Zen of Chonk (S) (This SFFn thread) | |
Size | 163 W x 195 D x 298 H (mm) |
Price | TBD - no prototype created, pricing yet to be evaluated |
Weight | Est. ~3kg with 1.5 - 2.0mm aluminium (5005-H34 / 6061-T5) |
Volume | 9.5L |
Type-C | Yes |
PCI-E Slots | 1 |
Motherboard | ITX |
Power Supply | SFX |
Liquid Cooling | 240mm |
CPU Max Height | 67mm (46mm rad + 25mm fans) - 79mm (30mm rad + 25mm fans) |
GPU Max Length | 295mm |
VELKASE VELKA 7 | ZS ST | |
Size | 111 W x 177 D x 303 H (mm) | 134 W x 228 D x 326 H (mm) |
Price | 200$ | 175$ |
Weight | 2.1KG | 2.7KG |
Volume | 6.0L | 10.0L |
Type-C | No | Yes |
PCI-E Slots | 2 | 2 |
Motherboard | ITX | ITX |
Power Supply | SFX | SFX |
Liquid Cooling | No | 240mm |
CPU Max Height | 47mm | 48mm |
GPU Max Length | 289mm | 322mm |
AKLLA A5 MAX | LOUQE RAW S1 | GEEEK A70 PRO | NZXT H1 | |
Size | 155 W x 190 D x 410 H (mm) | 172 W x 191 D x 379 H (mm) | 155 W x 253 D x 331 H (mm) | 188 W x 188 D x 388 H (mm) |
Price | 150$ | 329$ | 90$ | 350$ |
Weight | 3.8KG | 3.2KG | - | 6.5KG |
Volume | 12.1L | 12.5L | 13.0L | 13.7L |
Type-C | No | Yes | No | Yes |
PCI-E Slots | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Motherboard | ITX | ITX | ITX | ITX |
Power Supply | ATX 12V | SFX-L | SFX-L | SFX-L |
Liquid Cooling | 120mm | No | 240mm | 120mm |
CPU Max Height | 74mm | 75mm | 69mm | - |
GPU Max Length | 360mm | 320mm | 305mm | 305mm |
SSUPD MESHLICIOUS | SLIGER SV540 | TOTORO MONSTER-01 | WINTER ONE | |
Size | 167 W x 245 D x 360 H (mm) | 154 W x 247 D x 401 H (mm) | 200 W x 200 D x 388 H (mm) | 160 W x 322 D x 302 H (mm) |
Price | 119$ | 249$ | 285$ | 380$ |
Weight | 3.7KG | - | 5.2KG | 1.9KG |
Volume | 14.7L | 15.3L | 15.5L | 15.6L |
Type-C | Yes | No | No | No |
PCI-E Slots | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Motherboard | ITX | ITX | ITX | ITX |
Power Supply | ATX 12V | SFX-L | SFX | SFX-L |
Liquid Cooling | 240mm | 240mm | No | 240mm |
CPU Max Height | 72mm | 55mm | 47mm | 70mm |
GPU Max Length | 320mm | 310mm | 286mm | 315mm |
AIGODIY YOGA S1 | WARHEAD DUAL COOL MK III | SLIGER SV590 V2 | SLATE-CASE AQ | |
Size | 175 W x 239 D x 412 H (mm) | 145 W x 275 D x 445 H (mm) | 154 W x 247 D x 472 H (mm) | 179 W x 294 D x 373 H (mm) |
Price | 80$ | 230$ | 259$ | 295$ |
Weight | - | 1.8KG | 1.8KG | - |
Volume | 17.2L | 17.7L | 18.0L | 19.6L |
Type-C | Yes | No | No | Yes |
PCI-E Slots | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Motherboard | ITX | ITX | ITX | ITX |
Power Supply | SFX-L | SFX | SFX-L | SFX-L |
Liquid Cooling | 240mm | No | 360mm | 240mm |
CPU Max Height | 134mm | 60mm | 55mm | 80mm |
GPU Max Length | 320mm | 380mm | 390mm | 325mm |
Quick correction here: Winter One supports 2 x 280mm radiators.Current Competitors
Current competitors (thanks to CaseEnd) are listed below. The most readily-available of these alternatives are probably the SSUPD Meshlicious and ZS ST v1. Other 240mm-supporting cases include the Geeek A70 Pro, Sliger SV540 and Winter One. The latter 2 obviously being boutique designs, so harder to source (and more expensive). The Geeek A70 Pro is new to me, looks like some sort of Meshlicious clone attempt?
To SFF makers/vendors: Are you producing/selling/designing a vertical case that I haven't listed? Please let me know !
Relevant tag-spam (sorry!): @REVOCCASES @Wahaha360 @SammyXXM @dondan @TaylorChiller @AlexTzone @VELKASE Michael @riba2233 @Shatrod @FXPC @Joonst @COOJ @WinterCharm @WH-team @VALKPC @ZombiPL @ZS-Cases @Nouvolo @Lone
- Have I missed any others currently on the market (or prototyping)?
- Are there other cases that are regularly modded to fit in with this lot? (Vertical orientation / 240mm rad / full length GPU / SFX power supply)
- What does the competition offer that you'd like to see? What are the most important differentiators in these cases?
Zen of Chonk (S) (This SFFn thread) Size 163 W x 195 D x 298 H (mm) Price TBD - no prototype created, pricing yet to be evaluated Weight Est. ~3kg with 1.5 - 2.0mm aluminium (5005-H34 / 6061-T5) Volume 9.5L Type-C Yes PCI-E Slots 1 Motherboard ITX Power Supply SFX Liquid Cooling 240mm CPU Max Height 67mm (46mm rad + 25mm fans) - 79mm (30mm rad + 25mm fans) GPU Max Length 295mm
<= 10L volume
VELKASE VELKA 7 ZS ST Size 111 W x 177 D x 303 H (mm) 134 W x 228 D x 326 H (mm) Price 200$ 175$ Weight 2.1KG 2.7KG Volume 6.0L 10.0L Type-C No Yes PCI-E Slots 2 2 Motherboard ITX ITX Power Supply SFX SFX Liquid Cooling No 240mm CPU Max Height 47mm 48mm GPU Max Length 289mm 322mm
10L - 14L volume
AKLLA A5 MAX LOUQE RAW S1 GEEEK A70 PRO NZXT H1 Size 155 W x 190 D x 410 H (mm) 172 W x 191 D x 379 H (mm) 155 W x 253 D x 331 H (mm) 188 W x 188 D x 388 H (mm) Price 150$ 329$ 90$ 350$ Weight 3.8KG 3.2KG - 6.5KG Volume 12.1L 12.5L 13.0L 13.7L Type-C No Yes No Yes PCI-E Slots 2 3 2 2 Motherboard ITX ITX ITX ITX Power Supply ATX 12V SFX-L SFX-L SFX-L Liquid Cooling 120mm No 240mm 120mm CPU Max Height 74mm 75mm 69mm - GPU Max Length 360mm 320mm 305mm 305mm
14L - 16L volume
SSUPD MESHLICIOUS SLIGER SV540 TOTORO MONSTER-01 WINTER ONE Size 167 W x 245 D x 360 H (mm) 154 W x 247 D x 401 H (mm) 200 W x 200 D x 388 H (mm) 160 W x 322 D x 302 H (mm) Price 119$ 249$ 285$ 380$ Weight 3.7KG - 5.2KG 1.9KG Volume 14.7L 15.3L 15.5L 15.6L Type-C Yes No No No PCI-E Slots 3 3 2 3 Motherboard ITX ITX ITX ITX Power Supply ATX 12V SFX-L SFX SFX-L Liquid Cooling 240mm 240mm No 240mm CPU Max Height 72mm 55mm 47mm 70mm GPU Max Length 320mm 310mm 286mm 315mm
> 16L volume
AIGODIY YOGA S1 WARHEAD DUAL COOL MK III SLIGER SV590 V2 SLATE-CASE AQ Size 175 W x 239 D x 412 H (mm) 145 W x 275 D x 445 H (mm) 154 W x 247 D x 472 H (mm) 179 W x 294 D x 373 H (mm) Price 80$ 230$ 259$ 295$ Weight - 1.8KG 1.8KG - Volume 17.2L 17.7L 18.0L 19.6L Type-C Yes No No Yes PCI-E Slots 2 2 3 3 Motherboard ITX ITX ITX ITX Power Supply SFX-L SFX SFX-L SFX-L Liquid Cooling 240mm No 360mm 240mm CPU Max Height 134mm 60mm 55mm 80mm GPU Max Length 320mm 380mm 390mm 325mm
Thank you for the correction, I'll provide that as feedback to CaseEnd where I got that data from.Quick correction here: Winter One supports 2 x 280mm radiators.
Also, Winter One is being discontinued, but Winter 2 is in the making.
Thanks! Appreciate the reply & feedbackThis is a nice looking design! I think you're doing great work in making this as dense as possible, and that thick radiator should provide plenty of cooling - I ran my previous setup (Ryzen 1600X + Fury X) with just a single EK PE 240, and your rad is noticeably thicker.
I do already have 90-degree cables for AC input (C13), DisplayPort 1.4, USB3.0 and USB Type-C, which is likely all I'll ever realistically need to connect. The only exception is the Wifi/BT antenna connections which I plan to relocate using pigtails to a PCB antenna mounted somewhere on the case (somewhere that doesn't have solid metal or mesh covering it!)One word of warning: 18mm for the connectors on the bottom is ... well, sketchy. You will need angled adapters for literally every connector, which means you'll lose a lot of I/O as connectors are covered up by others. I measured some of the cables currently connected to my PC, and not a single one is below 18mm for the housing itself, let alone housing + bent cable. The shortest USB 2.0 cable protruded by 20mm at the end of the (short, stiff) strain-relief, with USB-C cables at >30mm and other cables ranging from 25-40mm. The only ones that would pass are my sort of internal (routing from the bottom to the back of the Meshlicious) ADT-link angled DP adapter cables, which stick out 9-10mm (a bit difficult to measure).
To be honest, I'm not sure how much performance will be lost, I tried making a mock-up of the case restrictions but before I did much proper testing I moved on to trying a different plan.I'm also curious as to the intended airflow paths here. You have the PSU intake + a vent behind the motherboard on one side, and radiator fans on the other, with a PSU exhaust on top. With the radiator fans exhausting air, it seems to me that they will likely suck air in through the PSU exhaust vent, as that is the closest vent to the radiator. You have a shroud surrounding the PSU at the top (I'm assuming that is to avoid air being sucked in here?) but if that is effective then there's not many other places for those fans to get air from. The space behind the motherboard is slim and restrictive, plus the air will have to take a long and crooked path to get to the radiator, adding a lot of restriction. Depending on panel fitment you'll have some air creeping in through the cracks, but likely not a lot. So the fans will not only have to fight the radiator's resistance to airflow, but also fight a very restrictive case layout overall. I would be surprised if this didn't change thermals quite noticeably compared to your open-bench mockup. Have you considered boxing in that setup with cardboard or something similar to emulate the final airflow layout?
It's absolutely a crazy idea, especially given it only saves ~0.4L - but you can blame @petricor for the ever-changing definition of 'small' in 'small form-factor' and @morj for the treatment for my phobia of external radiatorsIf you'recrazyconfident enough to strip your PSU (I would strongly recommend having a perforated metal casing made for it, as PSU switching might swamp your case with RF noise and might make your PCIe riser unusable), you could drastically improve airflow by adding a top fan - it would fit a 140mm fan there, right? Either as an intake with exhaust rad fans, or the opposite, that would provide a lot of fresh air to your components and radiator both.
As long as you're aware of the limitations (and perhaps have an external USB hub? ) that sounds good. Just something to be aware of - even many angled connectors protrude more than 18mm from the socketThanks! Appreciate the reply & feedback
I do already have 90-degree cables for AC input (C13), DisplayPort 1.4, USB3.0 and USB Type-C, which is likely all I'll ever realistically need to connect. The only exception is the Wifi/BT antenna connections which I plan to relocate using pigtails to a PCB antenna mounted somewhere on the case (somewhere that doesn't have solid metal or mesh covering it!)
It might not be a lot, but it might also be a noticeable amount - it's really rather impossible to tell until it's been tested. Not only is guesstimating airflow really complicated in and of itself, but judging just how restrictive a layout is by eye is next to impossible too. I've seen some layouts work that seemed like they would choke entirely, and I've seen some ones that seemed well ventilated end up with very poor thermals. Airflow is a finicky thing. I would recommend testing as much as you can before committing to ordering any sheet metal, as changes after that can become expensive!To be honest, I'm not sure how much performance will be lost, I tried making a mock-up of the case restrictions but before I did much proper testing I moved on to trying a different plan.
Heh, there are enough of us here using industrial 12V PSUs that I don't find it that crazy (many of those are open-frame to begin with), but given that it requires soldering both AC and DC power wiring it's a bit sketchy still. It can no doubt be done though, and while the space savings aren't huge, it's the design oppurtunities spawned by this that really matter