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

Boil said:
Okay, I gotta gush a bit here…

DUDE…!

Looking at the hi-rez renders, clicking into them, seeing some of the details one might overlook on the screen-size images…!!!

The bottom back notch fittings to align the side panels, that bottom rear bend itself, how the flanges come together…

The slot notches on the top front to also help align the side panels, and the front panel inner flange with the way it meets the side panels with that reveal between the two…!

I want to say I see screw holes for the 2.5" SSDs (mounted on their sides, one side secured) on the bottom panel, nice…?

If you can get those tolerances, especially with the recessed screws, this will be one sweet little chassis…!

Drooling…!
Click to expand...

Good eye on the details! The front panel's inner flanges also have that gap in the middle because that space is reserved for the interior middle board's flange to slot into:

cJPceYF.jpg


And the bottom was made to accommodate one 2.5" SSD when FlexATX is used.
But when HDPLEX is used, there is enough space to accommodate two additional 2.5" SSDs

Here's a look a the bottom's holes setup:

6zNeyeG.jpg


As you can see, most holes have relational positions to other holes. In fact, most elements of Hutzy XS -- from flanges to vent holes -- have relational positions and/or dimensions to other elements.

It creates this sort of.... "simple cohesion" I suppose? It helps ease my mind in thinking that I have arrived at a rational/optimal decision for the element instead of just slapping it on and calling it a day. :cool:

P.S. posting this post with those images gave me an urge to lengthen the middle board's flange length to match the front panel's flange length... brb

===============

edit -- here we go (y):

LoZ5VT0.jpg
 
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Correct me if I am wrong…

But from what I am seeing, you can technically market this chassis as having a removable motherboard tray…!

Disassemble chassis fully, mount all components to MB & mount same to tray, reassemble chassis, fill with other parts…

Nice…?

Edit to add…!

OH…! And you could ship dis-assembled; market as Flat Pack; you know, to save shipping on a 4 liter chassis…!
 
Boil said:
Correct me if I am wrong…

But from what I am seeing, you can technically market this chassis as having a removable motherboard tray…!

Disassemble chassis fully, mount all components to MB & mount same to tray, reassemble chassis, fill with other parts…

Nice…?

Edit to add…!

OH…! And you could ship dis-assembled; market as Flat Pack; you know, to save shipping on a 4 liter chassis…!
Click to expand...

Yup, the interior board by itself can hold the GPU and motherboard, so the current standard assembly procedure is to do that and then secure the interior board to the back U chassis

It's easier to add/remove components separately without touching the interior board though, so I will need to physically test faster assembly steps when the prototype gets here

Can't actually flat pack it for shipping though, because the back U chassis can't be unfolded, and it is basically the dimensions of the whole chassis.
 
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Hahutzy said:
Yup, the interior board by itself can hold the GPU and motherboard, so the current standard assembly procedure is to do that and then secure the interior board to the back U chassis

It's easier to add/remove components separately without touching the interior board though, so I will need to physically test faster assembly steps when the prototype gets here

Can't actually flat pack it for shipping though, because the back U chassis can't be unfolded, and it is basically the dimensions of the whole chassis.
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I was actually being a bit facitious on the Flat Pack (before knowing it could not be done), more from a marketing blurb kinda persepective…

I would bet, if the chassis WERE able to be Flat Packed, it might actually be a larger overall box needed to ship than assembled…?!?

Loving ti so far, cannot wait to purchase one of the first run models…!
 
EpBxciLl.jpg


Thoughts about opening up the back PCI i/o area…? Meaning, removing the strip dividing the two 'slots', thereby opening up airflow for GPUs that have venting under that band…

The EVGA GTX 160 SC I plan on using has venting in that area… The Gigabyte GTX 1070 does not… But your GPU in the rendering does…! You are smothering your virtual GPU, man…!

With this compact of a chassis, it is all about maximum airflow…

Thinking about getting one of those FSP 400w units off of Amazon, should be pretty easy to mod; trim the cables to length, crimp on new pins, slide on a few pieces of heat shrink & a mesh sleeve for each bundle, set pins into new connectors, adjust sleeving & heat shrink, secure same with torch…

It would still have the assorted colored wires showing at each end, but would really reduce the cable clutter…! I would cut down the MB, CPU & GPU cables; cut down & reduce the SATA to a single straight connector & totally cut back the Molex/FDD chain & cap off the stump with heat shrink…
 
The band is crucial to the structural integrity of the back side, so I can't remove it.

You can imagine it from this rendering:
5Tpj3jtl.jpg


And the band is pretty much standard in width compared to other industry chassis, so I'm sure GPU designers would have designed in mind that some of the vent holes will be covered.
 
Hahutzy said:
And the band is pretty much standard in width compared to other industry chassis, so I'm sure GPU designers would have designed in mind that some of the vent holes will be covered.
Click to expand...

Some do, some don't. For example the Founders edition has venting across both slots. As you say it's a chassis standard so not much you can do. If Boil is really worried I'm sure he (?) can choose to take a Dremel to it.
07_0.jpg




It appears the design it slightly more modular now - as further thoughts about 'upgrade' options, e.g. alternative front panel with I/O? I'm sure there is enough room for a small bit of cabling. Whatever happens really looking forward to the final product.
 
No… A million times, NO…!

The number one attraction for this chassis is its stripped down minimalist industrial design…

Nothing there that is not useful, nothing added "just because"…

This chassis only needs the essentials; MB, CPU, HSF, RAM, SSD & GPU…

Only cables plugging into the MB (aside form the MB & CPU power cables) is the HSF, the PCIe riser cable & the power button…

The chassis is SO diminutive, it is silly to place anything on the front when the back is mere inches away…!!!
 
Boil said:
No… A million times, NO…!

The number one attraction for this chassis is its stripped down minimalist industrial design…

Nothing there that is not useful, nothing added "just because"…

This chassis only needs the essentials; MB, CPU, HSF, RAM, SSD & GPU…

Only cables plugging into the MB (aside form the MB & CPU power cables) is the HSF, the PCIe riser cable & the power button…

The chassis is SO diminutive, it is silly to place anything on the front when the back is mere inches away…!!!
Click to expand...

Calm down dear. Maybe people have differing requirements and options would broaden the appeal
 
Don't patronize me with your "Calm down dear" bullshit…

This chassis has never had front i/o as part of the design, but 6 months into the thread, here comes some noobie wanting to make changes…

Typical of all the boutique chassis threads…

Here's an idea, if you want front i/o so bad (on a 4 liter chassis), then why not bust out YOUR Dremel and start cutting…?
 
Let's stay civil here guys. Everyone -- new or old -- has their right to voice their ideas. Healthy discussions is what makes these forums work.

There will not be front I/O for Hutzy XS. Every inch of space is either used for components (GPU or mobo length), or space for cabling, and it can get tight as it is.
 
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Hahutzy said:
Let's stay civil here guys. Everyone -- new or old -- has their right to voice their ideas. Healthy discussions is what makes these forums work.

There will not be front I/O for Hutzy XS. Every inch of space is either used for components (GPU or mobo length), or space for cabling, and it can get tight as it is.
Click to expand...
That's fair enough, but you should know that it limits the use of some audio setups. Fx you can't do 7.1 speakers on asus' z97i-plus (and probably a lot of other boards as well) because it needs to plug 1 cable into the front port, and the rest in the back.
 
Thoughts towards multiple mounting holes for different PCIe riser cable attachment, like Firewolfy is doing with the MI-6…

This would allow end users to simply swap out risers if they wanted to upgrade, or needed to replace a riser down the road but the original was not available…
 
Jspr said:
That's fair enough, but you should know that it limits the use of some audio setups. Fx you can't do 7.1 speakers on asus' z97i-plus (and probably a lot of other boards as well) because it needs to plug 1 cable into the front port, and the rest in the back.
Click to expand...

That would be solvable by simply running an audio cable out the back through one of the slots for example. I think as an option, front connectivity would be cool, but it'd only work if you didn't use a GPU, so the amount of people actually using it would be extremely low. But with a more modular design like this, you can just get any old aluminium or acrylic panel laser cut to accept at least side I/O, so you can make your own replacement panel. Maybe Hahtuzy would even offer replacement parts, then you could also go to work on the front panel without having to fear destroying your case.
 
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New Samsung M.2 PCIe SSDs announced/released/whatever…

Copper heat sink integrated into the sticker…?

Half gig, 1TB & 2 TB models…!

2TB in a package the size of a stick of chewing gum, and no cables…!!

Perfect for the Hutzy XS…!!!
 
I think (for those worried about cost for M.2 drives) the Intel 600P series is a great alternative to Samsung drives. They're basically the same price as a normal Sata SSD, but still faster at least in reads and marginally faster in IOPS.

Following as I love these mini builds :D.
 
For sure, the Intel 600p Series M.2 PCIe SSDs are the best bang for the buck, but the new Samsungs have a copper heat sink built into the label…!

Yeah, I am for sure all over the 600p line-up; you get either half the price for the same capacity, or twice the capacity for the same price; when comparing to the Samsungs…

Keep in mind I am talking capacity & price, not speeds…

But the 600p Series is plenty fast…!
 
$1300 for the 2TB 960 Pro. When that goes down to $300, goodbye hard drives, and goodbye all cabled storage for that matter. I will be happy with my SATA SSDs until then though. The U.2 interface seems to be dead, and I say good riddance. I hope motherboard manufacturers will start stacking M.2 connectors on top of each other to save space. Maybe 2 connectors per spot, separated by a centimeter or so with lego-style screws. That will be great for ITX boards. The performance and endurance of the 960 Pro are unbelievable. They're actually approaching the bandwidth limits of PCIe 3.0 x4. Thankfully, Gen4 is on the horizon.
 
QuantumBraced said:
$1300 for the 2TB 960 Pro. When that goes down to $300, goodbye hard drives, and goodbye all cabled storage for that matter. I will be happy with my SATA SSDs until then though. The U.2 interface seems to be dead, and I say good riddance. I hope motherboard manufacturers will start stacking M.2 connectors on top of each other to save space. Maybe 2 connectors per spot, separated by a centimeter or so with lego-style screws. That will be great for ITX boards. The performance and endurance of the 960 Pro are unbelievable. They're actually approaching the bandwidth limits of PCIe 3.0 x4. Thankfully, Gen4 is on the horizon.
Click to expand...

Dang, 2 large is a chunk of change…!

The Intel 600p Series M.2 PCIe SSDs are more reasonable, but slower, and no neato copper heat sink sticker…
 
Throw in a 256-512gb Samsung drive with a 1-2tb Intel as your storage.. I really would love the idea of dual M.2 on itx boards. Would save a lot of hassle! 24 pin. 8 pin. Pcie. Done. So clean!!! Haha. If only!

IMO bring back msata for mass storage.. They're typically shorter than m.2.. I'd be happy to throw in a fast nvme alongside a cheaper msata for storage personally..
 
ReaperX22 said:
Throw in a 256-512gb Samsung drive with a 1-2tb Intel as your storage.. I really would love the idea of dual M.2 on itx boards. Would save a lot of hassle! 24 pin. 8 pin. Pcie. Done. So clean!!! Haha. If only!

IMO bring back msata for mass storage.. They're typically shorter than m.2.. I'd be happy to throw in a fast nvme alongside a cheaper msata for storage personally..
Click to expand...

I wish they'd revamp the entire power delivery system. It's bulky and it's been around since 1995. Would be great for SFF.
 
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ReaperX22 said:
Throw in a 256-512gb Samsung drive with a 1-2tb Intel as your storage.. I really would love the idea of dual M.2 on itx boards. Would save a lot of hassle! 24 pin. 8 pin. Pcie. Done. So clean!!! Haha. If only!

IMO bring back msata for mass storage.. They're typically shorter than m.2.. I'd be happy to throw in a fast nvme alongside a cheaper msata for storage personally..
Click to expand...

I would agree on the multi-M.2 slots for PCIe SSDs…

Maybe even THREE M.2 slots on the backside of an ITX MB; one for OS & Apps & two for (hardware, from chipset?) RAID storage…!

Just do away with SATA ports altogether, straight M.2s…

Regarding mSATA; they are shorter, but are they not also wider…?
 
Boil said:
I would agree on the multi-M.2 slots for PCIe SSDs…

Maybe even THREE M.2 slots on the backside of an ITX MB; one for OS & Apps & two for (hardware, from chipset?) RAID storage…!

Just do away with SATA ports altogether, straight M.2s…

Regarding mSATA; they are shorter, but are they not also wider…?
Click to expand...

Perhaps a touch wider? Or yeah just stick to M.2 is also fine, as there are Sata variants of M.2 Drives that are likely cheaper than PCIE based M.2's in general.

Well, TBH 2 is enough? Personally? For me anyway, as anything raid/storage wise for ME anyway I'd prefer on an external NAS or otherwise.

If we remove the Sata ports on a board there'd be enough for one on the top of the board, and one on the bottom. So that high performance Samsung NVME that's known to 'run a bit hotter' can be on the top and get some incidental airflow, and the slower storage drive which is also accessed less (typically, my current setup has my 1TB evo as my steam drive as well), under the board, as it 'should' generate less heat.
 
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with m.2 on the back of the mobo, how big of a gap is there between the m.2 drive and the mobo tray? is there a way you could create a "heat sink bridge" to the mobo tray? get what I mean?
 
pendragon1 said:
with m.2 on the back of the mobo, how big of a gap is there between the m.2 drive and the mobo tray? is there a way you could create a "heat sink bridge" to the mobo tray? get what I mean?
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I do not know if there is a standard spacing for that, so there is one variable…

And a lot of chassis' have the cutout for access to the back of the docket for mounting HSFs, most with cutouts also leave the area where the M.2 is open as well, so no way to bridge that…
 
Boil said:
I do not know if there is a standard spacing for that, so there is one variable…

And a lot of chassis' have the cutout for access to the back of the docket for mounting HSFs, most with cutouts also leave the area where the M.2 is open as well, so no way to bridge that…
Click to expand...
well mobo standoffs are are standardized and most m.2 drive are about the same thickness so I imagine that it wouldnt be too hard to come up with something to bridge the gap. maybe some thick sticky thermal pads and a heatsink of some sort. make a sandwich of these between the m.2 and tray...
I haven't seen any cases with cut-outs for m.2 access on the back of the board. but there are thousands of cases so maybe I just haven't seen one yet. are back m.2 slots in the cpu area?
 
pendragon1 said:
I haven't seen any cases with cut-outs for m.2 access on the back of the board. but there are thousands of cases so maybe I just haven't seen one yet. are back m.2 slots in the cpu area?
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LOL… Never said the cutout was for M.2 access, I reference those that are there for access to the rear of the CPU socket… The vast majority of M.2 slots on the backside of the MBs is located between the CPU socket & the PCIe slot…
 
Oh, they finally implemented that spinning heatsink design. The advantage is that it's super quiet, but it doesn't touch the N9i. It's great for low-power builds though.
 
Any updates on Prototype (2) Two…?!?

Anxiously awaiting…!
 
A little update. No big news on prototype 2 just yet. I checked in with the manufacturer this past week and they're still working on it but not done (they've got a busy schedule with other projects as well, bummer).

On another front, I'm prepping to go on vacation for a few weeks. So I get to bring prototype 1 with me on the plane!

Some of you may have heard weeks ago about me getting a camera bag and test fitting it with Hutzy XS
And it fits perfectly! Here's how I will be carrying it:


 
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I wish I had one of these for my week long business trip in a couple of weeks. I'm not about to try bringing my water cooled computer on a plane, so I'm going to be sitting around in a boring hotel room trying to find something to do instead of enjoying some quality gaming time. *sigh* I guess I'll just have to go outside or something.:p
 
Hahutzy, have you thought about changing the form factor from mITX to 5x5 (mini-STX) ?
That would balance the two side (gpu and mb side) and potentially allow to create a smaller enclosure.
I know there's not a lot of mini-STX boards out right now ... but the right case would definitely entice people to look at it.
 
LukeD said:
Hahutzy, have you thought about changing the form factor from mITX to 5x5 (mini-STX) ?
That would balance the two side (gpu and mb side) and potentially allow to create a smaller enclosure.
I know there's not a lot of mini-STX boards out right now ... but the right case would definitely entice people to look at it.
Click to expand...
I have been considering the same thing, but I have a feeling that this will not be relevant for very many before we see stx boards with full pci-e slot.. If that will ever happen I have no idea.
 
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