Concept SENTRY 3.0: Development and Suggestions

[Morbo]

I see a lot of "my use case must be the the only use case, so let's ignore all other use cases and force the manufacturer to accommodate me".

I'm a Sentry 1.1. owner, it's still going strong. One of the first posts Saper posted in Hardforum with the original prototype CAD designs like 7 years ago was that they wanted to fill a niche - that niche was a horizontal steam machine that would fit in with living room/HTPC aesthetic, while maintaining slim/small size in a horizontal position, that wasn't as bloated as the ML/Raven line from Silverstone, or the Node202 (both of which are ridiculously fat/bloated).

If you need something that will fit a 2.5 or 3 slot GPU, there already is the Sliger Conswole. Sentry is the only case currently that fills the 2 slot aesthetic without being stupidly wide horizontally, and still looks beautiful on the outside. Manufacturers are still making of blower 3070/3080s, so it's not like there aren't 2 slot options for powerful gpus.

Also on the front panel usb port - for those of you who just like to have a small case sitting on your desk right next to where you sit, having no front panel connectors is ok for you.
But if you use Sentry as original prototype was intended like i am - which means it's sitting in a tv cabinet, it absolutely needs front panel usb connector. Logitech wireless connectors for keyboard/mouse need line of sight when you go beyond anything farther than a few feet. I'm at around ~12 feet from my couch to my Sentry front panel, and it's about at the max range of effectiveness. If i had to stick the usb connector on the back of the case, there would be no way the keyboard/mouse would be able to connect reliably.

 

[SassyBeard]

If it's able to hold a 320mm 2.75 GPU then I will be a very happy camper.

The Sentry looks so awesome.

Maybe add mesh panels.

 

[aranel42]

Also on the front panel usb port - for those of you who just like to have a small case sitting on your desk right next to where you sit, having no front panel connectors is ok for you.

Even when having it on the desk, it's nice to have ports that are available for stuff like HDD adapters, flash drives, SD/microSD card adapters, etc. without having to get up and dig around the back of the case. Especially if the back is already crowded with display, power, audio, and USB cables.

 

[syin16]

Adding usb type c with the A adapter seems like the way for the future though. But is the A adapter an industry standard?

 

[amalek.92]

Proud owner of a Sentry 2.0 of a Navy Gray variety here. I adore it. In my humble opinion, dimension-wise the Sentry is close to perfect. I would like it to be 5L in volume like NFC's S4M, but that would mean omitting a standard SFX PSU, which would go against one of the core principles of this case, i.e. the ability to stuff in conventional parts from your local PC store, not some custom made hardware (looking at you, HDPLEX power supplies, of which I have three, two of them dead and the third one works with some issues). Still a fan of S4M, though, but you absolutely can't deny the user-friendliness of the Sentry. Hard to say what a third version should be like... It's easy to give ideas without proper examination of what gets into making such a case. There are many variables, I believe, many behind-the-scenes stuff we don't know about. Sure, we want this and that, but it ain't that simple. Me personally, I would leave the dimensions as it is (or make the case even smaller if it doesn't mean loosing the ability to put in an SFX power supply). One thing I would surely work on is the looks. Not that it doesn't look great. Quite the contrary, as a matter of fact. But from 1.1 to 2.0 there wasn't much of a change in terms of aesthetics, and I believe the 3.0 should be even more good looking and be a little different.

 

[ELIAS MARTIN]

Independientemente de los cambios que decida hacer, espero que logre mantener el tamaño de la carcasa aproximadamente igual.

Personalmente, creo que está bien si un RTX3090 con 5950X no encaja en el Sentry, ya hay cosas como las fundas de consola sliger para ese tipo de compilaciones.

Está bien si no todos los SKU de cada GPU encajan en el estuche, "comparar" las piezas correctas es parte de la diversión. El EVGA 3080 encaja bien en el Sentry 2.0, por ejemplo, si Sentry 3.0 es compatible con los 3 o 4 3080 más compactos, eso le daría a las personas algunas opciones y al mismo tiempo evitaría hacer la carcasa demasiado grande.

Yo consideraría que la tapa lateral por donde va alojada la placa madre sea extraíble para poder limpiarlo cuando tenga que hacerlo.

 

[confusis]

Yo consideraría que la tapa lateral por donde va alojada la placa madre sea extraíble para poder limpiarlo cuando tenga que hacerlo.

"I would consider that the side cover where the motherboard is housed is removable to be able to clean it when I have to."

Please post in English as per the Terms and Conditions you agreed to whilst registering

 

[sammysam250]

Awesome! Sentry 1.1 owner here and my case is still going strong! I'm excited to see what 3.0 brings.

My only suggestion would be changing the front USB header having one Type A and one Type C connector to bring it up to date with other current cases. Overall, I'm very happy with mine and haven't had any complaints. The size is perfect and fits perfectly in my entertainment area.

 

[ars Diaboli]

My suggestion would be to use slimmer psu cable extender that does not protrude as far as current one(similar to one found in dan a4). Move psu closer to front io ports. Add ability to flip psu mounting so it could take air from the same side as GPU (will require adding holes in the case). 2 psu mounting options will allow to avoid possible conflicts with front io ports. That will increase space between psu and gpu - useful for cable management, may be even enough to fit 2.5 drives there. Same as others - I think that removing air pocket behind gpu, increasing riser length, and moving gpu closer to an opposite side panel- is generaly a good idea that will increase gpu compatibility list

 

[Leo1linksalvaje]

Hi DR ZĄBER

● Add Anti-Dust panels please
● The the case colors should match, like: White case, White stand. Black case, Black stand.
● This new case should be equal or Slimmer as the previous one
Resistant and Featherweight (made from aluminum or some lightweight materials alloy)
● In the front panel it could have the Headphone jack input and Mic input as well as the USB input
● If it will be launched at high price with lack of stock available it will be one more useless overpriced case in the market.

 

[NBM722]

Can it fit a full atx motherboard with a hdplex power supply to build an apu system Without gpu ?

 

[Deleted member 25848]

Can it fit a full atx motherboard with a hdplex power supply to build an apu system Without gpu ?

Why do you need an ATX Motherboard to build a System with an APU?

 

[Leo1linksalvaje]

Can it fit a full atx motherboard with a hdplex power supply to build an apu system Without gpu ?

Maybe you could use a 700W Flex PSU if you can afford one, like this one from china:

Link: https://***********/ftsr23ah

 

[voromaestro]

Dear Zaber-Team,

Your Sentry 2.0 was so close to perfection, that I just signed up to post my opinion.
After building multiple Mini-ITX Systems for years, these are my thoughts for the Sentry 3.0:

1. Take the Sentry 2.0 as reference (even today it's one of the best looking SFF-Cases out there)
2. make a cleaner front (no visible screws)
3. remove front-panel-USB (reason: even mid-class motherboards nowadays have more than enough ports in the back) furthermore internal USB is an ABSOLUTE pain in the buildung process because of limited space. So it is not efficient.
4. Ventilation: Instead of using holes, use "horizontal cut outs" -> To give the case an aggressive gaming Look
5. Please do not focus too much on this Nvidia high TDP-GPU-Generation. There is nothing wrong going with a good blower-style card or an AMD-Reference card.
6. Keep supporting SFX PSUs. SFX-L is too huge, and good Flex-PSUs are just too rare/uncommon.
7. Keep the feet/stand of the case - absolute perfection.
8. Please no crazy colors. Just a clean good lucking black (1) and white (2). Two colors are all we need!

Many greetings from a great supporter in Germany.

 

[Alster370]

I love the 2.0, and id rather see some updated panels rather than a 3.0. But here are my thoughts.

*Motherboard rear access - I know some people will complain that is spoils the clean sides, but it would make hardware substitutions so much easier. Plus if I need to redo the thermal paste or the like I dont have to empty the entire case.

*Aluminium case - Same design, but in aluminium, the sentry can be quite weighty when fully loaded, Plus I can imagine benefits to cooling, as there will be less hot spots (certain parts of my case get to "too hot to touch" levels when gaming for extended periods

* Cooling improvements for SSDs and NVME's - I havent had any issues so far but I worry about the longevity of the NVME on the back of the motherboard, must be scorched 24/7

* Improved segregation of GPU/CPU compartments - I mentioned this before, could either be some cable management style grommets, or a plastic "passthrough" where PSU cables connect to it, then on the other side (gpu compartment) plug in a seperate power cable to connect gpu to passthrough. Im for this not just for tidyness, but hopefully would improve thermal performance if no GPU hot air can get to CPU compartment, only through conduction via case.

 

[aranel42]

3. remove front-panel-USB (reason: even mid-class motherboards nowadays have more than enough ports in the back) furthermore internal USB is an ABSOLUTE pain in the buildung process because of limited space. So it is not efficient.

I agree on the cables to the front being a pain, but removing the front access ports would hamper the main use case of the case (heh...) of being a console-style computer, where you won't have easy access to rear ports.
And personally I find it quickly gets tedious to get up and reach around the computer every time you want to plug something even if having the computer on your desktop.

I'm hoping A-key connectors will start to become more common before 3.0 arrives, which should mean less unwieldy cables.

In a perfect world the case could come with a front for a single USB-C , dual USB-A, or a blank plate to cater to everyone's wants. But that very likely means a more complicated and expensive manufacturing process.

 

[phinix]

I hope 3.0 will be available in 2022.

 

[phinix]

oops, double post..

 

[ShinyChariot]

Has there been any discussion on Navy Gray returning as an option? I always thought a Dualshot keycap set and a Navy Gray Sentry would be really slick together.

 

[Illuminare]

It would be really cool if you considered adding a literal mechanical keyboard switch as the on and off button, maybe add a kailh hot-swap socket so we can customize it