Prototype Project: Unnamed Case | ITX under 15L Modern Aesthetic Vertical Standing Case

MisterNguyen

Efficiency Noob
Original poster
Mar 13, 2019
5
9
Hello SFF Community,

I'm currently working on my very first SFF case design. I have already begun building prototypes and would like feedback from the community on what their preferences would be in a case like this. The goal for this case is to have a small footprint when placed on the desk yet still be a good enough size to handle/transport. There are plenty of amazing traditional standing SFF cases so I didn't want to saturate the market with a tweaked clone of an already existing case hence why I went for a vertical standing case with minimal compromises. I was mostly inspired by the Corsair One case design. I like symmetry so the case is equal in length on all sides (7.5" x .7.5") and sits 15.5" tall currently which makes it roughly 14.3L. I've attached photos of the first prototype. The case is fully CNC machined from aluminum plates and then powder coated. It's currently set up to take triple slot GPUs of any length and width and support CPU coolers heights up to 95mm. However, I am currently machining another prototype to accommodate dual slot gpus to increase CPU height clearance (better CPU coolers) and potential take a 240mm AIO. As previously mentioned I was inspired by the Corsair One so I may experiment with convection cooling (240mm rad with no fans on it), so it will rely on the top 120 or 140mm fan (undecided) to pull air through the sides, through the radiator and exhaust out the top. Side panels are solid right now simply because drilling out over 1800 holes per panel would take some time. The only panels that will be perforated are the ones on the GPU side and CPU side. The other 2 panels will remain solid to maintain a clean aesthetic. Enough rambling.

So my starting questions for you, the community is:

1) What would you like to see in a case like this? Is this case even appealing?
2) Would you prioritize a beefy > 2 slot card and limit your CPU cooling options OR choose a 2 slot card and have increased CPU cooling (bigger cooler/AIO)?
3) Would you prefer all the side panels to be solid and have only the bottom and top of the case ventilated or would you like to see ventilation of some sort on the side panels too (CPU and GPU side)?
4) What kind of I/O options would you like to see? (My idea is to just have a single power button and nothing else).
5) Would having the power button out of sight (perhaps the rear of the case) be an inconvenience? Goal is to be clean/modern/stealthy.

I think these are good starting questions. If anyone has any additional feedback or questions for me please feel free to be as straightforward or blunt as you'd like. No such thing as dumb ideas, I'd like to hear them all!

Thanks,
Brandon