CCD MI-6: Performance in a 6.7L MIcrotower

I'm getting a render-crazy...

Happy New Year, BTW!!

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Looking really nice! Especially if it had a brushed aluminum front. Any specific reason for the square holes, or would you be open to making it with smaller circular vents? IMO those look a little nicer/more premium.
Edit: One other random thought. I see that the riser extends to the front, would it be possible to short it or lengthen the case slightly to allow for a 120mm intake fan on the front? I think that would really boost thermal performance, though maybe there's a more elegant solution to get some intake/exhaust.
 
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Thanks man. I put square holes in there to try something different, as most cases out there have round vent holes. I'll have to keep working to make an awesome vent pattern..

It shouldn't need any fans, as the gpu and cpu get fresh air.
 
Like the new renders!

iFreilicht,
I was looking at your case design, and you might be able to put a spring-loaded hdd holder in there too.

There are a few reasons why I actually can't, but it would be better to talk about them in my thread if you have interest in doing so.
 
Ok, so I came up with some tweak ideas for the case. Here is the baseline idea 1 with square vent holes with beveled front:

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Here is idea 2: round holes and I rounded all the corners too:
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Here is idea 3: round hole vents that are subdivided to break up the field (and make it look less like a toaster) and I recessed the I/O on the front:
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And here it is with the cover pulled off:
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Idea 3 get's my vote. I like the milled line in the middle. Expanding on the idea of the recessed I/O, don't you think there would be an easy way to implement a small door that can hide the Front I/O if not in use?
 
Idea 3 get's my vote. I like the milled line in the middle. Expanding on the idea of the recessed I/O, don't you think there would be an easy way to implement a small door that can hide the Front I/O if not in use?

Thanks for taking a look. It would be neat to do a vertically sliding door.
 
Idea 2 all the way for me, man. I dig the recessed IO on the front of 3 though. Very nice.
 
Very nice, I like 3 as well, perhaps remove the gaps between the vent holes? Not sure if this would affect rigidity. Good work!
 
Darkstar -- is it the rounded edges that you like or that the holes are not subdivided, or both?

Pixelblue -- ah so you would like the holes patterns without the breaks. They are only there to break up the big hole patterns and not structural at all. They are so the top doesn't look like 2 toaster slots...
 
Both, actually. The rounded corners are a really nice design call, and the choice to keep the ventilation holes clustered together, I feel, gives the unit a more contiguous flow.
 
I love this idea

I can't 3d model... but I was hand drawing something incredibly similar the other day.
However my drawings were done in the hopes MDTX became a thing and you could run crossfire/sli on the backside and make enough room for a 240mm rad in the front. lol.
 
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I love this idea

I can't 3d model... but I was hand drawing something incredibly similar the other day.
However my drawings were done in the hopes MDTX became a thing and you could run crossfire/sli on the backside and make enough room for a 240mm rad in the front. lol.

Thx for the feedback!

Man, it's only been in the last couple months that I learned 3d cad. Had to learn for work and got a home copy of the software and lots of time over the holidays to play.

I figured there were others thinking the same thoughts about case design.

I guess dtx is just too close in size to matx, so everyone just stayed with that. Would have been sweet.to do a minimalist design that fits 2 GPUs.
 
Thx for the feedback!

Man, it's only been in the last couple months that I learned 3d cad. Had to learn for work and got a home copy of the software and lots of time over the holidays to play.

I figured there were others thinking the same thoughts about case design.

I guess dtx is just too close in size to matx, so everyone just stayed with that. Would have been sweet.to do a minimalist design that fits 2 GPUs.

It's only 1 slot longer than ITX. Most people just cover that slot with a GPU.. that slot would be good for a sound card, PCI SSD, and other things though..

But imagine......
2 single slot cards like fury x or nano with single slot water blocks stacked on top of each other in the case you designed.
It would have to be a little deeper and slightly taller to allow for the rad and extra slot on DTX but it would be sweet!

As far as the 3 models up there, I like idea 2. As much as I like the look of the recessed spot on 3, that's just another place for dust and gunk to pile up.
My only would thought/request be punching holes across the entire front and slotting the motherboard tray to accept a slim 120mm or 140mm fan. Like this guy
Another thing, make sure there are mounting holes for SFX-L so people have that option.. Reading back I saw the HDD in front of the psu...
That's just my thought on it though.
 
Some kind of cover over.the I/o might work. Bit I haven't.figured out how to do that.

Interesting idea about front vents.and.a.fan. Currently there.isn't room, and the thought has been that.it isn't needed.

The HDD bracket on the bottom can be removed if a sfx-l is used. I put the larger.vent.pattern in the bottom in case the larger PSU is used.

Hmm, if a std.SFX.is used but no HDD on the bottom, then there is room for a 50-60 mm fan. Are those small fans even worth considering though, as far as noise?
 
Ok, some more style ideas. These have the rounded edges, simple perf patterns, recessed front I/O, centerline groove.

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Best one yet IMO. Especially like the colored front face, it makes the case unique and special.
 
Agreed! I think the bottom one is this design perfected. The colored front panel gives it a nice sophistication.
 
Thanks for the compliments!

I was fooling around and I made a render of the virtually happiest time of the year.......
















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I can think of virtually nothing better, lol
 
Good thing it is virtual cos paper don't float, that mirror finished SFX PSU looks cool though ;)
I praise the effort you are have put in, but you have a ways to go still ;)

Keep it up and keep improving!
 
Good thing it is virtual cos paper don't float, that mirror finished SFX PSU looks cool though ;)
I praise the effort you are have put in, but you have a ways to go still ;)

Keep it up and keep improving!



Thanks man.

Hey what's the latest on that 3L build you were working on last fall? You still building it?
 
Thanks man.

Hey what's the latest on that 3L build you were working on last fall? You still building it?

I stopped working on it, I had gotten really far in terms of getting it ready for manufacturing, but I've decided that the investment from me and by most people would be way to high for just a slightly smaller system. I do intend to build at least 1 final version, but I need to save up for that :p

I'm working on a different case now but I've got the initial build log running on the SFF forum. When it's fleshed out farther I'm bringing it over here on [H].
 
not sure if cooling is a problem here.
maybe you can try moving PSU to top and add a 12/14 cm fan at the bottom / front
 
not sure if cooling is a problem here.
maybe you can try moving PSU to top and add a 12/14 cm fan at the bottom / front

I don't think it will. All components get enough air by taking it in directly from outside of the case, all components exhaust through the back while the CPU and GPU even get a bit of passive exhaust through the top panel.

A fan at the front won't help thermal performance but would make the case larger, and putting the PSU at the top would make the case a bit more top-heavy while also forcing the thick power cable to be plugged into the top, which makes the case look a bit uglier if you can see it from all directions.

Additionally, with the PSU at the bottom, stray cables can just sit there while they would fall into the innards of the case if the PSU was mounted at the top.
 
Good point on the cables hanging down if the PSU is suspended.

Speaking of cables, I'm thinking of a snap in cover of some sort to go over all the cable mess next to the PSU. This kind of non-modular mess:

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Maybe a cover.with a couple large cable grommets for cable routing.

It would have to clear any and.all HDDs that could be down there. Thoughts?

I'll try to sketch something up after work to show what.I'm thinking.
 
In theory this sounds quite nice, but I'm curious how you're planning to implement this. I don't think you'd need any rubber grommets, just have a recess that all of the cables would fit through on one side of it. That way you wouldn't have to fiddle the cables through any holes.
 
In theory this sounds quite nice, but I'm curious how you're planning to implement this. I don't think you'd need any rubber grommets, just have a recess that all of the cables would fit through on one side of it. That way you wouldn't have to fiddle the cables through any holes.


Sounds possibly like a nice simple solution. Thx iFreilicht.
 
Ok, so I've got the case component drawings out for quote. Hopefully I'll get something back soon so I can start figuring out some costing and feasibility.

And a bit of render candy I've been cooking up--

A smoked transparent lexan case, and a refined front cover with nice rounded edges and corners.

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That front panel looks like it's going to be quite expensive. I'm assuming you're going to have it CNC milled?
 
That front panel looks like it's going to be quite expensive. I'm assuming you're going to have it CNC milled?

Yes, it is CNC milled 1/4" aluminum plate. Milled on front, and drilled and tapped with some minorr milling on back. Powder coat paint or anodized brushed alum depending on what finish is wanted. It is the one area I'm splurging on, to have a nice aesthetic on the front.
Could use polycarbonate.

Depending on the costing, my philosophy is subject to change.... An expensive front could end up being an option or add on.
 
Have you considered this layout?
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It would be a lot less cost prohibitive. It would still have similar qualities of taking fresh air at all points, however since the riser is not going behind the motherboard, you wouldnt need one with strong EMI shielding. It would also be simpler to build. The case is 7L, but I'm sure if you trim down the space above the motherboard, so that it only accommodates a top down cooler, you can bring it down to 6L easily.
 
Have you considered this layout?

It would be a lot less cost prohibitive. It would still have similar qualities of taking fresh air at all points, however since the riser is not going behind the motherboard, you wouldnt need one with strong EMI shielding. It would also be simpler to build. The case is 7L, but I'm sure if you trim down the space above the motherboard, so that it only accommodates a top down cooler, you can bring it down to 6L easily.

Wow, neat case. Is that a custom case you built?

Have you tested the pcie cable at 3.0? I've read so many horror stories about cheap cables and systems not booting or hanging, I assumed shielding was recommended regardless of length or routing.

Is that a flex atx or tfx PSU? How is the noise? I went sfx to try to ensure it wasn't going to howl when I'm gaming.

Where did you tuck the HDD(s)?

It is nice that the PSU wiring is hidden behind the mb, that is an advantage.
 
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On another note, I got an example vent pattern that looks interesting. It's a staggered square pattern. I know I know, most seem to prefer round holes. Well, take a look and see what you think, its a .188 square with .5 spacing. Is this unique and interesting enough to use on a computer case?

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It is a custom built from a builder in California. You can see the pictures here, easier to see how it is laid out. link

It has a sfx psu and 3 2.5 drives. Pretty neat build.

Concerning the riser, I have heard that you can go with cheaper ones as long as they are not too cheap. But routing it too far increases the likelihood of it getting degraded and interfered. I know Dan case requires a very expensive 3M cable.
 
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Those holes are giving me some crazy vertigo.

Man, you're right. The combination of resizing and a nice helping of jpeg compression has made a headache generating, eye crossing visual banquet --with a touch of nausea.

Well now I can't delete it, even if it is ugly. You can't destroy art after all.
 
Man, you're right. The combination of resizing and a nice helping of jpeg compression has made a headache generating, eye crossing visual banquet --with a touch of nausea.

Well now I can't delete it, even if it is ugly. You can't destroy art after all.

Yes you can, just edit the post. You can even replace the image with a new one with less compression.
 
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