Kimera Industries Cerberus: The 18L, mATX, USA-made enclosure

How about moving the front IO down a bit to leave space for the ODD? I've been thinking that the current placement is a bit uneasy on the eyes. I rather have it all the way down :)

Down? Geez, and I was just starting to like your ideas :D

For some reason, I was picturing the ODD being mounted below the PSU, and thought the I/O should be moved up on the front (or to the upper-front angle, if that route is taken)..

cAA3v2i.jpg
 
:D LOL

That "looks" good but no way the components will fit there along with the PSU.

My idea was to put the ODD on the top, right in front of the PSU, and slot loading exactly like that. Thanks for the great mockup! :cool:

What's wrong with the front IO sliding down a bit? The only problem I can think of is too much of cable busy-ness at the front bottom, along with SATA cables... So, believe me I love the IO location as you showed but I don't think it's gonna fit there.

The other alternative is slide the front IO all the way up (so they line up beside the PSU), and give the option of 120mm fan or ODD at the front bottom. I believe two 2.5" or one 3.5" drives would still fit along with the ODD at the front bottom. At the front-top, either the PSU will take in fresh air from outside, or a 2.5" drive can be installed ;)

Edit: So, a 2.5" drive, a 3.5" drive and an ODD can be installed simultaneously. Or, 3 x 2.5" plus an ODD. Or, PSU-fresh-air, ODD and 2 x 2.5" (or 1 x 3.5"). Or, PSU-fresh-air and 120mm intake (no SSD? maybe slap an SSD on the other side of PSU?).


Sigh, this is why one picture is worth one thousand words!!
 
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^^ Nothing wrong w/having the I/O moved down.. just that I was thinking the opposite, lol.

If Aiboh would happen to go this multi-purpose w/false-front idea, I think the location of ODD/drives/fan would probably depend on how one prioritizes some of the features. Personally, I think that fresh air for the PSU intake is most important, and I would want free space in the top for that, and an ODD or 3.5" drive for the bottom. On the other hand, someone doing a dual-GPU might want the 120mm fan for the bottom and might need room in front of the PSU for a SSD.

As Aiboh mentioned, the I/O will likely interfere with ODD placement, so if the upper-angle placement of the I/O doesn't work, then it would either need to be moved up to allow bottom ODD (or moved down to allow upper ODD).. so probably no way to allow end-user choice of location for ODD.

Dunno.. sounds complicated :D

Though I did think of another secondary use for the false-front idea.. have the center cut out, and move the carry handle to hinges on the center front. Most likely it would be near impossible to do without an insane amount of thought and added cost.. but wouldn't it be bad-ass to have the handle swing down flush into the front? Kinda like this, but integral to the frame, and shrouded by the false-front..

gNr1qkM.jpg


Okay, I'll shut up now :p
 
Well the ODD is only 130mm deep. Considering that it would have to be flush with the panel, it would end at pretty much where the PSU ends. All it would need is an access to the SATA/power connectors, and I think it can be managed by moving the front IO upwards... So, I really think it should be doable.
 
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "lay it on its front" Did you mean "on its side"?

The front not the side. Doing it that way allows the GPU exhausts pointing vertically straight up like the Raven and Fortress instead of parallel to the ground. The problem you pointed earlier with the front panel fans maybe alleviated if they help push hot air upwards because it's clearly not working with the standard orientation.

I don't see any other way to giving air cooling users more options for better air flow.



This is looking good. The beveled edge also helps make the current handle more aesthetically pleasing.
 
How about moving the front IO down a bit to leave space for the ODD? I've been thinking that the current placement is a bit uneasy on the eyes. I rather have it all the way down :)

I actually have my M1 on the floor (no room on my desk because of the dual monitors) and one of my few annoyances with it is the bottom IO. It looks nice but it sure is awkward plugging stuff in.

So, how is the top panel gonna install? It seems like it's gonna slide back to front and then hold something at the front and then thumbscrew at the back, is that correct? Just trying to see how the panels will come together.

I was thinking if we need the bracket on the top at all, and whether the handle and fan can attach directly on the top panel, which would have to be thicker, and would need to very securely attach to the frame. Any thoughts?

You can't see it due to the angle but in the current design there are tabs on the top panel that hook into those notches in the frame.

I haven't modeled them but there would be slots in the frame for the tabs of the side panels to hook into. That way the top and side panels would be tool-less.

If the top panel is full of holes I'm not sure it will be strong enough for the handle to mount to. Having the handle screwed to the panel would be convenient, it wouldn't have to be removed to take the top off but I don't think the panel alone is sufficient. It may work with some kind of bracket to reinforce it but then we're back to a bracket anyway.

Down? Geez, and I was just starting to like your ideas :D

For some reason, I was picturing the ODD being mounted below the PSU, and thought the I/O should be moved up on the front (or to the upper-front angle, if that route is taken)..

The current USB and audio ports are Silverstone's upgrade kit, something like you're suggesting may be doable but it would require custom stuff.

I forgot that the chamfer makes a slit on top difficult so the configuration you have shown is about the only way it'll work (though maybe it could be flipped left/right to accommodate different desk layouts) and keep the IO up high.

:D LOL

That "looks" good but no way the components will fit there along with the PSU.

My idea was to put the ODD on the top, right in front of the PSU, and slot loading exactly like that. Thanks for the great mockup! :cool:

What's wrong with the front IO sliding down a bit? The only problem I can think of is too much of cable busy-ness at the front bottom, along with SATA cables... So, believe me I love the IO location as you showed but I don't think it's gonna fit there.

The other alternative is slide the front IO all the way up (so they line up beside the PSU), and give the option of 120mm fan or ODD at the front bottom. I believe two 2.5" or one 3.5" drives would still fit along with the ODD at the front bottom. At the front-top, either the PSU will take in fresh air from outside, or a 2.5" drive can be installed ;)

Edit: So, a 2.5" drive, a 3.5" drive and an ODD can be installed simultaneously. Or, 3 x 2.5" plus an ODD. Or, PSU-fresh-air, ODD and 2 x 2.5" (or 1 x 3.5"). Or, PSU-fresh-air and 120mm intake (no SSD? maybe slap an SSD on the other side of PSU?).

Sigh, this is why one picture is worth one thousand words!!

See above on front IO but as far as the rest the extra flexibility does seem useful.

With the PSU intake forward and a front fan that doesn't leave much room for any drives, M.2 is starting to take off though.

Aiboh, what do you think our ETA is for this case? I'm getting itchy :D

I'm surprised it took so long for this question to come up :p

Hopefully by the end of the year? It could be much sooner but I want to keep expectations low so when the inevitable issues come up I'll have a buffer to work with.

Though I did think of another secondary use for the false-front idea.. have the center cut out, and move the carry handle to hinges on the center front. Most likely it would be near impossible to do without an insane amount of thought and added cost.. but wouldn't it be bad-ass to have the handle swing down flush into the front? Kinda like this, but integral to the frame, and shrouded by the false-front..

Flush fitting handles sounds intriguing but I'm not quite following you on where they would go. Would the pivot be at the front top corner and the handle would swing 180° up?

Well the ODD is only 130mm deep. Considering that it would have to be flush with the panel, it would end at pretty much where the PSU ends. All it would need is an access to the SATA/power connectors, and I think it can be managed by moving the front IO upwards... So, I really think it should be doable.

The Silverstone CP10 cable would help: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=353&area=en

The front not the side. Doing it that way allows the GPU exhausts pointing vertically straight up like the Raven and Fortress instead of parallel to the ground. The problem you pointed earlier with the front panel fans maybe alleviated if they help push hot air upwards because it's clearly not working with the standard orientation.

I don't see any other way to giving air cooling users more options for better air flow.

I played around with that layout early on and, while it has some definite cooling advantages, dealing with the cables increases the size of the case quite a bit.



The front chamfer thing really depends on whether I can figure out how to make it work with at least tool-less side panels and preferably top panel as well. The earlier pics were done assuming the exterior panels just had screws along the edges holding them to the frame, but now that I've figured out a way to have tool-less panels I'm loathe to give it up.

I'll try to figure out something over the next few days.
 
I forgot that the chamfer makes a slit on top difficult so the configuration you have shown is about the only way it'll work (though maybe it could be flipped left/right to accommodate different desk layouts) and keep the IO up high.

Actually, I think a long slot on each side would look even nicer, and also provide better cooling for PSU/lower-front intake (and the ODD bracket could possibly be flipped for disc entry on either side).

Flush fitting handles sounds intriguing but I'm not quite following you on where they would go. Would the pivot be at the front top corner and the handle would swing 180° up?

I was picturing the handle almost dead-center on the front (slightly lower so the case's center of gravity would fall directly below the hinge when carried). Gravity would swing the handle down into a flush position (like a wide U, with the hinge or hinges at the top of the U). Basically 90° from how it is now, but inset on the middle front. But yeah, something like that would be awesome, but insanely challenging to accomplish (plus, to make it flush, it would probably be impossible to mount an ODD there.. air intake space and SSDs, would probably still be fine).

Ah, screw it.. wasn't sure if I was explaining it correctly. As Gryphon said, a picture is worth a thousand words..

yxwOH2d.jpg


The I/O ports would actually look pretty nice sitting horizontally directly above that. But again, something like would probably be a nightmare to tackle (though über-cool :cool:).
 
I don't like it AFD, sorry. It's gonna take up all the space in the front unless it's a very thin handle which would be terrible to carry the weight.

Aiboh, why would the side panel tool-less mechanism need to change with chamfered design? Tabs and notches can still be implemented I think. Only the top panel would need to change from the current design and it would have to be just like the side panels. I don't know if I'm missing something...
 
I don't like it AFD, sorry. It's gonna take up all the space in the front unless it's a very thin handle which would be terrible to carry the weight.

No prob :) Yeah, something like that would take up a large portion of the faux-front panel space. I really do like the idea of a carry handle, but it's wasting space no matter where you put it.

Ah, gotcha. An interesting idea but it seems awkward to pick up and set down.

Yeah, probably more so than a standard top-mount handle, but shouldn't be insanely difficult to manage.. depending on the case's height (on floor, on table), either stick your fingers or thumb over the handle to lift it outward, grab it and tilt the case back a little (possibly supporting the back with your other hand, if needed, until it's in the air). Major negative is that you'd have to carry it palm forward or backward, rather than a natural grip with your palm facing toward your body.

Was just a random idea, and probably way outside the scope of a limited run project like this anyway ;)
 
Could we get honeycomb grills instead? I've always felt that they were more aesthetically pleasing, and supposedly more air/noise efficent
 
Aiboh, why would the side panel tool-less mechanism need to change with chamfered design? Tabs and notches can still be implemented I think. Only the top panel would need to change from the current design and it would have to be just like the side panels. I don't know if I'm missing something...

I don't like that little pointy part of the top panel that would result from chamfering the front. There may be a simple solution but I haven't had much time to work on it :p

2014-05-13_chamfer-panel-test.png


Could we get honeycomb grills instead? I've always felt that they were more aesthetically pleasing, and supposedly more air/noise efficent

I'm thinking of hexagon cutouts for the rear 92mm and the bottom mounts but I don't want the side and top vents to be too transparent because a cramped case like this won't be very pretty on the inside.
 
I don't like that little pointy part of the top panel that would result from chamfering the front. There may be a simple solution but I haven't had much time to work on it :p

Are you talking about the sharp scalpel-looking piece from the front-sides of the top panel?

2djMsKS.jpg
 
Why does the top panel have to have a lip? Why can't it work exactly like the side panels, slide in, and thumbscrew at the back?
 
I'm thinking of hexagon cutouts for the rear 92mm and the bottom mounts but I don't want the side and top vents to be too transparent because a cramped case like this won't be very pretty on the inside.

Maybe you can do the hexagons spread-out a bit, with a similar spacing like the round holes? I do like the idea of hexagons as it would match nicely with the cornered design of the handle and chamfer in the front.
 
Are you talking about the sharp scalpel-looking piece from the front-sides of the top panel?

2djMsKS.jpg

That would work but then the top panel would have to be removed first to get the side panels off :(

Why does the top panel have to have a lip? Why can't it work exactly like the side panels, slide in, and thumbscrew at the back?

If you look at the notches near the bottom of this picture you can see the problem. There has to be at least the thickness of the material left to catch the tab of the panel. The lip of the top panel in the current design allows the top and side panels to sit flush with each other.

Maybe you can do the hexagons spread-out a bit, with a similar spacing like the round holes? I do like the idea of hexagons as it would match nicely with the cornered design of the handle and chamfer in the front.

When I get some time I'll try a render with hexagons.
 
After playing around with the design some I think if the front is going to be chamfered it's going to be the sides and not the top/bottom.

2014-05-15_front-side-chamfer-test1.jpg


I think it looks nicer and it won't have the panel fitment issues like the other way will.

I tried a mockup with a long vertical slot instead of the horizontal vents but I didn't like the way it looked, didn't go well with the vents on the side panel.
 
Looks great!

Hmm, how about an ODD option that loads from the top then? Do you think it's gonna look too much like the M1?
 
Yeah, it's very M1'ish with the new front.. but looks great!
 
With the front IO shifted down slightly it looks like an ODD will fit. I didn't intend for it to resemble the M1 so much but it's really the only layout that makes sense.

2014-05-15_ODD-fit-test1.png


SketchFab: https://skfb.ly/zWPC

2014-05-15_odd-slit-test1.jpg


I'll try to do a render with hexagon vents tomorrow.
 
It looks great to me! :D

So, this is with the 5th slot, right? What are the dimensions now?
 
Yeah, there should be a fifth cutout in the SketchFab model but I forgot :p

Right now the dimensions are 284mm (H) x 170mm (W) x 339mm (D) = 16.4L

I think I can trim a few mm here and there to bring it down to 16.0L but worst case 16.4L should be the max.

2014-05-15_case-comparison1.jpg
 
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Looking at the SketchFab model, it seems like the PSU is sitting lower than it can/should. With a low profile AC cable, it would be better that it sits as high as it can both for cable spacing and for it to exhaust hot air as directly as it can. Also, I figure that the AC cable will travel from the back of the top fan, right? So, that top lip between the PSU and mobo are can be much taller, except leaving a space for the AC cable at the back (closer to the mobo).

I hope I could communicate this well enough, lol :D
 
281mm (H) x 168mm (W) x 339mm (D) = 16.00L

Hint hint ;)

That's probably what will happen.

Looking at the SketchFab model, it seems like the PSU is sitting lower than it can/should. With a low profile AC cable, it would be better that it sits as high as it can both for cable spacing and for it to exhaust hot air as directly as it can. Also, I figure that the AC cable will travel from the back of the top fan, right? So, that top lip between the PSU and mobo are can be much taller, except leaving a space for the AC cable at the back (closer to the mobo).

I hope I could communicate this well enough, lol :D

The space between the PSU and the top panel will be dependent on just how low-profile a cord will be available.

The lip on the PSU bracket is just there to stiffen up the bracket. It can't go all the way up because a right-angle AC cord on PSUs like the SX500-LG will go right through that area. Left-angle plugs are harder to find.
 
2014-05-16_5mm-hexagon_3mm-spacing_test1.jpg


Here's 5mm hexagons with 3mm spacing. Doesn't look much different than round holes at that size though.
 
Absolutely!! I love it! :D

How about pack them closer just a bit, to increase open area ratio? Like 2.5mm...

I'm not sure about those side vents though... Are you sure a vertical thin slot vent wouldn't work well? It would be right at the first edge of the front panel such that you wouldn't see the opening when looked from the front, but only when looked from the sides (or at an angle). I guess it would coincide with where the case frame ends at the front...
 
Thanks, that's exactly how I imagined it! :cool:

I don't know you, but I like the slot vent better :)
With it, you can turn the ODD sideways and get rid of the top slot opening ;)
And airflow should be even better I think...
 
I'll have to render it from a few different angles.

3dMgSi3l.jpg


I like how a slot looks on this case but I think the horizontal vents goes better with the side panel venting. The vertical slot would eliminate the need for the top slot though. We'll see.
 
Yeah, it does look good! You can make the ends of the slot sharp angled similar to that one. Actually AFD showed a similar mock-up before... I'm rooting for this ;)
 
Yeah, come on, don't you just love it? I do :D
It's awesome!! It looks great, its purposeful, and it's better than the horizontal vents in all fronts (pun intended) ;)

Thanks for your time showing these, now we know what we're talking about :)
 
2014-05-17_vertical-slot_long-render.jpg


Here's a long render to really show it off :)

I think the top vent needs to extend forward a bit so it's symmetric. What do you think?
 
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