The Chimera MachOne: For the pros. Small meets flexible.

PlayfulPhoenix

Founder of SFF.N
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SFFLAB
Chimera Industries
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Feb 22, 2015
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EDIT: Additional MachOne renderings, including with a bare side panel!



Photos
Here's the Chimera MachOne in the flesh! Our Computex 2018 build contains an mITX board, i9 CPU & Titan XP GPU, Elgato 4K 60 capture card, and custom loop with a Nemesis 280GTX radiator!









Introducing the Chimera MachOne
What is the MachOne? In a sentence: a SFF solution for pros who demand the best.

In a few more sentences?
  • A handsome aluminum tower with a smaller footprint than the NCASE M1, that can support real workstation-class builds in a compact, portable form factor (especially in tandem with the carry-on compliant WALLYE Tactik Duffle, which it is compatible with)
  • An enclosure with remarkable flexibility, that enables both mITX and mATX builds via three different layout schemes
  • A robust platform which supports everything from basic builds, to enthusiast-grade components, to exotic custom loops with thick radiators (like the Nemesis 280-GTX or EK-XLC Predator) and dedicated pumps/reservoirs combos (like the EK D5 and EK DDC). All in 18.5L.
The second bullet is an especially important one, as it is the flexibility of the MachOne that makes it so unique. There are three arrangements that the enclosure supports – Gear One, Two and Three – and each one provides a unique set of benefits and compromises, allowing the user to pick the layout that maximizes what's most useful to them:
  • Gear One ("The Core"): A traditional layout (mITX and mATX) in a vertical orientation, which is easiest to visualize as a "vertical NCASE M1". This arrangement supports air CPU coolers like the NH-U9S, and provides a comfortable amount of space for as many graphics cards and PCI devices as your motherboard supports, with enough room leftover for twin 120mm/140mm intake fans on the front (as well as ample space for power and storage on the bottom)
  • Gear Two ("The Gamer") : The same as Gear One, except that it uses a PCB riser to fold one's graphics card and/or PCI device to be above and parallel to the motherboard, enabling support for substantially wider/bulkier cards. This also opens up the front of the enclosure for use of a radiator or AIO
  • Gear Three ("The YouTuber"): A back-to-back arrangement, using risers to fold up to three PCIe cards and devices behind the motherboard, while providing enough room at the front of the enclosure for an impressively thick and wide radiator. Not to mention windowed panels on both sides, to best show off your hardware
SFF Network has just posted their article on the MachOne, and as you can see, this flexibility allowed us to build a pretty insane demo rig: We've brought with us to Computex an mITX, i9 + Titan Xp workstation, with an additional PCIe card (an Elgato 4K 60 capture card), and a Nemesis 280 GTX radiator cooling it all. This sort of hardware was once unfathomable on mITX, or in an enclosure of this size. With the MachOne, it's now just another possibility. This, too, before we get to what mATX support enables, with the recent Threadripper news allowing us to fit 32-core builds into the same svelte profile, no problem.

It's not just hardware support that we're excited about, either: it's the use cases that the MachOne enables. One of the demos we were able to show the SFFN team was how Dan could hook up his MacBook Pro to our demo rig, and use it as an external display, switching between the two computers dynamically as he works. Both computers, as well as peripherals and a portable display or two, can fit inside the WALLYE Tactik Duffle, meaning that professionals and gamers who need truly no-compromise performance now have a holistic solution with which to bring their full workstation set up with them. We really mean it when we say that the MachOne is for those who demand the best!

-

To be sure, we know that everyone will have a lot of questions and even more feedback. So please – bring it on! Although what you'll see in photos is meaningfully representative of the final product, it is a prototype fresh from the factory, and we have already identified some changes we will be making to polish the design and improve the build & use experience. That said, we're really happy with the current spec, and I especially find the aesthetics of what we've made to be wonderful. That front panel in-person is just gorgeous. The MachOne will without doubt be the next enclosure for me!

Finally, do know that we will have information regarding pricing and availability post-Computex, as we finalize the MachOne. We can't provide specific prices yet, but we can share that our goal is to offer a range of options and price points that roughly follow the arrangements we've developed for the enclosure. We want the MachOne to be accessible to as many as possible, while still fulfilling the promise of what some of the more complex arrangements require hardware-wise.

If you're around at Computex and would like to get a closer look at the MachOne, feel free to get in touch! Either way, we can't wait to share more, collect feedback, and get the MachOne made :)

– Joshua

Initial component support specs
Front radiator & fan support:

Gear One ("The Core"):
  • mATX + 2 dual-slot GPUs: 2 x 140mm fans
  • mATX + 1 dual-slot GPU: 2 x 120mm fans + 1 240 x 45mm radiator (EK Predator / MLC Phoenix 240)
  • mITX + 1 dual-slot GPU: 2 x 140mm fans + 1 280 x 45mm radiator (EK Predator / MLC Phoenix 280)
  • mITX + 1 single-slot GPU: 2 x 140mm fans + 280 x 60mm radiator (EK Predator / MLC Phoenix 280 / Hardware Labs Nemesis 280GTX)
Gear Two ("The Gamer") & Gear Three ("The YouTuber"):
  • 2 x 140mm fans + 280 x 60mm radiator (EK Predator / MLC Phoenix 280 / Hardware Labs Nemesis 280GTX)

CPU cooler height support:


Gear One ("The Core"):
  • 143mm (Noctua U9S @ 125mm)
Gear Two ("The Gamer") & Gear Three ("The YouTuber"):
  • 76 / 96 / 116mm, depending on if you populate 3 / 2 / 1 of the PCI slots (there are three expansion slots available above the motherboard)

GPU support:


Gear One ("The Core"):
  • Maximum length of 315mm, maximum height of 148mm (when including the 6+2 pin)
Gear Two ("The Gamer") & Gear Three ("The YouTuber"):
  • Maximum length of 300mm, maximum height of 163mm (when including the 6+2 pin)

Initial layout specs



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Original Teaser Post


Stay tuned during Computex 2018, as SFFLAB and Chimera Industries reveal the next project to launch on SFFLAB.
 
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VegetableStu

Shrink Ray Wielder
Aug 18, 2016
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oh crap I just re-read the other comment and realised the new case is designed for the duffle, not the other way around ,_,
never thought I get early purchase envy on cases, LOL. still excited nonetheless!
 
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PlayfulPhoenix

Founder of SFF.N
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Feb 22, 2015
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30L Nintendo Switch travel case?

Darn it, the cat's out of the bag already! ;)

@PlayfulPhoenix since when did "Kimera Industries" change to "Chimera Industries"?

NVM, just read the other thread.

Yeah, I anticipate that there will be a little bit of confusion around this for a while, but it's a change I've been meaning to make since the beginning of the year. I'm hoping that this new product will ease the transition, but boy are there a lot of posts and articles online that will forever be mis-spelled!

Oh god, that teaser image looks glorious already... I'm glad I held out on cerberus, looking forward to seeing the reveal.

In some ways the two overlap, and in others they definitely do not. I will share that this project is much more ambitious (in my opinion) with respect to its functional design, compared to the Cerberus.

That's some teaser, a very stylish and curved mystery case....
Congrats on the change from K to Ch, and the SFFLAB tie in - wishing you all great success in your new form

Thank you :)

oh crap I just re-read the other comment and realised the new case is designed for the duffle, not the other way around ,_,
never thought I get early purchase envy on cases, LOL. still excited nonetheless!

Flexibility and portability are important use cases that we think this product will address really well.

And somehow, people still think that infinity war is the most ambiguous crossover event in history.....

I lol'd. (This reminds me, I still need to see Infinity War...)
 

owliwar

Master of Cramming
Lazer3D
Apr 7, 2017
586
1,082
oh wow, I didn't realized there was a new case coming out :eek: saw the other thread but I didn't liked the two
congrats on the awesome work :) I'll keep an eye for sure

also my bet is that it will click with the (included) motherboard speaker every time the panels snap
Am I close? XD
 
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jack1940

Average Stuffer
Oct 29, 2017
65
20
New Matx case?

Hope to support the 158mm/160mm/165mm air cooler, I need to put 7980xe or 1950x in it, but I can't use the water cooler, because I often ride in high speed rail, sometimes I need to move house, water cooling can not be safely carried.

Secondly,hoped that all aluminum and anodic oxidation (Custom-made ) options can be selected.

I sent you several e-mails, but I didn't get a definite reply. I hope this new case will surprise me.

Please try to take my money and don't let me down.
 
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VegetableStu

Shrink Ray Wielder
Aug 18, 2016
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I'm guessing the last day ._. think Phoenix's at Computex as well, so any earlier and he won't be able to react to community reactions
 

Boil

SFF Guru
Nov 11, 2015
1,253
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I'm guessing the last day ._. think Phoenix's at Computex as well, so any earlier and he won't be able to react to community reactions

@Wahaha360 @PlayfulPhoenix

Last day would really suck, because I want to know details NOW...!!! ;^p

Seriously though, PLEASE do not make us wait until the last day of this event, as waiting for the opening of the event was enough stress...!
 
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Boil

SFF Guru
Nov 11, 2015
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Update!

As a collaboration between Chimera Industries, NCASE, Wallye and SFFLAB. There is a new Micro-ATX case designed for this bag.

We will be releasing more information in the next few week.

The bag and new case prototype will be shown during Computex for those attending.

So, from a comment regarding the travel bag earlier, I went to that thread...

And now we see that this will be a mATX chassis...!
 
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