Introduction:
Hello fellow small formfactorionados!
I've been lurking a bit around these forums since August of last year, since I started dabbling in the idea of making a case of my own.
After playing mainly consoles for several years, I ascended(ish) having a content-creating laptop for school from 2011-2014. I started building my own ITX desktop computer in the fall of 2014 for more ascending and horsepower. I've always been a fan of things not needing to be bigger than they need to be, and that's why I've owned and tried several cases since then, including a Silverstone SG05 & Chieftec BT-04B-U3. At the moment I have a Sharkoon QB One (14L!, I know..), which is a very flexible case - however, I can't stop thinking that I want to go smaller, while maintaining the ability to fit all my current components.
Overview:
I started sketching a case in July which ended up looking a lot like the Hutzy XS' and Firewolfys MI-6's cousin. Started thinking about things like expandability & noise levels. Also compatibility with my current components, so that I don't have to buy a lot of new stuff. I already have a 600W SFX PSU from Silverstone, and I don't plan on replacing that anytime soon, so I knew I had to include SFX-PSUs. I lengthened the case so it could fit a 120mm fan in the bottom as an intake, and possibly even a 120mm AIO. If I upgrade to a SFX-L, I could do that and either use a 80 or 92mm intake fan instead of 120mm.
I currently have a Gigabyte 960 which is 18cm long, and does fit into most cases. However, I don't know if I'm going to go for a larger card in the future - so that's why I have extra room in the 'GPU-chamber'. Could also be useful for cable management. Speaking of cables, the GPU and motherboard will be connected by a PCIe riser cable.
The case will only have support for mITX motherboards, and depending on setup it can have space for 2.5" & 3.5" drives.
This is not something I plan on doing mass production of, more like a 1 or 2 off.
I want the case to be less than 10L is volume,, because reasons.
I/O at the front will consist of 2 USB and audio/mic. Along with the power switch. Placement of these have not been finalized.
I've decided to call it the Aedicule (at least for now), which apparantly means "little house" or a small shrine.
Now, pictures of the core:
Specification:
Volume: 9,4L
Size: 25,6 x 13 x 28,3cm Height*Width*Length
Material: ~ 1.6mm Aluminium / steel (whatever I can get someone to manufacture for a decent price and rigidity)
MB-size: mITX
RAM-compatibility: 50mm
GPU length: 279mm max
PSU: SFX / SFX-L
Storage: Up to 4 3.5", or many, many 2.5"s
ODD: Slim, either slot loading/tray
Cooling:
- Intake: 120/92/80mm in bottom of the case
- Exhaust: up to 2x120/2x92/3x80mm at the top of the case. Max thickness: ~12mm
Please note that I have yet to finalize thoughts on HDD/SSD mountings and positions, so these are lacking from the pictures.
Also:
1. Not using my ODD as much as I used to - so thinking about dropping it, instead making a 'pocket' for 1 to 3 2.5"-SSDs. Thoughts? Any other uses/modifications?
2. Should I increase the height slightly to allow for full 25mm fans? Will probably be just under 10L then.
Also²:
I was tinkering with the idea of moving the PSU up to the side of the motherboard, allowing space for a 240mm radiator in the bottom of the case. However, I'm a bit worried this will make it resemble a Dan A4 with extra space in the bottom, and then lose its uniqueness as my 'own' case.
How well would a 240 CLC like the Fractal Design Kelvin S24 cool a CPU and a GPU in this case you reckon?
Opinions on this?There's a lot of brilliant minds in this forum, so I'll take any feedback
Thanks for reading!
Hello fellow small formfactorionados!
I've been lurking a bit around these forums since August of last year, since I started dabbling in the idea of making a case of my own.
After playing mainly consoles for several years, I ascended(ish) having a content-creating laptop for school from 2011-2014. I started building my own ITX desktop computer in the fall of 2014 for more ascending and horsepower. I've always been a fan of things not needing to be bigger than they need to be, and that's why I've owned and tried several cases since then, including a Silverstone SG05 & Chieftec BT-04B-U3. At the moment I have a Sharkoon QB One (14L!, I know..), which is a very flexible case - however, I can't stop thinking that I want to go smaller, while maintaining the ability to fit all my current components.
Overview:
I started sketching a case in July which ended up looking a lot like the Hutzy XS' and Firewolfys MI-6's cousin. Started thinking about things like expandability & noise levels. Also compatibility with my current components, so that I don't have to buy a lot of new stuff. I already have a 600W SFX PSU from Silverstone, and I don't plan on replacing that anytime soon, so I knew I had to include SFX-PSUs. I lengthened the case so it could fit a 120mm fan in the bottom as an intake, and possibly even a 120mm AIO. If I upgrade to a SFX-L, I could do that and either use a 80 or 92mm intake fan instead of 120mm.
I currently have a Gigabyte 960 which is 18cm long, and does fit into most cases. However, I don't know if I'm going to go for a larger card in the future - so that's why I have extra room in the 'GPU-chamber'. Could also be useful for cable management. Speaking of cables, the GPU and motherboard will be connected by a PCIe riser cable.
The case will only have support for mITX motherboards, and depending on setup it can have space for 2.5" & 3.5" drives.
This is not something I plan on doing mass production of, more like a 1 or 2 off.
I want the case to be less than 10L is volume,, because reasons.
I/O at the front will consist of 2 USB and audio/mic. Along with the power switch. Placement of these have not been finalized.
I've decided to call it the Aedicule (at least for now), which apparantly means "little house" or a small shrine.
Now, pictures of the core:
Specification:
Volume: 9,4L
Size: 25,6 x 13 x 28,3cm Height*Width*Length
Material: ~ 1.6mm Aluminium / steel (whatever I can get someone to manufacture for a decent price and rigidity)
MB-size: mITX
RAM-compatibility: 50mm
GPU length: 279mm max
PSU: SFX / SFX-L
Storage: Up to 4 3.5", or many, many 2.5"s
ODD: Slim, either slot loading/tray
Cooling:
- Intake: 120/92/80mm in bottom of the case
- Exhaust: up to 2x120/2x92/3x80mm at the top of the case. Max thickness: ~12mm
Please note that I have yet to finalize thoughts on HDD/SSD mountings and positions, so these are lacking from the pictures.
Also:
1. Not using my ODD as much as I used to - so thinking about dropping it, instead making a 'pocket' for 1 to 3 2.5"-SSDs. Thoughts? Any other uses/modifications?
2. Should I increase the height slightly to allow for full 25mm fans? Will probably be just under 10L then.
Also²:
I was tinkering with the idea of moving the PSU up to the side of the motherboard, allowing space for a 240mm radiator in the bottom of the case. However, I'm a bit worried this will make it resemble a Dan A4 with extra space in the bottom, and then lose its uniqueness as my 'own' case.
How well would a 240 CLC like the Fractal Design Kelvin S24 cool a CPU and a GPU in this case you reckon?
Opinions on this?There's a lot of brilliant minds in this forum, so I'll take any feedback
Thanks for reading!