Prototype Project Orthrus - Smallest SLI mATX case (V2)

[Roger]

If there is enough interest in such a case. mATX doesn't seem to be a very popular form factor though.
I've always had a taste for the unique

P.S. Happy New Year everyone. Its already 2017 in Australia

Definitely interested, please do let us know when you're ready to sell, IM IN LOVE

 

[BlackRogue]

Really great work, can't wait to see the final product with a PC built in it

 

[LukeD]

Me too. I can't wait. Had a few hiccups with production but hopefully I'll have it by mid Jan

 

[BlackRogue]

I have to say I was a bit worried about the size increase when you decided to widen it to fit a a 240mm AIO. But the outcome is far greater than I imagined

 

[BlackRogue]

Also quick question, has the picture of the case been flipped because the GPU and mobo chambers seem to have swapped sides

-Edit: Actually you can see the the mobo layout has inverted rear io. So the chambers must have been swapped. Is this for any particular reason?-

 

[LukeD]

I have to say I was a bit worried about the size increase when you decided to widen it to fit a a 240mm AIO. But the outcome is far greater than I imagined

Do you mean that trade-off was worth it ?

Also quick question, has the picture of the case been flipped because the GPU and mobo chambers seem to have swapped sides

-Edit: Actually you can see the the mobo layout has inverted rear io. So the chambers must have been swapped. Is this for any particular reason?-

Yes, the chambers have been swapped for "tetris" purposes . Because I wanted to support a water block for the TOP gpu, I inverted the design. Most water blocks have terminals up top.

It was also an opportunity to make the GPU rest on the PCIe extenders rather than hang off them.... this wasn't an issue initially, however If i decided to change PCIe manufacturers, if they didn't have extenders with locks in place, it would make it less "secure"

Inverting the design also helped shorten the PSU cables significantly.

However... your eagle eyes did pick up on the PEMs being on the wrong side of the case. Both the GPU pems and MB pems were installed on the same side of the case. Something that is being rectified right now, hence the delay.

 

[jeshikat]

Both the GPU pems and MB pems were installed on the same side of the case.

Haha, I could easily see that happening since it's probably not obvious to the PEMSERTER operator which way they should go since there's a chamber on either side of the motherboard tray.

For production you'll probably want to mention to the manufacturer to very clearly mark on the drawings they hand out to the workers on the floor which way the standoffs goes.

 

[LukeD]

Definitely Aibohphobia.
Funny thing is, its all correct in the drawing however obviously this has now come up as an area where a mistake could be made.
In all honesty, i don't know how this can be rectified apart from starting over ?

 

[jeshikat]

The drawing is what the manufacturer is accountable to, so if the operator installs the standoff backwards then it's the manufacturers problem to deal with not yours.

But if the design is prone to errors in manufacturing then they may quote you higher than they would otherwise to account for the higher scrap rate. I think this is a simple case of making sure the operator is aware of the correct orientation though, and over a production run it'd be pretty simple because after a couple cases they'll memorize it.

If you really wanted to be sure maybe you could have the motherboard tray etched with "Mobo Side" on that side during laser cutting. But I don't think that's really necessary.

 

[LukeD]

That's literally what came to my mind. Maybe put an etched in "M" for every PEM on the motherboard side and a "G" for GPU side pems.

 

[BlackRogue]

Do you mean that trade-off was worth it ?

Yeah, the trade off was definitely worth it. I like the changes behind the inversion. It show's real thought has been put into the case

 

[Sean Crees]

Lian Li seems to think this layout is a good idea, albeit in a larger version:


As soon as i saw the video i instantly thought of this case.

 

[LukeD]

Thanks for the heads up Sean
I think as PCI riser cables get more and more reliable, it only makes sense to move components around the case.
Probably also means Lian Li may not want to make my case if I approached them
They'll say it was their idea

On a more positive side of things ... They might have created longer SLI cables
Also looks like their case is a lot bigger with potentially an ATX motherboard fitting in there ?

 

[sshantt]

I think they've already been “inspired“ (lets say) by your case Luke...


I might be wrong but it seems to be quite similar except the psu is at the bottom.

 

[LukeD]

Actually if you flip Project Orthrus V1 upside down... that's literally the layout

 

[iFreilicht]

Actually if you flip Project Orthrus V1 upside down... that's literally the layout

And tack on space for radiators top, front and bottom. Really, while the layout is similar, you're not going to haul that LianLi case around, it's just as large a tower as any.

 

[LukeD]

Actually i think its just space for radiators on the top. But yes, we're on SFFForum for a reason
Whilst their case is larger with more storage options, I'm actually hoping this new form factor which has been shared across other cases in the past is more widely adopted.
It only makes sense to do so. We have the technology these days to do it.

Wouldn't it be great if we had "modular" PCIe slots on motherboards as a result of this ?
So we could insert the PCIe connector to the front or the back side of the motherboard as we wish ?
One can only dream

 

[LukeD]

So guess what arrived on my door step this afternoon ? (P.S. I couldn't help but try an AIO on it already)

 

[Gioffry]

So guess what arrived on my door step this afternoon ? (P.S. I couldn't help but try an AIO on it already)

Wonderful, it seems tetris, how to make the most of the space avaiable.

 

[LukeD]

It is a little bit like that so much fun to design and then .... when your estimates and measurements turn out to work, as you're putting it together ... its "OH SO" satisfying