M3A2 Beta Project: Discontinued

[Drown Babies]

I've made an alternative drive configuration to get the 3.5" HDD away from the hottest part of the card.

How much space is there between the PSU and ODD? Or are you planning on flipping the PSU and adding another side vent? Either way this is probably the best arrangement. It gets the HDD away from the back of the GPU and gives you plenty of room for connections. How long is the PSU model you are using? I know those are variable and it could cause problems with the HDD if it's too long.

I'm also contemplating a second 120mm fan location on top located over the back of the GPU. If you forgo the 3.5" HDD and move the SSD towards the front in it's place, you can place a 120mm directing behind the GPU, either blowing cooler air on to it (intake) or drawing hot air off of it (exhaust). Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the added vent, but if helps keep things happy and cool, then so be it. Suggestions?

This might be necessary for very high power builds. If all the fans were used as intakes then you would draw in cool air from the top and bottom, and force out hot air from the sides. But more moderate systems might be fine without it.

I like the USB ports, especially in the upright orientation. It might also be nice if those could go on the back panel, that would keep the front clean and still give you the extra ports.

 

[CMadki4]

How much space is there between the PSU and ODD? Or are you planning on flipping the PSU and adding another side vent? Either way this is probably the best arrangement. It gets the HDD away from the back of the GPU and gives you plenty of room for connections. How long is the PSU model you are using? I know those are variable and it could cause problems with the HDD if it's too long.

Yes, the power supply is then flipped and an intake added to the bottom panel. The modeled SFX follows the standard 100mm +/-0.5 depth.

This might be necessary for very high power builds. If all the fans were used as intakes then you would draw in cool air from the top and bottom, and force out hot air from the sides. But more moderate systems might be fine without it.

So it would be wise to include the cutout for the fan and let the user decide whether they want to actually mount a fan or not. Seems like a really good way to keep your high-end GPU cool.

I like the USB ports, especially in the upright orientation. It might also be nice if those could go on the back panel, that would keep the front clean and still give you the extra ports.

Agreed. I like having them at the bottom when the case in in the vertical position. Makes sense of a case that will like sit on your desk surface.

Would mounting the USB3.0 ports on the back of the case really be advantagous? You'd have the USB3.0 cluster on the motherboard's rear I/O. Seems redundant, but I guess it does offer you 2 additional ports you otherwise wouldn't have with a clean USBless front panel.

 

[Drown Babies]

I think this layout looks very good. There are more vents on the sides, but it opens up everything and alleviates any concerns about hot spots and overall ventilation (I like the separated cutouts better than a continuous one). The second cutout could be used with a really low RPM fan, or even left open, and it would probably keep everything cool.

Is there space for a 2nd SSD in the current layout? Maybe directly underneath the HDD mount? I don't plan on using an ODD, so I could just put the 2nd drive there, but for a fully loaded case there should be space somewhere for another drive.

 

[CMadki4]

You should be able to fit two (2) 2.5" SSD/HDDs if you use an ODD. And then two more for a total of four (4) 2.5" SSD/HDDs if you do not use an ODD.

• (1) 3.5" + (2) 2.5" + (1) slim ODD
• (1) 3.5" + (4) 2.5"
• (4-5) 2.5"

And back in with the the slot load:

 

[Chime]

How much clearance is there between the top panel and the back of the GPU? You'd have to mount the fans externally, but those pics make a 240mm radiator look awful tempting lol.

 

[CMadki4]

How much clearance is there between the top panel and the back of the GPU? You'd have to mount the fans externally, but those pics make a 240mm radiator look awful tempting lol.

About 35mm. That'd be a pretty tight squeeze. I do, however, have plans for a matching water cooling module. It would be the same size and profile as the M3A2, but it's sole purpose is to house the pump, reservoir and a couple radiators. You'd have sort of a component stack look and you'd still be under 18.5L.

And per your request for an IR receiver, I'd added a lens on the bottom right, below the power button. It's a little hard to see (which I guess is actually a good thing. What do you think?

 

[Chime]

Looks very nice, thanks!

 

[CMadki4]

Another idea is to make available matching cases to house HDD arrays, water cooling system or other equipment. Something along the lines of this:

 

[Drown Babies]

This looks really good. I don't see any other obvious issues.

 

[Machupo]

On that note, I'd love to get your input on the drive locations relative to the hot spots of the GPU. Care to weigh in?

I don't think there will be much of an issue in the upright orientation, especially if you push the drives as far towards the side as possible (giving as much airspace as possible behind the video card for convective cooling). The back of the card doesn't really need much in the way of cooling, convection is usually enough (or people would start putting heatsink/fans on the back of their cards )

I think you're also fine with the updated layout if you wanted to go that way. The only question I have on that one is where is the PSU getting it's air from? It looks like it's right on the side of the case (no vents) w/ SSD's on the other side.

I've liked the idea of the external hard drive enclosure ever since I saw the Wesena eHDD. Over the last bit I've kind of shifted more towards NAS/router co-located storage and streaming to the HTPC, so I'm currently kicking around the idea of a cube-shaped box (180mm on a side or so) with space for hot swap 3.5" drives below and a mitx w/ lateral raid card above. If a USB3 NUC ever comes out, I can probably get away with a single or dual 2.5" drive on the network share.

 

[Daemos]

With the fans installed how much space will there be for a HSF for the cpu?

 

[Chime]

With the fans installed how much space will there be for a HSF for the cpu?

Using the numbers posted earlier in this thread, and with a typical 25mm thick fan, you'd be left with ~43mm. A slim fan (12-15mm) would leave you with ~53-56mm.

 

[illli]

i like the new dual fan layout better. but not sure about the modular extension. it looks kinda cool, but if you took that approach, you'd have to pre-design holes/ports for all the cables and possible tubing going into the bottom section, right? in the end it would (at least in the picture) double the amount of space it took up. wouldn't it just be simpler to raise the original chassis height by 1/2 an inch or so? could probably fit everything inside.

 

[Chime]

i like the new dual fan layout better. but not sure about the modular extension. it looks kinda cool, but if you took that approach, you'd have to pre-design holes/ports for all the cables and possible tubing going into the bottom section, right? in the end it would (at least in the picture) double the amount of space it took up. wouldn't it just be simpler to raise the original chassis height by 1/2 an inch or so? could probably fit everything inside.

I tend to agree with this. Maybe an alternative model with an extra ~20mm of height? As is, you can almost fit an H90 in this thing. It wouldn't take a whole lot of extra height to fit in a slim 240mm/280mm radiator. I believe this would also allow you to mount a 3.5" HD on it's side.

 

[Robertmarcus]

I tend to agree with this. Maybe an alternative model with an extra ~20mm of height? As is, you can almost fit an H90 in this thing. It wouldn't take a whole lot of extra height to fit in a slim 240mm/280mm radiator. I believe this would also allow you to mount a 3.5" HD on it's side.

ya but you would have to get it from the OEM to get a custom tube length. Imagine trying to stuff all the tubing from an h90 or similar in there. Not going to end well.

 

[Chime]

True enough. Thought I did say almost

All that said.. I'll probably still stick to air cooling. It'd be nice to be able to fit water cooling in so you could overclock, but the form factor of this case is a good enough selling point to me without it.

 

[CMadki4]

i like the new dual fan layout better. but not sure about the modular extension. it looks kinda cool, but if you took that approach, you'd have to pre-design holes/ports for all the cables and possible tubing going into the bottom section, right? in the end it would (at least in the picture) double the amount of space it took up. wouldn't it just be simpler to raise the original chassis height by 1/2 an inch or so? could probably fit everything inside.

The modular extension idea isn't fully developed yet, but in theory it's more like extending the side panels. The part used to attached the two together would be designed to allow for tubing and cables to pass through, hidden from outside view. Imagine a new top panel that also makes up the bottom panel of the extension. You'd have the component look, but they'd be attached. Of course you could still go with two entirely separate enclosure. Side-by-side, stacked or standing on end next to each other like books on a shelf.

Extending the chassis height, for now, is not actually an option. I'm using custom made aluminum extrusions which have a fixed profile based on the die. I'll have to have another die created for taller cases. I'm think 130mm height in the future for cases like the M3A2 and cube cases, like a squat all aluminum SG05.

 

[Daemos]

a H90 could fit depending on the size of the pump/cpu block size, it's 52mm for the rad/fan and that would leave 16mm for the block.

 

[Necere]

Ah, the joys of trying to accomodate different people's needs and desires

I'm think 130mm height in the future for cases like the M3A2 and cube cases, like a squat all aluminum SG05.

130mm won't leave enough room for the PCIe power connectors at the side of the card. 145mm is probably the minimum; 150mm to be comfortable.

 

[CMadki4]

a H90 could fit depending on the size of the pump/cpu block size, it's 52mm for the rad/fan and that would leave 16mm for the block.

What's the absolute minimum that the motherboard needs to sit off the motherboard tray (bottom of the case)? I might be able to milk a few more millimeters by using shorter stand offs, but I don't want to have cooler backplate interference issues. Or not leave enough room for an mSATA SSD or whatever.

Ah, the joys of trying to accomodate different people's needs and desires


130mm won't leave enough room for the PCIe power connectors at the side of the card. 145mm is probably the minimum; 150mm to be comfortable.

Haha, part of the fun though.

Noted on the height. What clearance do you figure in for the PCIe power connectors? 18-20mm? Tight fit, but not stressing the wires too much.

 

[Necere]

What's the absolute minimum that the motherboard needs to sit off the motherboard tray (bottom of the case)?

IIRC the Lan Gear mini-ITX case had 4mm standoffs. Our case is using 8mm, but that's because it's about the minimum before the PCI card bracket starts to stick out past the side panel (which would require cuts on the side panel in our case). Obviously not an issue in your case though since the card is on a riser.

Noted on the height. What clearance do you figure in for the PCIe power connectors? 18-20mm? Tight fit, but not stressing the wires too much.

Yeah, around that. The M1 is 160mm wide and has ~30mm between the card and side panel (to allow for the ports on full-cover GPU blocks).

 

[Mr34727]

Great work!

Is there really a demand for 3.5" drive compatibility? I just have an SSD in my desktop, with storage on the network. I am not sure what other people have, but if it is an HTPC, I would assume a similar setup. If not, you can get a 1TB 2.5" drive

 

[CMadki4]

Thanks Necere. I'll take a look at my standoffs and see how short I can reasonably go. Like I said, I might be able to milk a few more millimeters out for increased CPU cooler height.

Great work!

Is there really a demand for 3.5" drive compatibility? I just have an SSD in my desktop, with storage on the network. I am not sure what other people have, but if it is an HTPC, I would assume a similar setup. If not, you can get a 1TB 2.5" drive

Thanks!

I get the impression that the demand for 3.5" drive comparability is going away, but not just yet. I think a lot of people have a decent sized 3.5" drive they'd like to keep using and tend to shy away from cases that don't have 3.5" drive mounting support. Personally, no, I don't need one on my gaming or HTPC machine, but it's a nice feature to have for those who may wish you mount one in there.

 

[Daemos]

I use a 3.5" drive to store stuff, as I can't always bring my file server if I am going to a LAN or something I would gladly give up optical media for a 3.5" drive.

but SSDs are the way to go for programs.

 

[CMadki4]

Who would prefer the power button mounted on the back of the case for an ultra clean front panel? If you would, would you want a power LED on the front panel?

 

[Drown Babies]

Who would prefer the power button mounted on the back of the case for an ultra clean front panel? If you would, would you want a power LED on the front panel?

I can definitely see the appeal of a clean front panel, a solid black slate, with no logos, ports, or LEDs. But then again, a single, buttonless LED might also look nice (it's also nice to know if the thing is on just by glancing at it).

Overall it's probably better, and more practical, to have an LED on the front.

 

[Chime]

A relatively dim LED would be nice. Bright LEDs can be distracting in an HTPC setup.

 

[CMadki4]

So you're both for the power button on the back panel w/ a LED on the front?

 

[Daemos]

Front button I think is better, esp if it's going to be in a HTPC setup...because it's annoying to have to reach around the back to turn things on.

 

[Chime]

The power button on the front doesn't bother me. I'll probably opt for the USB ports as well. The only thing that would concern me with the front panel would be the LED, but I can always unplug that or add a resistor if its too bright.

 

[CMadki4]

I can definitely see the appeal of a clean front panel, a solid black slate, with no logos, ports, or LEDs. But then again, a single, buttonless LED might also look nice (it's also nice to know if the thing is on just by glancing at it).

Overall it's probably better, and more practical, to have an LED on the front.

A relatively dim LED would be nice. Bright LEDs can be distracting in an HTPC setup.

Front button I think is better, esp if it's going to be in a HTPC setup...because it's annoying to have to reach around the back to turn things on.

Seems like it might be wise to keep this as a customizable option. You can specify at the time of ordering where you'd like your power button located; front or back.

If you select to locate the power button on the back then an LED will take the place of where the power button would be on the front. I think a nice pin-hole LED, just enough to see that your system is powered on.

 

[Daemos]

The power button on the front doesn't bother me. I'll probably opt for the USB ports as well. The only thing that would concern me with the front panel would be the LED, but I can always unplug that or add a resistor if its too bright.

x2 I hate bright LEDs, my SG05 power button LED is bright enough to light up a room...so I've covered it with electrical tape.

i'll have to do that resistor trick see if I can get it really dim.

 

[Drown Babies]

I'm definitely interested to see a configuration with the button in the back. I don't need an optical drive, or audio ports on the front, and I probably don't need USB ports either. So I could go with a completely clean front panel, with just a tiny LED. An IR port would be nice, but that's not very noticeable anyway.

Is your power LED setup combined with the disk activity light, by flashing on and off or activating a different color LED?

 

[Daemos]

I've gotten the dimensions of the waterblocks used in most AIO water cooling systems.

The block/pump is 27mm tall...so even with a thin fan it'll be very difficult to get a AIO water cooling system in place.

I'm guessing Samuel 17 + 25mm fan will prob be the best way to go (makes it 70mm in total)

 

[Chime]

x2 I hate bright LEDs, my SG05 power button LED is bright enough to light up a room...so I've covered it with electrical tape.

i'll have to do that resistor trick see if I can get it really dim.

You could also use a potentiometer in place of a resistor, would give you an adjustable dimmer.

 

[Chime]

I've gotten the dimensions of the waterblocks used in most AIO water cooling systems.

The block/pump is 27mm tall...so even with a thin fan it'll be very difficult to get a AIO water cooling system in place.

I'm guessing Samuel 17 + 25mm fan will prob be the best way to go (makes it 70mm in total)

I'm probably gonna test one of these as well as a scythe kozuti, though those are becoming hard to find. I like the kozuti because with a case fan you end up with the fins between the case fan and the cooler fan.

 

[illli]

i kind of miss the tricell logo in the first renders. maybe you could put the ir/led behind it (assuming it is completely punched out ?)

 

[updawg]

I know you can wire an IR receiver to act as a power button could this be a possibility for turning the computer on and off?

 

[CMadki4]

Here is the cleanest front panel with only a small pin-hole blue LED to indicate power only:

Here is the logo back on as well as the pin-hole power LED:

Now adding the USB3.0. Too close to logo?

Switched logo to the other side:

Added slot-load optical and power button. Too busy for my taste:

Removed the power button:

 

[extide]

Put the USB3 on bottom left edge, or on the side panel.