Hutzy XS — Ultra Compact Gaming Case (<4L)

Boil · Apr 25, 2016

baonguyen312 said:
Most of people prefer the front clean as much as possible. Looks at how attractive the successful crowndfunded NCase M1 and the upcoming Dan A4 are. Additionally, mounting a fan into such a small size case like this just increase significantly waste spaces. The good airflow design is all we need to ensure that the case won't get any cooling and throttling issues.

I am not talking about venting the front panel, I am talking about venting the BOTTOM panel in the area that is in front of the PSU. Again, this will allow fresh air to be drawn directly into the PSU when its fan is running… One could even mount dual 40mm fans (not something I would expect in a shipping product, but more something that I would do myself, if said venting on the bottom panel were implemented) in this location to draw air in from below. Nothing is done at all to the current front panel design… As for "waste spaces", I am referring to taking the space the designer has ALREADY earmarked for a 80mm fan on the PSU (and voiding ones warranty on said PSU) and simply moving that to above the MB, allowing for dual 90mm fans to directly vent the chassis from above…

By adding the BOTTOM venting, one allows the PSU to breathe better… By adding top-mount chassis fans, one allows the side vents to bring air IN to the CPU & GPU, and allows the top vents to focus on exhausting air from the overall chassis… It also serves to dramatically increase airflow BEHIND the MB, which would have a DIRECT positive impact on a M.2 SSD mounted to said MB backside…

Simply stated, the venting additions & top-mount fans I propose should allow the entire system to run quieter, as each sub-system focuses on its individual role in overall chassis/component cooling…

EDIT - To amend requested top-mount chassis fans from 92mm units to 80mm units (he says, realizing the chassis dimensions would not allow twin 92mm fans, but twin 80mm fans would fit nicely & give near full coverage to exhaust out of the top of the chassis)… I choose 80mm fans, only because Noctua does not make any of the 90mm variety…! Of course, one could also mount a single 92mm Noctua PWM fan up top of chassis exhausting, but I like the fuller coverage (and increased airflow) that dual fans provide…

But then one also needs to take into account that these fans would need to be slim models to fit the space allocated…?!?

iFreilicht · Apr 25, 2016

Boil said:
By adding the BOTTOM venting, one allows the PSU to breathe better… By adding top-mount chassis fans, one allows the side vents to bring air IN to the CPU & GPU, and allows the top vents to focus on exhausting air from the overall chassis… It also serves to dramatically increase airflow BEHIND the MB, which would have a DIRECT positive impact on a M.2 SSD mounted to said MB backside…

Bottom venting would require the case to have feet, though. Currently there's no feet or just a bit of foam tape there. With bottom vents you'd need at least 10mm of clearance. I think the better position for vents for the PSU would be the sides in front of the PSU, but that would somewhat kill the clean look.

Boil said:
I am referring to taking the space the designer has ALREADY earmarked for a 80mm fan on the PSU (and voiding ones warranty on said PSU) and simply moving that to above the MB, allowing for dual 90mm fans to directly vent the chassis from above…

The top doesn't need any active venting though. The fans of GPU and CPU will cause positive pressure in the system to allow air to exhaust there, which is supported by the natural airflow of hot air rising to the top. Having fans there would be a waste of space because they're simply not needed. Having space above the PSU for a fan wouldn't be wasted space if you put a fan there because it would greatly improve the airflow through the PSU and thus positively affect noise. Also, the 12mm allocated there would be enough for a second SSD/HDD, so you can still utilise that space either way.

Boil · Apr 25, 2016

Honestly, unless room can be made (with sufficient airflow as well) for a 15mm 2.5" SSD, my plan would be to use a M.2 SSD, so my main concern is in airflow thru the space between the MB & its mounting tray.

iFreilicht · Apr 25, 2016

In that case you should be very interested in a bit of space below the mainboard, though. Even if fans were mounted at the top, they would only draw in air from the front of the board if the bottom was flush against the PSU. I think that having an air-gap there is about as effective as fans in the top if we're talking about cooling an SSD on the back of the case.

illram · Apr 25, 2016

I voted 8 for aesthetics but I'd be in favor of whatever design is best from a heat/noise perspective.

Hahutzy · Apr 25, 2016

Here's a few notes on questions that were left unanswered perviously:

Boil said:
(On Intel 750-series 15mm 2.5" SSD and Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD)

The current layout can't support 15mm. There's around a 10mm space for the SSD slot, and adding 5mm to the width just for the niche 15mm SSD market is not worthwhile.
The behind-the-mobo M.2 NVMe will be tested when I get the first prototype.
Believe me, I will make sure the M.2 operates properly in the case before consumers see it. Because I believe it is the future go-to storage option for SFF builds.

Boil said:
(On cable management)

It's unavoidable that cables be bundled into a corner in such a small form factor. With some effort, it is certainly keep them under control (see my prototype photos on the front page).
The vent hole locations are also made to hide them from sight after putting the side panels on.

TheDrifter363 said:
I know I may want to experiment with laying the case down horizontally.

Note that because there's air intake on both sides, you will need significant clearance to lay it horizontal. It's not impossible, but at some point during this exercise, you may find yourself sacrificing aesthetics for function.

CHANG3D said:
I wonder if [EVGA Hadron] is the cheapest way to get a 500W flexatx psu.?

EVGA Hadron uses the 1U form factor PSU. It is wider and longer than FlexATX

Boil said:
(On the modular Seasonic 300W)

Personally I think 300W is cutting it too close for a typical Skylake + GPU build, and it's not taking advantage of the power allowance it has over the HDPLEX option.

Boil said:
Question, has the maximum HSF height increased any since you changed the specs slightly on the overall chassis, or is it still sitting at 41mm…? I would love to use the Cryorig C7 rather than the Noctua NH-L9i…

It has not, so the NH-L9i is still the recommended HSF. The Cryorig C7 is quite nice indeed. But at 47mm, I would have to extend the width by 7mm to comfortably claim it fits into the case. That adds around 0.28L to the volume, most of that volume is dead space other than around the HSF area.

14001 said:
Would it be possible to do a re-render in a fine sandblasted texture, and another render in a liquid paint smooth matte black finish?
(Edit: Including black flat head socket cap screws attached to the side panel in the re-render)

My next render will have countersunk philips screws. Will post them tomorrow. The texture most likely won't change, because the current texture is anodized brushed aluminum, so it reflects the physical object more than other textures.

Boil said:
(On relocating the fan space to the top)

The 80mm fan for the PSU has never been about the deficiency of heat dissipation of the case.
As it stands, my current plastic prototype doesn't have a single component that runs hotter than 75C even when you strain it at 100% over an hour.
The 80mm fan space is there to address the noise issue that the public believe FlexATX currently suffers from.
Also, the intake from both the CPU and GPU dissipate radially. On the upper half, the air will dissipate through the top vents, with or without fans. That is due to positive pressure and path of least resistance.
For the bottom half, it is exhausted through the back.
With the standard 40mm Flex, air is drawn to the front-bottom, then exhausted
With the 80mm Flex, air is drawn directly from the exhausted air of the CPU / GPU, into the PSU and out the back.
With the HDPLEX, air is exhausted through the back due to positive pressure and path of least resistance.
The M.2, in theory, will passively dissipate radially, so its heat is also transferred in the same manner described above.
Again, I will see to it that the M.2 slot will operate properly in my case once the prototype arrives and I can do proper testing.

Boil said:
(On PCIe riser)

My current testing unit is still using a normal 300mm unbranded PCIe riser. I have not run into any issues, and have benchmarked/gamed/rendered with it for months now. Granted, my experience with the unbranded cables and why they feel solid may be because mine are reinforced at the connectors with custom 3d-printed sheaths. I might look at the HDPLEX riser, but that is only because of its thinness.

Boil said:
(On custom PSU)

In the ideal scenario, I would bundle a custom 400W/500W Flex, painted black, with:
80mm on top
EPS for CPU
24-pin for mobo
8-pin for GPU
Single SATA
All cables in black, not sleeved

iFreilicht · Apr 25, 2016

Hahutzy said:
In the ideal scenario, I would bundle a custom 400W/500W Flex, painted black, with:
80mm on top
EPS for CPU
24-pin for mobo
8-pin for GPU
Single SATA
All cables in black, not sleeved

Think about making the GPU connectors a 6+2pin and a 6pin connector if you go down that route. That way, all ITX GPUs are supported out of the box. A lot of GTX 970s use two 6pin connectors.

Hahutzy said:
Personally I think 300W is cutting it too close for a typical Skylake + GPU build, and it's not taking advantage of the power allowance it has over the HDPLEX option.

Just the higher peak current is quite an advantage, not even thinking about integrating about 1L of external volume into the case.
Laptop bricks can't handle the excessive peaks that occur on the R9 Nano, at least from what we saw so far. I understand the concern, but I disagree that it is too close. Of course it's just another decision and ultimately your call to make.

Boil · Apr 26, 2016

Hahutzy said:
Here's a few notes on questions that were left unanswered perviously:

The current layout can't support 15mm. There's around a 10mm space for the SSD slot, and adding 5mm to the width just for the niche 15mm SSD market is not worthwhile.
The behind-the-mobo M.2 NVMe will be tested when I get the first prototype.
Believe me, I will make sure the M.2 operates properly in the case before consumers see it. Because I believe it is the future go-to storage option for SFF builds.

It's unavoidable that cables be bundled into a corner in such a small form factor. With some effort, it is certainly keep them under control (see my prototype photos on the front page).
The vent hole locations are also made to hide them from sight after putting the side panels on.

Personally I think 300W is cutting it too close for a typical Skylake + GPU build, and it's not taking advantage of the power allowance it has over the HDPLEX option.

It has not, so the NH-L9i is still the recommended HSF. The Cryorig C7 is quite nice indeed. But at 47mm, I would have to extend the width by 7mm to comfortably claim it fits into the case. That adds around 0.28L to the volume, most of that volume is dead space other than around the HSF area.

The M.2, in theory, will passively dissipate radially, so its heat is also transferred in the same manner described above.
Again, I will see to it that the M.2 slot will operate properly in my case once the prototype arrives and I can do proper testing.

My current testing unit is still using a normal 300mm unbranded PCIe riser. I have not run into any issues, and have benchmarked/gamed/rendered with it for months now. I might look at the HDPLEX riser, but that is only because of its thinness. Granted, my cables are reinforced at the connectors with custom 3d-printed sheaths.

In the ideal scenario, I would bundle a custom 400W/500W Flex, painted black, with:
80mm on top
EPS for CPU
24-pin for mobo
8-pin for GPU
Single SATA
All cables in black, not sleeved

I am okay with running the cables along the perimeters/corners of the internal chassis,I definitely say yes to all black wiring (I would add a single mesh sleeve to each bundle with heat shrink on each end to secure near the connectors just to "gather everything up"), and since the PSU is being custom made, you can have the cables shortened to an appropriate allowance…?

I totally agree that M.2 NVMe is the wave of the future for ITX MBs & USFF chassis, and my budget agrees (Gigabyte H170 MB & 950 Pro M.2 SSD), I also like the idea of top-end mini ITX components in the smallest package available!

Maybe a Hutzy S, slightly larger. I do believe by using my patented mental bar napkin design method , specced around the Asus M8I MB, Cryorig C7 HSF, Intel 15mm 2.5" NVMe SSD (built-in heat sink…!), Asus GTX970 DCMOC (insert R9 Nano here, excepting it is not supported on a Hackintosh at this point, so I choose the 970), & Corsair SF450 SFX PSU; I believe I came in at a volume of 5.5 liters… This included a MB tray/chamber divider deal into two panels, as to keep the C7 right up close to the side panel & its venting… I envisioned using that center channel for cable routing (which is actually a blatant rip-off of the arrangement in the future unknown Dune Case) and having enough space there for the PCIe riser cable & folded as needed Corsair flat cables, along with that 18" long U.2 cable the M8I/750 combo requires… In this configuration the 750 SSD is mounted on the backside of the front panel, across from the connector side of the SFX PSU… The bottom is fully ventilated, to feed the PSU & allow airflow to come up across the SSD heatsink…

Now, my PMBNDM version had an "open frame" design on the interior chassis (another blatant rip-off of SFF class I have been perusing as of late, this time the MI-6) and a very Scan Design exterior, one that spoke towards the inner Apple fanboy I might be, reveling against the rebels with my pirate Hackintosh (damnit Apple, just make a fricking XMac already) …

And then I used my PMBNDM to make a bastard water-cooled chassis that was basically a bastard love child of the A4-SFX & the M1 hit with the same Scan Design/Pseudo Apple Homage treatment… An EK 240 Predator up top hooked up to water-blocked M8I & R9 Nano, the SFX PSU turned with its intake fan to the front, which shared a ventilation channel with a front mounted 750 SSD (drawing air across the SSD heatsink)… That one was about the same volume of the M1…?

And then I realized I should stop reading [H] SFF posts too late in the evening…

Hahutzy · Apr 26, 2016

Updated renders:

earthm0ver · Apr 27, 2016

Perfect, I wouldn't change a thing.

KarateOC · Apr 27, 2016

I assume you have already considered the possibility of going without the 80mm fan on the PSU, and instead using that space to allow an extra 6mm of width on the CPU side, allowing for a C7 (or stock cooler), taller ram and a 115mm thick 2.5” drive? Dimensions like L 175.5mm, H 215mm, W 106mm would still be under 4L. This would allow more CPU, CPU cooling, ram and HDD/SSD options. Reviews have suggested that a C7 comfortably allows a 6600K to overvolt to 1.2V, making K CPUs viable.

Perhaps more people would be interested in this option than a 80mm fan on the PSU? If you went with this option, you could then instead look around for the quietest 40mm fan for the PSU, such as the 40mm noctua with the low noise adapter.

Hahutzy · Apr 28, 2016

KarateOC said:
I assume you have already considered the possibility of going without the 80mm fan on the PSU, and instead using that space to allow an extra 6mm of width on the CPU side, allowing for a C7 (or stock cooler), taller ram and a 115mm thick 2.5” drive? Dimensions like L 175.5mm, H 215mm, W 106mm would still be under 4L. This would allow more CPU, CPU cooling, ram and HDD/SSD options. Reviews have suggested that a C7 comfortably allows a 6600K to overvolt to 1.2V, making K CPUs viable.

Perhaps more people would be interested in this option than a 80mm fan on the PSU? If you went with this option, you could then instead look around for the quietest 40mm fan for the PSU, such as the 40mm noctua with the low noise adapter.

Unfortunately, there are multiple problems with that. The first one is that 215mm is not enough height for the layout.

The second is that looking at raw component performance doesn't tell the whole story. Yes, the C7 transfers heat from the chip to the air quicker than L9i and other LP coolers, but that air is still going to be inside the case.
This is important to consider for small cases, where the air temperature rises and falls quickly due to the low volume.
In steady state, the whole system is still going to be choking in hot air if the air doesn't exhaust fast enough.

Which is why the "extra space" that I could use to either:

add height for the option of a bigger exhaust/more silent fan on the PSU
add width for the option of a bigger CPU cooler
add depth for the option of a longer GPU

I chose the first option because it is the most useful.

The third problem is that there is currently no quiet solution for FlexATX's 40mm fan.
The Noctua 40mm fan at full speed pushes 41.7% of required air for the FSP 400W / 500W to operate. With the low noise adapter it will burn the power supply quite quickly.

Hahutzy · May 3, 2016

So as you can tell from the title, I made some changes to the case design.

Sadly, it is no longer <4L. It's 4.99L now.

In the end, it was not worth it to create a UCFF case, if end-users are not going to be able to source parts and build their machine on their own. This was especially a challenge since currently, no one makes a consumer FlexATX that uses an 80mm fan.

So I loosened the restriction on components by allowing my case to go up to <5L

The most significant change is that the case now uses TFX instead of FlexATX.

I made this change after scouting out the TFX selection, and found quite a few that can handle this case's builds. And they can be found on big etailers like Amazon and Newegg

One outstanding one is the SeaSonic TFX 350 Black, which has received high praises from multiple hardware review sites.

Now onto the positive sides of this:

The case that was once too short for 180mm cards, too narrow for Cryorig C7, and too short for anything but Flex ATX.

Now it can handle all of them, and possibly hold two 7mm SSD as well (not sure about this one yet)

KazeoHin · May 3, 2016

Awesome work.

Its a shame you couldn't get the sub-4 realised, but I'm still in love with this design.

Necere · May 3, 2016

What's the internal clearance front-to-back? That Seasonic TFX is 175mm, but the modular connectors will need another 15-20mm.

CC Ricers · May 3, 2016

Are there that many good TFX power supplies? Good enough for gaming hardware, that is. It's a even less talked about form factor than Flex ATX in SFF circles, and I feel this would limit the flexibility of parts you can use unless the form factor somehow explodes like SFX did.

And Necere brings up a very good point for clearance. At only 188mm thick, minus the thickness of the case walls I'd say there's only about 10mm of clearance left, and seeing that all the cables are modular, 10mm is a no-go.

iFreilicht · May 3, 2016

CC Ricers said:
. It's a even less talked about form factor than Flex ATX in SFF circles

That is true, but you can buy two very nice TFX units, the Seasonic TFX-350 and the beQuiet! TFX POWER 300 which have all the connectors needed readily on amazon, newegg or a webshop of your choice. So in that regard, it's supported quite a bit better than FlexATX. With the latter you'll pretty much have to either supply one with the case or rely on customers modding a unit to make it work with GPUs.

CHANG3D · May 3, 2016

Why not just go a little bigger and SFX it... obviously it's up to you. imho if you're looking for easily sourced hardware and compatibility, then go SFX. But if you're going small, stick with flexatx.

Questions: what about 1U psus?

Hahutzy · May 3, 2016

Necere said:
What's the internal clearance front-to-back? That Seasonic TFX is 175mm, but the modular connectors will need another 15-20mm.

CC Ricers said:
And Necere brings up a very good point for clearance. At only 188mm thick, minus the thickness of the case walls I'd say there's only about 10mm of clearance left, and seeing that all the cables are modular, 10mm is a no-go.

The 188mm was internal, not external.
There's actually 190mm internally front-to-back in my latest model. And I ordered the Seasonic to do some actual measurements. I can lengthen the case a litlle bit if need be.

CC Ricers said:
Are there that many good TFX power supplies? Good enough for gaming hardware, that is. It's a even less talked about form factor than Flex ATX in SFF circles, and I feel this would limit the flexibility of parts you can use unless the form factor somehow explodes like SFX did.

As iFreilicht mentioned, the Seasonic (comes in black, or a cheaper version comes in silver) and beQuiet! (the 80+ Gold one) are available. FSP has a few too, but they come with the power but not the connectors.

CHANG3D said:
Why not just go a little bigger and SFX it... obviously it's up to you. imho if you're looking for easily sourced hardware and compatibility, then go SFX. But if you're going small, stick with flexatx.

Questions: what about 1U psus?

Because my case's layout works better with long PSUs. The SFX adds another 0.5L last time I checked.
TFX is the smallest PSU that has a built in 80mm fan.
I regard 1U as a worse version of FlexATX.

CC Ricers · May 3, 2016

iFreilicht said:
That is true, but you can buy two very nice TFX units, the Seasonic TFX-350 and the beQuiet! TFX POWER 300 which have all the connectors needed readily on amazon, newegg or a webshop of your choice. So in that regard, it's supported quite a bit better than FlexATX. With the latter you'll pretty much have to either supply one with the case or rely on customers modding a unit to make it work with GPUs.

It looks like these two are the unsung heroes for SFF PSUs then, and probably all the TFX we need (for now). They can fit in cases less than 100mm thick, have modular cables, and unlike most FlexATX models, they already come in black, so they would look more in place with most of our builds.

Hahutzy · May 3, 2016

The trade-off is they are not "the most compact" like FlexATX, nor "the standard" like SFX or SFX-L.

But a good package that offers good things on multiple fronts.

iFreilicht · May 4, 2016

CHANG3D said:
Questions: what about 1U psus?

1U is shit if it makes the case larger. It's the same height as FlexATX but wider and longer. For builds that benefit from such small PSUs, they make very little sense.

CC Ricers said:
It looks like these two are the unsung heroes for SFF PSUs then, and probably all the TFX we need (for now). They can fit in cases less than 100mm thick, have modular cables, and unlike most FlexATX models, they already come in black, so they would look more in place with most of our builds.

Additionally, they come with PEG connectors which no FlexATX PSU does (apart from the shitty Athena ones).

updawg · May 4, 2016

I was interested in this case because I was going to use it with an hdplex. But at this point it has grown too big for me to really consider it as a viable option. The same thing happened with Dan's case.

CknSalad · May 4, 2016

How much smaller would this case be, if you just had an hdplex/external brick solution as the only power option? Maybe try drawing out a prototype for this and see what people think?

iFreilicht · May 5, 2016

CknSalad said:
How much smaller would this case be, if you just had an hdplex/external brick solution as the only power option? Maybe try drawing out a prototype for this and see what people think?

It would be as small as the FlexATX version, maybe up to 0.2L smaller from what I can tell. It could be even smaller if the layout was changed around, for example if the HDPLEX was to sit at the front of the case, like it does in the S4 Mini.

CknSalad · May 5, 2016

If it can be as small as possibly 3.5-3.7L, maybe it's worth the trade-off to sacrifice the TFX/FLex-ATX option. Maybe, there should be another poll on whether people want the TFX or the FLex-ATX version (same max GPU length as the TFX)?

Hahutzy · May 5, 2016

It could go down to around 3.6L

I may choose that for my next project, but not right now. Part of designing this case is to make something that I will use as a daily driver, and I am not fond of the external brick design.

CknSalad · May 5, 2016

Hahutzy said:
It could go down to around 3.6L

I may choose that for my next project, but not right now. Part of designing this case is to make something that I will use as a daily driver, and I am not fond of the external brick design.

Are you set on TFX or is the Flex-ATX version still a possibility? I totally understand if you just end up going TFX as it is definitely less of a hassle. Ideally, the mini gpu should be <175w and the cpu is 65w. 350w should be fine with that 350w Seasonic TFX.
When you get a TFX prototype out, I guess the next order of business would be to test that psu with a GTX 970 mini and 65w cpu. Hopefully, this Seasonic TFX psu is less noisy vs. the Flex-ATX psu.

Hahutzy · May 5, 2016

CknSalad said:
Are you set on TFX or is the Flex-ATX version still a possibility? I totally understand if you just end up going TFX as it is definitely less of a hassle. Ideally, the mini gpu should be <175w and the cpu is 65w. 350w should be fine with that 350w Seasonic TFX.
When you get a TFX prototype out, I guess the next order of business would be to test that psu with a GTX 970 mini and 65w cpu. Hopefully, this Seasonic TFX psu is less noisy vs. the Flex-ATX psu.

The FlexATX version is going to be on hold while I test the TFX with a 3d printed prototype.

Realistically, the TFX only added 0.6L to the size. The other 0.4L was added to CPU clearance to accommodate the Cryorig C7. So in terms of flexibility, the new 5L design offers a lot more.

However, a scenario where the Seasonic is not significantly more silent than the Flex may prompt me to revert the design. On paper, this scenario is unlikely.

CC Ricers · May 5, 2016

TFX is the happy medium here, and I think you could roll out with the TFX case first. It would set your case in a less crowded niche of SFF cases, no need to make it bigger otherwise requests for SFX support is gonna turn this case far into design by committee

Curiositie · May 5, 2016

CC Ricers said:
TFX is the happy medium here, and I think you could roll out with the TFX case first. It would set your case in a less crowded niche of SFF cases, no need to make it bigger otherwise requests for SFX support is gonna turn this case far into design by committee

SFX support would blur the line between this and the MI-6. B:

Hahutzy · May 5, 2016

I don't foresee having interest in making anything bigger than 5L nor using SFX.

Edit: Unless there comes a day where sli / xfire are a necessity.

KazeoHin · May 5, 2016

Hahutzy said:
It could go down to around 3.6L

I may choose that for my next project, but not right now. Part of designing this case is to make something that I will use as a daily driver, and I am not fond of the external brick design.

I, personally, would love to see an Ultra Small ~3L case with an external brick soluion later on. I think having the traditional internal PSU is perfect for this case. I can't wait to see how this develops.

Boil · May 6, 2016

Damnit, now I am back over here again, after bench building around the MI-6…

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($116.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($180.82 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB Superclocked Video Card ($203.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular TFX Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $871.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-06 01:00 EDT-0400

246 watts…

I like the TFX PSU over the FlexATX, bigger fan & all…

Makes me change my build specs to a much cheaper one, but still getting that NVMe system drive speed & stepping down from a 970 to a 960 will still allow me to play WoW comfortably… Save a few bucks on the GPU now, see what comes out with Pascal & such in the future…

I personally would forgo anything but the M.2 drive, as to keep cabling at a minimum…

Going with the Gigabyte H170 MB has a 4-pin for the CPU power, which is what the SeaSonic TFX PSU also has, so just shorten &sleeve that as one bundle… But the power on/off connectors on the MB are right next to the MB power 24-pin connector (shorten & sleeve that as a bundle as well…), so I would hope the anti-vandal switch on the back of the chassis has the length to reach…

The 960 GPU comes with a dual Molex > 6-pin adapter, so there is the PEG connector needed to mod the wiring harness for a single 6-pin to the GPU…

Three bundled cable assemblies, black wire, black mesh sleeving, black shrink-wrap, all just the right length…

Sleeve & shrink-wrap the power cable (make it longer if needed), CPU fan leads come sleeved already and basically wrap around the fan & plug into the MB…

So the whole appeal here is the stripped down aspect of it all… MB, CPU, HSF, RAM, SSD, GPU, PSU; all small & efficient, forming compact assemblies in each chamber… Nothing extra… With larger chassis I feel compelled to fill them, thanks OCD…

Just test those Samsung 950 Pro M.2 SSD temps…!

Don't get me started on SLI/SFX(L) designs… Do you go mATX w/2 PCIe riser cables…? Do you still limit GPU lengths to the mITX-types…? We are still trying to keep it as small as possible, yes…? Do you total niche market a mITX build w/PCIe bifurcation & a custom cable…? If mATX, does your OCD demand you add a third PCIe riser cable for a x4 card (Intel 750 series, of course)…?

ARGGGGHHHHHH…!!!

So, when do we get more renders of the new design…? Overall external shots…? More…! ;^p

Boil · May 6, 2016

Also, with the TFX PSU & its attendant 80mm fan, are you adding bottom ventilation for said fan & feet to allow breathing room for said ventilation…? Or are you aiming the fan up & having it pull heated air thru to somewhat exhaust the chassis…? I am hoping for the former rather than the latter…

Hahutzy · May 6, 2016

Boil said:
Also, with the TFX PSU & its attendant 80mm fan, are you adding bottom ventilation for said fan & feet to allow breathing room for said ventilation…? Or are you aiming the fan up & having it pull heated air thru to somewhat exhaust the chassis…? I am hoping for the former rather than the latter…

The fan aims up to help exhaust the system. But I have some bad news coming in the next post.

Hahutzy · May 6, 2016

So my Seasonic TFX 350 arrived today. And it turns out the modular cable harness was much worse than I expected.

I had given it 15mm of clearance in my default layout (a total of 190mm internal length)

It turns out for the harness to make a 90-degree turn vertically, the extra width needed is 40mm

That brings the internal length up to 215mm, and it destroys any possibility of fitting the case under 5L

Right now, I'm thinking I will most likely return the SS TFX 350, and a have a choice to make:

Order a non-modular TFX, and test the clearance those need
Revert back to old design with FlexATX

CknSalad · May 6, 2016

If you revert back to the old design with FlexATX, are you going to keep the latest changes you made to include 180mm gpus, 48mm cpu height, and more storage options?

Hahutzy · May 6, 2016

I'm debating letting it go to 4.25L, for 175mm and 48mm CPU

Edit:

Think I will keep it at 4L, shorten the height, lengthen it a bit.
I think the appeal of these long-form PSU is that it can fit in slim cases. So I want to keep the case at 100mm width max.

So it will support GPUs up to 7 inch (177.8mm)
CPU coolers up to 40mm

Straight FlexATX, no 80mm option (it was too hard to coordinate with OEM)
and support for HDPLEX

CHANG3D · May 7, 2016

Yeah! I'm happy about you disappointments... Ha ha ha. I really want a 4L case instead, cause the Dondan case is already 7.25L and 5L isn't as dramatically smaller. Now with the new graphic cards coming out, we can smaller wattage and quieter PSUs. I think the loudest component is likely the GPU fan.

Hutzy XS — Ultra Compact Gaming Case (<4L)

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