Other What's on Taobao

CC Ricers

Shrink Ray Wielder
Bronze Supporter
Nov 1, 2015
2,233
2,556
I found this interesting doozy of an embedded board, actually on AliExpress (so it should be easier for a US person to buy). Small embedded heatsink with a laptop-class i7 CPU.


This would be nice for a slim NUC-type deal if you don't need powerful graphics. And the 4-pin power plug makes it possible to add your own internal PSU, which for this board would be pretty low on power.
 

tinyitx

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 25, 2018
2,279
2,338
Anyone found a case layout either like the GEEEK T810 or a horizontal case with 160mm CPU Cooler and 287mm GPU cooler support?
Sunmilo C01 comes to my mind with its 160mm CPU + 277mm GPU support (not quite the 287mm but longer than the 270mm of T810).
It supports vertical and horizontal case position.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NinoPecorino

Spartoi

Caliper Novice
Jun 4, 2018
25
9
Sunmilo C01 comes to my mind with its 160mm CPU + 277mm GPU support (not quite the 287mm but longer than the 270mm of T810).
It supports vertical and horizontal case position.

Thanks for the recommendation. I've seen that case mentioned before but the GPU length is a deal breaker for me as I have Gigabyte 2080 TI Gaming OC which is about 287mm long and I'd prefer to keep it. Additionally, there's not much reason to choose the Sunmilo C01 over the Kolink Satellite which has the same layout, cheaper, and readily available.

If you know any other cases though, please continue to post them.
 

yensteel

Caliper Novice
Aug 10, 2017
32
30
It seems that the seller of the Zs A4 case has recently expanded its lineup with a 2.9 litre LP case. 40mm CPU height, Low profile GPU, has no power supply inside it. supports 2 7mm 2.5 hard drives and is 258*189*60mm in dimensions.





They've also released a 2.8 litre brickless APU case. The CPU compatibility looks to be 50mm, and supports 2 10mm 2.5 hard drives. Dimension is 186*189*80mm .




For both of these cases I really like the default venting pattern. It's actually also an option for the original Zs a4 chassis if you message the seller for customization.
 
Last edited:

Windfall

Shrink Ray Wielder
SFFn Staff
Nov 14, 2017
2,117
1,582
I found this interesting doozy of an embedded board, actually on AliExpress (so it should be easier for a US person to buy). Small embedded heatsink with a laptop-class i7 CPU.


This would be nice for a slim NUC-type deal if you don't need powerful graphics. And the 4-pin power plug makes it possible to add your own internal PSU, which for this board would be pretty low on power.
That's an awesome find!
 

CC Ricers

Shrink Ray Wielder
Bronze Supporter
Nov 1, 2015
2,233
2,556
It seems that the seller of the Zs A4 case has recently expanded its lineup with a 2.9 litre LP case. 40mm CPU height, Low profile GPU, has no power supply inside it. supports 2 7mm 2.5 hard drives and is 258*189*60mm in dimensions.





They've also released a 2.8 litre brickless APU case. The CPU compatibility looks to be 50mm, and supports 2 10mm 2.5 hard drives. Dimension is 186*189*80mm .




For both of these cases I really like the default venting pattern. It's actually also an option for the original Zs a4 chassis if you message the seller for customization.

Ah wow, never thought I'd see the first design being made. I had a concept for a case with a LP card horizontal to the motherboard, and would be even smaller than Xbox One S. This metal case hits the sweet spot for very compact and console-shaped.
 

smitty2k1

King of Cable Management
Dec 3, 2016
967
492
Ah wow, never thought I'd see the first design being made. I had a concept for a case with a LP card horizontal to the motherboard, and would be even smaller than Xbox One S. This metal case hits the sweet spot for very compact and console-shaped.
Yeah this design isn't for me. I understand long and flat is a smaller volume, but with a low profile card just inserted in the PCIe slot as normal you get such better choices for CPU coolers, and I personally find less elongated shares more aesthetically pleasing. Plus no need to fuss with the PCIe riser!

Always glad to have options though, and I like the new vent pattern, if I ever decide to buy a ZS-A4 mini I'd definitely go for that vent pattern over some of the others.
 

dacamel

Cable Smoosher
Jun 27, 2019
8
6
Greetings from germany,

my girlfriend is currently in China for about 2 months. While she is away im planning to build an mini-itx hackingtosh for her studies.
Well the components would be:

asrock z390 phantom gaming-itx/ac
I5-8500
16GB Ram
SFX L BeQuiet 500W
Sapphire RX570 Pulse (Nitro doesnt fit in many cases)

So the plan is that she will order one good case on taobao and bring it back to germany.

Im looking for a case (should be apple like), so good material quality, nothing crazy fancy, more minimalistic.
Power Supply should be SFX and the cooling possibilty would be good with 240mm AIO or maybe 2x240mm down air + 2x240mm top air if possible with the sandwich configuration. Windows kits are not import, i think the full alumium body looks better ; )

My Favorite seems to be the Cube X1
Cube X1

The Dora D1 (Very Pricy)
Dora D1

or the K99 8 (Very fair price)
K99

Are there some other good deals maybe ?


Yeah the K99 arrived at the home of my girlfriend in china, but heres the big problem. The 2 aluminium sidepanels are canceled because production stoped?! So i only have the version now with two glas panels.



Question to you experts. I will have a config with an RX 580 Nitro 8GB, I5-9600k and the cpu cooled by an AIO 240mm. My concern is that with the glas panels the airflow will be just bad and the system will overhead, thats why i wanted at least on alu side panel for the gpu. Dont know what to do now, send it back from china, or she will bring it here to germany and i try it otherwise i try to resell it in germany : /
 

tinyitx

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 25, 2018
2,279
2,338
Question to you experts. I will have a config with an RX 580 Nitro 8GB, I5-9600k and the cpu cooled by an AIO 240mm. My concern is that with the glas panels the airflow will be just bad and the system will overhead, thats why i wanted at least on alu side panel for the gpu. Dont know what to do now, send it back from china, or she will bring it here to germany and i try it otherwise i try to resell it in germany : /
I am not any expert. But what I see is this:- the seller had an i9 9900K and RTX 2080Ti FE edition in this case (with both glass panels). CPU was cooled by an 240 AIO. And he did not seem to have thermal problem. Check out the product page.
So, as RX 580 Nitro and i5-9600K are both less thermal troublesome than 2080Ti and i9 9900K, you should be OK.
My 2 cents.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rfarmer

Quango

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 6, 2019
102
34
As good as these and many other (thin)-mini-ITX cases look, and as well ventilated they are, they almost all have a major shortcoming in my view: lack of USB ports. Mini-ITX boards offer plenty of internal USB 2.0 and 3.x headers but most cases make them impossible to use. Also many are lacking wifi antenna mount holes.

Why are practical cases so rare? Here's for example the Shuttle XH270 barebone as a rare positive example:
 
Last edited:

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,707
1,646
As good as these and many other (thin)-mini-ITX cases look, and as well ventilated they are, they almost all have a major shortcoming in my view: lack of USB ports. Mini-ITX boards offer plenty of internal USB 2.0 and 3.x headers but most cases make them impossible to use. Also many are lacking wifi antenna mount holes.

Why are practical cases so rare? Here's for example the Shuttle XH270 barebone as a rare positive example:

I can answer that question: due to the fact that not everybody use their front IOs that often, some case designers decide to go with minimalist aesthetic over functionality.

No right or wrong here, just a matter of different point of view & requirements.

Edit: I'm not sure what you mean about missing antenna holes.. I thought antennas go out from the motherboard's back opening?
 
Last edited:

Quango

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Apr 6, 2019
102
34
The Shuttle backside has two optional punch-out holes for antennas in the metal above the mainboard rear cover. The Asrock Deskmini STX-case has even three in the metal and punchout-holes for USB on the top of the cover. But many/most mini-ITX cases I checked have none. Sometimes there are punch-out holes for serial interfaces (to connect to mainboard headers), as if everyone has industrial needs, but never any for USB. There are simply hardly any options at all, nothing to choose from.

It does not matter to me where they are - front, side, top or rear, but I want them.

Even the Intel NUC boards have internal USB headers, but no factory option to use them. For some NUCs, extra NUC lids with USB are aftermarket options.



Here is an example with punch-out holes for serial on the top of the backside - but USB or antenna? No, sir.

 
Last edited:

SoulTribunal

Caliper Novice
May 19, 2019
27
9
Thank you guys for posting all these interesting cases, and a special one to @tinyitx for the help on translation!

When looking at these two builds:

I've stumbled upon this very low profile C13 plug:


I've looked at the comments but I didn't find any info related to it.
Does anyone know where to look at?
Would be nice to buy it!

Wow now that's a low profile plug, the Chinese market always seems to have the neat stuff. I wouldn't even begin to know how to get my hands on one though.

I saw a lot of interesting looking M3 screws in the first build log. I wonder if they're something you could purchase or did they come with the case the guy bought ?.
 

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,707
1,646
The Shuttle backside has two optional punch-out holes for antennas in the metal above the mainboard rear cover. The Asrock Deskmini STX-case has even three in the metal and punchout-holes for USB on the top of the cover. But many/most mini-ITX cases I checked have none. Sometimes there are punch-out holes for serial interfaces (to connect to mainboard headers), as if everyone has industrial needs, but never any for USB. There are simply hardly any options at all, nothing to choose from.

It does not matter to me where they are - front, side, top or rear, but I want them.

Even the Intel NUC boards have internal USB headers, but no factory option to use them. For some NUCs, extra NUC lids with USB are aftermarket options.



Here is an example with punch-out holes for serial on the top of the backside - but USB or antenna? No, sir.


I totally understand your requirements sir, but looking at the availability in the market, unfortunately I think you're in the minority here.

Speaking about WiFi antenna, I use USB 3.0 WiFi dongle, and sometimes the WiFi signal behind my PC is just crap. Thus I buy a USB 3.0 extension cable to put that dongle somewhere higher, free of interference. Not good looking, but it works.
 

lmmo

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Jun 28, 2019
3
4
I believe this Papyrus A4 case is new.

It looks interesting for an air cooling design since it supports 2 x 120mm fans for intake (GPU up to 170mm, or only one fan for GPU up to 190mm) and 2 x 60mm (not entirely clear because somewhere else it says 70mm) for exhaust, and a CPU cooler height of 110mm (for example, Noctua NH-D9L). It supports a SFX PSU. All this in a 7 liter volume.

Cable management should be an issue, and I believe the renderings are missing the cut out for the SFX power supply.

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=589239911288





 

Analogue Blacksheep

King of Cable Management
Dec 2, 2018
831
688
My case has arrived safely at Superbuy's warehouse. For UK based members, when declaring the value do I need to include the shipping cost? Too much many contradictionary articles online.
 

Legion

Airflow Optimizer
Nov 22, 2017
357
386
My case has arrived safely at Superbuy's warehouse. For UK based members, when declaring the value do I need to include the shipping cost? Too much many contradictionary articles online.

Just leave it all to Superbuy and it will 'hopefully' sneak through without triggering customs at all ;)
 

lmmo

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Jun 28, 2019
3
4
My case has arrived safely at Superbuy's warehouse. For UK based members, when declaring the value do I need to include the shipping cost? Too much many contradictionary articles online.

Yes, by law you need to include the shipping cost. This is to avoid having a product costing $1 and the shipping $100, and thus avoid taxes.