ATX in SFF cube?

[markkleb]

Dam, I wish I had seen this thread before I built my CrossFlow comp. You can sure put a lot of hardware inside that. Nice comp

 

[benplaut]

I'm also pretty interested in cube cases, but for a different reason. In case of another big earthquake (this is Hawaii), I don't want a tower falling over! My server did, and it died!

The bob slay looks like a great case (the reviews are great, too), but i'm not a huge fan of clear. Anyone know of a different ATX cube made of good ol' metal? UFOs are expensive as sh!t, unfortunately

Might just settle for a 'desktop' layout, although the cooling often leaves a bit to be desired

 

[elvn]

Sorry I haven't checked this thread in a few days. Even though I didn't start it I did put some time into posting on it and its nice to get some feedback that people are still reading it.

About the non-clear case - the guy at bob-slay seemed pretty cool about modding, if you are willing to pay for it. Among the things I had considered was having him make me a bob-slay out of black acrylic. Another suggestion by a friend of mine was to paint the inside of the case with some really nice blue acrylic paint to give it a translucent effect. I however really like the clear cube case. It has an ice-blue glow to it where I have propped up on a stand under my desk.

Here is a pic of my setup as of several weeks ago with my new monitor. (I've since removed the aquarium I was breaking down in the background, and moved the fire extinguisher away from the tapestry) .. The case isn't highly visible in the pic but its in the lower left corner of the screen. I'll try to get another pic to post. Its difficult to get my whole desk in a shot.

 

[elvn]

I'm still alive. Its been just over a year since my last post on this thread (12-7-06), and I'm posting because I'm considering upgrading either Q1 or Q2 of 08.

I'm still very happy with my acrylic cube case and I want to thank the originator of this thread goBobo for starting the thread, inspiring me to go with the cube, and allowing me to post here about it.

Unlike some clear panel door cases, my acrylic cube case itself looks like glowing blue ice. I always get "wow" and "what is THAT?!" type comments when people see my rig. Over the last year I have also appreciated the ports all being on the side of the case. It is very handy having them there. Its also very handy being able to access the motherboard/components from the top of the case, as well as being able to see that the fans are working properly and monitor for any dust buildup.

Most of my hardware remained the same over the last year or so, although I did upgrade or add a few peripherals. Here is a link to a fairly current hardware list. The picture is still the same old pic however. I'm actually in the midst of remodeling the room that the rig is in currently.

http://www.3dalchemist.com/elvn_hardware-list.htm


As I said I am starting to look into upgrading my cube. I like the intel E8400 cpus that are out now, but I'm not sure if I like the current 780i nvidia boards much. I am also hearing about the 9800gx2 video card due out the end of this month (~ $450?). Its supposedly like two 8800GTS on one card, with some improvements and possibly a 30%+ performance increase from the 8800gtx. From the pics I've seen it also has two dvi outs and an hdmi out, as well as a toslink(optical) audio port. However I've also heard that while this is essential a topped out series 8 card, that a real 'next series' nvidia card might come out Q2. So I may upgrade my cpu, motherboard, and ram 'soon' but may wait on the video card a bit longer.

 

[burnin8r]

yes, its a cube. no, there is nothing SFF about it.

 

[elvn]

Yeah I may start a new thread for the upgrade, outside of the SFF part of the forum. However I feel that some of the SFF cases aren't really SFF either. The cube is prob only a few inches taller than some of the bulkier "SFF" matx cases.

For my reall "sff" I have an hp 17" laptop with hdmi out and a 7600go. :b

 

[burnin8r]

I hear you. my lanbox is hard to describe as "small", the nzxt rogue is like a QPack with a flak vest...

but when I see those mountain mods cubes, I think of two full size mid towers joined at the hip.

 

[elvn]

I'm happy with the size/ratio of it compared to my lanboy or my real full tower cases.

xQpack.............13.80" L x 9.00" W x 11.20" H
BobSlay Cube:...14.50" L x 11.25" W x 12.25" H
LanboxLite:........16.90" L x 11.80" W x 9.00" H
LanBoy:.............16.75" L x 8.25" W x 16.25" H
Full Tower:.........18.50" L x 8.00" W x 21.00" H

Also note that at the time of the full desk pic the cube was on a few black mini-eggcrates that raised it 6.5" off the ground, so was sitting higher than normal under the desk on the left. This pic shows it a little better next to a klipsch promedia 5.1 speaker

 

[elvn]

Revisting this thread....

I did my recent build in a qmirca v2 case a few months ago. The acrylic cube case lives on though --- a few days ago I rebuilt the cube for my gf's computer upgrade, which was long overdue. Its an E8400 with 4gb ram, Asus P5Q Pro motherboard. I used an intel clip/motherboard mount I bought for the zalman "donut" fan so that cpu cooler lives on as well. The PSU was upgraded to a corsair 750w. The system still has the 7600gt passive cooled, but will eventually be upgraded to a 9600gt. Other changes include a dust/cat hair screen on the front 120mm fan, and some neater cable management.

The peripheral lines are a temporary mess, and are not the prefered black peripherals that will be at my gf's actual desk fed through some cable management tubing. These pictures were taken in my living room where I was configuring it.

The flash of my digital cam makes the fans looks dusty, and makes the acrylic case look a harsh whitish. In person it looks like a dim computer in a very clear glass cube - a dark blue ice-glass from the fan led's.

 

[gobBobo]

but when I see those mountain mods cubes, I think of two full size mid towers joined at the hip.

I hear you

but this case is NOT a Mountain Mods cube. It's a lot smaller...

Nice to see you still using the case elvn. I've since upgraded my entire PC. I'm now using a Antec Fusion V2 case.

How well do the newer video cards fit in the Bob Slay?