Painting the top and bottom panels white to go with my build, the white and black from the front panel looks amazing.
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Completed SLATE-CASE AQ >>Status Update - Finalizing Order Fulfillments!
- Thread starter TaylorChiller
- Start date
I was determined to get a D5 pump and rez in this case. I think I found my solution with my trusty old EK-XRes Revo D5 100ml. The stock mount was too big so I used a 60mm fuel pump clamp was was able to attach it to the sliding pump mount without needing to modify the case/mount at all. It's an extremely tight fit but I think it'll work.
As an update to my post. I still haven't finished my build as I was waiting for a waterblock to come in, and I realized I wanted to spend a bit more focused time on it. Here are an assortment of images I've taken so far, as well as the specs of my build and some intial thoughts. I intend on posting a full build log on Builds.GG once I'm done. Hoping to have the build completely done by this Friday.Mine arrived on the 25th of November! I was order 1019!
Im sad I did not purchase the rotational IO accessory and hope that I can do that relatively soon. The case is absolutely beautiful and i've been very excitedly exploring the possibilities of building in it. My only regret (which is my fault because Taylor has always done a great job of detailing the dimensions on the website) is that my current GPU (ASUS TUF 3090 with an EKWB Vector waterblock) is too tall to fit my FLT pump/res at the topthe sandwhich layout makes it so that my pump/res at the top are exactly in-line with the GPU and it won't fit.
I will likely need to get a CPU/pump block combo, but have been putting it off due to cost. The goal was to get a no compromise dual 280 radiator case, and this achieves 95% of that, so I am satisfied.
Taylor if you see this - can I somehow buy the Trad bracket from you
The final build I'll be going with is:
- Intel i9-12900KS
- MSI Z690i Unify Motherboard
- 32GB DDR5-6000 G.Skill Memory
- Nvidia RTX 4080 FE (Pictured is the 4090 FE that is going into my bigboy build, but the dimensions are exactly the same as the 4080FE with the waterblock, so using it for fitment testing)
- ASUS Loki SFX-L 1000W PSU (ordered this from Taiwan because its impossible to find them in America at the moment, and the cost difference wasn't super high compared to waiting for it to arrive)
- 2x 280mm Radiators
- 1x Corsair XR5 280mm (with 2x Noctua NF-A14s)
- 1x Alphacool ST20 HPE 280mm (with 2x Noctua Slim NF-A12 attached via Noctua 120 -> 140mm brackets)
- Reservoir/Pump Undecided
- Option 1: EKWB DDC Pump/CPU Block Combo (ordered but hasnt arrived, so will build with the R160)
- Option 2: Phanteks Glacial R160 Reservoir w/ Bitspower 4.2DDC Pump (Pictured)
- Custom PSU Cables (Need to order them still, will likely use Cablemod or DreambigbyRay on Etsy
- The case is built extremely well and I'm really happy with the CNC'ing and machining quality. After using both an NCase v5, and building in 2x different Meshlicious' and an NR200P, I can say this one feels the most solid when everything is assembled and together.
- Im sad that it seems like I cannot order more parts for it. Knowing this I would have ordered every accessory with my preorder to ensure I have all options available in the future.
- Im sad that there couldn't be some way to accomodate 2x 30mm 280mm radiators WITH normal 25mm fans. I know that my current build will be completely fine, and to be honest I don't really "mind" this, but I opted for the dual slim fans and brackets rather than using 1 normal and 1 slim fan on the 2nd radiator simply for my OCD of having a relatively symmetrical build.
- I really love that there is enough included hardware to do both spine adjustments and GPU spacer mods. This is huge to me. I value cases very highly which allow for the most amount of modification without actually requiring modification to the chasis. If I have to drill something out, or fabricate something out of aluminium or plexi in my garage to get something to fit, I usually see myself wishing it was available natively.
- That being said, I did take the Noctua 120->140mm brackets and have to take a dremmel to both brackets. The screws (as you can see in the fitment pictures) have these long ass plastic spacers built into the bracket which intrude into the chasis and stop it from closing properly if you do not cut them down. You can see in the final photo of the test bench that I've dremmeled the plastic bits off. It was cheaper to do this than to order a slim bracket on etsy for me.
- I really like the multi-use bracket on top of the case sliding system and I am using it for the R160. Its super handy and I think its well designed.
- If I could offer any input on this, I would say it would be awesome to explore some ways to mount a res or pump to the bottom area of the case (on the GPU side) so that consumers have more options. But this is not a huge blocker for me, as plenty of people use CPU/Pump combos or can mount smaller reservoirs to the top such as the R160.
- In a similar vein, maybe some small holes in the bottom for screwing in things such as a small Aquacomputer Quadro. But i'll likely just use some double sided tape. Wouldn't take a point off, but if 2 small m2 holes at the bottom near the GPU io were possible, that would be a free win in my book!
- Next level (but again falls into the bit of me not wanting to modify the case at all) would be to sell a perforated side panel that has a couple bigger holes at to top of the side (im not a designer but im sure it can be done without looking tacky) and then people could route fill ports to it, because right now its a tight fkn squeeze, but nothing im not used to after my dual rad meshlicious.
- I think the case itself with the sliding skeleton is amazing to work with, and mounting the motherboard, PSU, etc are all super painless and really good from a builder/tinkering standpoint.
- Taylor has taken the time to help me with this build via DM's with measurements, cad render screenshots, and advice overall here on SFF Network and that alone makes every single penny worth it. Every feedback point above would not be enough to stop me from buying this case again knowing that if I have questions, I can get them answered by someone who genuinely cares about his consumers and his product . This is S-tier and I cannot state this enough.
Overall, so far, I give this case an 8.5/10. I do think it was worth the price ($353 or something after shipping costs and tax). I would buy it again if given the chance. I am going to be very excited to finish the build and I will post it here, on reddit, and on instagram etc. its a beautiful case, and it will be a great living room 4k gaming PC that my wife and I use.
Anyways, I just wanted a place to document my thoughts both good and bad, and I apologize if this seemed overly critical. The contrary is that I wanted to express how much I really really like this case, but I also work in the product and engineering space and if I was in Taylor's position, Id love this feedback, so I decided to share it here.
Will there ever be a way to get a second glass panel? I can probably make one to work but it would never look as good as what you were able to make. I love seeing both sides with all the nice cable management done, which is why I am so thankful for the GPU gap mod.
For some reason my side panels look like the holes have been threaded or the tooling marks are super visible at angles. Has any one else had this on the silver model?
Like this? I got a few of these in my panel, but I'm not sweating too hard because my glass panel will be the showcase side.
Well, the last couple of pieces will be in today for me. I still have to sleeve an EPS cable for the PSU as well, but I'll be tearing down the original build and redoing some things over the next couple of nights to shore things up quite a bit. If all goes well, should be done soon and I'll post a ton of pics.
Expect an estimate for late January. We did get info from the factory that the parts will be ready by end of this week. And it takes about a week to receive them.
Taylor
I'm doing two slim rads with normal fans which works out to 90mm (25mm x 2 for fans, 20mm x 2 for rads) and I think 95mm is the max at the shortest section.
As I'm nearing completion of this build, I have some pointers for anyone going horizontal sandwich style, and some other tips for anyone else:
For sandwich style horizontal:
-If you're going with top panel I/O at the front and you intend on using 2x 30mm rads, you'll have to mount your top radiator so the ports are at the front of the case. This is because the Mobo tray is much higher at the rear, and it WILL interfere with your fittings and tubing. This may not impact 20mm rads.
-If you're using 30mm rads, go all slim fans, or at least slim for everything but the front bottom fan. This will save you a TON of headache when it comes to cable management, tubing, and sanity. If you're using super slim rads, like 20mm, you should be ok for larger 25mm fans.
-90 degree fittings are your friend. I recommend micro 90s. Buy them, love them, hug them.
For everyone:
-the space between the front/rear ventilation panels and the the chassis is EXTREMELY limited. Use screws for your rads or fans with very flat heads on them. Dome or button head screws will prevent the panels from going on. I also recommend nylon washers to prevent scratching your case up.
-Don't build around vents or sinks. The thumb screws for the rails will literally seek these things out to ruin your life.
-the new Silverstone Extreme 850 SFF PSU has the stiffest cables on the planet. I recommend splitting the ribbon cables to make them pliable, otherwise it's like trying to bend copper pipe by hand.
Given this is my very first actual SFF build (my CL Mercury S3 was too large to be considered SFF) I've learned something... That custom loops in SFF builds are for masochists. Now, call me dirty.
For sandwich style horizontal:
-If you're going with top panel I/O at the front and you intend on using 2x 30mm rads, you'll have to mount your top radiator so the ports are at the front of the case. This is because the Mobo tray is much higher at the rear, and it WILL interfere with your fittings and tubing. This may not impact 20mm rads.
-If you're using 30mm rads, go all slim fans, or at least slim for everything but the front bottom fan. This will save you a TON of headache when it comes to cable management, tubing, and sanity. If you're using super slim rads, like 20mm, you should be ok for larger 25mm fans.
-90 degree fittings are your friend. I recommend micro 90s. Buy them, love them, hug them.
For everyone:
-the space between the front/rear ventilation panels and the the chassis is EXTREMELY limited. Use screws for your rads or fans with very flat heads on them. Dome or button head screws will prevent the panels from going on. I also recommend nylon washers to prevent scratching your case up.
-Don't build around vents or sinks. The thumb screws for the rails will literally seek these things out to ruin your life.
-the new Silverstone Extreme 850 SFF PSU has the stiffest cables on the planet. I recommend splitting the ribbon cables to make them pliable, otherwise it's like trying to bend copper pipe by hand.
Given this is my very first actual SFF build (my CL Mercury S3 was too large to be considered SFF) I've learned something... That custom loops in SFF builds are for masochists. Now, call me dirty.
Adding some in progress shots of my own here. As others have noted micro 90 degree fittings are your friend here, and every millimeter counts.
After a ton of trial and error, and almost settling on a loop with an FLT80 reservoir at the top, I ended up going with a compact bottom mounted DDC combo. Draining and filling with the FLT was way too involved and the degree of tilting the case around felt like an accident waiting to happen.
Some other notes:
The GPU top seemed to sag outwards in my build, this started happening after I changed the layout to reduce the size of the motherboard half of the case. I ended up fixing this by using a screw to lock the GPU IO plate at the bottom, and a few washers to slightly tilt the PCIe extender bracket to account for the sag.
The space between the radiators and the PSU bracket is very tight once fittings are added, both with the 20mm slims that I ended up with and the original 30mm thick ones that I started off with.
I‘m much happier overall changing my pump res combo and going with the thinner 20mm rads, those two changes made a huge difference and gave me loads of space to work with for tubing and cable management.
Please don’t judge the random clear piece of tubing, I ran out of thick fittings in time for the leak test
After a ton of trial and error, and almost settling on a loop with an FLT80 reservoir at the top, I ended up going with a compact bottom mounted DDC combo. Draining and filling with the FLT was way too involved and the degree of tilting the case around felt like an accident waiting to happen.
Some other notes:
The GPU top seemed to sag outwards in my build, this started happening after I changed the layout to reduce the size of the motherboard half of the case. I ended up fixing this by using a screw to lock the GPU IO plate at the bottom, and a few washers to slightly tilt the PCIe extender bracket to account for the sag.
The space between the radiators and the PSU bracket is very tight once fittings are added, both with the 20mm slims that I ended up with and the original 30mm thick ones that I started off with.
I‘m much happier overall changing my pump res combo and going with the thinner 20mm rads, those two changes made a huge difference and gave me loads of space to work with for tubing and cable management.
Please don’t judge the random clear piece of tubing, I ran out of thick fittings in time for the leak test
These are the pics I need so thanks for posting! Quick questions. I'm also going with 2 slims, is there any give to move the core closer to the front without that DDC combo? I'm sort of aiming to get the same GPU block more centered for my build. Also, is your fan orientation set to exhaust?
Yes, not having the DDC combo would allow you to slide the core a bit under the radiator, should give you another 5-6mm of play in either direction before you hit the fins. I don’t think it would be quite centered in the chamber, but you could potentially use standoffs on the riser assembly or 3D print an adapter to shift the PCIe extender itself.
And yeah, I decided for a front pull and back exhaust fan configuration on this one.
Can you clarify what you mean by "the shortest section"? Does the available thickness differ across the height of the case? (Sorry, still waiting for mine)
I appreciate you sharing your experience with the FLT80. I'm going to try and squeeze in a Glacier R160 and will have to be mindful about avoiding those pitfalls (If I even can). Thankfully it seems like there's a decent amount of space around the GPU for stuffing the res somewhere either vertically or horizontal.
I have an FLT80 in mine. Had to toss the OEM mounts though, they pushed the reservoir way too close to the side and couldn't close the side panel. Even with micro fittings. Had to get creative.
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