Production Velka series cases for ultra compact and portable desktops

Knolly

Chassis Packer
Jan 12, 2017
16
25
Received my Velka 3 yesterday and shoved my old PC into a case half the size. Love it!

Some rough build photos here:



Extremely happy with the entire case. There's lots of VERY clever engineering and design tidbits in here. Michael did an amazing job with it.
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
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Could we get diagrams or schematics on how that would work?

Here is a quick sketch of what that would look like. One drive would be on the CPU side, which is can be mounted in any configuration, and two drives would be stacked vertically on the other side and take up the expansion slot. The information in the original post will be updated in more detail soon.



I'm interested in this case. Is the IO shield opening left partially uncovered?

Yes. If using a dual slot card, there will be two square openings about 2 x 2 cm. @Knolly above made a post above that shows this. If using a 52 mm CPU cooler or taller, the IO shield will be shifted 2 cm to the left and leave a 2 cm gap between the edge of the shield and the panel.



Received my Velka 3 yesterday and shoved my old PC into a case half the size. Love it!

Glad to hear that you like it.
 

butter_milch

Chassis Packer
Jun 20, 2019
15
20
Very interested in the VK-5, just one question:

Will the IO just stick out at the top or will there be some kind of cover to keep the optics clean?
 

znerol07

Efficiency Noob
New User
May 18, 2017
6
0
Received my Velka 3 yesterday and shoved my old PC into a case half the size. Love it!

Can you comment on how suitable it is when carrying around in a backpack? Will the gpu be secure enough that it will not move around if for example some clothes were jammed on the back side of the case.

How about the mounting for the motherboard, will it not wear off the part of the motherboard where the standoffs are placed?

Also did you receive one of those with lines in front panel? If yes, how noticeable is it?

Sorry for asking so many questions. Thanks in advance.
 

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
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M...M...M...M...Multi-Tier...Subscriber...
Apr 30, 2016
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Being able to shift the io and motherboard to allow for a taller cooler is very clever, I hadn't noticed that that was a feature. Very nice!

I'm also stoked to see this working out fantastically! Congrats!
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
743
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Would a motherboard with an M.2 slot on the front significantly help SSD thermals for this case? Thanks for your help.

If you only need it to run at SATA speeds, it should run sufficiently cool on either side. If you need it to run at PCIE speeds, then finding a motherboard with a front M.2 slot would be advisable as doing so would leave space for a heatsink to be added if needed.
 
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butter_milch

Chassis Packer
Jun 20, 2019
15
20
There is no cover in the current concept.

Thank you for clearing that up.

I was thinking about something along the lines of the Phanteks Shift. Perhaps as an optional add-on.

Personally I‘d love to flip it so the IO is at the bottom with the cables coming out the back through a relatively small opening.

Just my 2 cents :)
 
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sid21177

Cable-Tie Ninja
Mar 19, 2019
170
27
Here is a quick sketch of what that would look like. One drive would be on the CPU side, which is can be mounted in any configuration, and two drives would be stacked vertically on the other side and take up the expansion slot. The information in the original post will be updated in more detail soon.



Michael, Is it safe to assume there is a set of holes on the side frame which will allow 1 HDD to be mounted in a vertical orientation (connector up or down) ??
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
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VELKASE
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Oct 7, 2018
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Michael, Is it safe to assume there is a set of holes on the side frame which will allow 1 HDD to be mounted in a vertical orientation (connector up or down) ??

Which form factor HDD?

For vertically oriented 2.5" drives, you can use these slots in the front and these two holes in the back. A pair of drives fits here, either oriented horizontally as previously shown or vertically.

For a vertically oriented 3.5" drive, there is a set of holes in the back. However, this is not yet officially supported because the mount is not stable enough.

 
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VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
743
914
Appears to have excellent build quality. You should send one to OptimumTech, I'm sure he would love it. If he does a video on it, your sales will go up 1000% :D

That is a good idea. The first batch of VK3 cases is nearly sold out, so some cases from the next batch can be sent to reviewers to reduce downtime.


With that being said, work on revision 1.1 can start now. Here are the currently planned improvements, which need to be finalized by Sunday:
  • Add guaranteed support for HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX and Dell 330 W 19V AC-DC adapter. These parts are coming in the mail soon, so I will make sure that they work.
  • Add experimental support for other power supplies. This will be done without testing with physical units. Any suggestions?
  • Add guaranteed support for one 3.5" HDD in graphics chamber when no graphics card is used.
  • Increase open area of bottom Flex ATX power supply vent.
  • Add a flat metal fixture in the back to cover the right 2 x 16 cm gap created between the IO shield and side panel in the single slot configuration.
 
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QuantumBraced

Master of Cramming
Mar 9, 2017
507
358
Great ideas for 1.1. A couple of thoughts:

1) Will you include a rear plate for the the HDPlex? It's kind of a must.
2) With the HDPlex 400W, there should be room for at least one more 2.5" on the motherboard side because it's 30mm narrower than a FlexATX PSU, so perhaps include additional mounting points on the bottom of the case? Bottom mounting points could also be added for the first drive (one that's already supported) to improve stability
3) You could include a couple of 2.5" stacking plates like the NCase M1 has, for multiple stacked drives. I think it would improve stability.

4) This is more theoretical and I think I've mentioned it before, but since the case has no dust filters, I think it would be amazing if the side panels were toolless and/or used neodymium magnets in addition to screws. It would make frequent cleaning easier.
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
743
914
Great ideas for 1.1. A couple of thoughts:

1) Will you include a rear plate for the the HDPlex? It's kind of a must.
2) With the HDPlex 400W, there should be room for at least one more 2.5" on the motherboard side because it's 30mm narrower than a FlexATX PSU, so perhaps include additional mounting points on the bottom of the case? Bottom mounting points could also be added for the first drive (one that's already supported) to improve stability
3) You could include a couple of 2.5" stacking plates like the NCase M1 has, for multiple stacked drives. I think it would improve stability.

4) This is more theoretical and I think I've mentioned it before, but since the case has no dust filters, I think it would be amazing if the side panels were toolless and/or used neodymium magnets in addition to screws. It would make frequent cleaning easier.

1) Yes. It will most likely be a removable piece with mounting points for the various inputs of DC-ATX power supplies.
2) OK
3) What do these stacking plates do? Connect drives together? I cannot seem to find them.
4) It will not be possible to achieve tool-less side panels on this model. On a different and more expensive one, yes. Dust filters could be added sooner but I will need more time to work on that.


Something for the 2 slot config as well please :)

Which openings do you think need to be covered?