Production Pluto: a 13L wood top tower by Artesian Builds

Black or Walnut top on black case?

  • Black Wood

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • Walnut Wood

    Votes: 16 66.7%
  • Something that is not quite black but much darker than the walnut

    Votes: 3 12.5%

  • Total voters
    24
  • Poll closed .

Shatrod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Dec 6, 2019
205
358


Hello everyone. I am very excited to introduce to you the Artesian Pluto SFF case. Born right here on SFF network and formerly known as the Knarr, we have optimized the design to make it production friendly and believe it is finally ready to be revealed.

November 14 2022 UPDATE
As some of you may know, Artesian Builds has filed for bankruptcy. This unfortunate turns of events was a significant hurdle for this project. Today I am pleased to announce that this case is once again available for purchase. The Artesian builds inventory was purchased by Computer Headquarters (CHQ) during the bankruptcy proceedings. I have been in touch with the folks over at CHQ and they have been trying to get the units from Artesian back into the market. As of this update, the units are assembled and once again available for purchase at the computer headquarters ebay!

DECEMBER 29 2021 UPDATE
We have received all of the parts of the case and are beginning final assembly!
We will try to begin fulfilling preorders this week or early next week, as we are assembling the units and getting them ready for shipping.
As such, we are now out of preorder! This means the case is now available for purchase at full price of 288, with about a 1-2 week lead time as we are ironing out the final assembly.
Happy holidays!


NOVEMBER 15 2021 UPDATE
The case has grown by 1 Liter to 13L of internal volume to accommodate 280mm radiators and slightly longer GPUs. Post updated to reflect new dimensions.
Some other notable enhancements:
- tube passthrough on rear panel, allows for dual 60mm radiator to be mounted externally.
- ddc pump mounting made more flexible vertically by making mounting holes ovals
- added 1 x 120mm fan support to the bottom of the case (can not be used with 280mm radiators and conflicts with some SSD mounts though)
- side radiator brackets now also support up to 2 SSDs each
- GPU can be relocated closer to the side panel if is single slot. This will allow for 90mm of thickness for the radiator + fans for push-pull


The exterior dimensions are 360mm x 345mm x 142mm but as you may see in the images, the front of the case is not flat. This makes overall volume calculation very difficult. The internal frame however, is fully rectilinear and comes in at 328mm x 317mm x 126mm which computes to just about 13L.
External:


Internal:


Hardware support:
Motherboard - ITX
GPU - 2.5 slot, up to 315mm in length. (slightly larger cards may fit but be exceedingly difficult to install)
PSU - SFX or SFX-L however SFX recommended for extra cable room.
Front IO - none

Cooling support:
Air coolers up to 110mm tall.
120mm, 240mm, or 280mm AIO. - not all 280mm AIOs will fit. We confirmed fitment with an NZXT X63.
2x 60mm fans on rear panel.





If doing a custom liquid cooling loop:
A second 240mm radiator is supported on the left side above the motherboard (for a total of two 240mm radiators), provided angled adapters are used for tubing as well as slim fans (15mm thick). Additionally, this may conflict with taller GPUs. The total height of the GPU + terminals should not exceed 143mm.
The above is also true for a second 280mm radiator. The maximum dimensions of a 280mm radiator mounted vertically on the side panel are 316mm x 154mm. The 280 radiator mounted horizontally on side brackets bust be a bit narrower with the max dimensions being 316mm x 144mm


Please note, having either dual 240 or dual 280 radiators will make it extremely challenging to route tubes as the case is very narrow. We have not verified dual radiators with a real build.

A dual 60mm radiator is supported on the rear panel, however may conflict with some GPUs.
These two options are mutually exclusive.
A DDC pump can be mounted in lieu of a 60mm fan, or in the front of the case exactly opposite the 60mm fans. If the DDC pump is mounted in the front, it must be 64mm wide or less in order to clear a 30mm radiator with 25mm fans.

Dual 240mm:



Dual 280mm:



~50mm clearance between CPU and rad when using 30mm thick radiator + 25mm thick fans:
This is not recommended. A thinner rad, or at least slim fans should be used so that you can actually route tubes and fit a pump block. But if you are very determined this does technically fit.

DDC pump can mount on vertical oval slots for more flexibility in its vertical mounting. The DDC pump however must be 64mm wide or narrower to clear a 30mm radiator with 25mm fans

Standard:

GPU relocated:


Edit 2022/02/16: updated photos with production units.
At present, we are offering the case in 3 color options as the base models:

White with Maple wood:

Grey with Walnut wood:

Black with Walnut wood:

Edit 2021/09/26:
To this effect, I have created a poll. Here is a side by side image of the black top (left) and the walnut top (right) on the black case
Edit 2021/11/15:
We have chosen to proceed with the Black case and Walnut wood as the third color option. I have closed the poll.


Additionally, we will offer custom colors for side panels upon request as well as custom wood species, and resin inlaid wood tops.

The riser cable the case will ship with is a LinkUp PCIE4EXT11SL-028

The target launch window is late November/early December of 2021, with a target retail price of $288 USD (subject to change, mostly based on pcie riser cable pricing). We are looking to create an initial pioneer batch of 50 units (to ship around the early December time frame), for which preorders are open now :)
I know it has taken us an extremely long time to come to where we are now, and I appreciate your support. As a small thank you, we are making the preorder pricing less expensive at $248, to get this project off the ground.

Edit 2022/11/14:
The Pluto inventory was purchased from Artesian by Computer Headquarters. The team over there have been doing an amazing job bringing this case back and making it available again. If you are interested, please check out the computer headquarters ebay page.


The first real build in a prototype should happen this weekend if all goes according to plan. Il post pics :)

Thanks for looking!

 
Last edited:

Tabtree

Chassis Packer
Apr 13, 2020
19
6
HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE

Also those measurement images up top:
amazon kiss GIF


I really like the ink-treated wood with black version
 
Last edited:
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Shatrod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Dec 6, 2019
205
358
Hello, everyone.

So first and foremost, I have created a poll for the wood choices for the black case, and uploaded a side by side comparison picture into the first post. Please check it out and vote for the one you think works best on the black frame :)

Now, for the sample build:

This unit has a custom made wood top, and is not representative of "white and maple". It is representative of what you may see if you were to order a custom wood option. This specific wood is Padauk (that turned out quite red after finishing, the intent was to try for orange, but the result is still awesome). So, firstly, the case:



And now the build:


It took me and a friend about 4 hours to put it all together, but we did take pictures every step of the way which does slow down progress. I would say it came together very well. Nothing was too difficult to install or route, the clearances seemed good all around, and it was just, a nice problem free build. The only thing I would say is definitely worth noting, the CPU 8 pin power cable is very close to the roof of the case and it does have a latch. It fits in just fine but taking it out is basically impossible without removing the entire motherboard. The latch is inaccessible. Its potentially something you could do with creative application of a flathead screw driver to depress the latch but I don't recommend it.

So while we work out the finer details on our end, would you like to see any other samples of custom wood finishes? I have a piece of purpleheart wood I was thinking of making for a black Pluto. We could also do an epoxy river top in walnut. Both of these would fall into a "custom one off" category and would take me multiple weeks to make real.
 

Shatrod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Dec 6, 2019
205
358
Is there fan mounting points on the bottom below GPU
There are not. At least half of that area is covered by power supply and (optionally) SSDs. So the only useful airflow really would be through where you see the hex mesh. It's not even 60mm wide though, so we would be talking puny fans if anything.
 
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Shatrod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Dec 6, 2019
205
358
I'm thinking of making this case just a bit bigger. Specifically 325mm by 325mm by 126mm. Just 20mm bigger in length and height. This would put us at 13.3L (not a huge increase really) but would allow us to fit a 280 radiator. And would allow longer GPUs. Thoughts?
 
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Stinkybear

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 7, 2020
98
91
Might be meaningful but only if you feel the temps as is would benefit from that change. I think people with bigger GPUs might want that change and I tend to air cool so I'm not as affected by radiator size.
 
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Cheezo

Trash Compacter
Sep 10, 2019
52
24
Damn bro. I just wait this case when i see your post: Glad to see it!
And i'm interestin in 280mm aio, because i already bought one for SSUPD :)
 
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Dynamite

Trash Compacter
Apr 20, 2018
39
47
As someone who has followed this case since its inception (and now has a SSUPD Meshlicious), I really like the idea of modifying to allow a 280mm radiator. It would be easier for those like me to transition/experiment with this case and it would lend itself better to a custom loop with a larger surface area for cooling. We have seen from the meshlicious that a 280mm radiator is capable of dissipating the heat from high end CPU and GPU custom loop if given enough room to pull in fresh air.

Any plans to offer an acrylic or glass front as shown in the initial renders?

Also, would making it slightly taller for the larger radiator allow for dual 80mm fans in the rear?
 

Shatrod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Dec 6, 2019
205
358
Some good news and Some bad news. Il start with the bad. There are rolling power outages in China right now which has made it impossible to get riser cables. At the moment this puts our delivery timeline at risk. I don't think we need to push into 2022 just yet but December is looking a lot more likely than November. Now onto the good news. This delay has a silver lining as it opens up the schedule for some more design tweaks. So, I have started making some given the feedback we received and learnings from building in the prototypes. One tweak is actually to redesign the pcie riser mount to accept a different cable specifically to alleviate the supply constraint. More notably however, by popular demand, 280mm radiator support.

Damn bro. I just wait this case when i see your post: <snip>
Glad to see it!
And i'm interestin in 280mm aio, because i already bought one for SSUPD :)
I try my best to stay faithful to that, but that specific design was a mass production disaster.

As someone who has followed this case since its inception (and now has a SSUPD Meshlicious), I really like the idea of modifying to allow a 280mm radiator. It would be easier for those like me to transition/experiment with this case and it would lend itself better to a custom loop with a larger surface area for cooling. We have seen from the meshlicious that a 280mm radiator is capable of dissipating the heat from high end CPU and GPU custom loop if given enough room to pull in fresh air.

Any plans to offer an acrylic or glass front as shown in the initial renders?

Also, would making it slightly taller for the larger radiator allow for dual 80mm fans in the rear?
Thanks! I personally wanted a 280mm radiator as well but thought it would make the whole case too big. As mentioned above however, due to popular demand I reconsidered and decided to mock it up. It will fit with a size increase of just 1L. from 12L to 13L. I think... probably worth it actually. Given the delays I think this can fit into the schedule. I started working on it. See mockup of size difference below.

Any plans to offer acrylic side panels - yes. Plans exist. designs do not yet :)

Making it slightly taller would not allow for 80mm fans in the back unfortunately. The limiting factor is width, not height. I could make it only a little bit wider to support dual 80mm fans back there, but this triggers a surprising amount of changes that are quite hard to do. For example, the bend angle on the aluminum outside panels works out just right right now. if the whole case gets wider that needs to be reworked. Also wood does not come infinitely wide and we are very close to the width limit of common size stock already. I think if we change anything in this area it should be introducing a couple cutouts so you could mount an iceman pump/res for the SSUPD meshlicions back there. (i already checked, spacing almost works out)

Will this be a limited run product or something that will be purchasable for awhile?
I hope to make it a product with a significant lifespan but the first few orders will definitely be batches.


This is the size difference required to support a 280mm radiator (white is original, Blue is new). I tried to line them up on the bottom left corner.
The case is very slender in width, which is why the liters work out. Original internal dimensions are 305x305x126 = 11.7L New ones are 328x315x126=13.0L
 

Shatrod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Dec 6, 2019
205
358
Hello everyone.

So, here are the updates I have been working on. I sent all of these to the manufacturer already, waiting to hear back and will change the official specs once they green light the changes.

1) The case has grown to be 13L internal volume instead of 12. The new dimensions are 360mm x 343 mm x 142mm external, 328mm x 315mm x 126mm internal.
This means the new max gpu length is ~318mm but naturally the longer it is the harder it will be to fit. The distance between flanges (the "opening") is 314mm. The width didn't change so still 2.5 slot.

2) The side radiator brackets now have mounts for SSDs. You can mount up to 4 SSDs (2 per bracket) in lieu of a second radiator if you wanted to. The original SSD mounts on the bottom of the case under the radiator has been mirrored to also exist on the top. This bring the total maximum SSD space to 9 (but forces you to use a 240mm radiator).


3) Now support 280mm radiators. Technically two of them (although im not sure if tube routing will become impossible). The side mount has been adjusted to accept a 280mm radiator. This configuration will prevent you from mounting any SSDs to the frame, and will force you to use the side brackets. The side brackets themselves can also accept a 240 or a 280 radiator.


4) If using a 240mm radiator and only putting SSDs at the top, the bottom of the case can now accept an additional 120mm fan. If not using a bottom fan, a total of 5 SSDs can fit directly to the frame with a 240 radiator (depending on choice of radiator and ssd thickness)



5) rear of the case now has tube pass throughs. You can mount an Alphacool dual 60mm radiator externally (or internally), or you can mount the iceman reservoir pump combo for the ssupd meshlicious there. It fits almost perfectly. The dual 60mm fan mounting from the back panel is mirrored onto the front panel so you can mount a ddc pump in any of those areas.



6) The riser cable mount has been made adjustable such that you can mount a single slot GPU with a waterblock closer to the side panel, freeing up more room for a thicker radiator or a push-pull setup. If using dual slot gpu the maximum radiator + fans stack thickness is 70mm (although recommend no more than 60 since otherwise the gpu can choke the bottom fan). This will allow you to use any radiator and pair it with the new 30mm thick fans. If using a single slot GPU moved closer to the side panel, the maximum radiator + fans stack thickness is ~90mm (thickess of the gpu backplate will make this a bit less). This allows for a push-pull config with 25mm thick fans and standard 30mm thick radiators (for both 240 and 280 radiators). It also allows you to fit thick radiators like the nemesis GTX and GTR models,

Also, by popular demand, I have been working on a glass side panel option with a half vented front. Although I am not sure if the pilot batch will have this, I want to make it an option in the future. There is still a lot of opens on this one like if it can be tempered glass or if it should be plexiglass and the associated costs.


I think this size increase brought with it a lot more flexibility that the case was previously lacking. Please let me know if there is a specific setup you want to see visualized and ill try to render it up for you.