Prototype The world most flexible SFF case? LOUQE Ghost S1

[Supercluster]

Sorry for being so nerdy about this, ill go back to my cave now.

Yes that was very nerdy, unlike my comment.

 

[PaChalski]

If you want REALLY high scratch resistance you COULD do hard anodizing (>15 µm thickness, ISO 10074 or MIL-A-8625). It has that super nice matte black, but its MUCH more expensive.
Some finishes also depend on what kind of aluminum alloy is used, it can vary quite allot. I know AW-5005 is really nice for regular anodizing but its better to use AW-6101B if you plan on hard anodizing it. (AW-5005 works but micro cracks can form.) So even if you get the case raw (un-anodized) it may be a bad idea to try to hard anodize it (unless you know the alloy).


By the looks of the case parts it seems that you manufacture them by extrusion, it is super cool and i love that you are doing it, the way you assemble the case is really ingenious.

Sorry for being so nerdy about this, ill go back to my cave now.

Love the nerdyness! More of that please!

Yes, the gables and side panels are extruded before cut and milled. Appreciate that you appreciate this part of the case! Seriously!

 

[PaChalski]

Some extra info in case people are interested:

• The anodization (forced oxidation) of aluminium reinforces the aluminium(III) oxide layer, which forms naturally on exposed raw aluminium(and it's alloys), from 2-4 nanometers to 2-150 micrometers depending on the application.
  
  
• You will hardly see any electronic device enclosure with a layer above ~25 micrometers in thickness(any thicker is usually classified as hard anodization, which affects the look and more importantly the cost, the complexity and the yield of the treatment), with the more common thickness in the range of 5-10 micrometers.
  
  
• The oxide layer in not added to the surface, it is rather a diametrically opposing (in)growth process, which means that a coating of 10 micrometers adds 5 micrometers to the dimensions.
  
  
• In it's mineral form it (Al2O3) is called corundum, which, dependent on the opacity and colour(itself depending on the impurity- trace metals such as chromium, titanium, iron, etc.), is further classified as a gem(ruby, sapphire, etc.), making it second only to diamond on the, commonly referenced, Mohs scale of hardness(note that the absolute hardness of diamond is around 4 times greater than corundum).
  
  
• The oxide created via the most common DC current passivation is not as strong due to the physical properties of the surface. It does not form a solid mineral but rather a honeycomb-like porous structure which is comparable to hardened carbon steels(which in comparison are harder than stainless steels) in hardness. Being a mineral makes it electrically non-conductive with thermal conductivity in the range of 30-40 W/mK.
  
  
• This structure makes it very receptive to colouring(dyeing is the correct term) . The hexagonal pores are filled with dye and then sealed (commonly) by hot water dunking or being exposed to water steam.

The advantages of anodizing are as described:

• Abrasion resistance.
• Uniformity of the treated surface.
  
• Electrical isolation.
• Low to none tolerance requirements.
• Moderate thermal conductivity.
• ...

The disadvantages are:

• Low elastic modulus, making it susceptible to cracking and chipping but not peeling.
• Susceptibility to thermal cracking due to the expansion and contraction of the underlying metal.
• Limited applicability in the high temperature environments (commonly up to 80 degrees C).
• ...

Thank you for adding this, and what structure!
There are many technical areas that have had to be covered whit the Ghost. I feel like surface treatments, their technical implications and attributes are less commonly discussed in forums like this than other areas of the PC enthusiasts world. It is so good to see many of you take an interest in this, help us navigate and emphasize the importance of it!

 

[Supercluster]

I'm just a tad disheartened that you dropped the extruded internal frame. Hope to see the idea revisited for a future release once you have stabilised your market position.

 

[PaChalski]

I'm just a tad disheartened that you dropped the extruded internal frame. Hope to see the idea revisited for a future release once you have stabilised your market position.

Us too! This was very tough thing to let go of. There were several reasons behind this but mainly we didn't get good enough tolerances when extruding this more complex profile with large tongue ratios. We hope to solve it in the future with a smaller case!

 

[Boil]

Maybe I missed it somewhere in the thread, but are dual 120mm AIOs (in a Large TopHat) possible...?

If so, this could work well with an i7-8700 & GTX 1070 Ti Hybrid...!

EDIT TO ADD:

If not able to do dual AIOs (I can 'see' where the tubing connections on the radiator side might be a problem, as would routing the tubes to the components); thoughts on temps with an open air style GPU, bottom intake chassis fan, & top 240mm AIO for CPU...

 

[PaChalski]

Maybe I missed it somewhere in the thread, but are dual 120mm AIOs (in a Large TopHat) possible...?

If so, this could work well with an i7-8700 & GTX 1070 Ti Hybrid...!

EDIT TO ADD:

If not able to do dual AIOs (I can 'see' where the tubing connections on the radiator side might be a problem, as would routing the tubes to the components); thoughts on temps with an open air style GPU, bottom intake chassis fan, & top 240mm AIO for CPU...

I'm not sure I understand the second part of the question. To address the first question, the problem is that there is not a lot of side to side room to pass through the second set of pipes to the rear mounted radiator. On each side of the 120 fan and radiator there is about 8 mm of space at the most narrow point (where fan is the widest). In theory the radiator and fan could be pushed more to one side leaving more space for tubes on the other side but you wouldn't be able to use the current mounting holes that are centered. If you have tubes that are 8 mm or less in diamanter and long enough to reach past the front mounted radiator this should work fine. Another alternative would be to change one of the fans to a 92mm and then it would be no problem feeding the pipes through. Is this clear enough? I understand it is hard to envision without an illustration.

Either way, making this work will be challenging and call for some creative solutions. I'm sure someone will crack this but it will not a simple plug-and-play-type solution.

 

[Neville]

Is the Artic White more of a glossy white or matte white? Also, I'm kinda sad the Ash Grey color is gone as I really think the Gunmetal Metal looks the best on cases with metal exteriors. Would more colors be arriving in the future or just the 2 colors for now?

The project looks great so far, even through some things had to be cut back.

 

[Boil]

...temps with an open air style GPU, bottom intake chassis fan, & top 240mm AIO for CPU...

I'm not sure I understand the second part of the question.

Was wondering about various temps in the system with a non-blower (aka, open air) GPU, the 120mm intake fan under the PSU & top 240mm AIO for CPU (exhaust the entire system as well)...

Like the middle unit in the pic below (but with an open air GPU)...

I feel the open air GPU may be quieter than a blower GPU, but wonder about the heat it throws off affecting the rest of the system...

 

[HooglyBoogly]

To address the first question, the problem is that there is not a lot of side to side room to pass through the second set of pipes to the rear mounted radiator.

I think the most obvious solution to this problem is to pull the pump through a hole in the grating of the top of the case (not the tophat) before attaching the radiator to the top of the case.
The only problem is that there might not be a hole big enough or in the right spot in that panel to pull the pump through. Ideally this hole would be right at the end of the radiator where the tubes come off of it.

Also, you mentioned in [H] that you might add another set of power supply mounting holes which could allow a 120mm radiator and slim fan on the bottom fan space. Will you end up doing this? More options is always a good thing.

 

[PaChalski]

Is the Artic White more of a glossy white or matte white? Also, I'm kinda sad the Ash Grey color is gone as I really think the Gunmetal Metal looks the best on cases with metal exteriors. Would more colors be arriving in the future or just the 2 colors for now?

The project looks great so far, even through some things had to be cut back.

The one solution we have found for the white is more glossy then we would have wanted. Ash grey is not gone, who told you? We are discussing exchanging the white for a close to white "natural" though.

Regarding future colors. Anything is possible, we are still operating in great uncertainty and there is no way to predict where this will go, especially before the launch.

 

[PaChalski]

Was wondering about various temps in the system with a non-blower (aka, open air) GPU, the 120mm intake fan under the PSU & top 240mm AIO for CPU (exhaust the entire system as well)...

Like the middle unit in the pic below (but with an open air GPU)...

I feel the open air GPU may be quieter than a blower GPU, but wonder about the heat it throws off affecting the rest of the system...

Here is a link to the test we did a while back with different configurations. The config you mention, with the 120 bottom case fan + 240 AIO + non-blower card was not tested, the difference to our test was the bottom case fan. What we had was 240 AIO + ASUS strix non-blower card. But I doubt the temps would be significantly different.

 

[PaChalski]

I think the most obvious solution to this problem is to pull the pump through a hole in the grating of the top of the case (not the tophat) before attaching the radiator to the top of the case.
The only problem is that there might not be a hole big enough or in the right spot in that panel to pull the pump through. Ideally this hole would be right at the end of the radiator where the tubes come off of it.

Also, you mentioned an [H] that you might add another set of power supply mounting holes which could allow a 120mm radiator and slim fan on the bottom fan space. Will you end up doing this? More options is always a good thing.

What we could do (no promises) is to adjust the top plate in a way that you would be able to feed the pipes from the GPU straight up with an opening in the side of the top plate around the middle, for GPU piping. Feeding it through the existing holes would require a disassembly of the AIO in order to feed it through - something we have consciously been avoiding, the front opening in the top plate is open ended just because of this.

Well, we will add the third set of mounting holes for the PSU, allowing the user to increase the bottom space by about 15 mm vertically. The length (122.5 mm) of the opening under the PSU is another limiting factor that will probably cause problems with a 120-AIO placed there.

 

[Boil]

Here is a link to the test we did a while back with different configurations. The config you mention, with the 120 bottom case fan + 240 AIO + non-blower card was not tested, the difference to our test was the bottom case fan. What we had was 240 AIO + ASUS strix non-blower card. But I doubt the temps would be significantly different.

I saw the reply over on [H] & questioned if the GPU was blower or open-air, this answers that...!

So, as I stated with my reply over on [H], those temps look quite reasonable...

Definitely interested in a black chassis & Large TopHat; will add a Corsair 120mm MagLev fan as a bottom intake, extra cool incoming air can't hurt... ?

 

[PaChalski]

Is the Artic White more of a glossy white or matte white? Also, I'm kinda sad the Ash Grey color is gone as I really think the Gunmetal Metal looks the best on cases with metal exteriors. Would more colors be arriving in the future or just the 2 colors for now?

The project looks great so far, even through some things had to be cut back.

Here is a new image of the white sample compared to a non blasted natural sample, thought this could be good to see.

 

[SeeFiFo]

Here is a new image of the white sample compared to a non blasted natural sample, thought this could be good to see.

The one at the top is white and the one at the bottom is natural? The natural one looks a lot better to me, at least in that photo (which appears to have a rather grey white balance though).

 

[tecent]

ikea white looks nice

Here is a new image of the white sample compared to a non blasted natural sample, thought this could be good to see.

 

[Neville]

Here is a new image of the white sample compared to a non blasted natural sample, thought this could be good to see.

The bottom one looks like a silver color to me in this photo. I was looking for a darker shade of grey than the the white looks like from the picture. Maybe if the platform becomes big enough in the near future you'll add separate order panels which will have future colors.

How far away are we from the reviewers from getting their sample?

 

[odeniz]

I think best look is old mac pro's matte surface.

 

[wesbl]

Time to share the results from the Heat sink test http://louqe.com/img/img/ext/ext/GhostS1CPUheatSinkTest.pdf

Note that we have measured the noise levels closer to the case this time and on the CPU-side in order ger more articulated results

Zalman not set at maximum rpm (+-1500), why?