Concept The Slim Machine: a 4L gaming build

[CC Ricers]

CURRENT BUILD STATUS:

Last update:
Began cuts on the case back panel

Still in the parts buying phase, but almost done with to continue and finish the frame.

OVERVIEW:

This is a do-over from a previous scratch build attempt from a year and a half ago (had a thread at Overclock). I was going to make a custom PC case with dimensions similar to the PS4 console, and with room for a Flex ATX power supply inside. However, budget problems arose, lost my job so I couldn't finish up as planned. Now I'm going back to the idea and doing some changes to the design.

The goal here isn't really to have a ultra-powerful build in a very small case. Instead it will focus on a power-efficient mid-tier gaming PC, with 150-200w being the target for power consumption. I'd want to avoid using large, bulky power bricks if possible.

NFC Systems' S4 Mini is a great inspiration for this design, but now I am modeling the looks after this custom HTPC case. It is easy to build with common power tools.

This would be built on a tight budget still, all bought parts paid with money from old parts I'm selling. Since it's mostly a buyers' market out there, that would make things a bit more challenging.

DESIGN:

As stated before, this case is designed to be built with common power tools. Something that is easy to build and reproduce without CNC mills or other industrial machinery. It's made of several joiner pieces with at least 16 screws.

Here's an isometric view of the case with one cover panel removed.

The cutouts for the GPU and power outlet are in a separate panel made from thinner sheet metal, to make it easy to create. And since it's replaceable with different kinds of panels, it also adds the convenience of custom cable and GPU arrangements. For example, the GPU fan can face outward or inward, and the power outlet could be for a 12v barrel connector or a standard 3-prong power cable.

CURRENT PART STATUS:

• Bought
  • Intel Core i3 4130T
  • Asus Z97I Plus
  • EVGA GTX 1060 3GB single fan
    
  • Samsung "green" 8GB (2x4) DDR3-1600
  • Sandisk X110 m.2 128GB SSD
  • HP EliteOne AIO 160W power supply
    
  • Scythe Kozuti cooler
• Not bought
  • 2TB 2.5" HDD
  • 12V DC plug-in PSU
  • More metal parts

SPECS AND COMPONENT SUPPORT:

• Dimensions: 235mm x 340mm x 63.5mm
  
• Mini-ITX motherboard
• 2x 2.5" hard drive
• 2 PCI expansion slots
• 175mm max GPU length w/AC power supply (195mm without)
  
• ~40mm max CPU cooler height
• DC-DC internal PSU

Original post and design below:

Spoiler

From looking at the photos and Sketchup file, this frame can be made from a single sheet of 12" x 36" aluminum. I still have the sheets of aluminum from the original project (3003-H14, 0.09" thickness), already been cut in places but if memory serves right one is still 36" long so I can do the wrap around walls for the frame. The previous statements are out of date now. I'm now working with 16 gauge 24" sheets which are thinner and easier to cut.

The exterior would look different than the S4 mini. Still with a brushed aluminum exterior, but without the two "lips" on the side panels that surround the power buttons (I think that defines the look of the S4 mini). My case will also have the front corners of the case rounded, about 16mm or 3/4" radius. The vent holes will also have a different pattern.

I am moving my current system into this case. Right now it is inside a Jonsbo U2. Here is a photo of it:

Spoiler

The new case would essentially have the same profile as the U2 case, but at only about 30% the thickness!

EDIT: I now have a very early design for what I want. And I mean it- the side panels don't yet have any vent holes as I'm still trying to come up with a pattern that would suit the case.

This time only the top front corner will be rounded. The front panel that wraps around the case will be made of 3/16" thick acrylic, of a translucent smoke color. This translucency will be important much later on in the build

Preliminary cutout pattern for the frame:

Sheet would be 24" x 8" but I can possibly get this down to 24" x 7".

My current build:

• Intel G3258 @4.0 Ghz
• Cooler Master Hyper 212
• Asus Z97I-Plus
• 8GB Samsung "Wonder Ram" @ 2000mhz
• Asus GTX 950 Mini
• SanDisk X110 m.2 128GB SSD
• Toshiba 2TB 3.5" HDD
• Silverstone ST45SF-G

Parts to buy:

• Alienware M14x 150w 19.5v power adapter
• Sintech 5cm flexible PCI-E riser
• Intel Core i3 4130T

• Z4-ATX 200w DC-ATX power supply

• 2TB 2.5" HDD

• Low-profile CPU cooler, ~45mm height

Since budget is tight, don't expect these parts to come in quickly. I will probably have to sell some older components to get some of them. The Silverstone PSU will have to be replaced with the DC power setup. Same with my current 2TB hard drive, since it will be too big to fit in the case. I already have a low profile cooler, a Noctua NH-L9i, but I'm keeping my options open for some better or nicer looking ones. If possible, mount a slim 120mm PWM fan on top of it instead.

I want to begin working on the case tomorrow. One of my friends has a workshop area at home where I have started the last project so I will have the tools already to continue with this one.

 

[K888D]

Look forward to seeing what you can rustle up!

 

[CC Ricers]

Started working on the case yesterday, first by re-using a previously cut and bent piece. It turns out I don't have a single 36" long sheet, so the frame would have to be made from two individually cut sheets.

Two flaps had to be removed (part of the old design) which took longer than expected so there wasn't much time left over to do measuring and cutting on the new design. But I have done all the measurements for the bottom/rear part of the frame. This sheet is 11"x13" in size. The cross-hatched areas will be cut out.

Then I used a table saw to score two grooves across the other side, for bending the top flap and back side of the case.

I have another longer piece that will be used to make the bottom and front sides of the frame, which will wrap around and connect with this piece on the front of the motherboard tray, and in the back right.

 

[CC Ricers]

Made an update to the first post to show an early version of the case design. The side panels will be cut identically in shape, but with vents in different locations for the motherboard and GPU. Whatever changes may happen, it will not be altered to the point where the frame would need to be re-done.

I have set the dimensions of the case to be 220mm x 330mm x ~60mm. Probably would be slightly slimmer than the S4 case but the hard drive placement will still be against the side panel. I will also support two slim 120mm fan mounts as well!

 

[iFreilicht]

I like the two-colour scheme, looks quite nice that way.
60mm sounds about right, you can't go much smaller than that. I think the slimmest you could do is something around 55mm if you used 1mm thick steel for the side panels, but that wouldn't look nice with the way you've set them up, so it's probably form over size there.

 

[CC Ricers]

I like the two-colour scheme, looks quite nice that way.
60mm sounds about right, you can't go much smaller than that. I think the slimmest you could do is something around 55mm if you used 1mm thick steel for the side panels, but that wouldn't look nice with the way you've set them up, so it's probably form over size there.

My Jonsbo U2 uses side aluminum panels that are just barely thicker than 1/16" (or 1.5mm) but I don't know exactly what grade of aluminum they use. I could go that thin with aluminum but also risk the panels being flimsy and easy to bend out of shape.

55mm will probably the minimum height for the interior of the case, would want to leave a lot of cooler options for the case. As well as keep the hard drives from being too close to the graphics card. I think I will move them higher somewhat, so they sit halfway across the case. Over the card riser, but not close enough to get in the way of the CPU cooler. That way they won't have to withstand a lot of heat.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Since this is a one-off maybe go with the S3 Layout instead of the S4? I actually prefer the S3 layout it just is a enormous PITA to do a build in--and I had to make the S4 remotely user friendly as I wanted to bring it to retail.

Either way, thanks for the trib--go for it man!

 

[michaelmitchell]

Since this is a one-off maybe go with the S3 Layout instead of the S4? I actually prefer the S3 layout it just is a enormous PITA to do a build in--and I had to make the S4 remotely user friendly as I wanted to bring it to retail.

Either way, thanks for the trib--go for it man!

Could you elaborate? I am planning something similar right now using inspiration from various cases of this form factor so I am curious to know what you mean exactly.

Made an update to the first post to show an early version of the case design. The side panels will be cut identically in shape, but with vents in different locations for the motherboard and GPU. Whatever changes may happen, it will not be altered to the point where the frame would need to be re-done.

I have set the dimensions of the case to be 220mm x 330mm x ~60mm. Probably would be slightly slimmer than the S4 case but the hard drive placement will still be against the side panel. I will also support two slim 120mm fan mounts as well!

I like your idea of using acrylic for the front, very interested to see how that works out.

In regards to the height especially if you are planning on using NH-L9i and plan on making it thinner than the S4 you should consider fan + vent turbulence noise and perhaps test a few different vent patterns and distances from vents for noise before deciding on purely aesthetics.

At 63mm you can squeeze a 45mm cooler into the S4 mini like I have done... but noise from turbulence is pretty terrible even at idle and only gets jet engine worse as load increases. I experimented a little by manually raising the vents over the cooler and at 8mm which is roughly the distance the NH-L9i has in the S4 made a huge difference to acoustics, but even at that distance there is still an audible difference with side on and off of which only gets worse as the fan get faster under load. This might be not be so bad with a higher quality fan like the one on the NH-L9i but its worth testing before you set anything in stone.

 

[CC Ricers]

Since this is a one-off maybe go with the S3 Layout instead of the S4? I actually prefer the S3 layout it just is a enormous PITA to do a build in--and I had to make the S4 remotely user friendly as I wanted to bring it to retail.

Either way, thanks for the trib--go for it man!

Nice to get some feedback from you! I made a comment in your S4 thread saying if you were fine with me taking some ideas for the inner frame, and looks like you answered it. And which S3 layout? I know you had the original S3 and S3 mini- original seems to be more closer to the size of the S4 with a space beside the graphics card to add a slim ODD and perhaps a 2.5" hard drive.

Do you mean that one? And to also flip the GPU so that all the coolers are pointing in the same direction? Seems possible but I would be curious to know if a long riser would add more bulk to it, in order to flip the card in reverse. I've already planned the cutouts so that the card would be facing the opposite side, to need a shorter riser. I have the case parts in my friend's house so I can't really go ahead and do some test fitments with them now.

I like your idea of using acrylic for the front, very interested to see how that works out.

In regards to the height especially if you are planning on using NH-L9i and plan on making it thinner than the S4 you should consider fan + vent turbulence noise and perhaps test a few different vent patterns and distances from vents for noise before deciding on purely aesthetics.

At 63mm you can squeeze a 45mm cooler into the S4 mini like I have done... but noise from turbulence is pretty terrible even at idle and only gets jet engine worse as load increases. I experimented a little by manually raising the vents over the cooler and at 8mm which is roughly the distance the NH-L9i has in the S4 made a huge difference to acoustics, but even at that distance there is still an audible difference with side on and off of which only gets worse as the fan get faster under load. This might be not be so bad with a higher quality fan like the one on the NH-L9i but its worth testing before you set anything in stone.

I do have the NH-L9i with me and likely would be the first cooler I'll be testing on it. Vent patterns sure are hard for me- it seems I can't make my mind up for a balance of function and aesthetics. I know that a swirl pattern is usually among the best for reducing noise and maximizing airflow (provided it follows the direction of spin) but it's pretty hard to make well with hand tools.

I'd probably have to go with some kind of parallel strip pattern, or drill a bunch of evenly spaced holes (pretty easy, but a bit plain looking IMO). The Noctua's fan is 15mm in height compared to the SlipStream Slim's 12mm, which I have three of. Two were modded to be even slimmer for use in a SFF water cooled build. I will test those out as well, in place of the 15mm fan, to see if it makes a big difference in noise and temperatures, having it attached to a side of the case.

 

[iFreilicht]

And to also flip the GPU so that all the coolers are pointing in the same direction? Seems possible but I would be curious to know if a long riser would add more bulk to it, in order to flip the card in reverse. I've already planned the cutouts so that the card would be facing the opposite side, to need a shorter riser. I have the case parts in my friend's house so I can't really go ahead and do some test fitments with them now.

That seems to be the important part. The case might actually get a little bit wider if you intended to use a single riser (which means that the the PCIe bracket tabs will intrude into the Audio output of the motherboard), but if you were going for two risers like the Silverstone RZ01 is, you'll save a bit of space by flipping the GPU.

And, if you're planning it out just right, you might even save space in any configuration if you manage to get the PEG connectors of the GPU to fit directly in front of the PCIe x16 connector on the motherboard.

If you're planning to do such a thing, I highly recommend the HDPLEX silicon riser, which I took a look at here.

 

[Josh | NFC]

flip the GPU so that all the coolers are pointing in the same direction?

Yup. I think it's the ideal. It's definitely not bad the way you have it now though, but I might be biased.

 

[CC Ricers]

Yeah I was looking at the S3 pics from your website just yesterday to get a good look at the frame and layout. Where did you put the hard drive in the S3 mini? I don't remember.

However, I will probably stick to GPU and CPU coolers facing opposite directions and going with a shorter riser. The PEG connections should fit according to where I have the slot cutouts. Not planning to use any extra-tall cards in the future but I can see why that would matter more for mass-produced cases where you want more compatibility. And if the power connector hole doesn't fit in that corner, I will run it through the middle, between GPU and motherboard, underneath the riser and have it go out the middle.

 

[CC Ricers]

No new pics to show, but I got some extra work done yesterday. Mostly just cutting out the remaining parts of the back and bottom of the frame, including openings for the motherboard tray, GPU cooler and I/O shield. And there was a LOT of filing done to try to straighten the cuts as I used a jigsaw, but still not perfectly straight. I'll have to bring my sanding bits for the Dremel to do that job more easily.

Next time I'll finish up the panel with cutting the expansion card slots and then give it a brushed finish!

 

[CC Ricers]

Oooh, it's a triple post! But with good reason because I am updating my shopping list, and disclosing more details on my case.

Shopping list will replace the HD-PLEX 250w with a more affordable Z4 200w PSU from Pico-Box. Also will require some electronic components for some custom hardware, explained below. I have unused PC parts I could sell that will possibly cover the costs for all these parts. For example, I still have an older 600w modular ATX power supply that is still of good quality that I don't use for anything, and a bunch of water cooling parts that are no longer used in any loop (ah, I remember back when I joined OCN for the water cooling but ended up staying for the SFF builds).

What is this custom hardware? Nothing too much, but will be interesting to work on, for me at least.

I am planning to add a CPU, GPU and fan monitor to the case with an OLED display for visual output. Controlled via a microcontroller from an Arduino board. Some information that I'd like to display are CPU and GPU temperatures, GPU and VRAM usage, activity over time, and more may come later. It would serve the a lot of the same functions that the mini-display of the Airtop PC has, but the display would end up looking more like a sleek HTPC display behind the gloss acrylic. Think something like the Jonsbo G3 case, but just the black portion.

The OLED display would be monochrome white, and somewhere between 1.5" and 2.4" in diagonal size. Most of the displays I've seen in this size are 64x128 pixels which should be pretty good for showing detailed info or crisp text. Or maybe get one of the longer ones, with twice as many pixels (64x256).

The high contrast of OLEDs would make them good for viewing through the smoked black acrylic. Also with the look of the Jonsbo case, the functions for the display would be controlled with a single rotary knob that can also be pressed like a button. It would also be neat if I could use the pushbutton knob to turn on the PC, but it remains to be seen if I can make this possible with the wiring.

I am programming the activity monitor myself, thanks to a code project I found online that uses CoreTemp and GPU-Z to obtain realtime data and send the output via a serial connection. I'll use one of the USB 2.0 headers on the motherboard to send data over that cable to the display, via the microcontroller. This is the least complicated way I can think of setting up the onboard monitor.

 

[iFreilicht]

Think something like the Jonsbo G3 case, but just the black portion.

That would look very good indeed! Apart from the fact that the G3 "display" was an LED backlight against black tape with holes in it, of course.

 

[CC Ricers]

That would look very good indeed! Apart from the fact that the G3 "display" was an LED backlight against black tape with holes in it, of course.

Was it really? That's not...really great. I expected it to be some optional LED display you could get as an add-on option, to display HTPC relevant information like what media is currently playing. Too bad, because it has a really nice design otherwise.

Well, mine would be interactive with displaying real info. A big question now is how much would the components cost. I'll need the following:

• Arduino Micro board, good for tight spaces in more permanent installations (and because it's MICRO, of course)
• OLED screen with a breakout board for hooking up to the Arduino
• Rotary encoder with push button switch, also with breakout board if possible
• Metallic black rotary knob cap

If I go the cheap route I can get all this stuff on eBay and Ali Express, estimated $40 to $60 depending on the size of OLED screen. There exist Chinese-made imitation Arduino boards (here's an example of one) which should be suitable for programming but I can't say how good they would be in terms of craftsmanship and longevity.

And that's on top of the power supply components I still need to get, which would set me back an additional $80. My 600w PSU should cover for most of that, if not completely. I already have a full size Arduino board. A tiny sub 1 inch OLED screen would be less than $10 and I can start programming with that in the meantime.

On a side note all these components can be gotten with a blue PCB. Color coordination FTW

 

[CC Ricers]

A quick status update: Did some more cutting and sanding with the sheet metal for the frame. The thickness of the sheet is proving to make it harder to get cuts well done with the tools I have. For my next scratch case project I definitely won't use any sheets thicker than 1/16" to make the frame if I were to use the same tools!

Also bought some electronics parts to start programming the display. However, I've also got some Bitcoin which I'd like to use to buy the DC-DC power supply. I'm actually considering this one rated at 160w:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HLCT9HK/?tag=theminutiae-20

Anyone here tried the Yosoo brand DC-DC units? And would 160w be cutting it close with a system that has a GTX 950 and G3258 processor?

 

[iFreilicht]

And would 160w be cutting it close with a system that has a GTX 950 and G3258 processor?

You've got plenty of headroom, that should work out just fine, even with a few drives in there.
I haven't used any of those units, but if they are able to deliver at least 150W on the 12V rail, you'll be good to go.

 

[michaelmitchell]

You've got plenty of headroom, that should work out just fine, even with a few drives in there.
I haven't used any of those units, but if they are able to deliver at least 150W on the 12V rail, you'll be good to go.

12 DC-ATX units should be fine, they are mostly unregulated 12V rail straight from the power brick so can actually go over the 160W rating fairly easily, at least this is the case with the PicoPSU.

 

[CC Ricers]

You've got plenty of headroom, that should work out just fine, even with a few drives in there.
I haven't used any of those units, but if they are able to deliver at least 150W on the 12V rail, you'll be good to go.

12 DC-ATX units should be fine, they are mostly unregulated 12V rail straight from the power brick so can actually go over the 160W rating fairly easily, at least this is the case with the PicoPSU.

I'm gonna go for it, then. The lower price will leave me more budget for the riser and power adapter, too.

I'll also try to get more done next time I'm at my friend's workshop and hopefully finally get to finish the bottom-back piece of the frame, so at least I can place components on it and have new pics to show.