Hello SFFers,
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. While by sheer technicality the Riotoro is NOT a SFF case (20.7 liters or so), I couldn't find a case that met all of my desires and I didn't have the time or patience to scratch build my own (though I sure as heck did have a plan). I scrapped my ideas on a Hadron Air almost two years ago due to lack of water cooling options (and a poorly laid out case), then moved to an EVOLV ITX, and found it cumbersome (at 32 internal, 34 external liters) and rather space-inefficient in certain areas, so I decided to give the no-name a try.
Anyhow, parts are nothing cosmic, it's a two-year old build just transported
i5-4690K
ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac
Zotac GTX 970 mini
8GB Kingston HyperX
Crucial 240GB SSD
WD Red 2.5" 1TB HDD
Seasonic 660X2 Platinum modular PSU
Water cooling:
Alphacool NexXxos ST30 240mm Radiator
Koolance 80mm reservoir
Alphacool Eisdecke pump top
Koolance COV450 pump top
Alphacool VPP655 pump
Alphacool VPP755 pump
Swiftech MCP655TM pump
XSPC Raystorm CPU block
Alphacool GPX-N 970 m01 GPU block
XSPC & EK fittings
Norprene 3/8" ID 1/2" OD tubing (originally vinyl)
Distilled water with PT Nuke
First off, I picked up this case in December after I found out that it had a price drop from $75 US to $55 US, with Prime shipping, and since I was in the market for a desktop-style ITX case that was smaller than my Phanteks EVOLV ITX. It seemed roomy enough to fit some water cooling gear and aesthetically pleasing enough that I figured it would make a good addition next to my desk. I found the size a good compromise between the Hadron Air (my first ITX build) and the EVOLV ITX (my second), with much better component room than the Hadron and less overall size than the EVOLV.
As far as features were concerned, I found myself thinking "wow, that's a pretty cool idea" at points, and "really!?" at others. The layout, for starters, is very solid, which was one of my frustrations with the Hadron (and 25% of its volume being taken up by 2 drives). It is a standard micro-tower layout with ATX or SFX (and adapter) power supply on the bottom, a space-effective method of securing 2 2.5" drives in the front, and a 3.5" drive (unused, in my case) behind the motherboard tray. The 2.5" drive mounts have built-in vibration-reducing grommets, which I thought was pretty awesome for my 1TB spindle drive.
You're not seeing things, the front has a curve to it, which I will mention later
Each fan mount sports vibration-reducing grommets as well, with enough in the accessory box to fit all 5 fan locations. However, if using mounts like those provided for the Noiseblocker eloop, the nuts jut out enough to prevent the use of the included fan filters. The fan mounts are also designed to use the M4.5 screws, so anything smaller won't hold, even with the grommets in place.
For those interested in water cooling in this case, don't get your hopes up too much, as contrary to what some have posited, it is not possible to mount a 240mm radiator to the roof, as it is not offset enough to give clearance to the RAM. The only viable radiator locations are a rear 120mm (which I have seen pictures of but have not tried myself due to a lack of a 120mm radiator), and a front 240mm radiator. This is somewhat misleading as well, because there is not enough length for a reference 10.5" graphics card, a 30mm thick 240mm radiator, and a fan on the bottom mount location. Doing the math (without having a reference card on hand to test), even a 12.5mm thick fan wouldn't work.
Back to the top fan mounts, they have an interesting filter placed with little push pins that latch to a mesh that fits perfectly. Not-so-perfectly, however, mounting a fan in its designated location will push these pins out (not enough for them to detach, just come up a little), which was the biggest facepalm moment for the case.
For giggles, I put my NH-D14 on at first and replaced the Zotac GTX 970 mini cooling solution (or "ear-bleedy solution," take your pick). The D14's heat pipes were just a hair too tall, however, and did not allow the side panel to close all the way (might have worked if there was no side window). The stock cooler on the 970 was a bit too loud for my taste, so I put it under water using parts from my EVOLV build and an Alphacool pump top and reservoir.
Shown with a Noctua NH-D9L after I stopped chortling
On a related note, I ran into some problems with the Alphacool pump top, both with the attached reservoir and without, and ended up sacrificing two D5s to the gods of hard knocks. Turns out the pump top outlet was broken, which may have led to some extra damage but definitely killed my two pumps.
Anyhow, after getting my third pump off of RMA, I put it all back together and crossed my fingers. . .Okay two days later it still works, but it beats the maybe one hour I got out of the other two setups. So below are the "final" pics at this stage:
Cable management is for suckers
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I am pleased with the case, though I do think it could be made with a little bit sturdier material. The front facade is mildly warped, as are the side panels from being taken off and put back on a number of times (and maybe from being sat on lightly once. . .or twice). The method of securing the front facade could also use some work, as the tabs that hold it in tend to bend a bit.
I like the simple aesthetic, though red is not my bag. Thankfully the trim is a simple sticker that can be removed at the whim of the owner. The front logo, as well, can be recolored, though I think the cut-out is a tad too big. I am definitely a fan of the subtle power light, though again, red is not my thing, and I will be scratching my head trying to find white LEDs to replace them.
Detail of the power LED
For easy water cooling, 120mm AIO solutions would be ideal, with one in the front (upper mount) and one in the rear locations. A 240mm up front leaves the bottom mount location bare with a reference 10.5" graphics card, although so far I have yet to have any temperature issues (stock clocks). Routing the tubing and sorting out where the pump and reservoir should go is definitely one of the more difficult brain teasers for those interested, but is definitely doable even without case modification. As a note: I am well aware that I could move my pump over an inch to fit a bottom 120mm fan, but for the sake of future compatibility I wanted to try it with one fan only first.
Anyway, thoughts are always appreciated, and I can attempt to answer any questions for those wondering about this little gem of a case.
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. While by sheer technicality the Riotoro is NOT a SFF case (20.7 liters or so), I couldn't find a case that met all of my desires and I didn't have the time or patience to scratch build my own (though I sure as heck did have a plan). I scrapped my ideas on a Hadron Air almost two years ago due to lack of water cooling options (and a poorly laid out case), then moved to an EVOLV ITX, and found it cumbersome (at 32 internal, 34 external liters) and rather space-inefficient in certain areas, so I decided to give the no-name a try.
Anyhow, parts are nothing cosmic, it's a two-year old build just transported
i5-4690K
ASRock Z97E-ITX/ac
Zotac GTX 970 mini
8GB Kingston HyperX
Crucial 240GB SSD
WD Red 2.5" 1TB HDD
Seasonic 660X2 Platinum modular PSU
Water cooling:
Alphacool NexXxos ST30 240mm Radiator
Koolance 80mm reservoir
Koolance COV450 pump top
Swiftech MCP655TM pump
XSPC Raystorm CPU block
Alphacool GPX-N 970 m01 GPU block
XSPC & EK fittings
Norprene 3/8" ID 1/2" OD tubing (originally vinyl)
Distilled water with PT Nuke
First off, I picked up this case in December after I found out that it had a price drop from $75 US to $55 US, with Prime shipping, and since I was in the market for a desktop-style ITX case that was smaller than my Phanteks EVOLV ITX. It seemed roomy enough to fit some water cooling gear and aesthetically pleasing enough that I figured it would make a good addition next to my desk. I found the size a good compromise between the Hadron Air (my first ITX build) and the EVOLV ITX (my second), with much better component room than the Hadron and less overall size than the EVOLV.
As far as features were concerned, I found myself thinking "wow, that's a pretty cool idea" at points, and "really!?" at others. The layout, for starters, is very solid, which was one of my frustrations with the Hadron (and 25% of its volume being taken up by 2 drives). It is a standard micro-tower layout with ATX or SFX (and adapter) power supply on the bottom, a space-effective method of securing 2 2.5" drives in the front, and a 3.5" drive (unused, in my case) behind the motherboard tray. The 2.5" drive mounts have built-in vibration-reducing grommets, which I thought was pretty awesome for my 1TB spindle drive.
You're not seeing things, the front has a curve to it, which I will mention later
Each fan mount sports vibration-reducing grommets as well, with enough in the accessory box to fit all 5 fan locations. However, if using mounts like those provided for the Noiseblocker eloop, the nuts jut out enough to prevent the use of the included fan filters. The fan mounts are also designed to use the M4.5 screws, so anything smaller won't hold, even with the grommets in place.
For those interested in water cooling in this case, don't get your hopes up too much, as contrary to what some have posited, it is not possible to mount a 240mm radiator to the roof, as it is not offset enough to give clearance to the RAM. The only viable radiator locations are a rear 120mm (which I have seen pictures of but have not tried myself due to a lack of a 120mm radiator), and a front 240mm radiator. This is somewhat misleading as well, because there is not enough length for a reference 10.5" graphics card, a 30mm thick 240mm radiator, and a fan on the bottom mount location. Doing the math (without having a reference card on hand to test), even a 12.5mm thick fan wouldn't work.
Back to the top fan mounts, they have an interesting filter placed with little push pins that latch to a mesh that fits perfectly. Not-so-perfectly, however, mounting a fan in its designated location will push these pins out (not enough for them to detach, just come up a little), which was the biggest facepalm moment for the case.
For giggles, I put my NH-D14 on at first and replaced the Zotac GTX 970 mini cooling solution (or "ear-bleedy solution," take your pick). The D14's heat pipes were just a hair too tall, however, and did not allow the side panel to close all the way (might have worked if there was no side window). The stock cooler on the 970 was a bit too loud for my taste, so I put it under water using parts from my EVOLV build and an Alphacool pump top and reservoir.
Shown with a Noctua NH-D9L after I stopped chortling
On a related note, I ran into some problems with the Alphacool pump top, both with the attached reservoir and without, and ended up sacrificing two D5s to the gods of hard knocks. Turns out the pump top outlet was broken, which may have led to some extra damage but definitely killed my two pumps.
Anyhow, after getting my third pump off of RMA, I put it all back together and crossed my fingers. . .Okay two days later it still works, but it beats the maybe one hour I got out of the other two setups. So below are the "final" pics at this stage:
Cable management is for suckers
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I am pleased with the case, though I do think it could be made with a little bit sturdier material. The front facade is mildly warped, as are the side panels from being taken off and put back on a number of times (and maybe from being sat on lightly once. . .or twice). The method of securing the front facade could also use some work, as the tabs that hold it in tend to bend a bit.
I like the simple aesthetic, though red is not my bag. Thankfully the trim is a simple sticker that can be removed at the whim of the owner. The front logo, as well, can be recolored, though I think the cut-out is a tad too big. I am definitely a fan of the subtle power light, though again, red is not my thing, and I will be scratching my head trying to find white LEDs to replace them.
Detail of the power LED
For easy water cooling, 120mm AIO solutions would be ideal, with one in the front (upper mount) and one in the rear locations. A 240mm up front leaves the bottom mount location bare with a reference 10.5" graphics card, although so far I have yet to have any temperature issues (stock clocks). Routing the tubing and sorting out where the pump and reservoir should go is definitely one of the more difficult brain teasers for those interested, but is definitely doable even without case modification. As a note: I am well aware that I could move my pump over an inch to fit a bottom 120mm fan, but for the sake of future compatibility I wanted to try it with one fan only first.
Anyway, thoughts are always appreciated, and I can attempt to answer any questions for those wondering about this little gem of a case.
