Production SENTRY 2.0: Evolution of console-sized gaming PC case

[Atremo]

Hello, just to let you know... due the heat in vertical stand use , the raiser protection can come loose and its very sticky so it blocked my cpu fan and processor was boiling at 99gr... i noticed the pc malfunction during my gameplay and so i went checking. I closed my pc and rebooted and there i recieved the fan error.
I'm not using the protection anymore and maybe i was supposed to remove it in the beginning, dunno.

My temps are +- 48gr normally with around 70grmax and i5 4690 , noctua L9i, gtx 980 inside.

Very happy with my Sentry

 

[ZombiPL]

@SaperPL

I was doing some cablemanagement and when I tried to rescrew the USB front connector the small nut inside the rubber popped out and now the front connecter is loose in my case. Is it possible to get a replacement?

Not through the forum. We did not get any e-mail from you, so we do not even know who you are. What is more, we have some laws in EU which are protecting private data of our customers and we can't solve some problems "just like that".

If you guys want to inform us about something, e-mail is the fastest way. We may be active in our topics, but email has higher priority for us, because we can exchange some information, which we can't through the forum (legal issues). It may happen, that we won't even notice some questions in the forum, but we almost always see your emails in our mailbox. If you want to get your problem solved faster, please write us an email.

 

[Treshy]

I thought also, that delidding the 9900K give only a small Benefit in temperatures, but i might be wrong.
Regarding the cooler, the Blackridge is a 95W cooler, while the Cryorig is a 115W, which makes sense, because the Cu model is a full copper "block". I don't think the cooler is the issue, but the case airflow. I will test that by simply adding one or two 120mm fans on the outside of the CPU chamber and see, how much the CPU temps are benefit from that. At best, he fan on the Cryorig does no longer gets that loud / high rpm.

the tdp ratings of cooler manufacturers are meaningless when comparing brands. the black ridge is equivalent to the c7g (upgraded version of C7Cu) at worst. with a A12x15 fan its a LOT better than the C7G at the same noise levels (or a lot more quiet at the same temps)
basically the black ridge is objectively the best air cooler at <47mm if it fits your board.

 

[Airulzat]

just a heads up. I have a Gigabyte GTX 1060 3GB winforce oc and the PCIe connector extends a bit where i am force to press the cables just to fits the case cover and making the top side bulge a bit. At the same time not related to this issue, the Aorus B450i pro wifi was advertised to fits the Noctua NH-L9i cpu cooler using the AM4 mounting kit but the cooler just doesnt flush with the motherboard holes due to the VRM heatsink touching the cooler fins. what i did is remove the motherboard back plate and used the intel screws to fasten the cooler. This cause the cooler to barely lay flat on the cpu surface and causing the VRM heatsink to bend the CPU temps reach 92C while using Prime95. I will later order the cryorig C7 and might have to mod the PCIe connector.

 

[sampo]

Is Sentry built to a how tight manufacturing tolerances? My unit seems to be a bit bent especially around the cpu/psu top panel area, which doesn’t give the best first impression. Maybe a psu and optionally some spacers will push the panel back in shape?

 

[riba2233]

Is Sentry built to a how tight manufacturing tolerances? My unit seems to be a bit bent especially around the cpu/psu top panel area, which doesn’t give the best first impression. Maybe a psu and optionally some spacers will push the panel back in shape?

Do you have a picture? It's usually built like a tank.

 

[Brude27]

Is Sentry built to a how tight manufacturing tolerances? My unit seems to be a bit bent especially around the cpu/psu top panel area, which doesn’t give the best first impression. Maybe a psu and optionally some spacers will push the panel back in shape?

That section doesn't have a bend to keep the panel straight, but once you install your parts, it straightens out the way it should. I had the same concern with my Sentry when it arrived, but both mine and my friend's cases straightened out as they should.

 

[andy66]

the tdp ratings of cooler manufacturers are meaningless when comparing brands. the black ridge is equivalent to the c7g (upgraded version of C7Cu) at worst. with a A12x15 fan its a LOT better than the C7G at the same noise levels (or a lot more quiet at the same temps)
basically the black ridge is objectively the best air cooler at <47mm if it fits your board.

Yes i know that these are not "absolute" values to stick on, but it helps to guide you in a direction, which cooler to choose. Also the TDP of any CPU is also a bit meaningless, as i said my 9900k "is" a 95W TDP CPU, but it consumes much more under heavy load.
I think the black ridge as a cooler is not that much better than a C7Cu or C7G, the difference is the 120mm fan, but that is only possible with VLP Ram. So a comparison between the C7Cu / C7G and the black Ridge with A12x15 fan would be great to see, what it does really regarding temperatures and noise inside the sentry.

 

[Dustbunnyck]

Yes i know that these are not "absolute" values to stick on, but it helps to guide you in a direction, which cooler to choose. Also the TDP of any CPU is also a bit meaningless, as i said my 9900k "is" a 95W TDP CPU, but it consumes much more under heavy load.
I think the black ridge as a cooler is not that much better than a C7Cu or C7G, the difference is the 120mm fan, but that is only possible with VLP Ram. So a comparison between the C7Cu / C7G and the black Ridge with A12x15 fan would be great to see, what it does really regarding temperatures and noise inside the sentry.

I can attest to my 9900k on my big rig overclocked to 5ghz pulls 200watts of power and a 360mm radiator barely keeps it in check. A lot of motherboards though have a 95w setting on the 9900k which brings the temperatures way down. I believe Linus tech tips had a video showing it

 

[sampo]

Do you have a picture? It's usually built like a tank.

Here are some pictures, it sounds like these bends are typical. Also paint is a bit chipped around the back screw holes.

 

[ZombiPL]

Here are some pictures, it sounds like these bends are typical.

In Sentry 1.1 we had 4 more screws at the top of the case (in horizontal orientation), which were keeping this long surface straight, even when the case was empty. However we received many emails and messages asking to remove those screws in next revision of Sentry, so in v2.0 there is nothing which can keep this surface straight when not fully assembled (additional bend at the edge would help, but we do not have space for that). To make everything working properly, you have to just assemble your pc in Sentry. The flat surface (acting like bent) will lay on your PSU and when you screw every screw, everything should be fine.

Also paint is a bit chipped around the back screw holes.

In those spots were hooks on which elements were transported for applying powder coating, and after that on which were inserted to the oven. Because of the technology of applying the powder coating (powder applied by hand gun), you can't simply add another layer of paint, because it is almost impossible to keep the thickness of paint around the spot you want to cover. However whole Sentry is made of galvanized steel, and in most cases those small spots will be hidden behind the screws.

 

[ZombiPL]

Hello, just to let you know... due the heat in vertical stand use , the raiser protection can come loose and its very sticky so it blocked my cpu fan and processor was boiling at 99gr... i noticed the pc malfunction during my gameplay and so i went checking. I closed my pc and rebooted and there i recieved the fan error.
I'm not using the protection anymore and maybe i was supposed to remove it in the beginning, dunno.

My temps are +- 48gr normally with around 70grmax and i5 4690 , noctua L9i, gtx 980 inside.

Very happy with my Sentry

Did you connect PEG conectors to your GPU, before you noticed the problem? There is a power limit of how much you can get through your PCI-E slot (afair it was something like 75W), and if your PSU has some malfunction or you did not connect those PEG connectors or they weren't connected properly, your GPU could try to get missing power from PCI-E slot. In that case (theoretically) those riser pins could get hot if your GPU bios will allow to start your card, but I think most cards simply won't boot if you won't connect your PEG connectors. We will have to investigate that problem on our side.

 

[Solo]

Those dust filters aren't helping heat problems lmao. Plus they just downright look wretched.

 

[Atremo]

Did you connect PEG conectors to your GPU, before you noticed the problem? There is a power limit of how much you can get through your PCI-E slot (afair it was something like 75W), and if your PSU has some malfunction or you did not connect those PEG connectors or they weren't connected properly, your GPU could try to get missing power from PCI-E slot. In that case (theoretically) those riser pins could get hot if your GPU bios will allow to start your card, but I think most cards simply won't boot if you won't connect your PEG connectors. We will have to investigate that problem on our side.

Yes everything was connected properly, the psu is brandnew sfx 600. I noticed it during gameplay..., i have LED strip as you can see in the picture, also with the included sticky strip installed. This one holds atm.

Regards,

 

[SFF_awesome]

Hi everyone, new to the forums and excited for my Sentry 2.0 to arrive soon! Great to see all the pictures of the builds so far!

I've put my Sentry 1.1 on a well known auction site if anyone who is interested that missed out on 2.0.

DR ZABER SENTRY: console-sized mini-ITX gaming pc case | eBay

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Apologies if I'm not allowed to post a link for items for sale here - if not I will take down.

Many thanks and looking forward to seeing more Sentry 2.0 builds soon!

 

[Dax911]

Finally received my sentry few days ago, first thing first the package was damaged during shipping ( the box had a hole on it , it probably received a shock with the corner of another package) , I asked ghe delivery if i could open the package just to see if there was no issue with the integrity of my product , he just answered that once opened he couldn't take back the package ( funny fact he was trying to speed up the delivery when i asked him about the mark on the box and flipped it over and started telling me some nonsense joke and hand me over his device to sign in the delivery ...), Well I took my chance by signing in the delivery since I could sense some foam when I plucked my finger in the dammaged hole of the box, and this long text to say the packaging is really amazing , the sentry didn't seem to be dammaged since it was so well packaged with the protective foam and it remembered my dad old saying " better pay 1 cent more than risking loosing 2 cents sometimes" the foam investment was worth it. Anyway I'm gonna go through all the contents of the package when I got time and go through all this thread to have a "future proof" build and probably ask you some questions guys , see you when I'm done teading this thread

 

[tifaff]

which cases have better temps, those with the console style, or the sandwich style?

 

[tifaff]

You could just do what I did and do your own wiring everywhere.

Before the glorious black L9i:

L9i after I shortened the wires:

i have the same psu, in the web say that the sfx-l dont fit in the case, wtf?

 

[Solo]

i have the same psu, in the web say that the sfx-l dont fit in the case, wtf?

I've got a version 1.1.

 

[riba2233]

which cases have better temps, those with the console style, or the sandwich style?

They can both be equally good or bad, depends on the case.