Hello everyone, this is one of the first iterations of a concept I've been working on. I'm calling it X20. The project started as a research and design experiment on what I consider the best balance in airflow, compatibility and volume in the larger spectrum of SFF. The concept has been already posted on r/sffpc and I'm stoked by the amount of interest and inputs it generated. The objective at the moment is to determine the feasibility of multiple airflow configurations for MATX/ITX, air cooling/AiO and long/short GPUs. Once the concept is established it will be crucial to study thermal performance on a 3d-printable test mule. Development for v2 is very fluid at the moment and will include the option for 140mm side ventilation, left full mesh panel, new MB tray with larger holes for ventilation, side mounting option for PSU for ITX config and a simpler chassis assembly (flat packable, front CNC panel is now structural). All inputs are appreciated.
The X20 in brief:
- Designed for airflow and cooling
- Compatibility:
- cpu coolers up to 165mm like the Noctua NH-D15 gen1 (evaluating 168mm)
- 280mm AiOs like Arctic Liquid Freezer III 280
- GPUs up to 348mm (or 363mm cards like the Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090 with a 140mm front fan)
- up to microATX motherboards (Mini-ITX makes room for a top AiO)
- Two-piece bracket with GPU anti-sag, drive mount and AiO mount
- Front mounted PSU with isolated airflow (This element of design required a long research for compatibility due to the variations in orientation and placement of the power connector. It also generated a lot of talk about the way it partially obstruct airflow. In v1.1 the PSU blocks ~33% of the airflow from the front mounted 180mm fan. v2.0 will address this by adding the option for side ventilation and side mounted PSU. Testing will ultimately determine if the horizontal airflow design offers substantial benefits)
- Currently measuring 20.09L (190x393x269) without protrusions and is the size of a Cooler Master NR200, just ~30mm deeper.
- Dimensions:
- 20.09L or 190 x 393 x 269mm excluding protrusions
- 191 x 406 x 289mm including protrusions
- Supported motherboards: microATX, Mini-ITX, Deep-ITX
- Supported CPU coolers: height up to 165mm (i.e. Noctua NH-D15 gen 1)
- Supported PSU: SFX (evaluating SFX-L)
- Supported AiOs:
- on side bracket: 280mm (with at least 1 slim fan when using thick radiators like the Arctic Liquid Freezer III 280)
- on top only with Mini-ITX motherboards: 280mm
- Supported GPUs:
- up to 348 x 160 x 3 slots with PSU cord in high position, 180x32mm front fan (i.e. RTX 4090 Founders Edition)
- up to 363 x 160 x 4 slots with PSU cord in low position, top slim fans, no drive cage, 140x16 mm front fan (i.e. Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090)
- Supported 2.5” drives:
- 2x slim drives in drive cage in high position (only with 120mm top fans)
- 2x slim drives in drive cage in side position (no AiO)
- Fans:
- front: 180mm, 160mm or 140mm (up to 32mm thickness)
- Top: 2x 140mm slim with micro-ATX, 2x 140 regular fans with M-ITX
- Rear: 1x 120mm (slim fan recommended for clearing AiO)
- Case I/O: 2x USB 3.2, 1x USB-C, 3.5” stereo jack, power button with led
Changelog:
v1.0:
- Posted on r/sffpc
v1.1:
- right panel is full mesh
- simplified main chassis
- switched to simple feet
Next steps:
- working on a major redesign for v2
- more renders and information on my portfolio page (WIP)
- design a 3d printed test mule for airflow and thermal testing
