Production Velka series cases for ultra compact and portable desktops

[Fulldownsize]

There's 2 things to look at regarding internal connectors here. The first is the special PCIe riser that I think will allow the GPU to be placed at 90 degree angles in 2 axes from its typical orientation relative to the motherboard. He's listed it as PCIe 3.0x16. This isn't the newest standard, but it's what pretty much everything that is currently out uses, and you'll see very little performance difference for a while yet. I think most GPUs don't even use the full x16 and the 4.0 spec is mostly for storage drives at this point. So that riser should last you through a few more generations yet. I could be wrong here, so others can feel free to correct me.

I think your main question is the cables to move the video outs from the GPU to the back panel. It looks like these wouldn't be a hub, but are simply cables that plug into the graphics card, and route to the back of the case. They're basically extension cables. The port selection is very reasonable too, and he's using the latest standard available on all graphics cards. The only oversight, which is already pointed out, is the exclusion of USB-C/Thunderbolt. but you can work around that, and I wouldn't be surprised if Michael fixes that in a later Rev.

I think these extenders are included with the case. I'm wondering how much of a special order they are. It's going to be a while yet before you start seeing them hamper performance due to newer specs. Possibly even with an RTX3080 Ti or whatever they call the next one.

Thank you for your reply. If they're just extension cables, that makes the "this hurts upgradability" sentiment I've seen sound a little silly, since it'd be possible then to just swap them all around, even if a PCIe cable would be expensive later on. That's why I wanted to clarify. I can see the downside of no USB-C but I personally don't make use of those devices. Now I just have to hope I can click the order button fast enough.

 

[revo175]

I have questions on the Velka 7 as i want to make sure i get it right before i order it (obviously):

My card is 280 x 127 x 40 mm (Referece MSI Vega 56) as mentioned there needs to be an additional 16 mm clearance for the power cables, does this mean 280+16 meaning my card would not fit? or is the additional clearance added to the width of the card?

 

[VELKASE Michael]

Been waiting for the Velka 7 for the last couple months to finally downsize to ITX. The respositioned IO solves the only problem I foresaw with getting the original Velka 5. I was anticipating grabbing a B550 and an NVIDIA Ampere card when they release though, so I'm a little worried about the internal connectors people have mentioned. I'm new to this so don't know exactly how they work, but I'm imagining some sort of hub that then routes the ports to the holes in the back of the case? Does this mean they won't be easily replaceable like they would be if you just had to swap cables since that piece would only support certain connections, like the currently planned hdmi 2.0?

This will all be more clear as the user manuals approach completion, but they are extension cables. The male ends are connected to the card and the female ends mount to the rear of the case.

They are currently rated for DisplayPort 1.4 (4K 120Hz or if used with devices that support DSC, 8K 60Hz) and HDMI 2.0 (4K 60Hz), so the cable would need to be replaced when you start to get limited by bandwidth. Any future replacements would need to have a very short angled male end as there is 11 mm of space from the card IO shield and top of the case. If the replacement has different screw hole spacing on the female end, then that could be attached with an adapter plate.

These cases will ship with two DisplayPort extensions and one HDMI extension, however, the case itself has a mount for one extra DisplayPort. I wouldn't recommend using more than three cables total because internal cable management would get difficult, but it can be done. So, if you wanted to swap the HDMI for a third DisplayPort in the near future, you could go here and get a 30 cm P4-P4T cable from ADT-Link

As for USB-C and anything that does not have a panel mount but can still be routed through the 11 mm space, that would need to be routed through this extra hole.
Ampere will likely be PCIe gen 4 compliant, and if they work the same way with risers as the current AMD cards do, then you'd have to set gen 3 compatibility mode in UEFI to make them work.

Haven't been able to find clear mention or photos, has anyone run an internal HDPLEX 200W combo in the Velka 3?
Considering a sub-200W, 16-series GPU, 3300X on the upcoming B550 board, but would really like to keep everything internal.

Please note that the DC-ATX unit from that combo will be too tall to fit if used with a graphics card.

I have questions on the Velka 7 as i want to make sure i get it right before i order it (obviously):

My card is 280 x 127 x 40 mm (Referece MSI Vega 56) as mentioned there needs to be an additional 16 mm clearance for the power cables, does this mean 280+16 meaning my card would not fit? or is the additional clearance added to the width of the card?

16 mm should be added to the side where the pins are. On your card and most others, it would be added to the height, but on some like the reference RTX 2060, it would be added to the length. Are you certain that it is 127 mm tall and 280 mm long? If it's reference sized, it should be smaller. Even if it is 127 mm tall, it should still fit into the Velka 7, but the cables will have a very tight fit.

 

[revo175]

16 mm should be added to the side where the pins are. On your card and most others, it would be added to the height, but on some like the reference RTX 2060, it would be added to the length. Are you certain that it is 127 mm tall and 280 mm long? If it's reference sized, it should be smaller. Even if it is 127 mm tall, it should still fit into the Velka 7, but the cables will have a very tight fit.

I had it confused with another reference card i now notice my card is actually 270 x 110 x 40 mm, this should be good for the new Velka 5 including power cable clearance?

 

[VELKASE Michael]

I had it confused with another reference card i now notice my card is actually 270 x 110 x 40 mm, this should be good for the new Velka 5 including power cable clearance?

Yeah, that should fit

 

[h2ong]

Would this riser compatible in the velka 3 v1.2? Thanks!

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[VELKASE Michael]

Quite a few rumors are pointing towards AMD releasing some powerful 8 core APUs later this year.

@VELKASE Michael Do you think it would be possible to use the GPU space in the new Velka 5 to mount a 240mm AiO? The measurements look close enough that with an optional bracket, or perhaps just suitable mounting points added, that this might be a possibility. I was looking at the Alphacool Eisbaer LT 240 in particular.

I also wondered if the Velka 7 would support the Noctua NH-L9 with a 25mm fan. From the specs listed this option looks to be just 1mm too tall, but I did see you mention the possibility of a few millimeters of extra clearance.

A 240 mm radiator will not fit into the Velka 5, but it might fit into the Velka 7 if it is under 286 mm in length total, with your own mounting solution. You will also need to make sure that the CPU block is under 47 mm in height, and select slimmer fans because you will only have 43 mm of depth to work in. Airflow will also b by other components in the middle of the case

Would this riser compatible in the velka 3 v1.2? Thanks!

Thermaltake TT Premium Black Extender Riser Cable 300mm - Newegg.com

Buy Thermaltake TT Premium PCI-E x16 3.0 Black Extender Riser Cable 300mm AC-045-CN1OTN-C1 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

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I have seen others use it, but it will not be a secure mount because the mounting holes will not line up.

 

[AlexTSG]

A 240 mm radiator will not fit into the Velka 5, but it might fit into the Velka 7 if it is under 286 mm in length total, with your own mounting solution. You will also need to make sure that the CPU block is under 47 mm in height, and select slimmer fans because you will only have 43 mm of depth to work in. Airflow will also b by other components in the middle of the case

Thanks. Probably not worth the effort with a regular radiator setup then. Perhaps worth a look if Asetek makes their new blower style radiator available for CPUs. Maybe @AseDen knows if this might happen sometime soon.

 

[DG25]

I really like the Velka 7, too bad i'm from Europe and i can't order it. Two questions i have:
1) What riser cable do you use? Type and length. Is a 30cm long one enough for the additional bending required? I mean, the one used in Dan cases and other similar.
2) Instead of using display extension cords, wouldn't be easier for the top panel to be removable (magnets, plastic pins, sliding panel etc) so you can plug directly into right angled display adaptors (or just using right angled cables)?

 

[AMv8-1day]

Please note that the DC-ATX unit from that combo will be too tall to fit if used with a graphics card.

Thanks for the heads up. Has anyone experimented with flexible 24-Pin adapters? Not very familiar with custom made power cables, but not afraid of modding.
I've seen the right angle adapters sold by some component companies and found flexible 9" male-female 24-pin adapters on Amazon that would allow me to remote cram the HDPLEX 200W DC-ATX. Any anticipated complication with that solution?
I've also seen a custom minimal pin cable some people have had success with.
I don't recall the name or who's making it, but does anyone know what I'm talking about when referring to a (less than) 24-Pin low profile cable?

 

[larkmaj]

Thank you for your reply. If they're just extension cables, that makes the "this hurts upgradability" sentiment I've seen sound a little silly, since it'd be possible then to just swap them all around, even if a PCIe cable would be expensive later on. That's why I wanted to clarify. I can see the downside of no USB-C but I personally don't make use of those devices. Now I just have to hope I can click the order button fast enough.

To be clear about USB-C. It's only in reference to GPUs coming out with that connector on it. Which you would need if you wanted GPU graphics over USB-C. I can also see this becoming more of a standard port on future GPUs.

Most motherboards these days have at least one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C port on the rear I/O (ugh, those naming conventions).

 

[VELKASE Michael]

I really like the Velka 7, too bad i'm from Europe and i can't order it. Two questions i have:
1) What riser cable do you use? Type and length. Is a 30cm long one enough for the additional bending required? I mean, the one used in Dan cases and other similar.
2) Instead of using display extension cords, wouldn't be easier for the top panel to be removable (magnets, plastic pins, sliding panel etc) so you can plug directly into right angled display adaptors (or just using right angled cables)?

People outside of Europe can't order yet either.

1) The riser is the LiHeat 300 mm D type. It needs to be at least 30 cm long, and the 3M brand riser that the A4-SFX may work but I can't guarantee it because it might be too stiff.
2) The case with a top cover would be about 6 cm taller, and at that size, a case with a slim console layout would be more space-efficient and a lot easier to produce. That may be done later.

 

[Tazpr]

Sorry, this is not explained in the manual. If only the bottom fan is making contact, then this should resolve it, although I'd suggest keeping your rubber tabs or adding the 2 mm rubber feet that came with the case to the inside of the side panel.

2 M3 screws to screw it in from the inside, and 2 M3 screws to attach the graphics card's IO shield to it. If your bracket is plastic instead of metal (from B stock), it will have a different shape but the same layout.

Ah okay, that explains it - I never recevied the GPU bracket in my package for the case - only the internal piece which I'd been trying to work out how to use since I received it and gave up... Do you have any spare you could send to me?

 

[Damascus]

Are you currently shipping VK-5's? If yes, what would the lead time to Canada be?

 

[AseDen]

Thanks. Probably not worth the effort with a regular radiator setup then. Perhaps worth a look if Asetek makes their new blower style radiator available for CPUs. Maybe @AseDen knows if this might happen sometime soon.

It's on our list of considerations

 

[DG25]

2) The case with a top cover would be about 6 cm taller

Hmm, why so much though? I've seen some 3cm height right angle connectors available, and i presume even shorter ones exists... I wasn't talking about plugging straight regular display cables, sorry if i wasn't clear enough...

And about the 30cm cable riser, was this length a determining factor for the space available between the gpu back (with the ports) and the top of the case (11 mm, iirc). What i mean is, could the same 30cm cable allow for a bigger gap than currently (those 11mm), without increasing the exterior dimensions of the case? Of course, this would limit even more the total length of the GPU's pcb that would fit, but that's not my point.

 

[Mango]

Anyone with a Velka 5 v1.1 tried ziptying some slim fans to the interior backside to help remove hot air? Not sure what size and thickness of fan would fit but I'm looking at Noctua's NF A9x14.

 

[ahillelt]

Since the connectors in Velka 5 are simple passive connectors , I assume it's safe to say they do not trip up HDCP issues?

 

[ahillelt]

I'd like to eventually implement native support for DisplayPort over USB-C; it's just not possible right now.

Yeah, it's tough to source, completely get it... There are some flat type C USB 3.1 gen 2 connectors out there, but they require custom ordering, which may put too much risk on your end, perhaps those that want it can source on their own.

Regarding the riser, I suspect Li-Heat and others are waiting to make sure they are compatible with Intel motherboards that will be supporting PCIE 4.0, which will probably happen once Nvidia's Ampere GPUs come out (which will support PCIE4.0). This may matter for budget boards in regards to how lanes are being allocated, but who knows to be honest. I doubt any of them want to come out with something that has a chance of not working on Intel's new chipset - there shouldn't be a reason for that (but funny things have happened), and we all know how risk adverse the manufacturers are - rightfully so btw.

 

[Badasser]

1x 2.5” HDD or SSD (9.5 mm thick)
If graphics card length is below 212 mm:
3x extra 2.5” drives (2x up to 12.5 mm thick, 1x up to 7 mm thick)

It works in a similar way as before, but it will no longer cause any unsightly side panel gaps as it did in rev 1.1.

That’s actually awesome to hear. For those of us with work that necessitates data hoarding its hard to get small cases with tonnes of drive space so I’m glad you’re still catering to it, thanks! I look forward to the international release in July ?