Production Velka series cases for ultra compact and portable desktops

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
742
913
The revision 2.0 changes don't satisfy everyone, and I understand that. On paper, it's obviously better for a case to have a lower selling price, extra fan mounts, and those extra few millimeters of graphics card clearance- I get it. However, many of the recent changes made to these cases are not to have a more impressive specifications sheet, but rather to turn them into a more presentable, usable, and most importantly, purchasable product.

In order to better explain why some of these changes were made, everyone needs to understand the context in which they were made. Velkase has always been a one-person project and it only became full-time after Ali from Optimum Tech, Linus Media Group, and many others showed interest in these cases. I'm grateful that some of you have brought these cases to their attention in the first place, but the product design and order fulfillment strategy needed to be changed as soon as possible.

September-December 2019, I was working 16 hours a day every day because every single case had to be assembled and packed in the USA; every single order had to be checked for whether the customer wanted the case in black, gray, silver, white, with a riser or without, with one, two, or no fans, and then time also had to be allocated to solving some customers' issues with things like motherboard, 2.5" drive, and graphics card incompatibilities due to the design. Continuing to sell the models that were originally intended for a few sales once in a while would have resulted in worse availability, worse quality control, and mistakes in fulfilled orders.

The new designs are more presentable and usable due to the new structure and will come in the most popular configuration: black, with a riser, without fans. The ones that accept Flex ATX power supplies can also be bundled with the 600W Enhance Electronics power supply for $100 extra so that there is an easy choice. Black is the color that has been the most consistent in quality. Too few people get these cases without risers and too few get them with fans. Reducing the number of different configurations for each case from 48 (forty-eight!) to 2 or 24 to 1 and dropping the whole idea with mounting the motherboard onto long standoffs, dropping HDPLEX support, not selling fans, etc. is going to be key in keeping up with demand because the operation will involve fewer suppliers and it will be possible to pre-pack cases with less complicated packaging before being sold.

Eventually, it will be possible to offer cases with more customization options, but the middle of a pandemic after half a year of practically no sales is not the time to do it. With that being said, the community's feedback is not being ignored. You have all been helpful in the past with functional and aesthetic design suggestions, but this revision 2.0 needs to be focused on improved availability and the community can't make decisions that improve availability. Some of the recent suggestions may be implemented into the next revision and some may not. Either way, discussing is going to be good for everyone, and there will be more things to discuss as more product images and user manuals are uploaded.
 
Last edited:

Nichronos

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jun 22, 2018
129
65
The revision 2.0 changes don't satisfy everyone, and I understand that. On paper, it's obviously better for a case to have a lower selling price, extra fan mounts, and those extra few millimeters of graphics card clearance- I get it. However, many of the recent changes made to these cases are not to have a more impressive specifications sheet, but rather to turn them into a more presentable, usable, and most importantly, purchasable product.

In order to better explain why some of these changes were made, everyone needs to understand the context in which they were made. Velkase has always been a one-person project and it only became full-time after Ali from Optimum Tech, Linus Media Group, and many others showed interest in these cases. I'm grateful that some of you have brought these cases to their attention in the first place, but the product design and order fulfillment strategy needed to be changed as soon as possible.

September-December 2019, I was working 16 hours a day every day because every single case had to be assembled and packed in the USA; every single order had to be checked for whether the customer wanted the case in black, gray, silver, white, with a riser or without, with one, two, or no fans, and then time also had to be allocated to solving some customers' issues with things like motherboard, 2.5" drive, and graphics card incompatibilities due to the design. Continuing to sell the models that were originally intended for a few sales once in a while would have resulted in worse availability, worse quality control, and mistakes in fulfilled orders.

The new designs are more presentable and usable due to the new structure and will come in the most popular configuration: black, with a riser, without fans. The ones that accept Flex ATX power supplies can also be bundled with the 600W Enhance Electronics power supply for $100 extra so that there is an easy choice. Black is the color that has been the most consistent in quality. Too few people get these cases without risers and too few get them with fans. Reducing the number of different configurations for each case from 48 (forty-eight!) to 2 or 24 to 1 and dropping the whole idea with mounting the motherboard onto long standoffs, dropping HDPLEX support, not selling fans, etc. is going to be key in keeping up with demand because the operation will involve fewer suppliers and it will be possible to pre-pack cases with less complicated packaging before being sold.

Eventually, it will be possible to offer cases with more customization options, but the middle of a pandemic after half a year of practically no sales is not the time to do it. With that being said, the community's feedback is not being ignored. You have all been helpful in the past with functional and aesthetic design suggestions, but this revision 2.0 needs to be focused on improved availability and the community can't make decisions that improve availability. Some of the recent suggestions may be implemented into the next revision and some may not. Either way, discussing is going to be good for everyone, and there will be more things to discuss as more product images and user manuals are uploaded.

Please make sure to include preorder options on the website so everyone gets their case!
 

griever

Average Stuffer
Apr 30, 2019
59
14
The revision 2.0 changes don't satisfy everyone, and I understand that. On paper, it's obviously better for a case to have a lower selling price, extra fan mounts, and those extra few millimeters of graphics card clearance- I get it. However, many of the recent changes made to these cases are not to have a more impressive specifications sheet, but rather to turn them into a more presentable, usable, and most importantly, purchasable product.

In order to better explain why some of these changes were made, everyone needs to understand the context in which they were made. Velkase has always been a one-person project and it only became full-time after Ali from Optimum Tech, Linus Media Group, and many others showed interest in these cases. I'm grateful that some of you have brought these cases to their attention in the first place, but the product design and order fulfillment strategy needed to be changed as soon as possible.

September-December 2019, I was working 16 hours a day every day because every single case had to be assembled and packed in the USA; every single order had to be checked for whether the customer wanted the case in black, gray, silver, white, with a riser or without, with one, two, or no fans, and then time also had to be allocated to solving some customers' issues with things like motherboard, 2.5" drive, and graphics card incompatibilities due to the design. Continuing to sell the models that were originally intended for a few sales once in a while would have resulted in worse availability, worse quality control, and mistakes in fulfilled orders.

The new designs are more presentable and usable due to the new structure and will come in the most popular configuration: black, with a riser, without fans. The ones that accept Flex ATX power supplies can also be bundled with the 600W Enhance Electronics power supply for $100 extra so that there is an easy choice. Black is the color that has been the most consistent in quality. Too few people get these cases without risers and too few get them with fans. Reducing the number of different configurations for each case from 48 (forty-eight!) to 2 or 24 to 1 and dropping the whole idea with mounting the motherboard onto long standoffs, dropping HDPLEX support, not selling fans, etc. is going to be key in keeping up with demand because the operation will involve fewer suppliers and it will be possible to pre-pack cases with less complicated packaging before being sold.

Eventually, it will be possible to offer cases with more customization options, but the middle of a pandemic after half a year of practically no sales is not the time to do it. With that being said, the community's feedback is not being ignored. You have all been helpful in the past with functional and aesthetic design suggestions, but this revision 2.0 needs to be focused on improved availability and the community can't make decisions that improve availability. Some of the recent suggestions may be implemented into the next revision and some may not. Either way, discussing is going to be good for everyone, and there will be more things to discuss as more product images and user manuals are uploaded.

@VELKASE Michael

Thank you for your candid account of how it looks on the inside of a one man show. I received my Velka 3 rev 1.2 last December and I’ve been extremely pleased. Your hard work has made a hell of an impression on myself and the community!

I look forward to buying the Vk 3 or 7 rev2.0 in the near future.

Cheers.
 

Tazpr

Master of Cramming
Aug 7, 2018
553
429
Would blower style GPUs have any advantage over open air GPUs in the Velka 5?
Optimum Tech did a great video on this but I think not really. From his testing the blowers were great for reducing CPU temperatures and open air designs were great for lowering GPU temps but could increase CPU temps. With sandwich style cases I think the compartment layout will mean that both compartments will get their own fresh air supplies and not vent heat onto each other too much. If I were you I'd get a GPU with as much heatsink surface area as possible and the largest possible fans - I have a PowerColor 5700XT red dragon and while it needs special 90 degree power connectors it's perfect for the case due to the massive fans and large heatsink.
 

Srijal

Cable Smoosher
May 30, 2020
8
2
Optimum Tech did a great video on this but I think not really. From his testing the blowers were great for reducing CPU temperatures and open air designs were great for lowering GPU temps but could increase CPU temps. With sandwich style cases I think the compartment layout will mean that both compartments will get their own fresh air supplies and not vent heat onto each other too much. If I were you I'd get a GPU with as much heatsink surface area as possible and the largest possible fans - I have a PowerColor 5700XT red dragon and while it needs special 90 degree power connectors it's perfect for the case due to the massive fans and large heatsink.

Yes, I saw that one. But I really like how that blower style Asus Turbo looks! And from the Velka 5 images, it seems that the back of the motherboard PCB would be facing the GPU backplate...there is no metal sheet in between. Also, I'm planning to use a 3700X...so maybe there's an advantage in keeping it cool? I don't know.
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
742
913
Would blower style GPUs have any advantage over open air GPUs in the Velka 5?

Cards with blower style coolers will have a compatibility advantage because they are exactly two slots wide, so they will not push clearances to the limits of the case. However, the panel by the card exhaust and IO is perforated as opposed to completely open, which will make blowers slightly less efficient than they normally would be.
Coolers with axial fans will typically cool the GPU more effectively but heat up other components more than blower cards such as your CPU and SSD.
 
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Sziklapeti

Trash Compacter
Jun 4, 2020
34
18
Those cases are amazing, can't wait to get a Velka 3, already got a flex atx psu just waiting for the europe avaiability.
That said now that I have seen the velka 3 RL I've started to wonder as I need more cpu than gpu for the road editing. Amazing work!
I wonder if it is possible to widen that on the left to allow a low profile 1650 powercalbeless gpu as a later revision? (this gpu comes with a smaller I/O shield too)
A low power low profile gpu is all I need to have nvidia encoders and accelerations but the 70mm cpu cooler something like a big shuriken 3 with a 3900x would be the perfect on the go editing machine for me.
If it's not possible then Velka 3 it is but that's a noctua nh-l9 so only a ryzen 3700x.
I know it would be almost as large in volume as the velka 3 but it could be an option to prioritize GPU or CPU with a smaller other.

Love your work, I hope this revision will solve all your reliability problems with the product and I wish the best!
 

larkmaj

Trash Compacter
Nov 26, 2019
48
42
Those cases are amazing, can't wait to get a Velka 3, already got a flex atx psu just waiting for the europe avaiability.
That said now that I have seen the velka 3 RL I've started to wonder as I need more cpu than gpu for the road editing. Amazing work!
I wonder if it is possible to widen that on the left to allow a low profile 1650 powercalbeless gpu as a later revision? (this gpu comes with a smaller I/O shield too)
A low power low profile gpu is all I need to have nvidia encoders and accelerations but the 70mm cpu cooler something like a big shuriken 3 with a 3900x would be the perfect on the go editing machine for me.
If it's not possible then Velka 3 it is but that's a noctua nh-l9 so only a ryzen 3700x.
I know it would be almost as large in volume as the velka 3 but it could be an option to prioritize GPU or CPU with a smaller other.

Love your work, I hope this revision will solve all your reliability problems with the product and I wish the best!
I don't quite get the low profile GPU market. There's enough market for GPU manufacturers to produce the card, but not enough for any good SFF cases? To me it looks like a minor bump in size from a good APU case to fit two low card slots. You'll never need more than 200W (unless the GPU takes extra power), which can easily be managed with Flex-ATX, or AC/DC to DC/ATX solutions. But again, it's a question of market potential. Also I wonder how loud dual 40mm fans are vs a single 92mm when dealing with 75W TDP.
 
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Tester

Cable Smoosher
Jul 22, 2017
9
2
the new velka design is a definite downgrade in nearly everything except aesthetics. just ordered a cheap chinese knock-off. just my view.
 

Sziklapeti

Trash Compacter
Jun 4, 2020
34
18
I don't quite get the low profile GPU market. There's enough market for GPU manufacturers to produce the card, but not enough for any good SFF cases? To me it looks like a minor bump in size from a good APU case to fit two low card slots. You'll never need more than 200W (unless the GPU takes extra power), which can easily be managed with Flex-ATX, or AC/DC to DC/ATX solutions. But again, it's a question of market potential. Also I wonder how loud dual 40mm fans are vs a single 92mm when dealing with 75W TDP.
The two 40mm fans and the 92mm fan variant are not comparable as the 'itx' cards are using a pci-e power connector and shoots up the power usage and clocks. So the 92mm variant needs to handle more heat. The two 40mm fans may be loud out of the box but with a fix fan speed you can keep it quieter than the flex atx psu. Also as it's not used for gaming the workload it gets usually around 60W editing or rendering and general image out. And also what is an itx build without a little undervolting.
 

smitty2k1

King of Cable Management
Dec 3, 2016
967
492
I don't quite get the low profile GPU market. There's enough market for GPU manufacturers to produce the card, but not enough for any good SFF cases? To me it looks like a minor bump in size from a good APU case to fit two low card slots. You'll never need more than 200W (unless the GPU takes extra power), which can easily be managed with Flex-ATX, or AC/DC to DC/ATX solutions. But again, it's a question of market potential. Also I wonder how loud dual 40mm fans are vs a single 92mm when dealing with 75W TDP.
Look at the J-Hack Pure MK2 available now for preorder.

Also, I think the fans are actually 50mm on the LP cards, but I'm not positive.
 

smitty2k1

King of Cable Management
Dec 3, 2016
967
492
Those cases are amazing, can't wait to get a Velka 3, already got a flex atx psu just waiting for the europe avaiability.
That said now that I have seen the velka 3 RL I've started to wonder as I need more cpu than gpu for the road editing. Amazing work!
I wonder if it is possible to widen that on the left to allow a low profile 1650 powercalbeless gpu as a later revision? (this gpu comes with a smaller I/O shield too)
A low power low profile gpu is all I need to have nvidia encoders and accelerations but the 70mm cpu cooler something like a big shuriken 3 with a 3900x would be the perfect on the go editing machine for me.
If it's not possible then Velka 3 it is but that's a noctua nh-l9 so only a ryzen 3700x.
I know it would be almost as large in volume as the velka 3 but it could be an option to prioritize GPU or CPU with a smaller other.

Love your work, I hope this revision will solve all your reliability problems with the product and I wish the best!
J hack and Lone both make a case you would likely be interested in (on this forum)
 
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VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
742
913
Those cases are amazing, can't wait to get a Velka 3, already got a flex atx psu just waiting for the europe avaiability.
That said now that I have seen the velka 3 RL I've started to wonder as I need more cpu than gpu for the road editing. Amazing work!
I wonder if it is possible to widen that on the left to allow a low profile 1650 powercalbeless gpu as a later revision? (this gpu comes with a smaller I/O shield too)
A low power low profile gpu is all I need to have nvidia encoders and accelerations but the 70mm cpu cooler something like a big shuriken 3 with a 3900x would be the perfect on the go editing machine for me.
If it's not possible then Velka 3 it is but that's a noctua nh-l9 so only a ryzen 3700x.
I know it would be almost as large in volume as the velka 3 but it could be an option to prioritize GPU or CPU with a smaller other.

Love your work, I hope this revision will solve all your reliability problems with the product and I wish the best!

Either in a later revision or as a separate product, maybe. It will be closer to the Velka 5 or 7 in terms of size because the current 3-RL is already 4.4 L.

Joined just to say that I am very excited about the Velka 3 rev 2.0 release in July. Hoping it's an early July release rather than later!

Any word on preorders?

I should have more info on that within a week. I need to get some more info on shipping before deciding how to go about accepting orders.
 

Sziklapeti

Trash Compacter
Jun 4, 2020
34
18
Either in a later revision or as a separate product, maybe. It will be closer to the Velka 5 or 7 in terms of size because the current 3-RL is already 4.4 L.
I see! Thank you, I will get a velka 3 and if later on something like it would come along if there were enough intrest then count me in an rl with 2 low profile slot! :D
Can't wait to build in it either way!
 

dnpp123

Trash Compacter
Jun 6, 2019
37
3
Some questions please:

- will it be possible to order a velka 3-RL and a velka 7 simultaneously when the July batch come? or should I order a velka 3-RL now and possibly delay the shipping to pay delivery only once? (to S.Korea if possible?)

- for the velka 7: the website says for GPUs 'Must be within one of the following overall dimensions: 289 x 43 x 135 mm (L x W x H) 289 x 40 x 140 mm (L x W x H) 262 x 40 x 145 mm (L x W x H)' does it HAS to be those specs? does something smaller works e.g. 230x40x125 (https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-rx-580-8g-g5)?

Thanks.
 

Nosuchthing

Trash Compacter
Feb 27, 2017
51
53
I really love the design of the Velka 7. Especially the fact that it includes an SFX PSU. I've signed up to the website in the hope that I can purchase one.

I did have one question though. I have noticed that you have responded to a question regarding installing a 240mm radiator in place of a GPU. My question is, is it theoretically possible to install a smaller AIO (such as the Asetek 92mm) if you used an ITX GPU?
 

thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
I really love the design of the Velka 7. Especially the fact that it includes an SFX PSU. I've signed up to the website in the hope that I can purchase one.

I did have one question though. I have noticed that you have responded to a question regarding installing a 240mm radiator in place of a GPU. My question is, is it theoretically possible to install a smaller AIO (such as the Asetek 92mm) if you used an ITX GPU?
The Asetek 645LT will not fit because of the Rad + fan setup exceeds the thickness clearance of 43mm (same GPU clearance between Velka 5 v1.1 and Velka 7)


But 1 guy has fitted a 120 AIO in the Velka 5 v1.1 so it is doable