Every Part Deserves Your Attention | A mini-ITX Computer Case Design

[Wraith]

Thank you.

Frankly, I was a big Silverstone Fan until RV04 came out. RV05 is pretty good though. I am sure this will not become RVZ 02 no matter how much I want it this way.

I do not think Silverstone likes the impact that ribbon cable might have on graphic card performance. The test I saw shows no impact on 3dmark score, but I saw other tests showing slight latency. For most causal gamers, at least in my opinion, that latency is too minimal to get noticed, but that is just me.

I can tell you 100% that so long as the PCI Riser cable is of a good quality with EMI Shielding and below 30CM in length there is zero loss in data transfer

I've helped quite a few people with this dilemma in the past on wall builds, where they used a cheapo £5 ebay special and tried wrapping them in tinfoil, for a quality riser you are looking at minimum £30.

 

[JR23]

Sorry OP, there has been a few trolls around here lately. But really seriously the way you put yourself across and your approach is just as important as your idea. Have you considered building a prototype? Are you experienced with scratch builds or serious mods already, I do think that's the best way to move the design forwards.

Also personally I think it's a trick that is missed by case manufacturers currently, when I was an Architecture student the concept of showing an idea in context was continuously reinforced and I do believe it is of paramount importance. How you intend people to use and view the finished piece of design is extremely important throughout the entire creative process. Consider how it will be on a desk, under a desk, by a TV and render or illustrate those environments. Cement the scale by showing it alongside peripherals and monitors etc. It's just as important as showing the internal context using components to me.

On OC3D it is preferred that you use the edit button to add to your previous post rather than posting two consecutive replies.

JR

 

[jiyang1018]

I can tell you 100% that so long as the PCI Riser cable is of a good quality with EMI Shielding and below 30CM in length there is zero loss in data transfer

I've helped quite a few people with this dilemma in the past on wall builds, where they used a cheapo £5 ebay special and tried wrapping them in tinfoil, for a quality riser you are looking at minimum £30.

Thanks for clearing that up. I had no experience with that subject.

In my design, I believe the length is 10 to 15cm, maybe 20cm at the most. Does that mean it is feasible and applicable?

 

[Wraith]

Thanks for clearing that up. I had no experience with that subject.

In my design, I believe the length is 10 to 15cm, maybe 20cm at the most. Does that mean it is feasible and applicable?

You can get shorter riser cables, but 30CM is the limit, as they start to lose signal clarity with anything longer which results in visual screen artifacts.

 

[hmmblah]

I personally like the design. For some odd reason part of me wants to do an ITX build. Then the part of me that wants SLI again is saying, "Go big!"

 

[jiyang1018]

Sorry OP, there has been a few trolls around here lately. But really seriously the way you put yourself across and your approach is just as important as your idea. Have you considered building a prototype? Are you experienced with scratch builds or serious mods already, I do think that's the best way to move the design forwards.

Also personally I think it's a trick that is missed by case manufacturers currently, when I was an Architecture student the concept of showing an idea in context was continuously reinforced and I do believe it is of paramount importance. How you intend people to use and view the finished piece of design is extremely important throughout the entire creative process. Consider how it will be on a desk, under a desk, by a TV and render or illustrate those environments. Cement the scale by showing it alongside peripherals and monitors etc. It's just as important as showing the internal context using components to me.

On OC3D it is preferred that you use the edit button to add to your previous post rather than posting two consecutive replies.

JR

There is no need to say sorry if it was a simple misunderstanding. My design, at least the assembly in Solidworks, involves a series of bending and forming which is something I do not have the equipment for. I am modeling some other peripherals, and I think you are probably right about putting it in a context; I do have a very realistic size comparison BTW.

I wish I was brave enough to post a external link to my other mods or personal website. Like I mentioned earlier, I wish I could share my GrabCAD model library here but I will not take the risk of getting deleted again.

My thread got deleted 3 times in my life and it all happened two days ago, and unfortunately, or luckily, you witnessed all. It is not something I am proud of.
I hope, however, putting a link to LTT will not trigger any alarm, so click if you wish.

If you really want, there should be ways that you can visit my website from all the contents I have posted, especially not the image ones. But after getting deleted 3 times in a day, I, again, do not wish to risk anything. If now allowed, I will remove them ASAP.

Edit:
I see what you mean now by "consecutive post". I didn't know I can edit and add multi quote, but now I do.

Edit:

You can get shorter riser cables, but 30CM is the limit, as they start to lose signal clarity with anything longer which results in visual screen artifacts.

Wait, my design cannot really used card, because it will be 3 cards to make that turn. It has to be ribbon cable. How does that affect the system?

I personally like the design. For some odd reason part of me wants to do an ITX build. Then the part of me that wants SLI again is saying, "Go big!"

I am with you.

I have a GTX680 for some gaming, and a Quadro 4000. Most of the time Quadro just need to sit there. As long as I have it in my system, all the professional features are present. But if I remove it or disable it, they are gone. Therefore, I have to keep two cards in my system, not in SLI fashion.

I was looking for GTX680 on ebay last night to get SLI to run ACU, but I am afraid I cannot afford a used one just yet.

To me, personally, mATX is the smallest I could go with.

 

[Reloaded2]

This is crazy awesome!!!

 

[Wraith]

Wait, my design cannot really used card, because it will be 3 cards to make that turn. It has to be ribbon cable. How does that affect the system?

They are ribbons...

 

[jiyang1018]

This is crazy awesome!!!

Thank you.

They are ribbons...

Great news. I was so scared it won't work.

 

[Permafrost]

I'm loving the look of this case matey, only 3 things that would stop me from buying this case

1) if someone had a R9 295X2 or a long card the a gtx780 or an R9 290 and wanted to watercool, they might be limited to a 30mm rad in the bottom

2) SFX psu has it's limits. even if there is a 600w sfx psu out there, there is only one company that makes them, so what would happen if they stopped making them or they unavailable/sold out?

3) pump mounting. again this limits to what pump/res you can have.

sorry if i've come off as a bit hash, just giving feedback from what i can see....

 

[CreatiXx]

I gotta say. I love your concept "every part deserves your attention". Cause a GPU can look as awesome as you want, 8/10 you wont see anything of it which is to bad. Would love to see you doing an ATX model with lots of space for big fat radiators Tbh very nice done. Nice way of bringing your points ^^ as said before on here, to bad you cant make a prototype cause that would be sick! :O

 

[jiyang1018]

I'm loving the look of this case matey, only 3 things that would stop me from buying this case

1) if someone had a R9 295X2 or a long card the a gtx780 or an R9 290 and wanted to watercool, they might be limited to a 30mm rad in the bottom

2) SFX psu has it's limits. even if there is a 600w sfx psu out there, there is only one company that makes them, so what would happen if they stopped making them or they unavailable/sold out?

3) pump mounting. again this limits to what pump/res you can have.

sorry if i've come off as a bit hash, just giving feedback from what i can see....

1) at the second half of presentation, there is an R9 290X in the case and it fits with ease. I have that under air cooling section, but with 4 5mm radiator, it still fits. I did not want to make the presentation too long so I did not include every option in water cooling. I did not make that part clear enough I think. With R9 290x, only 45 mm radiator with 1 set of fans supported at bottom. I went back and took some testing, realizing I confused myself with the next design.

So the accurate way of putting this should be:

240/280 x 45 mm radiator support at front, with fans on the outside behind front cover;
240/280 x 45 mm radiator support at bottom, with fans inside the case, if using R9 290 or R9 290X;
240/280 x 60 mm radiator support at bottom, with fans inside the case, if using GTX 7xx, 9xx, Titan, Titan Black;

2) SFX power supply is limited in a lot of ways since they are not popular yet. To be accurate, I just did a search on newegg looking for SFX power supply. There are 14 units from 9 brands. A brand called Athena Power is offering 600W model; I could not find Silverstone's model surprisingly. But AP's model is 80+ Bronze and non-modular. 3 models offer 450W, 1 Gold, 2 Bronze. A few from 250W to 350W. The fact SFX power supplies in general not being popular concerns me as well. I am hoping there will be more Gold and modular models coming to the market. As long as Silverstone keeps making RVZ01 and some other cases, as well as from other case brands, as long as there is a demand for SFX power supplies, I see no reason for Silverstone to stop making them.

I believe the industry is moving towards higher efficiency, and the new GTX 980 uses so little power to do so much. I hope SFX can get more popular.

3) to get the best looking, I chose to demonstrate with DDC pump res combo, and mount them in the back. In practice, D5 with pump res combo can be used, too. Notice the space from the upper 2 SSDS to the window is enough for a D5 with a short tube res. It certainly will get in the way and block the view to motherboard and CPU area, which is usually a better looking one.

Part 1, those graphic cards supported. Part 2 and 3, there are limitations for mITX and SFX based design.


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I gotta say. I love your concept "every part deserves your attention". Cause a GPU can look as awesome as you want, 8/10 you wont see anything of it which is to bad. Would love to see you doing an ATX model with lots of space for big fat radiators Tbh very nice done. Nice way of bringing your points ^^ as said before on here, to bad you cant make a prototype cause that would be sick! :O

Thank you.

I guess for most layouts, FT02, RV02 and TJ11 style can show GPU are the most, reversed ATX second to that. But in either case, you are looking at an angle 90% of the time.

I will think about converting this into a sheet plastic friendly version. My design utilizes 1 mm sheet metal. Sheet plastic, ABS/arylic, is definitely going to be thicker to do the same thing. I am thinking at least 3 mm.

 

[Davva2004]

Outstanding work.

 

[Permafrost]

1) at the second half of presentation, there is an R9 290X in the case and it fits with ease. I have that under air cooling section, but with 45mm radiator, it still fits. I did not want to make the presentation too long so I did not include every option in water cooling. I did not make that part clear enough I think. There is only one reason I stop stating 60mm radiator support in the bottom (it is 60mm radiator on bottom with fans shown in most renderings). I did a test fitting in CAD, and if I put 60mm in bottom, the ports can barely align with 45mm radiator at front if the ports are at bottom. If keep front 45mm radiator ports on top, 60mm radiator would fit at bottom.

So the accurate way of putting this should be:


In short, 295X2 or 780, 780Ti or R9 290x water cooled with 45mm radiator at bottom tested and supported.

2) SFX power supply is limited in a lot of ways since they are not popular yet. To be accurate, I just did a search on newegg looking for SFX power supply. There are 14 units from 9 brands. A brand called Athena Power is offering 600W model; I could not find Silverstone's model surprisingly. But AP's model is 80+ Bronze and non-modular. 3 models offer 450W, 1 Gold, 2 Bronze. A few from 250W to 350W. The fact SFX power supplies in general not being popular concerns me as well. I am hoping there will be more Gold and modular models coming to the market. As long as Silverstone keeps making RVZ01 and some other cases, as well as from other case brands, as long as there is a demand for SFX power supplies, I see no reason for Silverstone to stop making them.

I believe the industry is moving towards higher efficiency, and the new GTX 980 uses so little power to do so much. I hope SFX can get more popular.

3) to get the best looking, I chose to demonstrate with DDC pump res combo, and mount them in the back. In practice, D5 with pump res combo can be used, too. Notice the space from the upper 2 SSDS to the window is enough for a D5 with a short tube res. It certainly will get in the way and block the view to motherboard and CPU area, which is usually a better looking one.

Part 1, those graphic cards supported. Part 2 and 3, there are limitations for mITX and SFX based design.

thanks for the reply, good to know that cards longer the 780/290 will fit

I still think it might be best to drop the SFX size PSU's as there really is no market for them now and may not be.

it's a big risk to ask people to go for a cheaper class PSU as most of them as you know are non-modular and cost more and less efficient...

EDIT: also we don't have newegg in the UK

 

[jiyang1018]

Outstanding work.

Thank you for your support.

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thanks for the reply, good to know that cards longer the 780/290 will fit

I still think it might be best to drop the SFX size PSU's as there really is no market for them now and may not be.

it's a big risk to ask people to go for a cheaper class PSU as most of them as you know are non-modular and cost more and less efficient...

EDIT: also we don't have newegg in the UK

Sorry I did not know no newegg in the UK. I just checked amazon.co.uk, and Be quiet! is also making SFX models, not 600W yet, not sure about future plan either. And of course, Silverstone 450W models. I would not choose cheap power supply either.

For this design, there is no way to use even small ATX power supply. Most space is used, and only 3.5 HDD and power supply are hidden. To use an ATX power supply, it will either hover over CPU area, or make the case bigger which will go into mATX case dimensions.

My next mATX case, however, will support AX1500i, which is currently the biggest one you can find, and I am hoping 280/360 mm dual radiator and D5 with normal tube res I hope. No optical bays still.

 

[Permafrost]

Thank you for your support.

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Sorry I did not know no newegg in the UK. I just checked amazon.co.uk, and Be quiet! is also making SFX models, not 600W yet, not sure about future plan either. And of course, Silverstone 450W models. I would not choose cheap power supply either.

For this design, there is no way to use even small ATX power supply. Most space is used, and only 3.5 HDD and power supply are hidden. To use an ATX power supply, it will either hover over CPU area, or make the case bigger which will go into mATX case dimensions.

My next mATX case, however, will support AX1500i, which is currently the biggest one you can find, and I am hoping 280/360 mm dual radiator and D5 with normal tube res I hope. No optical bays still.

how about if you rotate the where the sfx psu goes so where you plug in the power cable and switch is facing the bottom?

EDIT: just had a 2nd look, and that's not going to work, my bad

2nd EDIT: the other way would be if you had the pump/res mounted on top of the rad/fans but then it would cover 2 ssd's

i'm really having one of those days...

anyway case look awesome! just by looks alone it put other cases to shame

 

[WillSK]

Hey dude, just wanted to say I feel like you've had a bit of a bad time with some comments and wanted to say that please don't take any of them as insulting. We're a passionate bunch here and LOVE seeing stuff like this. BUT.. being passionate people we will tell you what we think but only coz we wanna help.

Personally i'd still love to see a theoretical build put in here, cables an' all coz i feel like it would help me visualise it better. As was said in an earlier comment it's common for marketing images to have custom length cables or no cables at all and I feel it can be misleading to builders wanting to use the case.

 

[jiyang1018]

how about if you rotate the where the sfx psu goes so where you plug in the power cable and switch is facing the bottom?

EDIT: just had a 2nd look, and that's not going to work, my bad

2nd EDIT: the other way would be if you had the pump/res mounted on top of the rad/fans but then it would cover 2 ssd's

i'm really having one of those days...

anyway case look awesome! just by looks alone it put other cases to shame

I confused myself with my next design about 60 mm radiator support at bottom, and I went back changed my statement regarding radiator support.

Here are options for power supply mounting in different scenarios:
With pump or 3.5in HDD, 1 SFX power supply supported, but can mount 2 ways as in the next scenario

2 power supplies supported with only 1 way of mounting

Here is pass through for power supply next to graphic card ports.

So, power supply cord is either next to graphic card ports or on the same side with power and reset buttons.

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

Some extra material:

 

[Permafrost]

it's common for marketing images to have custom length cables or no cables at all and I feel it can be misleading to builders wanting to use the case.

I didn't think about that....

I confused myself with my next design about 60 mm radiator support at bottom, and I went back changed my statement regarding radiator support.

Here are options for power supply mounting in different scenarios:
With pump or 3.5in HDD, 1 SFX power supply supported, but can mount 2 ways as in the next scenario

2 power supplies supported with only 1 way of mounting

Here is pass through for power supply next to graphic card ports.

So, power supply cord is either next to graphic card ports or on the same side with power and reset buttons.

i love that idea!

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

Some extra material:

dude you got some skill right there!

just had an idea, how about a PSU to 140mm fan/rad mount?

the one thing i love about this case it the ssd mounting system under the mobo, looks amazing!

 

[jiyang1018]

I didn't think about that....



dude you got some skill right there!

just had an idea, how about a PSU to 140mm fan/rad mount?

the one thing i love about this case it the ssd mounting system under the mobo, looks amazing!

Thank you.

ATX power supply is 150 mm wide. The motherboard tray in my design is bend right outside the ITX area to accommodate front radiator and fans. That means from top of motherboard to the window, it is less than 150 mm unfortunately.
ATX power supply is 86mm tall. If you want, I believe a regular size ATX power supply can fit between SSD and window, but not below graphic card.

For a SFX power supply, it should fit fine in the bottom and front.