Production Velka series cases for ultra compact and portable desktops

sid21177

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Mar 19, 2019
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I will show a gray and silver one soon, around April 20. There will be silver and gray or black available. Right now I'm leaning towards gray over black because it gives it a more unique appearance.

Great.
Saw the updated renders too - I suggest a continuous cutout for the HDD mount points for maximum spacing flexibility ??

You'll have to eliminate couple of the round holes which lie in the line of sight

Offset MB might block some of the slot so the middle area will be useful - unless there is a structural issue
 

QuantumBraced

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Mar 9, 2017
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Case feet: there will be small rubber adhesive feet, most likely a pack of 12. They are removable but can sometimes leave some residue behind that should be wiped off.
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Magnetic side panels: To have magnetic side panels, either the side panels or the case body would have to be made powder-coated steel instead of anodized aluminum. I think that this would cheapen the case since powder-coating is inferior to anodizing in virtually all regards except for being less expensive and being able to achieve a white color. This leaves two options:
1) If demand ever becomes high enough, create a separate steel variant of the case colored white to set it apart.
2) Offer an add-on kit consisting of magnetic strips and steel side panels colored white or black. The body will remain anodized silver, gray, or black, and a color match between anodized and powder-coated parts is impossible. This would allow for two-toned cases like silver + black, gray + black, or black + white.
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Riser:
The best way to put it would be that if you would be comfortable using an HDPLEX, ADT, or some other riser with a 1050 TI, then you should be comfortable using a LiHeat riser as well. At the end of the day, un-powered risers are more similar to each other than they are different when it comes to power delivery. We recommend using them with lower wattage cards not because it is a sub-par product, but rather because it is a more conservative estimate of what kind of power it can handle in the long term.

Thanks again for a detailed reply.

On magnets, I was thinking more in terms of small circular neodymium magnets that are adhered to the panels and frame in 4 places, almost like a screw substitute. But I guess that would be complex and expensive to implement.

In fact, theoretically you can have an actual screw that is made up of 2 interlocking magnetic parts that pulls apart, and if you wanted to you could take it out and put in an actual screw. But I don't think that exists, it would be a really cool product and would work with any case. Someone should make that.

And on the riser, I understand... So a 1050 Ti would almost certainly work in the short-term, but you can't guarantee it will work in the long-term, hence can't recommend it. Other case manufacturers definitely seem to have more confidence, but I appreciate the objective assessment. It would be nice to see this tested somehow, but that would be a lot of work. I think I get the picture now though, thanks.
 
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VELKASE Michael

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Great.
Saw the updated renders too - I suggest a continuous cutout for the HDD mount points for maximum spacing flexibility ??

You'll have to eliminate couple of the round holes which lie in the line of sight

Offset MB might block some of the slot so the middle area will be useful - unless there is a structural issue

Do you mean making the slots longer? If so, making them longer would not add any more drive mounting flexibility due to the space that other parts and components take up.
 

sid21177

Cable-Tie Ninja
Mar 19, 2019
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Do you mean making the slots longer? If so, making them longer would not add any more drive mounting flexibility due to the space that other parts and components take up.

No, right now each mount is divided into 2 slots separated by a little piece of metal in the middle - I'm saying it should be removed to make 1 continuous slot.
The MB plate will act as a divider.

Having the continuous slot will make it easier to adjust the drive separation in case the sata/power connectors need wiggle room
 

VELKASE Michael

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No, right now each mount is divided into 2 slots separated by a little piece of metal in the middle - I'm saying it should be removed to make 1 continuous slot.
The MB plate will act as a divider.

Having the continuous slot will make it easier to adjust the drive separation in case the sata/power connectors need wiggle room

The motherboard plate does not actually divide the drives because they can only be mounted in the graphics card chamber. In the CPU chamber, there will always be a CPU cooler (not pictured) that prevents a drive from being mounted. The two slots on that side are just there for symmetry.

Does that make sense, or am I misunderstanding you again?
 
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sid21177

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Mar 19, 2019
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The motherboard plate does not actually divide the drives because they can only be mounted in the graphics card chamber. In the CPU chamber, there will always be a CPU cooler (not pictured) that prevents a drive from being mounted. The two slots on that side are just there for symmetry.

Does that make sense, or am I misunderstanding you again?

It does. What you say about the CPU side did cross my mind but I thought maybe I was missing something :)

I still visualize 1 continuous cutout looking better (even if only a part is functional) - but I leave that decision to you
==== 8 ==== v/s =========== (a very crude approximation - lol)
 

VELKASE Michael

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1 more question - any scope of relocating the power button to the back for a clean front look ??

This was under consideration at one point in time, but there is insufficient space for a button in the back. Either maximum graphics card height would have to to be reduced, support for fans would have to be removed, or overall size of the case increased.
 
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sid21177

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Mar 19, 2019
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This was under consideration at one point in time, but there is insufficient space for a button in the back. Either maximum graphics card height would have to to be reduced, support for fans would have to be removed, or overall size of the case increased.

Ah ok, what is the width of the mounting slot if it stays in its 2 part form ??
Is it possible to extend it slightly towards the outer edge so the end is in a straight line with the outermost circular vent holes ??

 
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VELKASE Michael

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Ah ok, what is the width of the mounting slot if it stays in its 2 part form ??
Is it possible to extend it slightly towards the outer edge so the end is in a straight line with the outermost circular vent holes ??


27.86 mm edge to edge. It can be extended to be in line with the other holes.
 

VELKASE Michael

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I believe about 34-36mm wide is needed to fit 4 SSDs comfortably without the cables touching each other
Which is why the below might be more forgiving on tolerances


Support may have to be dropped to 3 SSD's. Extending those slots further will not create more room for drives because there are standoffs and nuts in the way on either side.
 

sid21177

Cable-Tie Ninja
Mar 19, 2019
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Support may have to be dropped to 3 SSD's. Extending those slots further will not create more room for drives because there are standoffs and nuts in the way on either side.

Oh ok - will that still be the situation if you move the slots back to their original mid-case position ?? - before I asked you to move them closer to one end - lol

Need about 105mm-125mm(ideal) clear space - granted this might remove support for even a 40mm fan
 

VELKASE Michael

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Oh ok - will that still be the situation if you move the slots back to their original mid-case position ?? - before I asked you to move them closer to one end - lol

Need about 105mm-125mm(ideal) clear space - granted this might remove support for even a 40mm fan

It will remain that way regardless because those obstructions are scattered throughout, so it does not matter whether the slots are closer to the middle or towards the rear.
 
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sid21177

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Mar 19, 2019
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It will remain that way regardless because those obstructions are scattered throughout, so it does not matter whether the slots are closer to the middle or towards the rear.

If we can place a 40mm fan along with the SSDs, it will be towards the front of the case.
Can the vented plate be simply turned around to swap the SSD/fan positions ??

Looking at the renders, If a single fan is used, it being towards the rear will give better airflow over the MB ?? - or it does not matter
 

VELKASE Michael

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If we can place a 40mm fan along with the SSDs, it will be towards the front of the case.
Can the vented plate be simply turned around to swap the SSD/fan positions ??

Looking at the renders, If a single fan is used, it being towards the rear will give better airflow over the MB ?? - or it does not matter

The vented panel cannot be turned.

Support for 40 mm fans will most likely need to be dropped. It is not pictured at the moment, but adding mounting holes for 40 mm fans makes the vent worse for 80 mm fans.

It looks like there will have to be three choices:
1) Graphics card and one 2.5" drive
2) Graphics card and two 80 mm fans
3) Three 2.5" drives
 
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sid21177

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Mar 19, 2019
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The vented panel cannot be turned.

Support for 40 mm fans will most likely need to be dropped. It is not pictured at the moment, but adding mounting holes for 40 mm fans makes the vent worse for 80 mm fans.

It looks like there will have to be three choices:
1) Graphics card and one 2.5" drive
2) Graphics card and two 80 mm fans
3) Three 2.5" drives

Cool :thumb:

For option 3 - will there be some kind of cover for the PCI slot openings that can be installed ??
 
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Analogue Blacksheep

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Dec 2, 2018
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The vented panel cannot be turned.

Support for 40 mm fans will most likely need to be dropped. It is not pictured at the moment, but adding mounting holes for 40 mm fans makes the vent worse for 80 mm fans.

It looks like there will have to be three choices:
1) Graphics card and one 2.5" drive
2) Graphics card and two 80 mm fans
3) Three 2.5" drives

Just thinking, would it be possible to swap one of the 80mm fan for an mSATA drive? You can get mounting adapters such as this one. Someone on Thingiverse also made an enclosure for it.

If this can work how would it affect temps?
 

VELKASE Michael

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Just thinking, would it be possible to swap one of the 80mm fan for an mSATA drive? You can get mounting adapters such as this one. Someone on Thingiverse also made an enclosure for it.

If this can work how would it affect temps?

It should work if the enclosure and cables fit into an 80 x 80 x 11 mm space. It would negatively affect cooling compared to having two fans, but that is something that is difficult to quantify.