard is because I use PCIe Bifurcation. Specifically, I am using PCIe Trifurcation, to split the 1x16 lane into 1x8/2x4 lanes. So I can fit two capture cards, and one 3 slot video card.

Here you can see the PCIe Trifurcation card. I bought this card from C_Payne on HardForum, from his website. It's a specially made card, so not even all motherboards support PCIe Trifurcation. I however emailed ASRock about it, and in under 24 hours, they emailed me back with a beta for their 2.0.1 BIOS for their X570 mITX mobo which includes it.

Also in the corner, you can see a slot for an FDD tray. I use this for an IcyDock FDD Hard Drive tray.

The SFX power supply from Corsair. Fully modular. In the corner, you can also see the motherboard standoffs. I just haven't tightened them into the correct spots yet.

The back of the top row on the front. The device hanging off one of the audio ports is an MPOW Ground Loop isolator. It's a really cheap way to cut interference out of the audio lines from my Mixer. Each of the four audio ports will have a ground loop isolator added to it. Again, I've redesigned this top row since I took these pictures.

Will show new pictures when the build is complete.. May be a bit though, because finding an MSRP priced 3950X right now is impossible.

 

[Tashi]

Is the PSU getting enough air?

 

[Plaklijm]

Is the PSU getting enough air?

was wondering the same, and is a riser splitter not risky? does your gpu get enough bandwith? or dont you use other pcie cards? other than that, awesome case! would love a build update with the finished build!

 

[Jaxel]

Is the PSU getting enough air?

There is 3mm of space next to the PSU... and an open grill next to it. Contrary to popular opinion, cramped spaces actually don't restrict airflow to fans. If a fan is pulling the air to it, it WILL pull air to it, as long as there is ANY space for air to reach it and there isn't a bigger fan interfering with it. This is the science of vacuums. There are more intake fans in the front, than exhaust fans in the back, so the PSU is supplied with more than enough air; as there isn't enough exhaust fans to overcome the amount of intake from the front.

was wondering the same, and is a riser splitter not risky? does your gpu get enough bandwith? or dont you use other pcie cards? other than that, awesome case! would love a build update with the finished build!

There aren't any GPUs that actually use all 16 lanes of bandwidth; most actually only use 8. There are extensive tests on this on YouTube when it comes to reducing an x16 video card to x8... at most, you lose about 1% of performance. And of course, PCIe 4.0 doubles all the bandwidth, so it's even less of a concern.

 

[Jaxel]

was wondering the same, and is a riser splitter not risky? does your gpu get enough bandwith? or dont you use other pcie cards? other than that, awesome case! would love a build update with the finished build!

 

[Plaklijm]

@Jaxel yeah i knew that you could do it with 8x, but if you are using other cards, 16x may not be enough, but indeed, 4.0 is a lot faster

There is 3mm of space next to the PSU... and an open grill next to it. Contrary to popular opinion, cramped spaces actually don't restrict airflow to fans. If a fan is pulling the air to it, it WILL pull air to it, as long as there is ANY space for air to reach it and there isn't a bigger fan interfering with it. This is the science of vacuums. There are more intake fans in the front, than exhaust fans in the back, so the PSU is supplied with more than enough air; as there isn't enough exhaust fans to overcome the amount of intake from the front.

about this, i personally wouldnt risk it, the fan must spin harder to get enough air into the PSU with maybe even risking to overheating it if there is to much power draw, becasue of the lack of fresh air. and having it tight up the side panel is best if he had its own loop. like the fan takes air in and out of the back of the PSU , and with nothing interfering with it. and because its 3d printed and modeled, if i where you i would redesign it a bit to make holes over the PSU just to be safe you know, dont want the PSU to blow up your expensive hardware

 

[Plaklijm]

look at cases with a closed front panel and vents at top and bottom, maybe not the best refrerence, but those fans just choke because of the lack of fresh air, so they need to spin a lot harder to push the same amount of fresh air. if the vaccum sience you were talking about works very well, this wouldnt be a problem, and with half the fan blocked off
example

 

[Jaxel]

@Jaxel yeah i knew that you could do it with 8x, but if you are using other cards, 16x may not be enough, but indeed, 4.0 is a lot faster

about this, i personally wouldnt risk it, the fan must spin harder to get enough air into the PSU with maybe even risking to overheating it if there is to much power draw, becasue of the lack of fresh air. and having it tight up the side panel is best if he had its own loop. like the fan takes air in and out of the back of the PSU , and with nothing interfering with it. and because its 3d printed and modeled, if i where you i would redesign it a bit to make holes over the PSU just to be safe you know, dont want the PSU to blow up your expensive hardware

Yes, but as long as the air is available, it won't choke. There are 3 120mm fans for the intake... but only 2 80mm fans for the exhaust. Which means there is always air available.

Either way, i'll print the grill on the side panels a bit closer to the PSU based on your input.

 

[Jaxel]

@Plaklijm New side walls...

 

[Plaklijm]

@Plaklijm New side walls...

Like it man, great work! That's the best thing of 3d printing, you can just alter it a bit and have it working again in a few hours

 

[Tashi]

Looks nice. I like the hexagonal wholes.
Do you plan on adding a dust filter?

 

[Jaxel]

Looks nice. I like the hexagonal wholes.
Do you plan on adding a dust filter?

Not quite sure how to do dust filters. If I did though, I would try to make them magnetic.

New front panel connections!

I don't know if I want to put the front panel connections above the 360mm rad, or below. I'm thinking of moving the front panel row to the bottom, just because its better not to have cables hanging down so far.

 

[Jaxel]

It's done!

 

[Jaxel]

Found one broken part. I am using a Poyiccot Left Angle Displayport cable plugged into the video card. This cable does not transmit a video signal... thus making it a useless cable. So the mini-displayport keystone on the front panel doesn't work.

 

[tlex]

I know this is a bit old but I think this case is fantastic. Did you shared your design somewhere on thingiverse / printables where I could get it ?