Black Anodized with the standard option around $200.
Two Tone Anodized (Silver + Space Gray) will be the premium option at a higher price.
Black Anodized with the standard option around $200.
Two Tone Anodized (Silver + Space Gray) will be the premium option at a higher price.
You said the rad needed to be 25mm thick but most I'm seeing seem to be 27mm. For whatever reason Alphacool has almost no availability for the Eisbaer LT 240 here in the US. Will that 2mm make or break things?
Edit: a follow up on tolerances, I'm taking a gander at the new Deepcool Castle 240EX since there is a coupon on Amazon and it looks pretty fancy. However it pushes up to 71mm in height, which exceeds your recommendation there as well by 1mm. I'm new to this whole AIO/CLC and SFF thing. Should I just grab a Corsair H100i Pro and some Noctua fans?
Edit: a follow up on tolerances, I'm taking a gander at the new Deepcool Castle 240EX since there is a coupon on Amazon and it looks pretty fancy. However it pushes up to 71mm in height, which exceeds your recommendation there as well by 1mm. I'm new to this whole AIO/CLC and SFF thing. Should I just grab a Corsair H100i Pro and some Noctua fans?
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Joined just to say I'd love an all space-gray option. Second choice would be black anodized, but first choice by far is solid space-gray. It'd be worth the premium of anodizing difficulty.
The simple square edges and shape and simplicity are perfect. Ready to replace my previous all time favorite M1 case.
Haven't ordered one personally, but I believe you shouldn't have any problems ordering directly from Alphacool. Not sure about shipping though.
Alphacool Eisbaer LT240
Just be sure to order the LT model.
Otherwise, there's always a custom build using the XSPC TX240 20.5mm radiator. I think the recommended pump/block is the same DC-LT used in the LT240, sold separately. No expert though, others on here would know far more and I believe direct comparisons have already been tested in this thread.
Either way, your're probably looking around $125-150ish.
Try this: https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=597&area=en
Although I would like to see a model that was 2mm taller to be able to fit the more common 27mm aio rads that a lot of manufacturers are using.
I didn't add 240x27mm radiator support b/c didn't want to make the case taller for insignificant cooling potential.
The typical 240mm AIOs are all Asetek variants with *aluminum radiator, and they don't perform materially better than the Koolance HX-CU420V, a 120mm radiator.
I didn't want to break the current Golden Ratio of the case proportions, to support typical 240x27mm *aluminum AIO radiators at marginally better cooling.
It will move the needle on cooling to use 240x30mm *copper radiators, but that makes the case almost as tall as the DAN C4 / NCASE M1, I just don't like the proportions at that height.
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I know some may not like it, but this is what I love about this case design. It's all about optimization rather than compromising for compatibility. I have a ghost s1 and although if I wanted to operate at a higher wattage I could use a Large Tophat with an 240 aio, but why wouldn't I just swap back to my Ncase at that point for better airflow on the rad and thicker gpu support. They'd be effectively the same size. I don't want to look at this case and think "Why shouldn't I just use the Ncase" because the dimensions increased.
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Thanks @Wahaha360! Lots of pages of interested people to comb through. I wish Alphacool had a better distribution over here in the US. Looks like that Silverstone still uses an aluminum rad. Hmmm
Edit: Maybe I'll just take the plunge and do my first ever water cooling in my first SFF with a custom loop, hah.
Looks like 50-100% of the cost of the LT240 to ship straight from Alphacool, depending on selection. Hm, $150 isn't THAT much more than the $100-120 240mm AIOs
Edit: Maybe I'll just take the plunge and do my first ever water cooling in my first SFF with a custom loop, hah.
Looks like 50-100% of the cost of the LT240 to ship straight from Alphacool, depending on selection. Hm, $150 isn't THAT much more than the $100-120 240mm AIOs
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Looks brilliant! The two tone wins hands down. I still think there should be I/O in the front half of the case, maybe at the top or side, for practicality's sake. Personally, I can't own this case unless there is front half I/O because my space don't allow me to reach the back of my PC easily :/ sad fact. I might settle for front power button only.
Just watched the video and would love this case for to the Watercooling options at such a small package. I can agree with the venue side panels pls a tempered glass option (acrylic just scratches to easily - especially with micro scratches from cleaning)
Looking at prototype 1, it seems like the spine positions for 2/3 slot gpu are pretty fixed. Does prototype 2 have the ability to flex the spine position at all (~5mm or so)? Having 65mm for cpu coolers while using a 2.1 slot card would be a great flexibility feature.
Looks amazing in video. I don't mind the back power button at all. I'm in agreement on the vented side panels, at least as an option. Acrylic seems like an odd choice given how premium the CNC'd and anodized aluminum is as a material. Option for vented panel and a TG panel, swapable? TG panel would probably choke the system a bit I imagine.
The talk of micro-feet is a little concerning to me, I'd probably end up swapping those out for something aftermarket that gives me an inch of clearance for sucking in air.
The talk of micro-feet is a little concerning to me, I'd probably end up swapping those out for something aftermarket that gives me an inch of clearance for sucking in air.
@Wahaha360 I thought that the vented aluminum side panels was going to be one of the options when released because of the announced compatibility with the L12S. According to the Optimum Tech video it is still undecided, so just wanted to clear that up
Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but having a flexible slider value wouldn't be feasible as the rear I/O has to line up with the PCIe slots. You can't mount a GPU between slots.
As a more casual SFF user, I am going to echo the sentiment of wanting a front panel IO. Also, I am curious if @Wahaha360 has a response to a Reddit user's critique of the bottom chamber.
whaaaaaaaaaat
seriously tho, cnc for prices like that is absolutely crazy considering certain other cases on this forum.
Been following the project for a while but here's my guess/take on it. I assume it's about optimizing performance for the space used and giving the case a reason to exist. I think Wahaha wants the Sidearm to be the best case possible within a certain volume. As much as people like bigger air coolers like the L12, L12s, or Big Shuriken 3, they can't compete with Copper radiators such as the Lt240 or a 120mm aio, hell they don't even perform as well as a 645lt(92mm aio). I use an L12 with a full size a12x25 in my Ghost S1 (https://i.vgy.me/sqFJI2.jpg) and it performs well, but I promise you a 645lt or 120mm aio still performs better. The case ideally wants you to use liquid cooling on the cpu and a thick 3 slot on the gpu. The movable spine is there for flexibility and to accommodate users that don't want to introduce liquid in their builds, but not necessarily optimize for them. Basically if he removes the "wasteful" chamber then it gets smaller and competes with the Dan a4 which can already use a 645lt and if he increases the height for thicker aluminum 240mm radiators than he risks competing with the Ncase which already does that job better. The strength of the case involves staying ~9-10L in volume. To quote what Wahaha said a few pages back.
"This is my philosophy:
1. 110W or less *NO OC <85C CPU Temp, 8700K / 9700K / 9900K / 3700X / 3800X, get the A4 + 92mm AIO (Asetek 645LT)
2. 160W or less OC on CPU <80C CPU temps, 8700K / 9700K / 9900K / 3700X / 3800X, Sidearmd + 120mm AIO (Koolance HX-CU420V + Noctua A12x25)
3. 200W or less OC on CPU <80C CPU temps, 8700K / 9700K / 9900K / 9920X / 3700X / 3800X / 3900X, get the M1 + 240mm (Koolance HX-CU720V + Noctua A12x25)
Going below 10L in volume comes with increasing bigger compromises. This case is limit for Mini-ITX + CPU moderate OC + Full Size GPU for <80C. If you need less, go with the A4, if you need more, go with the M1."
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Just confirming I understand appropriately: the motherboard I/O and pcie bracket slots are now in a fixed position irrespective of the spine. It sounded like at some point those would be relative(ish) to the spine, but that’s now off the table so the 2 slot and 3 slot spine positions will have no wiggle room
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