Stalled Winter One -- 15.6L SFF case, 3090 Support, 3-slot GPUs, dual 280mm radiators, CFD Optimized Design

WinterCharm

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Jan 19, 2019
428
1,941
Thank you for going through with delivering the case at all!

Will the shortcomings of the first batch still be addressed?

Does the change of manufacturers bring new challenges to quality control?

Yes, and Yes, hence the added risk. We'll have a better idea of how it turns out once we get our pre-production sample parts.
 

AP2

Airflow Optimizer
Feb 1, 2017
291
325
if anyone is looking for a winterone, shoot me a message. I never finished my build and it’s been sitting unused.

Moderator Edit: Please be aware all sales must take place in our Trade section! The Poster has an active thread in the sub forum, so I invite members to take a look there.

Please see our rules for more info. Thanks! 💞
 
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frio

Cable Smoosher
Apr 26, 2021
9
25
Finally got my build done; it's pretty ugly on the inside, but that can be cleaned up over time. I'm going to cut and crimp some shorter wires for the loop's thermal probe, cut, crimp and sleeve the aquaero's bits, and hope a J-HACK arrives at some point.

Some notes:

* the finished product looks great, very happy with it
* with my card (6800XT) and waterblock, I couldn't fit a second slim fan on the 280mm on the top in the end; the 140mm to 120mm fan adapter from Noctua adds ~5mm (probably less), but just enough that it doesn't fit. Ah well. I've just left everything built (but without a second fan), but given I've got the solid side panels, I suspect I'd get better thermal performance if I swap the single-fanned 280mm radiator in the top for a 140mm radiator and a separate exhaust fan. The current performance is good enough that I really cbf ripping it apart and re-tooling just yet, but that's probably the next logical step when I've got some free time.
* I managed to squeeze in a Swiftech MC-RES sitting above the CPU block; it's not ideal but again, my dumb GPU block is huge, so I couldn't squeeze anything in on the other side. This is my first ever water-cooled build; after I built the loop outside of the case and ran it for a couple of weeks to get a feel for these things, I realised I _really_ didn't want to try my original plan of running without a res. If I was starting again, I'd try and get one of those CPU blocks that have a res built in (like the Barrow) and file back whatever needed to be filed.
* the side panels rattle a little bit when the case is moved; their fit isn't quite snug. I'm probably going to mimic the case I saw somebody else had, and pad the sides of the radiators with a bit of noise foam or something to apply a slight outward pressure on the panels and make them fit more firmly.
* there is some minor warping that has settled in over time. Nothing that upsets me for the first run of a product, so that's OK, but it is slightly visible

I'll take some pictures when the foam arrives and I take the panels off again. Overall, I'm happy -- I'm targeting a maximum of ~38C loop temperature with ~80L/minute flow rate, which keeps the fans and pump essentially silent at max load (using Furmark and Prime95) with the CPU peaking at 70C (GPU 45C). Dropping the maximum loop temperature to 30C (which is closer to the -- so I'm led to believe? -- ideal ~10C DT) sees the fans ramp up to a still tolerable level (and a better CPU temp), but 70C is fine and I'd prefer it to be silent.

I got the solid side panels, and when I was running the radiators outside the case as a test, as should be obvious I did get better performance. That'll be thanks to the fresh air/better DT across 2 radiators. I therefore suspect that, per WinterCharm's thoughts, the performance panels would've been the quieter option. So it goes; I've got performance I'm happy with and I prefer the look of the solid panels :).

Cheers WinterCharm, best of luck for your next adventure.

Also -- as mentioned, this is my first custom loop. I've gleaned what I can from reading forums and watching YouTube, but if anyone's got any tips or pointers or suggestions (eg. flow rate is too low?), I'd love some pointers!
 

WinterCharm

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Jan 19, 2019
428
1,941
Could we get a status update? It's been a couple of months.

Sure.

Right now suppliers are asking us for more money if we want to prioritize B2 before Chinese New Years... So unless we pay a lot more, it won't be here before next year. This leaves B2 in a very weird place.

To get around this issue, I'm working on a redesign of B2 that may be a bit easier / faster to manufacture... (while still being all metal, and of the same exterior design and quality)... IMO it makes more sense to pull the contracts from manufacturers who want to play that game, then spend more to deliver a product that we're already running at a loss. If we're being hit with a delay anyways, I'd rather improve the case / design, deliver in the same time frame, and have it be a better product.

----------------------

As part of this redesign, I'm moving to a stepped approach for the rollout of Winter 2.0

The First Edition of Winter 2.0 case will be clear anodized aluminum (Silver) as promised, and go straight to B2 backers. The external design is almost identical, looks-wise, but there are major improvements internally. This can be considered a reconfiguration of the spine itself... but the changes in quality of life are significant enough that this should be considered a 2.0 interior.

Improvements include:
  • better separation between the fans / radiators and other parts
  • improved cable routing, eliminate 4 parts ($42 in cost savings -- still leaves the project in the red, but by a bit less)
  • resolved the spine issue for mounting a pump.
  • keeping the external design the same
  • making the build process considerably easier within the case.
A derivative of this design will be made with a different material and manufacturing method in the future, as the regular Winter 2 case. This will be delivered at a lower price point (pricing TBD), but only AFTER the Winter 2.0 is delivered.

I know these kinds of changes can be scary, but if you all remember, we did something similar between versions 1.0 and 1.2 that significantly improved the case interior. We're going to be taking a similar approach here...
 

NurseLeo

Caliper Novice
Jul 7, 2020
30
10
Hi,
Dope build. Enjoyed the video.
Probably not interested. Only want the case. But I am curious about the temps. Couldnt make out the picture you linked in the YouTube vid comments

-Leo
 

Ilyu

Trash Compacter
Nov 6, 2019
47
75
Hi, thanks. I actually was talking about "only the case". I want to keep my hardware :)

You have to open the picture in a new tab, then it becomes readable. Here it is, keep in mind this is a synthetic GPU + AVX2 CPU benchmark at ambient temp. 25°C, pulling all there is to pull on CPU and GPU.

 
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Sen

Trash Compacter
Mar 1, 2020
39
46
sen.lol
Hi, thanks. I actually was talking about "only the case". I want to keep my hardware :)

You have to open the picture in a new tab, then it becomes readable. Here it is, keep in mind this is a synthetic GPU + AVX2 CPU benchmark at ambient temp. 25°C, pulling all there is to pull on CPU and GPU.

What's the tool on the right? Looks neat!
 

ignsvn

By Toutatis!
SFFn Staff
Apr 4, 2016
1,706
1,646
MOD update 20 Mar 2023
-----------------------------

From winterdesign.co website:

> Hi folks, I’m saddened that after several months of spotty communication, we’re coming out with news that is not what everyone was expecting, or wanted to hear.
> As the title says, we have decided to stop the adventure here. Several reasons made us come up to this difficult decision, but it all comes down to 7 key points. > It’s difficult to write a postmortem for a company that I’ve poured years of effort into as a passion project, but it’s important to examine all contributing factors behind this outcome: both external conditions we’ve previously discussed, as well as fundamental decisions that increased the impact of these external conditions ...

Read more here: March 2023: Pulling the Plug (winterdesign.co)


-----------------------------

This is an unfortunate situation. Still, please be civil OK.
 

lordzorg

Trash Compacter
Oct 27, 2019
51
28
Sad to see this project stalled but thanks to WinterCharm for being so transparent and diligent in wrapping this up.
Hopefully there will be another project some time in the future!
And hopefully someone will make those tempered glass side panels at some point, please :)
 
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WinterCharm

Master of Cramming
Original poster
Jan 19, 2019
428
1,941
Thanks for copying the update here. I also wanted to add that as a thank you to the community and everyone who supported us, we published the Winter One GitHub repo which contains all the CAD files for making the latest version of the case (including feedback and improvements post-review + batch 1 users), and even unreleased accessories such as windowed panels. These have been released under the Creative Commons license. We really hope the community will carry this case forward and modders will fork and optimize these designs for their own uses :)

MOD update 20 Mar 2023
-----------------------------

From winterdesign.co website:

> Hi folks, I’m saddened that after several months of spotty communication, we’re coming out with news that is not what everyone was expecting, or wanted to hear.
> As the title says, we have decided to stop the adventure here. Several reasons made us come up to this difficult decision, but it all comes down to 7 key points. > It’s difficult to write a postmortem for a company that I’ve poured years of effort into as a passion project, but it’s important to examine all contributing factors behind this outcome: both external conditions we’ve previously discussed, as well as fundamental decisions that increased the impact of these external conditions ...

Read more here: March 2023: Pulling the Plug (winterdesign.co)


-----------------------------

This is an unfortunate situation. Still, please be civil OK.