Hmmm, interesting idea! You'd have to do some modding to attach a top plate to the bottom (there aren't any holes that would line up with the plate mounting holes). I could certainly figure out how to get an extra top plate made.
Completed The MI-6 Microtower Case: Performance in 6.7L
- Thread starter firewolfy
- Start date
Hmmm, interesting idea! You'd have to do some modding to attach a top plate to the bottom (there aren't any holes that would line up with the plate mounting holes). I could certainly figure out how to get an extra top plate made.
With two intake fans and the CPU / GPU intakes, & a single exhaust fan; it would definitely be a Positive Pressure setup, which is good...
The entire front section of the inner chassis frame would need to be redesigned, if it was perforations, those are pricey...
The height of the chassis right now is 246mm, which also includes the thickness of the bottom, the inner top flange, & the top plate itself...
So for dual 120x25mm fans up front, the chassis would also need to be increased in height...
And the fans would take away from room for longer GPUs (most of the current line-up of ITX-sized GPUs are longer than the ITX motherboard & come close to the inside of the front inner chassis wall...
At this point, we might as well increase width slightly (5mm) to ensure capability with the Noctua NH-L12S CPU cooler...
A benefit of all this would be easier use of a SFX-L PSU (not fan or SSD on the floor of the chassis), giving options for 700w & 800w PSUs (and for that 450w fanless PSU)...
Not saying I wouldn't mind seeing such a chassis as a follow-up to Fire's MI-6...!
Be great for ensuring that a Vega Nano stays somewhat cool...!
The entire front section of the inner chassis frame would need to be redesigned, if it was perforations, those are pricey...
The height of the chassis right now is 246mm, which also includes the thickness of the bottom, the inner top flange, & the top plate itself...
So for dual 120x25mm fans up front, the chassis would also need to be increased in height...
And the fans would take away from room for longer GPUs (most of the current line-up of ITX-sized GPUs are longer than the ITX motherboard & come close to the inside of the front inner chassis wall...
At this point, we might as well increase width slightly (5mm) to ensure capability with the Noctua NH-L12S CPU cooler...
A benefit of all this would be easier use of a SFX-L PSU (not fan or SSD on the floor of the chassis), giving options for 700w & 800w PSUs (and for that 450w fanless PSU)...
Not saying I wouldn't mind seeing such a chassis as a follow-up to Fire's MI-6...!
Be great for ensuring that a Vega Nano stays somewhat cool...!
I did a build video this weekend. Here is the starting pic:
Here is a link to the video HERE.
Here is a link to the video HERE.
So last week decided to pull the outer shell off and see how much dust had built up, not too bad considering I didn't have any fan filters. Some dust on the shell above the CPU cooler and on the cooler fan itself, some on the 92mm intake fan. Dust = bad so decided to do something about it.
Picked up this 92mm filter off ebay for under $4, picture they use is terrible, actually a nice looking black aluminum filter that matched the case really well and just fits between the case feet.
I measured the ventilation on the shell and realized it was almost exactly 140 x 140mm, so I picked up a Demciflex 140mm filter from outlet.pc for $10.
Mounted it on the inside of the case, figure I can just run a vacuum over it once a week or so. GPU side was really clean so I didn't bother with a filter, but I will just grab another Demciflex if I need one.
So for $14 took care of the majority of my dust problem, we'll see how it works out.
Picked up this 92mm filter off ebay for under $4, picture they use is terrible, actually a nice looking black aluminum filter that matched the case really well and just fits between the case feet.
I measured the ventilation on the shell and realized it was almost exactly 140 x 140mm, so I picked up a Demciflex 140mm filter from outlet.pc for $10.
Mounted it on the inside of the case, figure I can just run a vacuum over it once a week or so. GPU side was really clean so I didn't bother with a filter, but I will just grab another Demciflex if I need one.
So for $14 took care of the majority of my dust problem, we'll see how it works out.
1) Good idea on the filters @rfarmer . With the Big Shiriken 2 cpu cooler in there at 58mm tall , there is around 10mm of room for a filter. --great idea!
2) A bit of news on the pre-ordering I posted on the webpage today --
2) A bit of news on the pre-ordering I posted on the webpage today --
As of July 8th, there are 50 pre-orders so far for the 100-case next batch. The pre-order list will stay open and the new target date is the END OF JULY to start taking payments and kick off production.
I've been ramping up my new twitter site, so that should help getting the word out.
I've been ramping up my new twitter site, so that should help getting the word out.
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I installed a Corsair 120mm AIO in a MI-6 using a workhorse loft (cardboard, lol), to get some data on cooling. The MI-6 case was modified to add the cutout at the top of the center divider, which will be in the second production batch. This allows the tubing to be routed from the radiator to the block.
Here is the test data in yellow for the AIO with std frequency, and also with OC.
I think I looks pretty good given it is a torture test. One thing I keep thinking about is how my test is pretty darn severe compared to other cases, being all cores, and continuous load. I test to give confidence that a build won't overheat, but I might do a test with only 2 cores and a cyclic CPU load just for comparison purposes to other cases.
Here is the test data in yellow for the AIO with std frequency, and also with OC.
I think I looks pretty good given it is a torture test. One thing I keep thinking about is how my test is pretty darn severe compared to other cases, being all cores, and continuous load. I test to give confidence that a build won't overheat, but I might do a test with only 2 cores and a cyclic CPU load just for comparison purposes to other cases.
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I installed a Corsair 120mm AIO in a MI-6 using a workhorse loft (cardboard, lol), to get some data on cooling. The MI-6 case was modified to add the cutout at the top of the center divider, which will be in the second production batch. This allows the tubing to be routed from the radiator to the block.
Here is the test data in yellow for the AIO with std frequency, and also with OC.
I think I looks pretty good given it is a torture test. One thing I keep thinking about is how my test is pretty darn severe compared to other cases, being all cores, and continuous load. I test to give confidence that a build won't overheat, but I might do a test with only 2 cores and a cyclic CPU load just for comparison purposes to other cases.
Pretty decent temps Fire, how bad is the noise level on the Corsair at 100%?
I'm really fascinated with the case!
Quick question about the 92mm fan at the bottom: On your website it is stated that a 92x92x25mm fan will probably not fit because of the I/O board, the HDD mounting bracket and possibly the PSU. So what about the minimalist version (no I/O board) with no SSD or HDD installed and with a Corsair SF450 or SF600 PSU? Will a fan with 25mm thickness fit in this particular case? The only problem I could anticipate is that the PSU connectors could get in the way. It would be awesome if somebody with that PSU could measure the height clearance underneath the PSU connectors...
Quick question about the 92mm fan at the bottom: On your website it is stated that a 92x92x25mm fan will probably not fit because of the I/O board, the HDD mounting bracket and possibly the PSU. So what about the minimalist version (no I/O board) with no SSD or HDD installed and with a Corsair SF450 or SF600 PSU? Will a fan with 25mm thickness fit in this particular case? The only problem I could anticipate is that the PSU connectors could get in the way. It would be awesome if somebody with that PSU could measure the height clearance underneath the PSU connectors...
I'm really fascinated with the case!
Quick question about the 92mm fan at the bottom: On your website it is stated that a 92x92x25mm fan will probably not fit because of the I/O board, the HDD mounting bracket and possibly the PSU. So what about the minimalist version (no I/O board) with no SSD or HDD installed and with a Corsair SF450 or SF600 PSU? Will a fan with 25mm thickness fit in this particular case? The only problem I could anticipate is that the PSU connectors could get in the way. It would be awesome if somebody with that PSU could measure the height clearance underneath the PSU connectors...
Hey @nicb6 ,
I took a couple measurements of my SF450 and this is what I got:
The 600 version looks to be the same. Since the PCIE and CPU 8-pin conns are on the bottom row, you are kind of stuck.
...If you want to cut off the locking tabs from the conns it could work
.
@Bonk ,
Doing 1-time powdercoat colors is fun but expensive. It's about $25 just to put a different color on the main cover, so I don't have any plans to offer any other powdercoat colors than black. I could probably get you a custom color if you are interested. As I said it's just kinda pricey.
Oh and here are a couple more pics of that custom case that I put up on twitter and over on [H]--
@firewolfy
Thanks for the reply and the added pictures! I will think about if I want to ask you for a custom color (keeping in mind both the cost and the «probably» ).
Thanks for the reply and the added pictures! I will think about if I want to ask you for a custom color (keeping in mind both the cost and the «probably» ).
Sure!
I really don't think doing a custom color would be a problem, it just has to be worked in with the batch production logistics.
Info on access to the back of the motherboard on the MI-6 SE (copy of my post over on [H]).
For the SE I revised the cutout for MB access. Here is a good comparison of the MB cutouts between FE and SE.
Also, the distances are from the MB mounting holes, for easy reference.
I widened the opening for the backplate flange, and for M.2 memory.
Here I documented some visual fit checks I did for the backside of some MBs (1151 300 series and AMD AM4 series). It should be a good guide to know fits and clearances for various MBs.
For the SE I revised the cutout for MB access. Here is a good comparison of the MB cutouts between FE and SE.
Also, the distances are from the MB mounting holes, for easy reference.
I widened the opening for the backplate flange, and for M.2 memory.
Here I documented some visual fit checks I did for the backside of some MBs (1151 300 series and AMD AM4 series). It should be a good guide to know fits and clearances for various MBs.
Good News Everyone! I dropped my temps 10-20c!
Tonight I swapped out my Noctua NH-L12 for the Noctua NH-L12S. For those that don’t know, the L12 uses a 92mm fan underneath it to cool the CPU, while the L12S uses a thin 120mm fan. The L12S is technically out of spec for this case by a few mm, but does fit. It does touch the case side.
Both coolers had the fans in a pull config; pulling air in from outside the case.
My CPU is an i7-8700 non-k. At stock it’s a 65 watt TDP CPU. However, at stock settings it will clock down pretty hard in Blender and Prime 95 AVX. As such, I set the long term TDP to 110 watts. This locks it in at 4,3ghz on all 6 cores.
To compensate for the increased heat, I undervolt the CPU. I set the BIOS to adaptive VCORE at a -0.110. This is Prime 95 AVX stable 24-7.
My temps with the L12 were in the mid 90C range in Prime and Blender. With the L12S I’m now in the mid 80s in Prime and Blender. Gaming in BF1 got the biggest drop of nearly 20C. I believe that this is because the side of the case is now essentially part of the heatsink, and the larger fanmoving more air. The side of the case now gets quite warm where as before it was cool.
Additionally, the CPU fan now blows directly onto the M2 socket which dropped its temps by 15-20C.
Overall, the L12S just rocks for this case.
Tonight I swapped out my Noctua NH-L12 for the Noctua NH-L12S. For those that don’t know, the L12 uses a 92mm fan underneath it to cool the CPU, while the L12S uses a thin 120mm fan. The L12S is technically out of spec for this case by a few mm, but does fit. It does touch the case side.
Both coolers had the fans in a pull config; pulling air in from outside the case.
My CPU is an i7-8700 non-k. At stock it’s a 65 watt TDP CPU. However, at stock settings it will clock down pretty hard in Blender and Prime 95 AVX. As such, I set the long term TDP to 110 watts. This locks it in at 4,3ghz on all 6 cores.
To compensate for the increased heat, I undervolt the CPU. I set the BIOS to adaptive VCORE at a -0.110. This is Prime 95 AVX stable 24-7.
My temps with the L12 were in the mid 90C range in Prime and Blender. With the L12S I’m now in the mid 80s in Prime and Blender. Gaming in BF1 got the biggest drop of nearly 20C. I believe that this is because the side of the case is now essentially part of the heatsink, and the larger fanmoving more air. The side of the case now gets quite warm where as before it was cool.
Additionally, the CPU fan now blows directly onto the M2 socket which dropped its temps by 15-20C.
Overall, the L12S just rocks for this case.
