So i've been playing around with the S4M-C model, sort of altering it to be "perfect for me". I wanted to show y'all what i came up with.
A couple of highlights: Tempered Glass side panel, 400w AC/DC internal PSU, Flipped GPU, still 5L volume while keeping the wrap around 5mm thick bezel.
67.5mm x 340.2mm x 219.6mm. (W/H/D) 5.04 liters volume.
It has 214mm max length for GPU's, and a max height of 127mm while having the 400w internal ac/dc HDPLEX PSU. This is more length/height for GPU's than the original S4M-C, and only 1mm less length than the new S4M. While you can get more height in the S4M, you can't get this much while also having the internal 400w AC/DC PSU.
Another nice aspect of this case concerning GPU installation; if you take the silver side panel off that wraps around the top, there is zero obstruction to just dropping a GPU in making installation much easier. Also you can have plenty of room to connect PCI-E power cables before reattaching the side panel.
It utilizes the standard C8 power connector that comes with the HDPLEX 400w AC/DC PSU. There is a cutout at the bottom of the case to allow ventilation through the PSU with a 40mm fan mounted to the top. This fan is optional, but i believe the PSU is only officially rated at 300w if you don't use it. This layout would require a slight modification to the HDPLEX PSU, the location where the input cables (white cables) exit the side of the PSU, you'd have to make a small cut in the top aluminum housing panel to allow them to exit out the top instead so the PSU can sit flush against the bottom of the case.
The 5mm thick wrap around bezel is the same dimensions as the original S4M-C. The only changes made are slightly trimming excess material off the back/bottom edge, moving the cutout hole for the power button at the front, and adding skyslots for additional GPU ventilation. Because the power button cutout is moved, it would require a new piece. It is possible to leave the original power button location and reuse your old bezel's, but the power button would interfere with longer GPU's.
Increased ventilation skyslots on front/top, as well as not blocking as many on the "back" side with the internal motherboard tray to help compensate for the fact that the "front" side is a solid sheet of glass. I only have a single 2.5" drive modeled, but it would be pretty easy to stack more behind it with a different bracket. You could probably even put a 3.5" HDD here instead if you wanted.
The tempered glass panel sits flush and doesn't utilize thumbscrews protruding from the side to attach to the case. Instead there are metal flanges that are taped with industrial strength 3m tape to the side of the interior glass panel that hook on sections of the internal chassis at the bottom. The front/top would have a small magnet taped to it that would snap to a small piece of sheet steel, and the back/top would have an L shaped bracket taped to the inside that allows you to use a single thumbscrew on the back of the case to secure the side panel. There is a slight air gap at the front/bottom/rear around the glass, it only sits flush against the case at the top.
I was worried about the weight of the glass panel pulling the case over while standing vertically. This is why the glass stretches all the way to be flush with the bottom 5mm thick wrap around bezel. In this way, it actually helps support the case to be more sturdy while in the vertical orientation.
There is a quarter inch thick blacked out section around the edge of the tempered glass panel to block view from unsightly aspects of the interior frame of the case. This border is raised slightly at the bottom so you can still see the separation between the case and the wrap around 5mm thick bezel. I've already sourced a supplier for the tempered glass at around $50 USD each. This is just for the glass cut to the shape required, not the cost of the mounting hardware required.
While i have shared this with Josh, this is not a collaboration effort, and he has not officially endorsed this. This is just me playing with his model he made available on this website in sketchup. This may never become an actual product. If i'm lucky it might become a 1 off for me, or anyone else willing to pay way too much money for a SFF PC case.
As for how much something like this might cost. The glass is $50 USD minimum, and if i remember correctly Josh said the 5mm thick wrap around bezel cost around $50 USD by itself. So your talking the price of a normal small run SFF case price of probably $200 + the extra $100 for the glass/5mm thick bezel, and the price may be slightly higher since most likely less people would be interested in spending $300+ for just a PC case. So your looking at around $400 in the best case scenario that Josh throws his support behind this and we get a few hundred people that want to purchase it. Worst case scenario this is a 1 off prototype which can cost up over a grand.
A couple of highlights: Tempered Glass side panel, 400w AC/DC internal PSU, Flipped GPU, still 5L volume while keeping the wrap around 5mm thick bezel.
67.5mm x 340.2mm x 219.6mm. (W/H/D) 5.04 liters volume.
It has 214mm max length for GPU's, and a max height of 127mm while having the 400w internal ac/dc HDPLEX PSU. This is more length/height for GPU's than the original S4M-C, and only 1mm less length than the new S4M. While you can get more height in the S4M, you can't get this much while also having the internal 400w AC/DC PSU.
Another nice aspect of this case concerning GPU installation; if you take the silver side panel off that wraps around the top, there is zero obstruction to just dropping a GPU in making installation much easier. Also you can have plenty of room to connect PCI-E power cables before reattaching the side panel.
It utilizes the standard C8 power connector that comes with the HDPLEX 400w AC/DC PSU. There is a cutout at the bottom of the case to allow ventilation through the PSU with a 40mm fan mounted to the top. This fan is optional, but i believe the PSU is only officially rated at 300w if you don't use it. This layout would require a slight modification to the HDPLEX PSU, the location where the input cables (white cables) exit the side of the PSU, you'd have to make a small cut in the top aluminum housing panel to allow them to exit out the top instead so the PSU can sit flush against the bottom of the case.
The 5mm thick wrap around bezel is the same dimensions as the original S4M-C. The only changes made are slightly trimming excess material off the back/bottom edge, moving the cutout hole for the power button at the front, and adding skyslots for additional GPU ventilation. Because the power button cutout is moved, it would require a new piece. It is possible to leave the original power button location and reuse your old bezel's, but the power button would interfere with longer GPU's.
Increased ventilation skyslots on front/top, as well as not blocking as many on the "back" side with the internal motherboard tray to help compensate for the fact that the "front" side is a solid sheet of glass. I only have a single 2.5" drive modeled, but it would be pretty easy to stack more behind it with a different bracket. You could probably even put a 3.5" HDD here instead if you wanted.
The tempered glass panel sits flush and doesn't utilize thumbscrews protruding from the side to attach to the case. Instead there are metal flanges that are taped with industrial strength 3m tape to the side of the interior glass panel that hook on sections of the internal chassis at the bottom. The front/top would have a small magnet taped to it that would snap to a small piece of sheet steel, and the back/top would have an L shaped bracket taped to the inside that allows you to use a single thumbscrew on the back of the case to secure the side panel. There is a slight air gap at the front/bottom/rear around the glass, it only sits flush against the case at the top.
I was worried about the weight of the glass panel pulling the case over while standing vertically. This is why the glass stretches all the way to be flush with the bottom 5mm thick wrap around bezel. In this way, it actually helps support the case to be more sturdy while in the vertical orientation.
There is a quarter inch thick blacked out section around the edge of the tempered glass panel to block view from unsightly aspects of the interior frame of the case. This border is raised slightly at the bottom so you can still see the separation between the case and the wrap around 5mm thick bezel. I've already sourced a supplier for the tempered glass at around $50 USD each. This is just for the glass cut to the shape required, not the cost of the mounting hardware required.
While i have shared this with Josh, this is not a collaboration effort, and he has not officially endorsed this. This is just me playing with his model he made available on this website in sketchup. This may never become an actual product. If i'm lucky it might become a 1 off for me, or anyone else willing to pay way too much money for a SFF PC case.
As for how much something like this might cost. The glass is $50 USD minimum, and if i remember correctly Josh said the 5mm thick wrap around bezel cost around $50 USD by itself. So your talking the price of a normal small run SFF case price of probably $200 + the extra $100 for the glass/5mm thick bezel, and the price may be slightly higher since most likely less people would be interested in spending $300+ for just a PC case. So your looking at around $400 in the best case scenario that Josh throws his support behind this and we get a few hundred people that want to purchase it. Worst case scenario this is a 1 off prototype which can cost up over a grand.
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