Prototype Warden | 9L Sentry inspired Case That Fits Larger Graphics Cards

[Kensu]

This is my current work in progress project. I loved the aesthetic of the Sentry. It was the case design I had visioned wanting for the longest time. Unfortunately it did not support my graphics card. Instead of changing out my card (1080ti Gigabyte Aourus XTreme), I decided to just build a case around it. Being that it's basically a bigger, custom version of the Sentry - the Warden.

I wanted all the ventilation holes to be on one side as well, so that when it's in a lateral position it will have nothing visible for a clean look. The sides are cutouts with dust filters for better ventilation. I will be using a 20cm riser to reach from the motherboard under the GPU to a block connected to the floor of the case on the other side.

Additionally I felt like adding a little more style to the case by adding an LED ring (which will be RGB) to the front of the case. The power button will follow with the rugged style halo button, but in RGB. The front is going to be designed to come in parts that can screw together from the inward facing side of the front plate, so that the RGB section of the panel can be removed if desired.

The side panel was inspired by the S4 Mini. I am still working out how I am going to make this out of a metal, and the smaller details like cable management

Overall, the case is a little on the bigger side of small form factor cases at L 377.2mm x W 304.8mm x H 78.4mm (12" x 14.8" x 3"), but it will fit thicker graphics cards up to 11.5".

This if my first project like this. I was originally prototyping it out of wood, which didn't work out so well do to some mishaps with the router, but it didn't turn out horrible. It's basically a wooden crate. I thought making it out of acyllic would be a nicer material. I was wrong. I am still working on the acryllic prototype, but I don't have high hopes for it.

I would like to get this made out of metal eventually, but I want to finalize the case with as much support as possible before then.

 

[GioRgSaVv]

Cool idea! Being slightly bigger but with more features is always better imo. In the end both this and senty fit inside a backpack and that's all it matters, 9L case is fine too!

If you eventually end up making this project come true you should consider adding a front I/O for those who want it, like me, I use it a lot.

And what about hard drives? I personally like having a lot of storage in my computer, for example an ideal case for me would support x2 2.5inch 15mm thick hard drives, at least! You should think of the possibilities of the case now that is still early.

 

[Kensu]

Cool idea! Being slightly bigger but with more features is always better imo. In the end both this and senty fit inside a backpack and that's all it matters, 9L case is fine too!

If you eventually end up making this project come true you should consider adding a front I/O for those who want it, like me, I use it a lot.

And what about hard drives? I personally like having a lot of storage in my computer, for example an ideal case for me would support x2 2.5inch 15mm thick hard drives, at least! You should think of the possibilities of the case now that is still early.

I am working on creating a wooden prototype at the moment. If I am able to find a way to work with sheet metal I could make the size of the case slightly smaller as well. That'd be ideal, but I don't have the means to work with it myself right now or the money to have it manufactured by someone else. Even local fabrication shops won't take a one-off project where I live, which kind of sucks, leaving me to work with 6.35 (1/4") wood. This was originally planned to be a one-off thing for myself, but if it works out well and I can find a way to make it easily I would love to share it with others. I don't think it provides much benefit over the Sentry purely because you could just buy a 2 slot card when planning your build. I didn't originally purchase the card I have now with small form factor in mind. It'd be easier just to buy a 2 slot card and sell my 3 slot, but I don't want to go through the trouble or loss of money (selling the 1080ti to get a 2 slot 2070 Super or something similar), plus the cost of the Sentry.

As far as the drive bay goes, I would like to try and make it long enough to support 3x 2.5" drives with 20mm of clearance between the tray floor and the lid. I also am thinking of leaving enough room to stack 2 2.5" drives if possible, since I am aiming for this to still be bigger than the Sentry on purpose - might as well make use of the increased size.

I am looking for front-panel connection options, but haven't bothered with it too much right now because the availability for what I want doesn't seem to really be there and I planned on using a Thunerbolt docking station integrated into my desk to retain a clean front panel. I'd love to place a USB Type C to the front panel, although my motherboard doesn't even have a header for that (ASrock Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3)...

Overall with wood being less durable than metal and having to use thicker materials I am coming in above 9L with prototyping. I have made a 2.4mm thick acryllic version but didn't finish it due to acryllic /plexiglass just being a terrible material.

I appreciate your feedback and will make some modifications to include them.

EDIT: Overall with some modifying of the design I was able to fit in 4 drives (or 2 15mm tall ones) by increasing the total displacement to 11.3L (15.4" x x 12.44" x 3.58"). May not fit in a backpack at this point. With proper metal this could be lowered to be closer to 9L, but with 1/4" wood that I am working with there's not much I can do except reduce the distance between the I/O ports on the back, but that will weaken the gaps between them and may crack like in my previous prototype.

 

[Poblopuablo]

Something quite similar to this layout and dimensions are intended to be produced in the s402. Just a heads up in case you had not seen that case. Although the front asthetic of this case (the sentry inspired octagonal front plate) is very pleasing. Also the s402 is at a bit of a Hiatus given the OP's (Brian's) current situation with moving and other cases. He is still moving forward, but it might be a longer wait than expected, last I heard.

I only say this, so that you know 2 things. 1, It might be a bit difficult to sell given the market options. And 2, if you want to save time from designing your own case, and like the look of the s402 you may desire to go that route.

I believe your case is different enough from the s402 to have its own place in the market. Best of luck, and I will be looking forward to your progress!

 

[Barracuda727]

Hy any news about your case and where i can buy it, please hurry with new news, great work btw

 

[Barracuda727]

 

[Kensu]

Hy any news about your case and where i can buy it, please hurry with new news, great work btw

I actually recently ordered a CNC Mill, so I am hoping to actually get a good prototype working here within the next month or two after acquiring some more tooling and materials.

 

[Barracuda727]

Great Do u send all around world Europe and USA or just USA,and do u have some web page maybe for this case that would be great, and yea better stand like sentry 2.0 or similar cases will help, and make 2x usb 3.0 and at least one usb type c, with PCI-E riser 4.0 at least offcourse, this looks sick for me, I cant believe, when we can expect to buy this product, I know its concept and no made yet,but when U wanna put it on market, make web page for this case like salvio and sliger 530 have or thor mjolnir and sentry have, it would help you a lot one day when u sell around the world, and always send your units someone to test before u put it on market ,such as Linus or hardware canucks or others, best option probably is Optimum Tech to test this beast, make galvanization steel and U maybe have winner slim vertical console type with 7L , cant believe , I looking something like this very long time, and send it all around the world not just in USA beacasue I live in Europe, great great again, I follow your work and this case from this day, see ya

 

[Kensu]

The case has not even been completely prototyped unfortunately. I plan on building prototypes in different species of wood with an aluminum back plate for the I/O to mount, as well as the storage tray. I don't have any actual test data for thermals and stuff since it doesn't exist yet other than the less-than-acceptable prototypes I made. Things functioned well enough with my 3700x and 1080ti to where it wasn't being thermal throttled or running extremely hot, though.

Great Do u send all around world Europe and USA or just USA

If anyone would want the case, I would consider shipping it wherever provided.

do u have some web page maybe for this case that would be great

If I like how it turns out, I'll maybe make something if I decide to produce more.

and yea better stand like sentry 2.0 or similar cases will help

The stands are TBD, I was thinking more of a metal cone for feet that will be mountable on any side so the case can be oriented in whichever direction.

and make 2x usb 3.0 and at least one usb type c

It was not part of the original design as I wanted a clean looking front panel, but I have considered it.

with PCI-E riser 4.0 at least offcourse

In order to ensure compatibility with mounting the hardware, yes.

when we can expect to buy this product

I don't have an ETA. It's going to be a while before I receive the tooling and equipment needed to build a precision model of this case.

U maybe have winner slim vertical console type with 7L

Dream big I suppose, even if it's a 9L, potentially a bit more more by the end of the design. Thicker graphics cards take up a lot of space.

Thanks for your interest! I'll post updates as time goes on. Keep in mind this started as a personal project and modeled around the Gigabyte Aurous 1080ti XTreme for a 3 slot GPU dimension.

 

[lawney]

This looks almost identical to the Sentry.

 

[Barracuda727]

Great, ok we will see I am in to buy your case,you can take some ideas from this project too

Concept - LUX - 11.3L Focus on premium design and liquid cooling - Slim Console Style

So Im having a design dilemma haha. The usb type a is an eye sore on what otherwise is a clean and rounded design. Would people be okay with two usb c ports instead? completely fine for me since my portable devices - a DAP, external drives, and phone all use USB-C. but I'm just 1 person. this...

smallformfactor.net

 

[tja4430]

This looks almost identical to the Sentry.

Nah, judging by the concept drawings, there are several differences.

 

[lawney]

Nah, judging by the concept drawings, there are several differences.

You're right, and I see that it's meant to be sentry inspired anyway.

 

[Barracuda727]

Any news, the last news was in april, can we see some new pics maybe or something, when we finally see product and when we can buy it, please make some web page for purchased one day hwn u got final product.....

 

[Barracuda727]

Any news, some new pictures or something.....