Concept Necere's concept/ideation thread

[Windfall]

Yet another take on ~20L mATX:

Wanted to see how much I could pack in with a hard limit of 20L, to that end this is a little wider than the previous mATX concepts for better CPU cooler/GPU support (~150mm tall) and a rear 120mm exhaust fan. This could also support 1x240 and 1x120 rad, at least in theory.

I had napkin sketches of something very similar. I really like that!

 

[Necere]

This one would be perfect for me if moving the PSU to the space of the SSD and making is shorter by the tall of the PSU ( no 3.5 HDD support ). I could put a 240 rad on the bottom and a 120 one on the front

Thing about that is the radiator fans would be blowing directly up into the GPU, which isn't ideal for airflow or GPU cooling (in the case of an air-cooled GPU). Plus, once you add together the rad, fans, and enough clearance for air intake, you're basically where'd you be with the PSU on the bottom.

 

[turboleak]

What about this:

an air tight case with zero flow. The case would be split in two, the usual part where all the hardware sits ( motherboard, GPU ) separated by an air tight wall with rubber passings for the tubing of the GPU and CPU water coolers ( this rubber passing would be maleable enough to alow a water block to pass trough it for instalation on the other side ). those two coolers would be vertically placed on the second part of the case, with fans pullling from one side and air exiting on the other. So, the air flows in a separate part of the box and doesn't bring dust into the case.

 

[Necere]

What about this:

an air tight case with zero flow. The case would be split in two, the usual part where all the hardware sits ( motherboard, GPU ) separated by an air tight wall with rubber passings for the tubing of the GPU and CPU water coolers ( this rubber passing would be maleable enough to alow a water block to pass trough it for instalation on the other side ). those two coolers would be vertically placed on the second part of the case, with fans pullling from one side and air exiting on the other. So, the air flows in a separate part of the box and doesn't bring dust into the case.

You still need airflow for things that aren't being cooled with water blocks: VRMs, chipset, PSU, etc. Also that would be a very specialized case with a somewhat limited appeal, I think.

 

[turboleak]

The PSU can be on the dirty side of the case, or, as I made with my M1, duct in duct out. The rest of the hardware I don't think needs much cooling and heat exchange from the circulating air inside the case with the aluminum should be enough. These are components that can get hot without affecting CPU or GPU performance.

 

[Necere]

The PSU can be on the dirty side of the case, or, as I made with my M1, duct in duct out. The rest of the hardware I don't think needs much cooling and heat exchange from the circulating air inside the case with the aluminum should be enough. These are components that can get hot without affecting CPU or GPU performance.

It wouldn't be a good idea. The problem with a completely sealed case is there wouldn't be any appreciable airflow - not even passive airflow induced by temperature differential. You'd just get stagnant air inside the case building up heat until it reaches equilibrium temperature. Given the lack of air circulation, that would be bad news for those components that rely on passive cooling.

 

[Nanook]

The PSU can be on the dirty side of the case, or, as I made with my M1, duct in duct out. The rest of the hardware I don't think needs much cooling and heat exchange from the circulating air inside the case with the aluminum should be enough. These are components that can get hot without affecting CPU or GPU performance.

What kind of components are you using? Powerful components inside SFF cases can cause the case interior to get heat-soaked very quickly.

 

[AcquaCow]

Can you adjust this to put the SFX PSU horizontally over the CPU, drop the 3.5in drives and go full ATX?

Sure, you need an AIO for the CPU then, or a low-profile cooler, but I'd be fine with that =)

 

[Necere]

Can you adjust this to put the SFX PSU horizontally over the CPU, drop the 3.5in drives and go full ATX?

Sure, you need an AIO for the CPU then, or a low-profile cooler, but I'd be fine with that =)

I assume you need more than the four slots? Because this concept would support ATX motherboards via the same method in this post.

In principle a swappable backplate that relocates the PSU over the CPU and adds three slots is a possibility.

 

[Boil]

I really like this front 3/4 shot...

What if 2.5" / 3.5" drives were cut, and it was reference length GPUs only, get those front fans right up on the motherboard...?

 

[Phuncz]

Yet another take on ~20L mATX:

Wanted to see how much I could pack in with a hard limit of 20L, to that end this is a little wider than the previous mATX concepts for better CPU cooler/GPU support (~150mm tall) and a rear 120mm exhaust fan. This could also support 1x240 and 1x120 rad, at least in theory.

I like the design, internally and externally. Both look clean, to the point and balanced. It's a front to back airflow, along with PSU as exhaust ? Maybe consider perforated PCIe slots to aid some in the positive pressure setup.

 

[Boil]

I like the design, internally and externally. Both look clean, to the point and balanced. It's a front to back airflow, along with PSU as exhaust ? Maybe consider perforated PCIe slots to aid some in the positive pressure setup.

PSU looks to be bog standard & self-contained in regards to airflow, intake from below, exhaust out the rear...

 

[turboleak]

Yeah, you guys are right. Some airflow is needed.

 

[Mackan]

Been a while since I posted anything new here. I came up with something over the weekend that I'm a little enamored with atm, and thought I'd share:

No plans to build it, let alone put it into production, but I thought it was neat and some people might like it.

Any chance that you can revisit this case/layout? Currently we only have MI-6 and Sunmilo S01, which are hard to get hands on compared to cases based on the "A4"-design that starts to feel saturated.

I like this kind of design, with the PSU at the bottom for clean cable handling, and I like the stacking of components. Perhaps with a radiator at the very top, a dual 92mm or 120/140mm. Personally I don't mind a short GPU. I just like this design and I am surprised we don't see more options.

 

[Maniac]

Thing about that is the radiator fans would be blowing directly up into the GPU, which isn't ideal for airflow or GPU cooling (in the case of an air-cooled GPU). Plus, once you add together the rad, fans, and enough clearance for air intake, you're basically where'd you be with the PSU on the bottom.

How about this, making room for a 240 at the top (push-exhaust?). Keeping the current fans at the front for fresh air towards GPU.

I really like what you have done here @Necere. Do you perhaps have any dimension info (W - H - D)?

 

[peartato]

And for something a little different, how about another vertical case?

I was thinking about the Corsair One and vertical cases more generally (had something to do with the Mach One launch, I'm sure), and knocked this thing out. Typical back-to-back layout, unusual only really for the vertical orientation with the rear I/O at the bottom and a 140mm exhaust fan at the top. Air in through the sides and out through the top, aided by the fan, benefits overall system cooling and potentially keeps noise levels lower.

The bottom cap ideally would be rubberized plastic or something else nonmetallic so as to not block wifi/bluetooth transmission.

Specs:

• Dimensions: 430x150x190mm, 12.3L
• CPU cooler: 65~70mm
• GPU: 300mm+ long, 140mm+ tall
• PSU: SFX only (no SFX-L)
• Drives: 1-2x 2.5", slim optical drive
• Fans: 1x 140mm top

Is this, or some iteration thereof, ever going to see the light of day? Would be v interested!

 

[Necere]

What if 2.5" / 3.5" drives were cut, and it was reference length GPUs only, get those front fans right up on the motherboard...?

Half the reason for going larger is for better GPU compatibility. Limiting it to reference length doesn't make much sense, considering there'd be smaller cases with better compatibility for aftermarket GPUs.

 

[Necere]

I like the design, internally and externally. Both look clean, to the point and balanced. It's a front to back airflow, along with PSU as exhaust ? Maybe consider perforated PCIe slots to aid some in the positive pressure setup.

PSU looks to be bog standard & self-contained in regards to airflow, intake from below, exhaust out the rear...

Actually, the bottom of the case is solid, so the PSU would intake from inside the case. Reason being you wouldn't have to mess around with a bottom-mounted dust filter and the feet don't need to be as tall. I don't count the feet in the volume calculation, but I don't want to make them taller than necessary for actual size and aesthetic reasons.

Internal PSU intake does mean you'd want to keep the slot immediately above it clear. So no dual-GPU setups in this case (unless you watercool them, I suppose).

 

[Necere]

How about this, making room for a 240 at the top (push-exhaust?). Keeping the current fans at the front for fresh air towards GPU.

I really like what you have done here @Necere. Do you perhaps have any dimension info (W - H - D)?

182x316.5x347mm, excluding feet/PCI retention flange. So right up against 20L. Adding even a millimeter pushes it over, and then I couldn't talk about it here anymore That means no top rad. Hey, I don't make the rules.

 

[Necere]

Any chance that you can revisit this case/layout? Currently we only have MI-6 and Sunmilo S01, which are hard to get hands on compared to cases based on the "A4"-design that starts to feel saturated.

I like this kind of design, with the PSU at the bottom for clean cable handling, and I like the stacking of components. Perhaps with a radiator at the very top, a dual 92mm or 120/140mm. Personally I don't mind a short GPU. I just like this design and I am surprised we don't see more options.

Is this, or some iteration thereof, ever going to see the light of day? Would be v interested!

Not today, friends. Both are pretty specialized cases, which limits their market. Also - risers. I don't like using them if I don't have to. So no plans for either of these. But who knows what the future may hold.