Prototype Project Orthrus - Smallest SLI mATX case (V2)

LukeD

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Case Designer
Jun 29, 2016
498
1,305
@Linero you're 100% correct and right in that I should have posted and kept people up to date. There's no excuse for that, nor is my post meant to excuse that lack of communication. What I did I'm not proud of, I'm just offering an explanation why. Things got so overwhelming for me I didn't know how to deal with it all. In fact I started avoiding everything that could even raise my stress levels ever so slightly. As it would create a lot of panic and anxiety. Something I've never had to deal with before. And I would consider myself a fairly weathered person as I've been living out of home and independent since I was 17. So its not the fact that I lost the drive for the project its just that it became a very low priority for me considering all other things and that the project would inevitably give me stress that I couldn't cope with at the time. Perhaps we're wording it differently but I think we're on the same page here.

I understand people may have lost trust in me as a result of this and once again I apologise to them, especially the avid passionate followers. At that point in the project I think we all saw it stall as I have not crowd funded It or collected any money from people and I was still in very sparse communication with manufacturing. It will take a while to regain that trust and hopefully I can inspire that confidence in this project before getting it funded and brought to market.
 
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Linero

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 9, 2017
103
95
@Linero you're 100% correct and right in that I should have posted and kept people up to date. There's no excuse for that, nor is my post meant to excuse that lack of communication. What I did I'm not proud of, I'm just offering an explanation why. Things got so overwhelming for me I didn't know how to deal with it all. In fact I started avoiding everything that could even raise my stress levels ever so slightly. As it would create a lot of panic and anxiety. Something I've never had to deal with before. And I would consider myself a fairly weathered person as I've been living out of home and independent since I was 17. So its not the fact that I lost the drive for the project its just that it became a very low priority for me considering all other things and that the project would inevitably give me stress that I couldn't cope with at the time. Perhaps we're wording it differently but I think we're on the same page here.

I understand people may have lost trust in me as a result of this and once again I apologise to them, especially the avid passionate followers. At that point in the project I think we all saw it stall as I have not crowd funded It or collected any money from people and I was still in very spare communication with manufacturing. It will take a while to regain that trust and hopefully I can inspire that confidence in this project before getting it funded and brought to market.
I can understand all of this. I will not dwell on the past any further, and only hope that things keep improving with positive progress moving forward; for both your life and project!
 
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gwertheim

King of Cable Management
Nov 27, 2017
938
1,555
I can understand all of this. I will not dwell on the past any further, and only hope that things keep improving with positive progress moving forward; for both your life and project!

Let's move forward with this case and not dwell on the mistakes.

Any chance we can get an updated design which can accommodate triple slot cards and maybe a 280 rad.

I want to use this at a portable editing/rendering rig which will generate a crap ton of heat.
 
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ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,706
1,646
@LukeD please you gotta do something man. We've been struggling to pacify your loyal fans. They're calm & civilized but we're not sure we can hold them for much longer ?



(That's how I imagined the situation at the moment LOL)
 

HowDeadly

Cable Smoosher
Dec 27, 2017
11
13
@ignsvn relax boss. I didn't come here to bite anyone.? @LukeD remember sir, this is a community. We support eachother no matter what circumstance. Don't abandon this project. Not by force, but fate. You worked hard for this and your like one step closer to success. But still you overthink too much that you think if you updated the situation that may cause the project to stall, you will lose your fans and cost at fault? At most maybe, but some of us don't give up on it. Remember if you don't feel well, find ways to relax and rest, stand up, and figure out the steps left off. @Linero Those are some deep harsh words you got there but i gotta most part of it.
 

Linero

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 9, 2017
103
95
@ignsvn @Linero Those are some deep harsh words you got there but i gotta most part of it.
I wouldn't say "harsh" per se; more like strong. As I have just mentioned, I have went through some colossal changes in my life after suffering for too many years. I received many "soft" and sympathetic responses. While those do surely help, it's the strong words that make you want to get up and actually do the right thing. I heavily contemplated whether I should I say what I said or not. Again, this case is definitely not for me, nor would I ever afford something of this caliber anytime soon. I ultimately decided to go through with it purely for his own sake and benefit (and everyone else in this thread in the process, of course).
 

HowDeadly

Cable Smoosher
Dec 27, 2017
11
13
I think my username was unintentionally quoted. To clarify; I did not mention any harsh word. I'm simply happy to see LukeD back :)

waaaaait! I forgot to delete that "harsh" word. That's my mistake now but anyways. I'm really glad he's back also.
 
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LukeD

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Case Designer
Jun 29, 2016
498
1,305
SFF Family,

I'm currently in the process of researching manufacturing options. I'm looking locally first (Texas) and then I'll be looking online.
I have a special ask of you all.
To help speed up the project and get it to the right manufacturer, could I get your suggestions on who you have seen other designers work with where projects are working out successfully.
This will help me out heaps and jumpstart the project again.

Thank you all again for your patience and support.
 

Default_K.D

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Jun 7, 2020
3
0
Hey everyone,

I don't know where to start, in terms of an update so the following will be a bit of a brain dump ...

Last I updated I was in talks with a manufacturer to bring this case to market. Unfortunately we had issues getting it all to happen.
And it was just a case of me missing an email from them and when I'd respond back they'd be busy with something else.
We just seemed to miss each other.
After that I started a new job and that was very involved and still is to this day. Its one of the most involved positions ive had in my life. Very rewarding but very demanding.
And as @Ricky said a few posts above, life indeed did get busy. I normally keep these things private but I just want you guys to understand that its not my lack of interest in the project why I disappeared for a while, it was all just life: I moved continents, bought a house, started a new job, my mother had a second operation, covid-19 happened and then my father passed away .... and somewhere along the way I got divorced. This is not meant to be a sob story just being 100% transparent, this way you guys can see why the project has been on and off time and time again.

I'm still keen on getting this to market and I've just sent an email to the original manufacturer, we'll see how discussions flow on from there.

Hey there Luke!
Sorry to hear what happened, I am also happy for you that your back n track!! that's great news.

I’m a huge fan of SFF Builds and have been dying to find an ITX form factor case that supports dual GPUs. Any coming to the point! just like you i began trying to design my own case from scratch and just in time did I stumble upon your wonder case!!!

I am an industrial designer and my protection requires me to have a well-equipped pc, one That’s also portable! And my minimum requirement for the projects I currently work on is a pair of 2080ti and there is nothing in the market that covers my need but you wonder case. I would be glad to help you if you accepting any help in working on your case! As an industrial designer, I could contribute a lot. And of course for free! Please let me know If there is anything I can do to help!!!! Love your case bud!!!!!

Best of luck!! I would love to contribute in terms of design!
 

Default_K.D

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Jun 7, 2020
3
0
Hey there Luke!
Sorry to hear what happened, I am also happy for you that your back n track!! that's great news.

I’m a huge fan of SFF Builds and have been dying to find an ITX form factor case that supports dual GPUs. Any coming to the point! just like you i began trying to design my own case from scratch and just in time did I stumble upon your wonder case!!!

I am an industrial designer and my protection requires me to have a well-equipped pc, one That’s also portable! And my minimum requirement for the projects I currently work on is a pair of 2080ti and there is nothing in the market that covers my need but you wonder case. I would be glad to help you if you accepting any help in working on your case! As an industrial designer, I could contribute a lot. And of course for free! Please let me know If there is anything I can do to help!!!! Love your case bud!!!!!

Best of luck!! I would love to contribute in terms of design!


I literally created this account and found this website/forum/community in the process of trying to get my message across to you!!!
 

HowDeadly

Cable Smoosher
Dec 27, 2017
11
13
SFF Family,

I'm currently in the process of researching manufacturing options. I'm looking locally first (Texas) and then I'll be looking online.
I have a special ask of you all.
To help speed up the project and get it to the right manufacturer, could I get your suggestions on who you have seen other designers work with where projects are working out successfully.
This will help me out heaps and jumpstart the project again.

Thank you all again for your patience and support.

I've seen a lot been made through china but ill keep an eye on lookout. I know in US locals may become expensive but may worth a shot.
 

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,706
1,646
I've seen a lot been made through china but ill keep an eye on lookout. I know in US locals may become expensive but may worth a shot.

The thing about having it done in China is that, there's a high risk that you'll need to say bye2 to your IP quite quickly. You can "delay" it by having each parts done by different companies/countries, although logistic will be an issue. However, again it'll only delay for so long, since nowadays it's easy enough to steal case concepts / ideas based on the pictures from the internet.

IMO what separates an original VS counterfeit is the quality and the original community spirit & feedback behind the idea. I noticed that many of clones' build quality is so-so. There are clones with better quality of course, but they are usually priced not much different compared to original ones. For this reason, I personally always try to support the original whenever possible.

@LukeD I reckon you asked Slieger in the past?
 

Ellimist

Trash Compacter
Feb 11, 2018
37
39
There was a knock off of this case done already. It was on Taobao. It was the Gen 1 version of this case.
 

Default_K.D

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Jun 7, 2020
3
0
SFF Family,

I'm currently in the process of researching manufacturing options. I'm looking locally first (Texas) and then I'll be looking online.
I have a special ask of you all.
To help speed up the project and get it to the right manufacturer, could I get your suggestions on who you have seen other designers work with where projects are working out successfully.
This will help me out heaps and jumpstart the project again.

Thank you all again for your patience and support.

have you thought about running a kickstarter campaign for this case first? as i believe having a successful campaign can make it way easier to get your case a large scale manufacture! I guess even protocase will be more than suitable for the campaign and you'll just have to sort out you sli bridges or nvlink! along with power supply and special PCIe riser cable. This is a very fail-safe plan and I'm more than sure it will succeed profiting you and the project a lot! plus your time to market will be a lot less if finding manufacturers is being a bottleneck. I'm sure you know best! all the best!
 

xninetynine

Cable Smoosher
Apr 11, 2017
11
14
Hey man. I am sorry to hear about that string of unfortunate events that happened to you. Life is all about its up and downs, and I am certain and hope that things will only get better from here on.

That being said, I have a further but quite controversial comment to this. I fully understand how life can take such a turn. A few months ago I have lost everything including my house, country, PC and any forms of a connection to get in contact with anything. However, blaming these things for the lack of an update for over a year is not THE valid excuse here. I would have been a lot more understanding if you had said that you had lost the drive at the time . But I can never rationally say "It was not possible for him to provide a single update for over 13 months"; because you definitely had that ability at one point or another.

People never demanded a positive update filled with action and progress either. People just wanted to know where the project is heading; whether it's cancelled, halted or being worked on. We all would have understood whatever you might provided no matter what it is. We are all humans at the end, and we all go through hardships. Going completely AWOL and not saying a word was surely not the wisest decision though.

I apologise if this came out as a harsh criticism. I really had no intention whatsoever of making it like so. I am actually not personally interested in buying such a case. However, I had read many pages of this thread a while ago, and I was impressed by how passionate people were towards this project. I felt like the people you involved with their interests had the right to know whatever was going on. Hence my sympathy to both parties.

Once again, I hope things only get better for you from here on. Best of luck!

I don't understand why you posted what you did - there's no need for such a comment. This is a computer case, not a house deal, not a life or death situation.

"Going completely AWOL and not saying a word was surely not the wisest decision though." What deems it as an unwise decision? Did Luke commit to giving daily updates and then fail to meet that promise? Did he raise and collect millions of dollars from investors on this platform and then run away from the forum never to be heard from again? Did you or any other person on this forum personally invest a single $0.01 and sign a contract stating that he is required to give anything to anyone here? If people are genuinely passionate about this project, don't you think they would reach out to him? Who's to say they haven't?

Maybe others did as I have when they saw this project. I direct messaged him voicing my support for the project, and when there were no updates, I direct messaged him asking how he was doing and if there were any updates. I didn't flame him on a public forum post. Sometimes he immediately responded, and other times he didn't. His is not obligated to reply to anyone here if he doesn't want to. You end with an apology and profess that you are "not personally interested in buying such a case," then why comment on it at all? Why not let the people who are interested in case voice their, unsubstantiated concerns or complaints.

Your apologies fall on deaf ears, as your post lacks any substance or logical reasoning.
 
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Linero

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 9, 2017
103
95
@xninetynine The fact that you felt it was needed to say all what you just said after the topic has been long closed, and both parties not complaining, already invalidates what little argument you put on the table. There is so much face palm worthy statements from your post, that if I had to dissect it one by one, I would be sitting here all day writing a wall of text. Which is quite frankly not worth my time. +1 for trying to be the super hero though, I will give you that :)

I am also rather curious what your unedited post was like before it was changed by... a moderator? Interesting... Oh well.