Concept Project: Radian - 13 Liter Dual 240 Rad ITX Chassis

[Biowarejak]

Hmm, thoughts about mounting the rear panel to the outside like this? I don't prefer it aesthetically, but it should make installation much easier considering how the tray slots in. Maybe a compromise is best, making it flush somehow.

 

[AleksandarK]

Hmm, thoughts about mounting the rear panel to the outside like this? I don't prefer it aesthetically, but it should make installation much easier considering how the tray slots in. Maybe a compromise is best, making it flush somehow.

That is what i came up with.

BUT, i dont know if this could be manufactured easly, maybe with CNC.

 

[Biowarejak]

That is what i came up with.

BUT, i dont know if this could be manufactured easly, maybe with CNC.

Hmm, I believe a CNC Router would be able to do that easily otherwise, maybe some kind of spline curve would work. I'll be sure to get an estimate either way.

 

[darksidecookie]

construction wise it look pretty similar to the compact splash cases, so you could take a look how exactly they did it.

 

[Biowarejak]

construction wise it look pretty similar to the compact splash cases, so you could take a look how exactly they did it.

I mean, certain design cues come from it, most evidently the vent pattern. But overall I feel like it's a wholly different construction philosphy. More like the Ghost in my mind, or the A4. I'll give it another look though of course.

 

[darksidecookie]

I mean, certain design cues come from it, most evidently the vent pattern. But overall I feel like it's a wholly different construction philosphy. More like the Ghost in my mind, or the A4. I'll give it another look though of course.

i just meant the wraparound bezel was something the compact splash solved quite nicely and that it could also be a good solution for you.

 

[Biowarejak]

i just meant the wraparound bezel was something the compact splash solved quite nicely and that it could also be a good solution for you.

Ah, I understand! it's definitely worth taking another look at, thank you.

On another note, what kinds of colors would you all like to see?

 

[jØrd]

what kinds of colors would you all like to see?

Beige

 

[Biowarejak]

Beige

Hmm, so many shades...

 

[Biowarejak]

Hah! It looks alright!

 

[darksidecookie]

for the colour, I can't seem to find the hex code but i love the cobaltblue of the surface laptop.
Also just clear anodised aluminium and black anodised are good options.

edit: typo

 

[duke00]

In you reduce the top Radiator to 30mm thickness then you can fit bottom a Sfx and a 120mm radiator. Then you only will get 3x 120mm fans but you had a normal psu with more then 300w power and have so much space for ssd/hdd and pump and res next to your mainboard

I think there will be not big temp Differenz of 3x120 and 4x120 Radiator area.

 

[Biowarejak]

In you reduce the top Radiator to 30mm thickness then you can fit bottom a Sfx and a 120mm radiator. Then you only will get 3x 120mm fans but you had a normal psu with more then 300w power and have so much space for ssd/hdd and pump and res next to your mainboard

Something I've considered is widening the case slightly to keep it under 12 liters (~11.9), but still allow for the common ~60mm diameter reservoirs. As is though, 50mm options are available and I'm looking at integrating fill and drain ports anyway, alleviating some of the need. That said, I do like the aesthetics of reservoirs and won't remove support.

I'm not outright opposed to using SFX, but it's possible even with the current design to use dual AC/DC if your build for some reason needs greater than a single, actively cooled (it's attached to a giant heatsink) 300 watt AC/DC.

As for storage... Yeah you got me there. Currently I don't have mounting points for anything. I was hedging on M.2 being sufficient, at least for some. At one point I actually did have mounting points for a normal SSD drafted, but there were concerns about screw length. I'll definately look into it again/double check that it can be mounted to the X's.

The 30.5 height requirement for the radiator is mostly about being able to fit my current rad with normal sized fans. As is, there's not much spare room if you do that. Could change, but there's plenty of offerings below that height as well. It's been shown before that more fan points is better than more thickness, so using a thinner rad doesn't concern me.

The problem with changing heights and such is that it ultimately affects the front of the case, and I want that aesthetic maintained. If it's offset it better darn well not be willy nilly. To note, however, there's about 5cm of clearence on either top or bottom of the motherboard. Cutting into the bottom *could* be feasible but it nicks the mount for the AC/DC. I'll look into it, but I worry that it won't be clean.

<edit>
I can imagine that if you need much over 300 watts using a single unit, that extra radiator area could be worth it. Worth some testing.
</edit>

for the colour, I can't seem to fin the hex code but the i love the cobaltblue of the surface laptop.
Also just clear anodised aluminium and black anodised are good options.

Good choices! I'm honestly still debating anodizing vs powdercoating to be honest, but I definately feel that anodizing is preferable due to its hardness and dimensional accuracy. I've seen some examples also get very close to white, leaving that near-white color an option.

 

[Biowarejak]

Here's a render in the same Carmine Red that Cerberus is using

 

[AleksandarK]

Here's a render in the same Carmine Red that Cerberus is using

Try balck and green. Frame green and tray black and black frame and green tray.
Please

 

[Biowarejak]

Try balck and green. Frame green and tray black and black frame and green tray.
Please

Sure thing, it'll be ready in a few hours

 

[Biowarejak]

@AleksandarK Sorry about the wait! Went to the movies and then had to finish an assignment. Here you go:

The colors are RAL 6037 "Pure Green" and RAL 9017 "Traffic Black," and I think they look pretty good together! Very close to the Razer green but not quite.

 

[Biowarejak]

Sigh

Adding support for SFX is definitely possible but it's kicking my tail. Like a hundred things that need adjustment to squeeze it in without adding to the height of the case. On the bright side, it wouldn't need to have a height increase and I can maintain the reversibility of the tray (which allows you to have your motherboard and GPU swap which side they face). Unfortunately I'm going to need to go in and move the standoff locations up on the tray, then do a cutout for the PSU.

At the end of the day, I think it'll be worth it. Only one additional SKU would be added to the project overall.

-Edit-

So that overhang on the bottom of the tray that you can see in the PSU opening is the issue. But the joins on the bezel and rear panel don't look too shabby

 

[Mrvonwyl]

First off: that looks very promising. Great design!
Are you considering selling it at some point?

A few remarks/ideas/inputs form my side:
Why are the GPU slots so huge? (did i miss something?)

What about shifting the SFX PSU cutout a little further down? It looks like there is still some bezel left, and it seems like that would resolve your issue with the tray interference.

How to mount the side windows. Why not using a hinge mechanism at the back (such as the phanteks evolv (matx) uses) and some "plops" (how do you call them) or even magnets in the front.

I think the tray in the middle is acrylic, right? you could use a very dark slightly transparent type of acryll and insert some LEDs the long way, so that the tray cutout in the front would be lit.


Sorry if I am too suggestive, but I just fell in love with this one, and felt like I want to make my own

 

[Biowarejak]

First off: that looks very promising. Great design!
Are you considering selling it at some point?

A few remarks/ideas/inputs form my side:
Why are the GPU slots so huge? (did i miss something?)

What about shifting the SFX PSU cutout a little further down? It looks like there is still some bezel left, and it seems like that would resolve your issue with the tray interference.

How to mount the side windows. Why not using a hinge mechanism at the back (such as the phanteks evolv (matx) uses) and some "plops" (how do you call them) or even magnets in the front.

I think the tray in the middle is acrylic, right? you could use a very dark slightly transparent type of acryll and insert some LEDs the long way, so that the tray cutout in the front would be lit.


Sorry if I am too suggestive, but I just fell in love with this one, and felt like I want to make my own

No worries! I'm glad you enjoy Radian! If the design proves to be manufacturable I'd really like to open up sales. That's a really good idea about moving the SFX Mount into the actual curve of the bezel, although the reason why I haven't yet is because I've also yet to increase the width for tube reservoirs. If I did it right now It would interfere with mounting the back panel to the case.

Actually, the entire case is aluminum at this point in time. Although initially it was entirely acrylic, I had serious concerns about the case's rigidity and wanted to have the HDPlex units mount to an effective heat sink. I also absolutely love the idea you just suggested; I had similar plans to guide lightstrips into the side panels. If I do an RGB focused version of the case, I'll be sure to revisit those ideas.

As for mounting the glass, I've actually been fairly inspired by the Phanteks and Cougar cases, as well as the Case Labs offerings. I'm still looking at ways to secure it, but I'm a fan of simplicity. I figure it's easier to design the panels to mount with screws in the corners, but I also recognize that it's imperative for the glass be safe and easy to remove. For those reasons I like the designs that swing outwards and allow you to lift up the panel in order to remove it.

Also, the GPU slot cutouts are up to spec. They do look a bit large, but I actually need to make them a bit wider since GPU vendors tend to make the IO too close to comfortably get the cables hooked up. I'll double check the dimensions though, just in case.

Update #3

​

I spent a few hours today adjusting things! Not perfect, the holes for mounting the motherboard tray are not aligned, but it still highlights the compromises SFX support has added to the design in this configuration. Either a thin rad or slim fans have to be used at the top and there's hardly room for a 120mm rad in the bottom anymore if you're using an SFX-L unit.

If, like @Mrvonwyl suggested, I move the PSU down into the bezel curve, I would reclaim about a centimeter back. Might just barely be enough to resolve the issues I'm having with cutting into the motherboard tray. Good call there. It also make it reasonable to increase the width and accommodate more tube reservoirs.