Production RCC-MID2 | compact industrial style vertical case

[REVOCCASES]

Thank you for your diplomatic feedback. I got it... ?

Well, I have made a few changes in the meantime. Let me know what you think:

• Star Wars inspired vent pattern
• volume increased to 13L for better overall compatibility
• FLEX PSU Support (the case allows to put some 80mm in front of it to help with cooling)
• up to 3.5 Slot GPU support (79mm clearance)
• 60 to 80mm CPU cooler / pump clearance (depends on GPU thickness)

now it supports the Kraken X42 AIO and also traditional air coolers up to 60mm

Kraken X42 Water Cooling Fan | Liquid Cooling | NZXT | NZXT

The Kraken X42 is a high-performance 140mm liquid cooler computer fan with lighting and CAM controls.

www.nzxt.com

and I just saw that YTC is now selling some quite affordable 700W FLEX PSU. I haven't tested it yet but YTC usually doesn't sell crap and from the pictures it looks promising.

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Also the case's "cover" seems to be now including the side panel as well, is that right? Which makes for a bigger piece. Is that easy to remove? If not, what about a small handle or something to facilitate removal of that panel?

the case is made of just two bend metal sheets. the "base" part where you install all your components and the "cover part" which is fixed with 6 to 8 screws (not sure yet). assembly is really super easy.

 

[Elaman]

Star Wars inspired vent pattern

now it supports the Kraken X42 AIO and also traditional air coolers up to 60mm

I think it looks better. I wonder, with a storm-trooper themed Nvidia card and black/white AIO...
So your target is basically something like a Ryzen 9, e.g. 3900X?

 

[REVOCCASES]

I think it looks better. I wonder, with a storm-trooper themed Nvidia card and black/white AIO...
So your target is basically something like a Ryzen 9, e.g. 3900X?

Let's see how it looks in reality and if I can find some nice GPU which would match the style...

The primary target for BIG2 is to support those monstrous RTX3XXX cards which won't fit in the BIG1 due to the length and height...

And sure, with a 140mm rad you should also be able to get a Ryzen 9 cooled in this case.

 

[lasek]

Vents look better, curious about how diagonal patterns would look too.

I was enthusiast about the ~9L layout and associated compromises.

The +4L increase is significant and proper SFX support could make more sense for this volume range and target configuration.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Vents look better, curious about how diagonal patterns would look too.

I was enthusiast about the ~9L layout and associated compromises.

The +4L increase is significant and proper SFX support could make more sense for this volume range and target configuration.

I can make another diagonal pattern and see how it looks.

Your concerns about PSU support at this size is a valid point so I guess I'll keep playing around with size and compatibility. The height and depth is more or less fixed if I want to keep the general layout and 140mm rad support but I can make it thinner depending on max GPU thickness.

Have you thought about what kind of graphics card you would put into this case if I go back to 9L?

 

[lasek]

Edging towards a 5800x / 6800xt build

Amd new gpu reference design is 2.5 slots 267mm - maybe that will allow to further reduce enclosure volume below 9L.

Both formats make sense, just they should target different builds.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Edging towards a 5800x / 6800xt build

Amd new gpu reference design is 2.5 slots 267mm - maybe that will allow to further reduce enclosure volume below 9L.

Both formats make sense, just they should target different builds.

I'm also working on another concept which is more aimed at AMD cards:

Production - RCC-BIG2 | vertical small footprint BTO case | support for 280mm AIOs or tall air coolers

RCC-BIG2 is a simple and customizable BTO (build-to-order) case with traditional layout (no riser cable required). Features of the case: vertical or horizontal orientation traditional layout, no riser cable flexible size / volume different vent hole designs to fit your taste W x D x H can be...

smallformfactor.net

The BIG2 on the other hand is supposed to offer better compatibility with RTX3080 cards since most partner cards are much longer than AMD. Also I don't see issues using PCIe 3.0 riser cables with the new Nvidia cards. AMD on the other hand seems to benefit from PCIe 4.0 and I didn't find any good affordable riser yet. So MID2 for AMD and BIG2 for Nvidia.

 

[lasek]

nice, I'll follow this new thread too

 

[Elaman]

Your concerns about PSU support at this size is a valid point so I guess I'll keep playing around with size and compatibility.

OK so this would become in a way, the most GPU-centric model.
For someone who spent big bucks on a GPU I think it makes sense, to have more showing-off of the GPU?
Of course I don't know how I'd go about it in practice, but maybe somebody with more expertise can comment.

 

[REVOCCASES]

OK so this would become in a way, the most GPU-centric model.
For someone who spent big bucks on a GPU I think it makes sense, to have more showing-off of the GPU?
Of course I don't know how I'd go about it in practice, but maybe somebody with more expertise can comment.

Yeah, some big air cooled graphics cards would fit well in this case. Maybe I could make the GPU side panel out of clear acrylic ?

 

[REVOCCASES]

I have shifted priorities in favor of a smaller case volume and PSU compatibility. Therefore I have also changed the name of this project from BIG2 >> MID2 so don't get confused...

The new layout would come at 9.8L and allow following configuration:

• SFX & SFX-L PSU with enough room for cable management
• 3 Slot GPUs / 135mm height / up to 300 or 310mm length (depending on AIO and fan thickness)
• 120mm AIO for CPU with up to 50mm thick waterblock (Corsair H55, NZXT M22, etc.)

I'm still working on some new vent pattern but here is how the layout would look like:

 

[Elaman]

I have shifted priorities in favor of a smaller case volume and PSU compatibility. Therefore I have also changed the name of this project from BIG2 >> MID2 so don't get confused...

The new layout would come at 9.8L and allow following configuration:

• SFX & SFX-L PSU with enough room for cable management
• 3 Slot GPUs / 135mm height / up to 300 or 310mm length (depending on AIO and fan thickness)
• 120mm AIO for CPU with up to 50mm thick waterblock (Corsair H55, NZXT M22, etc.)

I'm still working on some new vent pattern but here is how the layout would look like:

I think it's an excellent idea: quite decent CPU cooling (somebody who wanted to go for air cooling can still look at MID1), 3 slot GPUs with respectable length, and even below 10L volume!

 

[REVOCCASES]

Thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated.

Today I made another prototype based on the new 9.8L layout and new vent pattern. I don't have a banana for scale so my RTX2080S must do.

Unfortunately stability suffers quite a bit having that many vent holes so I might either need to go for SECC instead of AlMg3 or I'll modify the pattern once again...

 

[lasek]

coincidence, the sapphire 6800xt nitro has been announced at 2.7 slots 310mm ?

 

[REVOCCASES]

coincidence, the sapphire 6800xt nitro has been announced at 2.7 slots 310mm ?

Yeah, this would fit well. ?

Besides, Nvidia announced that they planning to do something similar like AMDs SAM but this requires PCIe 4.0 to work. Considering that a suitable PCIe 4.0 riser cable for this case would cost probably 60 USD (or more) I am thinking to do a major redesign and go for some riser-less layout instead. ?

 

[REVOCCASES]

new prototype and sample build incoming... (don't mind the screws, scratches and slight misalignment... it's just for testing assembly and compatibility)

As you can see I did a few changes. The new design allows to offer custom made GPU side panels according to your liking (including window panels). For the sample I choose to make only a few vent slots to check thermals. Result: the GPU keeps as cool as on an open bench! With a 2-Slot Card I could even use a completely closed side panel as fresh air can enter the case through the gaps I made.

New specs of the case:

• Size: 390 x 140 x 180 mm // 9.8L
• Cooler Support: 120mm AIO
• GPU Length: 300mm with 120x25mm fan // 310mm with 120x15mm
• GPU Thickness: max. 2.7 Slots
• PSU: SFX(-L)
• SSDs: only M.2

Building is pretty easy: First install the MOBO, PSU and AIO...

...and then the GPU in front

 

[Intrepid_Cosmonaut]

I think the new more minimal vent pattern fits the very industrial design better personally.

 

[REVOCCASES]

Thank you.

What I might still do for the next sample (if it doesn't impact stability) is adding gaps to all the bends on the other side of the main chassis so it matches the look of the flaps where the GPU side panel is mounted. I guess that should look better. Also maybe one or two more rows of slots on the GPU panel, just for the looks.

 

[Intrepid_Cosmonaut]

I definitely like the look of the gaps with the visible screws/brackets, personally the more similar it looks to the MID1 the better, that is definitely my favourite looking design you have done and if it was not for the limited GPU sizing it offers i would definitely have picked one up. ?

 

[REVOCCASES]

I definitely like the look of the gaps with the visible screws/brackets, personally the more similar it looks to the MID1 the better, that is definitely my favourite looking design you have done and if it was not for the limited GPU sizing it offers i would definitely have picked one up. ?

Glad to hear that.

If you like I can send you one MID2 prototype for review / testing. Would you be interested?