Production Velka series cases for ultra compact and portable desktops

revo175

Caliper Novice
May 17, 2020
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VELKASE Michael

Do you foresee any issues with motherboards with a back-plate if the CPU is short enough?



 

shutdown1210

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Jun 14, 2020
3
0
From what is stated in the latest manual, we can now position the side panel further away from both CPU and GPU fan using the experimental 2mm or 4mm spacing holes. Does it mean that the memory height clearance is now taller such that I am able to fit in the 44mm high Gskill Trident Z memory?
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
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VELKASE
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Oct 7, 2018
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@VELKASE Michael when we can expect the Prepurchase option to be live on the website? It was supposed to be up around 3 weeks ago...

For now it is best to assume that it will only be possible to order when they are ready to ship, so late July.

Just a quick follow-up on the PSU -- wouldn't the partial vent be mostly obstructed by the PSU and cables? Have you done tests to determine if it makes a difference with this vent vs. no vent? Perhaps you could have no vent on the PSU side and a partial vent on the other side, so if someone wanted to have a vent they could flip the case to have the PSU at the bottom and open vent on top. And if they didn't want a top vent (for instance with a low-power system, to prevent dust from settling in or just didn't like the look of it), they could flip it and have the PSU on top with no vent.

I haven't tested the difference but without top vents, the intake for the power supply would use more CPU and GPU exhaust. The Flex ATX mount cannot be made reversible due to how close it is to the left side of the case and the motherboard's IO cutout, so one orientation has to be chosen. It's in the current orientation because that allows power supplies that have vents on their large face to intake air from the outside. The other orientation is less than ideal for those power supplies because the motherboard tray will impede airflow on the large face of the PSU (the top face in this picture)


If you check page 13 here, that should give you an idea of how much space the cables take up if using the ENP-7660B. It's a colorful mess but they don't impede airflow that much for the power supply.

The way I see it is, the best way to create a solid top with a decent appearance would be to keep the current PSU orientation, flip the case, figure out a way to attach the motherboard tray without two screws on the new top. The only way to do this would probably be to sacrifice a little bit of structural integrity of the case and attach the motherboard tray to the side of the frame with two long standoffs. In this picture, that would mean removing the features marked in red and adding long standoffs between the blue points. This would also slightly reduce graphics card height clearance but that lost space might not actually be usable by ITX graphics cards anyway). With the way the case is right now, you can still flip the case to have a solid top and even keep the power button at the bottom, but you would have an extra pair of screws on top by the locations marked in red.



Awesome, thank you. :)

What size screws(m3, m4, or an imperial size) are you using to attach the flex atx PSU to the chassis?
6-32 UNC screws, the same ones used for SFX and ATX power supplies. 2.5" drive compatibility will not be affected as long as the adapter takes up the same space as a Flex ATX power supply.

From where are the cases shipping? I am from germany and have to see about customs if i shiuld get velka 5 plus psu or velka 7. also how much will shipping be to germany? 30 usd?

They ship from the United States. I'm still in the process of negotiating rates but you can assume it to be roughly $55 for a Velka 5 or 7 without a PSU, $65 for a Velka 5 with a PSU not including import tax and duties, with about 1 week transit time.
Much appreciated! Drives I have are all "top-side" IO so I think this option might not be fore me, will opt for the 7 :)

Looking at the early user manuals (awesome work btw!) there's a couple questions re: rear-mounted M.2 drives:
- Is there enough clearance for a low profile heatsink such as: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-m-2-nvme-heatsink-black
- Will the ribbon cable be rated to withstand constant high ~70C? (current idling temp for me without heatsink)
- If either of the above is false, would you recommend not installing one?
What do you mean by "top side"? The diagonal drive could be flipped over if that's the issue.

The riser cable will be fine. If your graphics card does not have a backplate, you should actually be able to fit a low profile M.2 heatsink in the new Velka 5 or 7, something around 3-4 mm tall. Which M.2 drive and case are you currently using?

Do you foresee any issues with motherboards with a back-plate if the CPU is short enough?

That one looks fine. There may be some motherboards out there with larger protrusions on the backside, which would have to be removed.

From what is stated in the latest manual, we can now position the side panel further away from both CPU and GPU fan using the experimental 2mm or 4mm spacing holes. Does it mean that the memory height clearance is now taller such that I am able to fit in the 44mm high Gskill Trident Z memory?

That experimental extra panel spacing can be treated as a clearance increase for the CPU fan and RAM. It's more complicated for graphics cards so it's best to treat that as a simple spacing increase between fan blades and vents that decreases noise.

Spacing the panel farther away will increase RAM clearance, but you might need to use 4 mm spacing instead of 2 mm spacing or get 2mm tall adhesive rubber feet and place them between the side panel and body of the case to keep the side panels straight.

When do you think it would be available at EU resellers?

Maybe in a few months or closer to the end of this year. Until then, it will just ship from the US to EU customers directly.
 

buffcorrell

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Jun 16, 2020
4
1
What do you mean by "top side"? The diagonal drive could be flipped over if that's the issue.

The riser cable will be fine. If your graphics card does not have a backplate, you should actually be able to fit a low profile M.2 heatsink in the new Velka 5 or 7, something around 3-4 mm tall. Which M.2 drive and case are you currently using?
My apologies - I misread the diagram initially and typed away, please disregard ?

I'm running a Zotac 2070 Mini + Integral M series M.2 drive in a Silverstone ML08-H , which burns up a little high, was looking to potentially alleviate in the case transplant but doesn't sound like I'll get a heatsink on there, but thanks for your time!
 

Nichronos

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jun 22, 2018
129
65
For now it is best to assume that it will only be possible to order when they are ready to ship, so late July.

I find this quite offensive after all the promises you did about it!
Its literally you saying "i don't give a fuck about all of you that wants to certainly get their cases"
and "i won't spend any time to implement preorder, whoever gets it gets it"
i'm mad now!
 

Aarav

Caliper Novice
Jun 11, 2020
22
6
Even i think that there should be an option to pre-order, not all the cases but lets say around 30 percent of the cases or a number around that but in the end it is your choice
 
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MaxBurnout

Caliper Novice
Jun 27, 2020
22
25
Hi, dying to order the case btw super job!

wondering if you think the new velka 7 can fit an NH-L9A-AM4 with an upgraded 25mm fan. This would mean CPU heatsink + fan = 48mm. So would 1mm over the recommended size be ok?
 

Tazpr

Master of Cramming
Aug 7, 2018
553
429
Hi, dying to order the case btw super job!

wondering if you think the new velka 7 can fit an NH-L9A-AM4 with an upgraded 25mm fan. This would mean CPU heatsink + fan = 48mm. So would 1mm over the recommended size be ok?
You'll be either touching the side panel or causing a decent amount of turbulence. I had an L9i with a 25mm fan and it was fine but loud at high RPM's due to proximity to the side panel
 
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QuantumBraced

Master of Cramming
Mar 9, 2017
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I haven't tested the difference but without top vents, the intake for the power supply would use more CPU and GPU exhaust. The Flex ATX mount cannot be made reversible due to how close it is to the left side of the case and the motherboard's IO cutout, so one orientation has to be chosen. It's in the current orientation because that allows power supplies that have vents on their large face to intake air from the outside. The other orientation is less than ideal for those power supplies because the motherboard tray will impede airflow on the large face of the PSU (the top face in this picture)


If you check page 13 here, that should give you an idea of how much space the cables take up if using the ENP-7660B. It's a colorful mess but they don't impede airflow that much for the power supply.

The way I see it is, the best way to create a solid top with a decent appearance would be to keep the current PSU orientation, flip the case, figure out a way to attach the motherboard tray without two screws on the new top. The only way to do this would probably be to sacrifice a little bit of structural integrity of the case and attach the motherboard tray to the side of the frame with two long standoffs. In this picture, that would mean removing the features marked in red and adding long standoffs between the blue points. This would also slightly reduce graphics card height clearance but that lost space might not actually be usable by ITX graphics cards anyway). With the way the case is right now, you can still flip the case to have a solid top and even keep the power button at the bottom, but you would have an extra pair of screws on top by the locations marked in red.


Ohh I see, the vent is meant as PSU intake, that didn't occur to me. I thought it was for exhaust. Okay, but with this set PSU orientation, if someone was to flip the case then that large face intake would be completely blocked. Otherwise, you'd at least get some intake. I guess you don't think many people will choose to flip the case? I wonder how much intake even goes through those large face vents, on many Flex PSUs they are mostly obstructed to channel most of air straight through.

Also, I don't think screws on the top look bad at all, as long as they are countersunk. It actually looks kind of cool. I know you can have a solid top now if you flip the case, but you said in a future revision you'd add a vent there too, which makes sense for exhaust. So that's why I suggested you make the PSU end solid. I guess if you wanna have a solid top on either side you gotta make some sacrifices. Maybe it's just my OCD but I really dislike the look of that asymmetric vent, I could be in the minority though.
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
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Ohh I see, the vent is meant as PSU intake, that didn't occur to me. I thought it was for exhaust. Okay, but with this set PSU orientation, if someone was to flip the case then that large face intake would be completely blocked. Otherwise, you'd at least get some intake. I guess you don't think many people will choose to flip the case? I wonder how much intake even goes through those large face vents, on many Flex PSUs they are mostly obstructed to channel most of air straight through.

Also, I don't think screws on the top look bad at all, as long as they are countersunk. It actually looks kind of cool. I know you can have a solid top now if you flip the case, but you said in a future revision you'd add a vent there too, which makes sense for exhaust. So that's why I suggested you make the PSU end solid. I guess if you wanna have a solid top on either side you gotta make some sacrifices. Maybe it's just my OCD but I really dislike the look of that asymmetric vent, I could be in the minority though.

One more thing I forgot to mention is that the PSU has to face away from the motherboard due to the way the side panels are attached to the case in the rear. The Flex ATX mount does not have a screw hole in one of the corners and if it were flipped, then in this image, the right panel would not be attached in the top right corner. Red circles here mark the current screw holes and blue circles mark where the new screw holes would be if the PSU were flipped. The only good place to mount a 2.5" drive is to the left of the power supply, so it cannot be moved any further to the left.



This could be solved by
A) Having a screw hole on the side (so that the side panel no longer attaches in the rear) but the screw would have to be 3 mm long to not interfere with the power supply. These aren't always available.
B) Moving the power supply to the bottom without flipping the case, which is a layout change would slightly increase case size.

Hi, dying to order the case btw super job!

wondering if you think the new velka 7 can fit an NH-L9A-AM4 with an upgraded 25mm fan. This would mean CPU heatsink + fan = 48mm. So would 1mm over the recommended size be ok?

Do you already have the L9A in hand? If you do, I would suggest taking the fan off while installed onto a motherboard and checking whether the 120 mm fan would fit. It might interfere with your memory, IO, and have to be raised higher up than you expect. 48 mm would fit with a negligible amount of flex on the motherboard and side panel, but this setup might be taller than 48 mm.
 
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Tazpr

Master of Cramming
Aug 7, 2018
553
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So I think I'm going to be doing something very dumb.

Someone wanted to trade their RTX2080 Super for a dual slot 5700XT plus some cash to them.
The 2080S is the Aorus model which is awesome, but very thick... But I've looked at the dimensions and from what I can tell it should fit in the Velka5 as long as I don't put the side panel on XD

If they decide they want to accept my trade instead of outright selling I may end up attempting to see if I can mod a side panel that has a large hole for the fan shroud to protrude through haha
 

Srijal

Cable Smoosher
May 30, 2020
8
2
So I think I'm going to be doing something very dumb.

Someone wanted to trade their RTX2080 Super for a dual slot 5700XT plus some cash to them.
The 2080S is the Aorus model which is awesome, but very thick... But I've looked at the dimensions and from what I can tell it should fit in the Velka5 as long as I don't put the side panel on XD

If they decide they want to accept my trade instead of outright selling I may end up attempting to see if I can mod a side panel that has a large hole for the fan shroud to protrude through haha

And you would be worthy of your title, "Master of Cramming"
 
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Tazpr

Master of Cramming
Aug 7, 2018
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And you would be worthy of your title, "Master of Cramming"
Hahaha, very fitting indeed! There may be some dremeling required but I kind of love the idea of the fan shroud coming out the side cos it's got the wicked triple LED rings on them which would be a spectacle!
 

MaxBurnout

Caliper Novice
Jun 27, 2020
22
25
One more thing I forgot to mention is that the PSU has to face away from the motherboard due to the way the side panels are attached to the case in the rear. The Flex ATX mount does not have a screw hole in one of the corners and if it were flipped, then in this image, the right panel would not be attached in the top right corner. Red circles here mark the current screw holes and blue circles mark where the new screw holes would be if the PSU were flipped. The only good place to mount a 2.5" drive is to the left of the power supply, so it cannot be moved any further to the left.



This could be solved by
A) Having a screw hole on the side (so that the side panel no longer attaches in the rear) but the screw would have to be 3 mm long to not interfere with the power supply. These aren't always available.
B) Moving the power supply to the bottom without flipping the case, which is a layout change would slightly increase case size.



Do you already have the L9A in hand? If you do, I would suggest taking the fan off while installed onto a motherboard and checking whether the 120 mm fan would fit. It might interfere with your memory, IO, and have to be raised higher up than you expect. 48 mm would fit with a negligible amount of flex on the motherboard and side panel, but this setup might be taller than 48 mm.

Thanks for the reply, my question is not for 120mm fan. The L9A comes with a 92mm fan that is 14mm thick. A common solution people use is to replace the fan with another 92mm fan but 25mm thick to improve airflow. So the change is a thicker 92mm fan, 11mm thicker than the stock 14mm, which would mean a 48mm cooling solution. It is the same 92mm fan size so that does not matter for ram or other stuff cuz it’s just thicker. Maybe this is something of consideration for future?
 

VELKASE Michael

King of Cable Management
Original poster
VELKASE
Gold Supporter
Oct 7, 2018
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Thanks for the reply, my question is not for 120mm fan. The L9A comes with a 92mm fan that is 14mm thick. A common solution people use is to replace the fan with another 92mm fan but 25mm thick to improve airflow. So the change is a thicker 92mm fan, 11mm thicker than the stock 14mm, which would mean a 48mm cooling solution. It is the same 92mm fan size so that does not matter for ram or other stuff cuz it’s just thicker. Maybe this is something of consideration for future?

I must have misread your question then. It will work.
 
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ShadyYogaInstructor

Case Bender
New User
Jul 4, 2020
2
1
Just wanna thank Velkase Michael and the team for an utterly fantastic product. I'm still in love with my V3 but I have one last mission that you might be able to help me with. Metal feet. Is there anything we can do for little feet more reliable than the rubber nubs? I think the heat from my system melted the adhesive so I need a metal solution LOL
 
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ShadyYogaInstructor

Case Bender
New User
Jul 4, 2020
2
1
Forgot to mention I have the Velka 3 v1.2 with the PSU on the bottom so with no rubber feet left, the enhance 7660b Im using gets woefully hot under full load so I need some kind of solution for metal feet that would allow for more space on the bottom of the system for heat dissipation which looks to be taken into account for the 2.0 revision. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks all!
 

Tazpr

Master of Cramming
Aug 7, 2018
553
429
If anyone is keen on a Silverstone NJ450 with custom cables made specifically for a Velka5 let me know - my system has exceeded its capacity and I need to swap it out for something with more juice