Inside the Falcon Northwest Tiki (11.7L case)

L

Liquid_Cooled

Gawd
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Sep 28, 2004
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MANUFACTURER: SilverStone (custom made for Falcon Northwest)
DIMENSIONS: 4" x 13.25" x 13.5" (without granite base)
VOLUME: 11.725 Liter
MOBO: Mini-ITX
GPU: full length dual slot (reference blower style recommended)
PCI-E: 90° riser card with extender
PSU: SFX
ODD: internal slim
HDD: x2 2.5", x1 3.5"
FANS: 120mm (cpu intake), 100mm (gpu intake)

Quick history on how the Tiki came to be. Kelt Reeves (President of FNW) began designing it back in early 2011 when ITX based gaming systems became more feasible. The Tiki was released in June 2012 and it was the first console sized gaming micro-tower using all industry standard parts. The Alienware X51 came out a few months earlier in January 2012, but it uses mostly proprietary parts.

I recently upgraded to a 34" Dell U3415W so I needed a new system and it had to have a very narrow footprint since it took up so much desk space. I've always preferred to build my own computers but I just couldn't find the right case for this particular build. I needed an ITX case that can support a full length videocard and it had to be as small as possible, emphasis on thin. It also had to look good. I absolutely love the M1 case but it was just too thick. I really needed a vertical PCIE riser card layout. I considered the FTZ01 and PC-05 but I felt they were larger than they needed to be. I looked to prebuilt systems since their wasn't anymore DIY options. The Valve Steam Machine had the perfect layout and dimensions, but it wasn't for sale anywhere. The Bolt II looked promising, but I didn't like the form factor of the PSU with its tiny fan and the location of the front panel inputs. The Tiki hit all the requirements and it looked damn good, especially with a paintjob so I went ahead and ordered one. I'm not too happy paying so much for it, but I figure I'm buying the system for it's truly unique case. Components will be swapped out for the fastest newest thing but cases are forever, that's why I collect vintage boutique gaming PC's. I have a few iconic cases from Falcon NW, Voodoo and Alienware.
 
The granite base is included for stability, but you can use it without. The front is very clean, with only the backlit falcon logo.


Everything is nicely laid out on the top panel. (power/reset buttons, slot loading optical drive, USB 3.0, audio, top vent).


Nice to see the bulky power cable is rerouted to the bottom of the case. Notice the offset on the videocard, this is done using a 90° riser card with extender. This allows room for additional vents in front of and behind the videocard for the CPU's exhaust.


Left side panel has an intake opening for the SX600-G and a 100mm intake fan directed at the 980 GTX's intake fan. This panel is non-removable, its one piece with the top and back panel.


The removable right side panel has a 120mm intake fan for the liquid cooling. To remove the panel, you unscrew the x2 thumbscrews, slide back the panel about 1/2" and lift outwards.
 
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The liquid cooling is an Asetek 550LC which is the same thing as the Corsair H55. It uses a custom 12mm thick 120mm Scythe fan. Its basically a SY1212SL12H with a 4-pin PWM. The gap between the pump and fan is only 6mm. The clearance for the hoses is also very tight. It's pretty amazing to see how the hoses fold up (without kinking) like origami once you slide the panel back on. The fan runs on the standard Asus PWM CPU fan curve. Idles around 650rpm and ramps up to 2100rpm.


A single bracket holds x2 SSD's, x1 3.5" HDD (not installed) and a slim optical drive.


FNW did an ok job wiring but they ended up blocking most of the PSU's exhaust. I did my best to rewire everything to look aesthetically pleasing and not block the PSU's exhaust. It's very tight inside, the only area you can hide the bulk of extra wiring is the little space above the PSU. Their is very little wasted space in this case considering the depth of the liquid cooling.

 
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Once you remove the drive bay bracket you'll have access to the PSU and GPU. The SX600-G is mounted to a removable L-shaped bracket. Their is small space between the PSU and front case panel, it's needed to clear the modular PSU connectors. Using an SFX-L PSU such as the SX500-LG would not be possible. You actually have about ~2" gap between the videocard and the cases front panel so it can accept a longer videocard. Their is bracket to the left of the PCI-E riser card to support the weight of the GPU, it'll sag slightly if you don't use this bracket. The dual 6-pin power connectors touch the top of the case so you are only limited to normal width videocards, that means no non-reference wide PCB's.


Removing the 980 GTX is tricky. Remove the x2 screws on the back panel, unscrew the center weight support, separate the card from the PCI-E extender (leave the extender and riser card attached to the MOBO), angle it out slightly until it's free. Their is a standard 12mm thick 120mm Scythe fan (SY1012SL12L) that is directly over the 980 GTX's intake fan. This fan runs on Asus' standard fan curve. Idles at 900rpm and ramps up to 1200rpm based on CPU temp. Reference blower style videocards are recommended since their is only 1 intake fan for the GPU. Technically you can use an open air cooler with a reference PCB design since their are vents at the proper locations (top and rear) but you'll still be only using that single GPU intake fan.
 
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The airflow design is very interesting. You have active intakes for all the major hotspots (CPU, GPU, PSU) providing direct fresh air from the sides panels. Their are no active exhausts, only passive vents on the top and back of the case. The design works, hot air directly out the back of the 980 GTX, and warm air from the CPU out the top and back panels. No exhaust blowback anywhere and the temps on all the main components are within spec.

Overall the Tiki is extremely quiet at idle and light loads. CPU fan idles at 650rpm, 980 GTX idles at 900rpm and GPU intake fan idles at 900rpm. The Asetek 550LC's pump is inaudible unless you pump your ear right up against the side panel and you can't hear the SX600-G over the GPU's intake fan. During gaming the only thing you'll hear is the reference 980 GTX which isn't that bad. You can tell the components, fans and fan curves were specifically chosen to put an emphasis on quietness. Due to this, the temps do suffer. Ambient room temp is 22C, the 4790k @ stock speeds tops out at a scary 91C during Prime95, yet it is still stable and doesn't throttle (under the 100C limit). During normal gaming is only goes up to 58C. The 980 GTX has a steady flow of fresh air so their is no issue with its temp, it still top out at 80C.


 
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tiki is great! you're a fortunate guy!

the trick with these things is always the maintenance. whoever makes a small case which is as easy to work with as it is small will "crack the case" :)
 
Thanks for the detailed interior shots! It's always cool seeing how unique cases like the Tiki look on the inside.
 
dougp said:
It's a RVZ02 with a basic exterior. You can own one yourself.
Click to expand...

To clarify, I like seeing detailed shots of low production volume cases like the Tiki because it helps me figure out what's practical for my own designs.

Many of the design features of mass-production cases are only practical due to progressive stamping but that costs $20,000 or more (usually much more) just for tooling.
 
Nice overview! I've liked this since it was first released. Never had the money to buy it sadly... Ended up just getting an RVZ01 many years later.

I still think this is one of the best slim towers around, especially given how long its been out.
 
Aibohphobia said:
To clarify, I like seeing detailed shots of low production volume cases like the Tiki because it helps me figure out what's practical for my own designs.

Many of the design features of mass-production cases are only practical due to progressive stamping but that costs $20,000 or more (usually much more) just for tooling.
Click to expand...

The Tiki is pretty expensive, so maybe Falcon Northwest still did some of those things. But yeah, it's quite interesting. Something I'm quite curious about the fan above the intake of the GPU. It seems nonsensical too me, but I guess they tried it out and determined it to work better than using just the intake of the card itself.
 
iFreilicht said:
The Tiki is pretty expensive, so maybe Falcon Northwest still did some of those things. But yeah, it's quite interesting. Something I'm quite curious about the fan above the intake of the GPU. It seems nonsensical too me, but I guess they tried it out and determined it to work better than using just the intake of the card itself.
Click to expand...

The GPU intake fan is used because their is ~1" gap between the GPU and side panel. If they didn't have a fan there you'll get a bit of exhaust blowback from the CPU exhaust. It's also used to balance the airflow. I've read that the CPU at full load would actually cause the GPU intake opening to act as an exhaust if a fan wasn't used there.

I asked FNW about the Tiki-Z and they said the direct opening on it with no intake fan is actually a less ideal setup (airflow and temperature wise) than the stock Tiki.
 
iFreilicht said:
The Tiki is pretty expensive, so maybe Falcon Northwest still did some of those things. But yeah, it's quite interesting. Something I'm quite curious about the fan above the intake of the GPU. It seems nonsensical too me, but I guess they tried it out and determined it to work better than using just the intake of the card itself.
Click to expand...

Falcon Northwest is a private company so no hard data is available but Glassdoor.com estimates them at $1-5 million/yr which seems reasonable.

In this article from late 2013 the FNW founder stated that their average selling price was $4100, considering their desktops start at $1700 that sounds about right, if you've got the cash to burn on a FNW system why not go all out?

But even if we take the $5 million revenue / $1700 base system price that's only about 3000 systems per year, so not enough volume for fancy stampings.

I just noticed how the side panels attach though and it's very clever, there are studs attached to the front panel and corresponding holes in the front flange of the side panel that they fit to.
 
Aibohphobia said:
I just noticed how the side panels attach though and it's very clever, there are studs attached to the front panel and corresponding holes in the front flange of the side panel that they fit to.
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Yeah that's pretty interesting. I also like the PCIe brackets, where the smaller end is held up by a small bent part of the cutout. I'm wondering how that was manufactured, you'd need some kind of stamping press for that, right?
 
I just wonder how well that CPU cooler can operate in those tight confines. The fan looks like it pretty much presses right up on the waterblock itself. And a fan that thin isn't going to move a lot of air to begin with.
 
iFreilicht said:
Yeah that's pretty interesting. I also like the PCIe brackets, where the smaller end is held up by a small bent part of the cutout. I'm wondering how that was manufactured, you'd need some kind of stamping press for that, right?
Click to expand...

I suspect it was done using a turret punch at the same time the panel was getting all those little square holes punched.

Modern CNC turret punches are capable of some really cool stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABLmzEnLcsQ (at 4 minutes in they show a forming tool capable of making those bends)
 
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I remember when this came out. I like the case, but I always thought the granite foundation seemed... out of place for some reason.
 
Aibohphobia said:
I suspect it was done using a turret punch at the same time the panel was getting all those little square holes punched.

Modern CNC turret punches are capable of some really cool stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABLmzEnLcsQ (at 4 minutes in they show a forming tool capable of making those bends)
Click to expand...

I watched the whole thing, this is so effing cool. I would love to be able to use a tool like this in the production for my case, but I'm not sure whether the cost is justifiable.

@illram It's kinda out of place, but at the same time it's a pretty unique idea. I can't remember any manufacturer ever using granite in a case before.
 
Seems really strange not to take the GPU out attached to the extender. The other Silverstone cases like the FTZ01, RVZ01 and ML07 include a bracket that comes out with the extender.
 
iFreilicht said:
I watched the whole thing, this is so effing cool. I would love to be able to use a tool like this in the production for my case, but I'm not sure whether the cost is justifiable.
Click to expand...

It may be impractical for a prototype but for a production run it's much cheaper to use a turret punch than lasers for vent holes and the like.
 
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