I am very excited to show you my new design that is completely different than my previous cases. I was dabbling with a few variants of this case for a long time now (first version was with all 4 sides closed and extruded shell) and I think that the current design is the best of them all.
So basically, it is a vertical riser less case with very focused and guided airflow, optimized for air cooling and supporting large GPU's and large CPU air coolers (even Noctua NH-D15S as you'll see) with aid of smartly placed case fans. It has IO on the bottom and bottom to top airflow. It also has enough space (60 mm) for all your cable connectors so no need for any angle adapters. It will allow for extremely tidy cable management on your desk and a small footprint (23x21 cm) so you place it next to your monitor and it won't stick out.
Regarding dimensions, they are 231 x 209 x 408 mm or 19.7 L which is very near that famous 20L cut off point for SFF, but we need to consider some things first before saying it is to big. First of all, that volume is complete volume including all your cable ends which are never counted with standard cases and almost 3 L for this case. So that volume is total volume on your desk. Second point is small footprint, which is actually smaller than the footprint of the N-ATX if we include cables. And it's largest dimension is height, which is almost never a problem while desk space is. And lastly, it is basically the smallest size that permits long and tall 3-slot GPU's with large and tall CPU coolers such as NH-D15S. And not to mention riser less design, so you won't have any problems with gen4 and upcoming gen5 platforms.
Constructions is mostly 1.5 mm thick aluminum sheet metal, with rear panel and top fan holder made out of 0.8 mm steel since they need to be magnetic. Top mesh is 0.4 mm steel since it has to be very flexible and will be attached magnetically (think of top meshes on standard cases).
For airflow it uses one 140 mm intake fan on the bottom for CPU, one 200 mm fan on top for GPU/CPU/PSU exhaust and GPU intakes air naturally from the perforated rear side. Here is an airflow diagram:
Build process is very easy since you can work on open chassis and then just slide it into the shell and attach other panels after that. Also there is space next to PSU for tucking extra cables and a few cable tie points.
Here are specifications and compatibility list which is very simple this time:
- 19.7 L volume with 231 x 209 x 408 mm outer dimensions
- vertical riser less tower case with bottom IO
- support for ITX motherboards
- support for 3 slot GPU's up to 345 mm long (315/320 mm with 200 mm top fan)
- CPU air coolers up to 182 mm (max allowed overhang from the motherboard is 5 mm)
- mount for 120 mm AIO or radiator on the bottom
- SFX power supplies up to 100 mm long
- support for two 2.5" hard drives
- case fans: 140 or 120 mm bottom | 200, 140 or 120 mm top | 2 x 120 mm side
- 60 mm clearance for cable connectors on bottom
- invisible power switch on top
Of course I only post new designs after I already have the prototype:
And of course I also did a test build with a 5800X with NH-D15S and 6700XT Hellhound, a really long and tall GPU to validate the thermals compared to open bench:
As you can see it makes for a really neat desk:
No wires, yaaaay!
Now let's talk temperatures. CPU is simple, it gets same temperatures as on open bench so that is a win in my book. GPU is a bit more complicated and it basically depends mostly on the exhaust. Without the top mesh it is 1-2 degrees cooler than open bench, and with it it can get up to 10 degrees warmer. But don't worry, I will redesign it to have more open area than the current version, but it takes literally one second to remove and reattach (magnets) if you wish to get max performance. But in any case not a bad result compared to most cases.
So, I would like to hear your opinions, do you like the design, are you ok with the dimensions and compatibility etc, I am still considering whether I will do a batch and have this in my regular production. Also I am not sure about the price yet but it should be lower than my current cases. And of course I need to paint the prototypes (I was thinking about a rougher texture and matte black of course)
So basically, it is a vertical riser less case with very focused and guided airflow, optimized for air cooling and supporting large GPU's and large CPU air coolers (even Noctua NH-D15S as you'll see) with aid of smartly placed case fans. It has IO on the bottom and bottom to top airflow. It also has enough space (60 mm) for all your cable connectors so no need for any angle adapters. It will allow for extremely tidy cable management on your desk and a small footprint (23x21 cm) so you place it next to your monitor and it won't stick out.
Regarding dimensions, they are 231 x 209 x 408 mm or 19.7 L which is very near that famous 20L cut off point for SFF, but we need to consider some things first before saying it is to big. First of all, that volume is complete volume including all your cable ends which are never counted with standard cases and almost 3 L for this case. So that volume is total volume on your desk. Second point is small footprint, which is actually smaller than the footprint of the N-ATX if we include cables. And it's largest dimension is height, which is almost never a problem while desk space is. And lastly, it is basically the smallest size that permits long and tall 3-slot GPU's with large and tall CPU coolers such as NH-D15S. And not to mention riser less design, so you won't have any problems with gen4 and upcoming gen5 platforms.
Constructions is mostly 1.5 mm thick aluminum sheet metal, with rear panel and top fan holder made out of 0.8 mm steel since they need to be magnetic. Top mesh is 0.4 mm steel since it has to be very flexible and will be attached magnetically (think of top meshes on standard cases).
For airflow it uses one 140 mm intake fan on the bottom for CPU, one 200 mm fan on top for GPU/CPU/PSU exhaust and GPU intakes air naturally from the perforated rear side. Here is an airflow diagram:
Build process is very easy since you can work on open chassis and then just slide it into the shell and attach other panels after that. Also there is space next to PSU for tucking extra cables and a few cable tie points.
Here are specifications and compatibility list which is very simple this time:
- 19.7 L volume with 231 x 209 x 408 mm outer dimensions
- vertical riser less tower case with bottom IO
- support for ITX motherboards
- support for 3 slot GPU's up to 345 mm long (315/320 mm with 200 mm top fan)
- CPU air coolers up to 182 mm (max allowed overhang from the motherboard is 5 mm)
- mount for 120 mm AIO or radiator on the bottom
- SFX power supplies up to 100 mm long
- support for two 2.5" hard drives
- case fans: 140 or 120 mm bottom | 200, 140 or 120 mm top | 2 x 120 mm side
- 60 mm clearance for cable connectors on bottom
- invisible power switch on top
Of course I only post new designs after I already have the prototype:
And of course I also did a test build with a 5800X with NH-D15S and 6700XT Hellhound, a really long and tall GPU to validate the thermals compared to open bench:
As you can see it makes for a really neat desk:
No wires, yaaaay!
Now let's talk temperatures. CPU is simple, it gets same temperatures as on open bench so that is a win in my book. GPU is a bit more complicated and it basically depends mostly on the exhaust. Without the top mesh it is 1-2 degrees cooler than open bench, and with it it can get up to 10 degrees warmer. But don't worry, I will redesign it to have more open area than the current version, but it takes literally one second to remove and reattach (magnets) if you wish to get max performance. But in any case not a bad result compared to most cases.
So, I would like to hear your opinions, do you like the design, are you ok with the dimensions and compatibility etc, I am still considering whether I will do a batch and have this in my regular production. Also I am not sure about the price yet but it should be lower than my current cases. And of course I need to paint the prototypes (I was thinking about a rougher texture and matte black of course)
