Concept Project TOAD: 8.9L Hardware Showoff Watercooling Case

[cadiguno]

Hey everybody,

I've been in the forum for a while now and I am amazed how there are so many incredible ideas here! Seeing all these great works (I personally think case design is a form of art) makes me want to try my hands on a personal project as well.

In terms of pure functionality and size, I don't think there's a shortage of options. From the NCase M1 to CustomMOD Nano, there always somebody doing a project for a particular size and needs. This project caters to those who want to build not just a functional machine, but a beautiful one. As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of beholder. For some it's sleek and understated look. For others it's NZXT Manta-style curvacious waste of goddamn space. For some, it's how much you can show off your hardware.

Project Toad is a portable SFF Case meant to be carried to places and show off your swag hardware. Therefore it needs to adhere to certain limits:

• Less than 9L of volume for portability
• Supports 120mm or 240mm AIO water cooler (because they're awesome for showing off)
• Supports all stock air coolers (including AMD Wraith Max because its RGB is awesome)
• Supports GPU with 220mm length
• Supports SFX PSU (they have bigger area to show off company logo)
• Supports RAM with no height limitation (including ridiculously tall RGB RAMs)
• One transparent side panel to view all the hardware
• VIEW TO THE CPU & GPU MUST NOT BE OBSTRUCTED
• COMPANY LOGO ON ALL HARDWARE MUST NOT BE INVERTED

Latest renders: 8.9L

Spoiler: Configuration 01: Air Cooler + 2 SSD + 2 HDD + 240mm GPU

Spoiler: Configuration 02: 120mm AIO Water Cooler + 2 SSD + 240mm GPU

Spoiler: Configuration 03: 240mm AIO Water Cooler + 170mm GPU

Spoiler: Configuration 04: 120mm Fan + 190mm GPU

 

[cadiguno]

Several changes to the original design:

• Volume increased into 8.9L
• Current dimensions: L242 x H285 x W129
• Scrapped the LOUQE-style tophat design and defaulted to water cooling support
• Supports 2x SSD + 2x HDD when using the Air Cooler Configuration
• Supports 2x HDD when using the 120mm AIO Configuration
• M.2 ONLY when using 240mm AIO Configuration
• Supports 170mm GPU when using the 240mm AIO Configuration
• Supports 240mm GPU when using the 120mm AIO or Air Cooler Configuration
• Supports 2x 60mm fans
• NO PCIE RISER NEEDED - CUTS A LOT OF COST

Newest renders:

Spoiler: Configuration 01: Air Cooler + 2 SSD + 2 HDD + 240mm GPU

Spoiler: Configuration 02: 120mm AIO Water Cooler + 2 SSD + 240mm GPU

Spoiler: Configuration 03: 240mm AIO Water Cooler + 170mm GPU

Spoiler: Configuration 04: 120mm Fan + 190mm GPU

 

[cadiguno]

Bit too much time on my hands today (aka running away from the stuff I actually need to do) and made a few more revisions on the main post.

In this update, I added the case's outer shell. As radiators blow air to the front, it cannot be just a simple metal plate. Taking some cues from the Corsair Carbide Air 240, which I loathed because of its waste of space, I adopted its octagonal shape and frontside design. I think overall it still has that understated look, though not as simplistic as some other cases. But TOAD is all about swag -- the grown-up kind, not the over-the-top teenage style -- so why not a bit of flair?

Spoiler: Front View

The case feet is incorporated as part of the overall case, and I'm very satisfied about how the whole looks like a unity (instead of an additional part screwed / sticked on the main body). However, I'm worried this may limit airflow coming into the GPU. Any suggestions?

Spoiler: Back View

Another addition is the Power Button, which I totally forgot to add in my previous posts. Keeping up with the simplistic look, I opted to eschew having front Input/Output and put in a vandal switch. As the front side is fully used for 240mm radiator support, there is no other place to hang the power button than the upper plate. Well, there's the backside, but that wouldn't add to the look.

Spoiler: Above View

Overall, I'm very satisfied with how it looks. However, the elaborate octagonal design does come with a cost, and that is about 1L extra volume compared to a simple monolith.

Including the case feet, the TOAD now clocks in at 243 x 293 x 138, making its volume 9.82L.

Still a pretty small size for something that supports 240mm radiator. I reckon the M1 (at 13.12L) is the next smallest one to do that, though it does support many other things, including a much longer GPU and/or an ATX PSU.

Any comments and suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Necere]

Remember that you need to allow for 15-20mm from the GPU to the side of the case for the PCIe power connectors. A lot of short cards are also taller (/wider) than reference, so that's something else you'll want to keep in mind.

 

[Biowarejak]

I may not be the biggest fan of the aesthetic (although it's nice it clashes with a lot in my room) I do like the concept overall and would love to see it developed further.

 

[cadiguno]

Remember that you need to allow for 15-20mm from the GPU to the side of the case for the PCIe power connectors. A lot of short cards are also taller (/wider) than reference, so that's something else you'll want to keep in mind.

Thanks for the reminder! I already put 12mm of space between the GPU and side, but I'll add a bit more for the connectors. As for the width, it's probably not wise to cater to every single GPU there is as it may bloat the size even more, so how much do you think I should accommodate?

 

[Boil]

Remember that you need to allow for 15-20mm from the GPU to the side of the case for the PCIe power connectors. A lot of short cards are also taller (/wider) than reference, so that's something else you'll want to keep in mind.

Thanks for the reminder! I already put 12mm of space between the GPU and side, but I'll add a bit more for the connectors. As for the width, it's probably not wise to cater to every single GPU there is as it may bloat the size even more, so how much do you think I should accommodate?

The GPUs that may cause an issue with the current design are the Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini @ 132mm in height ( + room for power connector ) & the MSI GTX 1070 Aero ITX @ 129mm in height ( + room for power connector )...

If the chassis is not increased in width, then you are limiting it to GTX 1060 ( and below ) GPUs...?

 

[cadiguno]

The GPUs that may cause an issue with the current design are the Gigabyte GTX 1070 Mini @ 132mm in height ( + room for power connector ) & the MSI GTX 1070 Aero ITX @ 129mm in height ( + room for power connector )...

If the chassis is not increased in width, then you are limiting it to GTX 1060 ( and below ) GPUs...?

I think 1070s (and their mini variants) are a good cut-off point. The next tier is the 1080/Tis, which are 267mm and above in length. To accommodate them will make the case a lot bigger and the layout will need to be completely reworked to maximize space efficiency.

Hmm, come to think of it somebody who'd be interested in a case designed to flaunt their hardware would probably own over-the-top components. I'm now torn whether I should try to accommodate 270mm GPU ...

 

[LjSpike]

Hmm, come to think of it somebody who'd be interested in a case designed to flaunt their hardware would probably own over-the-top components. I'm now torn whether I should try to accommodate 270mm GPU ...

If you move the radiator up a bit you could increase height a tad, but open up more space for the GPU giving it full run of the entire bottom of the case?

Its just a thought.

 

[Boil]

I think 1070s (and their mini variants) are a good cut-off point. The next tier is the 1080/Tis, which are 267mm and above in length. To accommodate them will make the case a lot bigger and the layout will need to be completely reworked to maximize space efficiency.

Hmm, come to think of it somebody who'd be interested in a case designed to flaunt their hardware would probably own over-the-top components. I'm now torn whether I should try to accommodate 270mm GPU ...

Well, if you do want to include at east 1080s (NOT 1080 Ti, just regular 1080) then the target is the Zotac GTX 1080 Mini @ 212mm...

 

[Boil]

This project reminds me of the https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/spartan-jr-the-8-35l-itx-tower-case.1660/, especially with the dual 80mm fans on exhaust duty...

But I must say, I do not like the PSU up top layout; all that weight up top & the largest cable on the backside going all the way up as well...

But I DO like the large amounts of cooling / airflow the chassis has...!

 

[ignsvn]

The plus point of this case is the Innovative layout.

Like what everyone said, do remember to provide space for the GPU power connector.

What material do you have in mind, especially for the front plate? Also, will there be any place for front USB & IO ports?

Nuhun.

 

[cadiguno]

This project reminds me of the https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/spartan-jr-the-8-35l-itx-tower-case.1660/, especially with the dual 80mm fans on exhaust duty...

But I must say, I do not like the PSU up top layout; all that weight up top & the largest cable on the backside going all the way up as well...

But I DO like the large amounts of cooling / airflow the chassis has...!

The octagonal shape actually had practical use -- it gives room for cable management behind the motherboard. I didn't think about weight distribution, though ...

The plus point of this case is the Innovative layout.

Like what everyone said, do remember to provide space for the GPU power connector.

What material do you have in mind, especially for the front plate? Also, will there be any place for front USB & IO ports?

Nuhun.

Honestly at this stage I'm still focused on the layout and design. My personal preference is brushed aluminum, but I think it's still a long way to go till then.

Last night I dreamed (literally dreamed in my sleep) of a certain component layout that may fix the weight distribution / GPU height / case volume issue. However, this sacrifices 240mm AIO support but now supports 2x 120mm AIOs. Does anybody actually use two AIOs?

 

[Boil]

Does anybody actually use two AIOs?

I like the idea of a separate AIO for each component (CPU & GPU), as this allows each component to control its own cooling..

I am eagerly awaiting EKs return to the AIO playing field with their MLC line, which should be released any day now (they DID say Spring 2017, of which we are firmly within); I could see dual 140mm Predator-style AIOs...

 

[Biowarejak]

Does anybody actually use two AIOs?

there is actually a few cases where it makes sense, such as a stock water-cooled graphics card + aio cooled cpu