Project Skuld - Vertical Case with loads of capability

[Karamazovmm]

Hey all!

Today I'm going to introduce the Project Skuld!

I kept thinking why no one does a case that values a bit more the horizontal space? With the exception of Corsair they aren't very space efficient and usually rather large cumbersome cases.

We also face the issue that sometimes trying to achieve the magic volume number we forget that we need some leg room for expansion, and sometimes those limitations were put offs to such compelling and amazing cases that our community has and will continue to provide.

Still there is, I believe, a niche of people that value a lot their desk space, and thus I set forth some goals for this project:

- Its design should fit in the office and in the living room and everywhere you want
- Needs to have a small horizontal footprint
- Has to accommodate a larger selection of CPU cooling
- Will accommodate larger 10,5" GPUs
- Will offer the great air cooling capabilities
- Has to have enough storage expansion options
- PSU needs to be commonly available, there are markets that are less serviced than others

And I think, I have met every single goal that I set forth.

So here is Project Skuld.

PSU, is one piece of hardware that we usually maintain for a few years! And this needs to be readily available! So while I really enjoy the space savings that other options offer, TFX for example isn't even available in my country. So SFX was the choice.

While I want faster and better storage in the form of NVMe, there are some drawbacks to that option. I took a peak in several mITX motherboards and saw a common trend 4x SATA ports. I wondered why not provide the storage that some people may need? And thus there are 4x 2,5" slots for you to enjoy some data security on your life, and yes 2x support larger 15mm thick drives!

Cooling is always something that we worry about in our SFF builds, is it going to drown in heat, will I be able to overclock, how will this affect the lifespan of my components? What she offers is indeed great cooling capabilities with its convection based design aided with 3x 92mm slim fans. Not only that there is space for up to 80mm height coolers in there as well. And if you still want a forth fan may be added if you want to forgo SFX!

Larger GPUs have always been an issue with the SFF community, and we struggled for a long time to get something that is reasonably powered in an ITX form factor! While the GTX 1070 almost matches that, we are still out of the enthusiast market with the GTX 1080 upwards not available at less than 10,5". The choice for me was obvious I have to provide that.

I always thought that we lacked more materials in the PC construction, its always metal and plastic. Those handmade cases with different textures and materials is what I think needs to be put forth. So I inserted that, wood and metal working together to bring some minimalist design to you.


One thing that I always kept wondering is how can I improve on the designs that are offered here and elsewhere. Truly its hard. We have Cerberus with its infinity vents, and great design that brought forth the space efficiency, we have the A4 SFX, the Sentry, the S4 mini... Well, as you can see its a daunting task to match those guys.

So what I can make to stand out, to make it easy to work and a joy to fiddle with your components in a 9.8L case?

I bring you Yggdrasil, the structure.

A case needs to have a structure, it can be part of the case, as is in the S4 mini and sentry for example, or it can be a separate component where you attach your panels and components to it, in the case of the A4 SFX, Cerberus and really most of the other cases there.

Both have positive points and drawbacks, specially acute is usually that they are hard to work on smaller frames, and after we are done, we are relieved to not fiddle with it again in some months or years.

I have worked on IT for a long time now, and sincerely, there is one thing that enterprise class hardware usually has... Easy of maintenance.

This was the whole idea. I wanted to provide an easy case to work with, and thus I thought of a very open frame that we build and slide you case afterwards. Simple!

So here are the numbers of Project Skuld:

- Dimensions: 350mm (H) 140mm (W) 200mm (L) (external measumerement, with feet)
- Volume: 9,8L
- Storage: 4x SATA 2,5" disks, 2x up to 15mm
- GPU: up to 10,5" with the lower fan in place 286mm without it
- CPU Cooler height up to 80mm
- Case fan capacity: 3x with SFX PSU, 4x if using external solution or smaller PSU
- Material: Stainless Steel and Wood
- Video out: 2x HDMI and 1x Display Port


I hope you guys like it!

Here are a couple of pics:

Doubts, questions, suggestions, just post away! I want to hear from you!

 

[StrawKite]

Please post an image with parts inside

 

[darksable]

Very attractive! I too would love to see it with parts inside. Also, larger renders would be lovely.

If this takes off, how are you going to manufacture the wood components? How are you going to keep them from wear over time?

Most curious, why are you using three 92mm fans? Vertical builds typically have an advantage when it comes to silence because they can use larger fans placed on the top and/or bottom. (But then, your components aren't rotated, so top exhaust doesn't make a lot of sense. Bottom intake still might, though.)

 

[Karamazovmm]

Please post an image with parts inside

Very attractive! I too would love to see it with parts inside. Also, larger renders would be lovely.

Since you guys asked, here is a couple of pictures of the inside!

If this takes off, how are you going to manufacture the wood components? How are you going to keep them from wear over time?

Most curious, why are you using three 92mm fans? Vertical builds typically have an advantage when it comes to silence because they can use larger fans placed on the top and/or bottom. (But then, your components aren't rotated, so top exhaust doesn't make a lot of sense. Bottom intake still might, though.)

My use of the 92mm fans is simply functional. Those noctua NF A9 x 14 are both silent and efficient. However there is a more practical thing, size.

To use for example a 200mm fan I would need to expand the case, and that is valid for all sizes (180mm and 140mm) till you reach 120mm, to which came the decision that I would like a more steady airflow than a mismatched one. There is basically space for only 1x 120mm fan on top, or if you are using the case without the SFX PSU, 2x.

And there is a catch, the design is... vertical and not at the same time.

The longest component of an enthusiast build is the GPU, outside those gigantic air coolers or some enormous rads out there. And thus I had the idea of simply letting the longest and most heat producing component of an enthusiast build to be served by cool air at the bottom and exhaust at the top of the case.

So the intake fans are at the bottom and the exhaust are at the top.

Sincerely the whole idea of this cooling design is that it can take basically some very hot components like the R7 1800x overclocked coupled with a 1080ti overclocked and it would still be comfortable inside the case.

Talking about the wood!

Well the whole idea is to have things that you want in your life, those things usually either have a purpose or are attached to your personally.

So, why not both?

The idea here is to have the top to be something cool, and that brings you the customization that we want for things to have both a function and an attachment to it.

So, I'm discussing with the manufacturer to have this part with something meaningful to you, that you can either design or just send to me do it.

The treatment to make this long lasting, is to have a coat of varnish after the wood is CNCed.

 

[StrawKite]

How the heck are you gonna place the gpu like that? Are you gonna twist the shit out of a pcie cable?

 

[darksable]

Awesome, thanks! I couldn't quite tell where you were placing the fans - I imagined the power supply on its long edge, meaning the fan would just have to bring in air from the side; it makes a lot more sense the way you've got it. I also didn't quite get how the GPU would install - this is actually a way cooler design than I first thought; you've got a lot going on.

I'll be interested to see what you wind up able to do with the top piece - it's definitely an interesting idea.

 

[Karamazovmm]

How the heck are you gonna place the gpu like that? Are you gonna twist the shit out of a pcie cable?

Awesome, thanks! I couldn't quite tell where you were placing the fans - I imagined the power supply on its long edge, meaning the fan would just have to bring in air from the side; it makes a lot more sense the way you've got it. I also didn't quite get how the GPU would install - this is actually a way cooler design than I first thought; you've got a lot going on.

I'll be interested to see what you wind up able to do with the top piece - it's definitely an interesting idea.

Thanks for the kind words!

The GPU is something that I thought a lot on how to do it.

Simply the idea is to have a 3 point mounting system to secure it in place.

1) The usual spot at the top of the GPU bracket
2) At the bottom, there is a whole to screw in the gpu
3) The PCIe connector

The whole idea is that the cable is going from the bottom of the motherboard and will be fixed in the support beam for it. This bend is quite doable as was demonstrated by the PCIe cable provider, its quite a doable thing, and by doing this, I would remove 100mm of the height of the case itself.

The video out of the GPU would be done via 3 cables that would be provided with the case, 2x HDMI and 1x Display Port, the output is located at the back of the case.

 

[Boil]

Regarding the GPU placement & attending airflow…

I would imagine a blower-style cooler would want the PCI bracket end facing up, to blow the hot air out the top of the chassis…

But if one were using an open air-style cooler, would it not be best to place the PCI bracket end facing down; as I would imagine most open air-style coolers tend to blow their hot air out of the sides of the GPU, or some more out the back than the bracket end (damn you, useless DVI, hogging airflow space…!)…?

Might this chassis design, & it's PCI riser cable assembly (might we see some renderings of that…?) be designed to allow either Up of Down GPU configurations…?

Or am I just overthinking that part of it…?!?

One of my first thoughts with the two SSD bays… Asus Strix ITX board with dual M.2 slots; and dual Intel 750 Series 2.5" (x15mm) drives…!

I do see this is a negative pressure design, what with the bottom 92mm fan being the sole air intake…

Will that be enough air intake for an i7 7700K & EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition (with ICX dual fan cooler)…?

I would have a Noctua NH-L9x65 on the CPU…

Might, especially if one were using an open air-style GPU, side ventilation be helpful for more ar intake…?

Would a machined metal top & bottom be an option, or is wood mandatory…?

I know I am now changing the whole vibe of the outer housing…

Will there be provisions for a bottom filter…?

All in all, I am liking it…!

 

[Boil]

The more I look at the inner chassis, with those obvious dual 93mm fan mounting points on the bottom (meaning, dual intakes & exhausts; a vertical wind tunnel), the more I am wondering what could be done for placement of the HDPlex 300w AC-DC & DC-ATX components…? An SFX adapter plate that has the C14 to the bottom & an internal mounting bracket for the two DC components…

If you laid the SFX bracket face down, the DC mounting panel would stick up like the upright on a capital L…

Now, this I would really like, the dual intake / dual exhaust vertical wind tunnel configuration…!

I would take the reduced wattage available to the system for the increased air intake…!

 

[Findecanor]

That would be a weird PCIe cable routing. I don't see how it is feasible. It would require a quite long cable with four folds: one diagonal fold, a complete fold as well as the two 180° bends around for the motherboard and GPU sockets respectively.
Placing it with fan towards motherboard (not nice) or ports down would have one fold less but there would still be a fold over the diagonal and two 180° bends.

I love that form factor but I think that you should also look at maybe supporting other solutions. One idea that has come up would be to design a large custom riser circuit board for placement behind the motherboard. Then you would need only a short flexible riser cable with very little bend and maybe a small angled riser card. Designing it would not be straightforward but I don't think it would have to be expensive.

Another layout that is somewhat similar to yours would be to use only a angled riser card for a ITX-sized GPU placed below the motherboard "upside down" like this.
Maybe you could offer this internal layout as alternative to using a riser-cable.

BTW, why call it project "Skuld"? "Skuld" means "debt" in Swedish and "Skyld" means "blame" in Danish.

 

[Karamazovmm]

Regarding the GPU placement & attending airflow…

I would imagine a blower-style cooler would want the PCI bracket end facing up, to blow the hot air out the top of the chassis…

But if one were using an open air-style cooler, would it not be best to place the PCI bracket end facing down; as I would imagine most open air-style coolers tend to blow their hot air out of the sides of the GPU, or some more out the back than the bracket end (damn you, useless DVI, hogging airflow space…!)…?

Might this chassis design, & it's PCI riser cable assembly (might we see some renderings of that…?) be designed to allow either Up of Down GPU configurations…?

Or am I just overthinking that part of it…?!?

You are partially correct.

Yes, a blower style usually is more helpful in this kind of cooling configuration. Simply because a more closed entry and exit system that a blower style GPU provides wouldn't recycle hot air to the CPU.

However if you are using an open chassis GPU, it doesn't really matter, given that its going to spill all the hot air into the case anyway, and that's where the case fans with its negative pressure is going to suck all that air out.

One of my first thoughts with the two SSD bays… Asus Strix ITX board with dual M.2 slots; and dual Intel 750 Series 2.5" (x15mm) drives…!

if you use the outer mount points, you can still use 2x SSDs there... meaning you can still populate 6x storage drives

I do see this is a negative pressure design, what with the bottom 92mm fan being the sole air intake…

Will that be enough air intake for an i7 7700K & EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition (with ICX dual fan cooler)…?

I would have a Noctua NH-L9x65 on the CPU…

it should be quite ok, I believe this system can dissipate easily between 400w to 500w of TDP, my main concern is the height of the GPU interfering with the cables that will run in front of it, specially the plugs.

Might, especially if one were using an open air-style GPU, side ventilation be helpful for more air intake…?

it would remove the tunnel effect of the wind, and that's something that concerns me. the SFX is already isolated and in an open air GPU it would already help exhaust some hot air from the bottom.

Would a machined metal top & bottom be an option, or is wood mandatory…?

I know I am now changing the whole vibe of the outer housing…

Will there be provisions for a bottom filter…?

All in all, I am liking it…!

Given that the idea is to have this case in stainless steel, the magnetic filter option suddenly opens up.

Now regarding the top and bottom customization, this is something that I need to check with the manufacturer, there are 4 main manufacturers for this case, 2 for the cables, 1 for the steel part and 1 for the wood part. The last one has the CNC machine and I don't believe he does that kind of work. However I can check that possibility.

And this is truly why I posted this thread, I want to know what can be better and what you guys need. This is really important to me.

The more I look at the inner chassis, with those obvious dual 93mm fan mounting points on the bottom (meaning, dual intakes & exhausts; a vertical wind tunnel), the more I am wondering what could be done for placement of the HDPlex 300w AC-DC & DC-ATX components…? An SFX adapter plate that has the C14 to the bottom & an internal mounting bracket for the two DC components…

If you laid the SFX bracket face down, the DC mounting panel would stick up like the upright on a capital L…

Now, this I would really like, the dual intake / dual exhaust vertical wind tunnel configuration…!

I would take the reduced wattage available to the system for the increased air intake…!

You read my mind when I decided to leave that 4th fan slot there. The whole idea at first was to have a case with a plug in board like the pico 160xt or G-Unique or like a hdplex 300w, in summary a DC DC solution. This was changed latter to accommodate a SFX PSU due to how easy is to get one nowadays.

I'm currently thinking on designing a mounting point to fill the whole that PSU would leave for the HDplex 300w and to sell that separately or in conjunction with the case, it would depend entirely on the community feeedback.

That would be a weird PCIe cable routing. I don't see how it is feasible. It would require a quite long cable with four folds: one diagonal fold, a complete fold as well as the two 180° bends around for the motherboard and GPU sockets respectively.
Placing it with fan towards motherboard (not nice) or ports down would have one fold less but there would still be a fold over the diagonal and two 180° bends.

I love that form factor but I think that you should also look at maybe supporting other solutions. One idea that has come up would be to design a large custom riser circuit board for placement behind the motherboard. Then you would need only a short flexible riser cable with very little bend and maybe a small angled riser card. Designing it would not be straightforward but I don't think it would have to be expensive.

Another layout that is somewhat similar to yours would be to use only a angled riser card for a ITX-sized GPU placed below the motherboard "upside down" like this.
Maybe you could offer this internal layout as alternative to using a riser-cable.

BTW, why call it project "Skuld"? "Skuld" means "debt" in Swedish and "Skyld" means "blame" in Danish.

The way that I use the PCIe riser isn't conventional, and that's what I like about it. The way that is laid out it enhances the volume efficiency of this build quite greatly.

Its feasible and tested, my cable manufacturers has done tests and it works, I just need to have the first prototype in my hand and test it myself as well. However other plans are also in place for a 90 degree right angled cable to be produced. I don't like that option because its hardly economically viable.

The name of the company involves Nordic mythology. And Skuld is a Valkyrie, despite meaning debt, it also delves into the future as a norn

 

[chx]

Regarding PCIe I would talk to these people http://www.vary.com.tw/RP.html

 

[Jen]

interesting design , will be interesting to see the components inside to see how well it fits together


Jen

 

[darksable]

I think the way you've got the PCIe cable routed is fine, though I would love to see pictures of it when you've got an actual prototype in your hands.

As for power... I think that selling it bundled with the HDplex 300 makes a TON of sense. Your Kickstarter could have two tiers; one with the PSU, and one without, for those who want to use an SFX power supply.

 

[Karamazovmm]

interesting design , will be interesting to see the components inside to see how well it fits together


Jen

For now I only have renders, soon I should have an acrylic prototype, imagine a more barebones implementation, it would serve especially to test the cooling solution and component fitting.

Regarding PCIe I would talk to these people http://www.vary.com.tw/RP.html

thanks for the link, I'm currently working with LiHeat, but its always good to have more options.

I chose them especically for the right angle connector that they have (which means one less bend) and the other reason was the flexibility and reliability that their cable has, which is basically awesome.

I think the way you've got the PCIe cable routed is fine, though I would love to see pictures of it when you've got an actual prototype in your hands.

As for power... I think that selling it bundled with the HDplex 300 makes a TON of sense. Your Kickstarter could have two tiers; one with the PSU, and one without, for those who want to use an SFX power supply.

Thanks for the advice, I will post a pool latter on if people want that feature in. Sincerely as I said before there is a very tangible reason for me to put the 4th fan slot, I really like those DC DC solutions. While not that easily available, I think they are simply awesome.

But one thing that i can tell you is that this is the 179th design revision and layout test that I do regarding this project. And there is a project that is code named two towers and it involves sheer liquid cooling power, with extreme thinness and gorgeous design, and it was one of the design stages that I passed, however the idea is too good to abandon, and if this project pans out I will pursue it.

 

[darksable]

But one thing that i can tell you is that this is the 179th design revision and layout test that I do regarding this project. And there is a project that is code named two towers and it involves sheer liquid cooling power, with extreme thinness and gorgeous design, and it was one of the design stages that I passed, however the idea is too good to abandon, and if this project pans out I will pursue it.

Cool! I've done something like that - the design that I found to have the most cooling-power/volume was a triangular design with three 2x140mm thin radiators, with a d5 pump and reservoir in a pillar in the center.

 

[chx]

I chose them especically for the right angle connector that they have (which means one less bend) and the other reason was the flexibility and reliability that their cable has, which is basically awesome.

I can't say anything about reliability but I talked to them about fitting their U.2-to-PCIe x4 riser into a 1U server and this is what they had to say about flexibility: http://i.imgur.com/V60H0xn.jpg

 

[Karamazovmm]

I can't say anything about reliability but I talked to them about fitting their U.2-to-PCIe x4 riser into a 1U server and this is what they had to say about flexibility: http://i.imgur.com/V60H0xn.jpg

That's actually awesome!

They are indeed very flexible, now the question comes to reliability, Liheat has been providing a lot of cables to SFF forum cases, and they really work well. Specially their new design.

I will contact those guys, because if they can provide me some good cables, why not?


Thank you very much!

 

[chx]

Regarding right angle, RP33SR claims to be just that.

 

[soccermatt34]

Love the clean look!

 

[Frazhna]

I really like the layout you have for this case, it is almost the same as an idea I have been toying with for a while and wishing someone would make. I just figured that bending a PCIe riser like that was not feasible. How thick of a GPU card can you fit? Will one of those extra fat 1080ti's fit?

 

[Karamazovmm]

Love the clean look!

Thanks! That was the goal all along!

Regarding right angle, RP33SR claims to be just that.

it was the previous riser that you linked, I'm going to enter in contact with them. To see if I can get a sample and test if its going to work

I really like the layout you have for this case, it is almost the same as an idea I have been toying with for a while and wishing someone would make. I just figured that bending a PCIe riser like that was not feasible. How thick of a GPU card can you fit? Will one of those extra fat 1080ti's fit?

Thanks! The width limit of the GPU is 45mm, its a very tight limit due to the CPU cooler supporting 80mm of max cooler height

 

[nika001]

I will buy one if you decide to sell this~

 

[Karamazovmm]

I will buy one if you decide to sell this~

That's the whole idea!

Some parts have been ordered!

Some design changes have been performed !

Alpha prototype is going to enter in production soon!

I have some new renders and will post some clear cut plans and timetables here.

This project is going forward, and I would love the input that you guys have to offer!

 

[Karamazovmm]

Hello guys!


It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted this project, in that time I made clear that I want your feedback to know what are your wishes and how this case can fulfill those.


Every comment was taken into consideration and design changes have been made. Yes, I listen and will keep doing so.


Just to make things pretty clear, this case has gone through 384 iterations, on the last week alone 32 iterations have been done on your feedback.


Having said that what are the changes that made to the final stage?


Size has increased a bit, now its 370mm of height instead of 350mm.

This has been done to accommodate larger feet. As one of the design goals to make this case compatible with enthusiast level hardware and with decent temps to boot, that change was made to give 30mm of intake to all the fans in the case. The top fans already had the necessary height, now the bottom fans have them too.

Aside that I have also implemented a mounting solution for the HDPLEX HiFi 300W DC-ATX! One of the reasons that there is still 4 mounting points for the fans is basically that, to leave space for a DC DC solution.

Those were the 2 major changes that I made to the case due to your feedback, there were some to strengthen the structure and some for the fit and finish to be as exquisite as possible.


So I bring you some pictures of the changes!

http://imgur.com/a/s2MAV

PS: if anyone knows how to embed an album of imgur here, please let me know, here is the link to the gallery for now.


Now, the whole idea is to make this case happen.


For that I’m going to show you how is the planning for this project.


January 15th, 2015 – Started the design of the case.

April 22nd, 2017 – Launch of the case in forums, feedback stage, contact suppliers.

May 2nd, 2017 – Show the changes, Feedback 2nd round, order parts, contact suppliers, case prototype.

May 15th, 2017 – Show the changes, contact Suppliers.


This is a very rough sketch on what the time schedule that I’m working on, and the idea is to propel this case as fast as I can.


The first prototype is going to be made of acrylic and wood, this is to explore on the visual of acrylic, LEDs and some other bling orientated features. I have noticed that some would like transparent windows on some cases that I consider to be of a more somber design, I thought why not on this one?

So if anyone wants, I can try to acquire some acrylic panels to showcase the beautiful components that we have.

This prototype should be ready be the end of this week or the mid of the next one. The whole idea is to test the fitments of the parts and how well the cooling system works, because I said before and will say it again, I want you to put the highest performing parts here and not be saddled by very limited CPU coolers, or to avoid some more power hungry cards.

Well, that means I have to test some parts that are actually going to push the envelop, which means the test system will be:


CPU: Ryzen R5 1600 (chose this one specifically for the cooler)

GPU: GTX 970 (for now, this may change in the future, but it would be basically to test the TDP)

PSU: Corsair SF450

RAM: 32GB


Thanks everyone that has commented so far and has shown interest in this project. Your feedback is truly important here! Drop a comment! Send a like! I’m all ears here!

 

[Frazhna]

I have been thinking about this case lately and wondering about the airflow. The fans at the bottom are blowing air up into the case, and the fans at the top are sucking air out of the case, and there are no vents on the side so that there will be a wind tunnel effect. It sounds nice to have a wind tunnel, but if that wind is just blowing up the back side of the GPU and motherboard, then out of the case, what good is it? The GPU cooler and the CPU cooler have to take their air from the sides, not the inside that is getting the fresh air from the wind tunnel. How are the hot components going to get air? It just looks like they are going to be suffocated by the closed off (but beautiful looking) sides of the case.

 

[Karamazovmm]

I have been thinking about this case lately and wondering about the airflow. The fans at the bottom are blowing air up into the case, and the fans at the top are sucking air out of the case, and there are no vents on the side so that there will be a wind tunnel effect. It sounds nice to have a wind tunnel, but if that wind is just blowing up the back side of the GPU and motherboard, then out of the case, what good is it? The GPU cooler and the CPU cooler have to take their air from the sides, not the inside that is getting the fresh air from the wind tunnel. How are the hot components going to get air? It just looks like they are going to be suffocated by the closed off (but beautiful looking) sides of the case.

Thanks for the comment!

The whole idea behind the design is to have the tunnel effect, and that's where all the magic happen.

When air moves, it doesn't shoot up in a straight line upwards, it spreads when it moves, expands in every direction, although it concentrates more on conical area closer to the edge of the fan, which expands further and further the farther you move from the fan, and the obstacles that are there in the case.

I'm not really concerned about a 80mm CPU cooler being starved of air, for example.

I don't really believe that its going to make a difference, because in one way you can pull air from the sides and throw it into the motherboard, and that hot air will be pushed from the bottom fan, and going to get sucked by the top fans.

In the other scenario the cpu is going to pull the air from the mobo and going to exhaust at the side, which is going to be sucked by the top fans and blown by the bottom fan.

I will post soon some thermal tests, and ideally some overclocking tests as well, wish me luck on the CPU lottery!

I hope I have answered your question

 

[greyhound]

looks nice, it s should be possible to even fit a water loop with a small radiator in the bottom and a bigger one on the top

 

[Karamazovmm]

looks nice, it s should be possible to even fit a water loop with a small radiator in the bottom and a bigger one on the top

That is one thing that is making me losing some hair here.

I have tried to fit a 92mm radiator in it, and guess what, it fits.

The issue is the thickness of the radiator in question.

the best placement, strangely as it is, is at the bottom, due to the clearance.

The top of the motherboard to the top of the fan bracket is 29.5mm.

At the bottom, you have 30mm of clearance from the bottom of the case to the surface, now if you get a slim radiator and mount it below coupled with mounting the fan on the bracket it should work.

I hope I have answered your question!

 

[greyhound]

That is one thing that is making me losing some hair here.

I have tried to fit a 92mm radiator in it, and guess what, it fits.

The issue is the thickness of the radiator in question.

the best placement, strangely as it is, is at the bottom, due to the clearance.

The top of the motherboard to the top of the fan bracket is 29.5mm.

At the bottom, you have 30mm of clearance from the bottom of the case to the surface, now if you get a slim radiator and mount it below coupled with mounting the fan on the bracket it should work.

I hope I have answered your question!

how about rotating the psu 90 degree and positioning it just below the mobo? this would free lots of space in the bottom for a radiator (or to shorten the case)

another option coul be to cut 9.5 mm from the top (that would still leave 20mm to install a fan) and add that in the bottom improving the room to 39.5mm (enough to fit a fan + radiator)

doing both would be even better

 

[Karamazovmm]

how about rotating the psu 90 degree and positioning it just below the mobo? this would free lots of space in the bottom for a radiator (or to shorten the case)

another option coul be to cut 9.5 mm from the top (that would still leave 20mm to install a fan) and add that in the bottom improving the room to 39.5mm (enough to fit a fan + radiator)

doing both would be even better

There isn't enough space to rotate the PSU, I have tried in different positions and there is simply not enough space. Today I also tried to jam an ATX PSU in it, and no dice

here are some pictures to ilustrate my point

As you can see there isn't enough space.

Sincerely still the best combo would be the DC DC PSUs, simply because the way I'm doing the bracket, it should allow for a radiator at the bottom. That is as along as you don't use a 10.5" GPU.

I would still recommend to anyone that wants to put a rad in it, to put it between the feet and the structure, there is plenty of space and a mounting point.

 

[Leoads]

I Like!
I was thinking in something similar.
The good idea is the fans on the top of the case, to take out all the hot air...

 

[greyhound]

when i said to rotate it 90 degree i meant with the power switch facing down

 

[Karamazovmm]

So here is a small update

a version that shows your guts, in a great beautiful way (the most beautiful chocolate cake ever)!

I believe that if you want you can put some leds in it and it would be glorious!

I Like!
I was thinking in something similar.
The good idea is the fans on the top of the case, to take out all the hot air...

Thanks man!

when i said to rotate it 90 degree i meant with the power switch facing down

the first version of the case used that, but given that we are height limited by the GPU support, it would add only an exhaust of hot air directly on top of the CPU or beneath it, and it would kill SFX L compatibility

BTW this render is using the HDPLEX 300 DCATX and the HDPLEX 300 ACDC, all mounted on a new bracket!

I'm talking with Larry from HDPLEX to actually ship some cases with the HDPLEX psu solutions (and the bracket together), instead of just saying, hey guys, go look for someone that sells this kind of psu, have fun.

The brackets will also be sold separately if anyone wants to mount a different solution, or just wants to have a secondary option for the future.

 

[greyhound]

here is my idea

 

[Karamazovmm]

here is my idea

There are 3 things that I see that will hamper your layout idea:

1) there isn't enough space for the necessary orientation of the psu. The psu intake is at the fan grill that you can see on your picture and the only way that that would work as an intake would be to slap the psu that part at the back. Putting the exhaust at the bottom of the case would create a warm air space at it

1.1) aside the small pocket of hot air that would form, there is the compatibility issue. The case would be limited to SFX and DC DC solutions

2) the rad in that position would weaken the structural integrity of the Yggdrasil aka the structure, the frame of the chassis.

3) a exhaust fan at the bottom of the case wouldn't create a tunnel wind effect, and the column of air would be gone or diminished

Truly, and I'm not saying this lightly, the best position is to put a rad in the feet area

I was looking at some rads today and the thinner that I could find was the tundra TD 03 lite from silverstone

The 92mm rad from hardware labs has a 54mm height, it's basically a box and would need a case designed for it.

The 545mlc from asetek is another that I looked at, however I can't find any measurements of it

I will still keep trying to fit a radiator there and I appreciate your suggestions.

I'm now thinking on doing the next project with watercooling in mind. It would be a matx with dual gpu support all liquid cooled with support for 2 rads

 

[Karamazovmm]

One small update

Prototype is currently a bit delayed, I'm expecting to get it done by this week.

For one simple reason, currently I'm aiming to do it in CNCed aluminum, acrylic for the outer panel and to CN the wooden parts.

I have found a lab that I can actually just build the prototype to test the cooling performance and component fitments, however I'm struggling to find a spot to schedule my usage of the machines.

I still have the issue with the hardware part.

Currently there is basically no availability of mitx AM4 boards. Yes I know there is the biostar, asrock is going to do one just like gigabyte. However, those aren't out and biostar isn't available to buy anywhere.

I may change the test system to intel...

well see...

 

[Karamazovmm]

Hello! Hello!

After some inactivity due to basically being out of parts and the schedule at the fablab so I can prototype....

Here is what we have!

Yes! The motherboard, ram and psu arrived today!

Now we are missing the CPU which should arrive this week and the NVMe with about the same due time!

So what is the build going to be like?

CPU: Ryzen R5 1600
GPU: PNY GTX 970
Motherboard: B350GTN
SSD: Intel 600p 256gb and Samsung 840 EVO 256gb
RAM: 2x 16gb Corsair LPX 3000MHZ ( yes there weren't any 3200MHZ ram left at the size that I wanted)
PSU: Corsair SF 600
FAN: 4x NF - A9x14
Cooler: L9x65
Riser: 1x 30cm B type from Liheat and 1x 25cm B type from Liheat


Aside, most of the parts arriving what I have to say today is that I have a schedule for Wednesday at the fablab meaning that I should have the 1st prototype ready!


Now that the parts are out of the way, things should be more adherent to the schedule.

I have incredible faith that this chassis should be delivered at the most by Q4, but I'm aiming for mid Q3.

I have to say an incredible thanks to Jakob at Noctua, for believing in this project! And helping it coming one step closer to reality!

 

[nika001]

Hello! Hello!

After some inactivity due to basically being out of parts and the schedule at the fablab so I can prototype....

Here is what we have!

Yes! The motherboard, ram and psu arrived today!

Now we are missing the CPU which should arrive this week and the NVMe with about the same due time!

So what is the build going to be like?

CPU: Ryzen R5 1600
GPU: PNY GTX 970
Motherboard: B350GTN
SSD: Intel 600p 256gb and Samsung 840 EVO 256gb
RAM: 2x 16gb Corsair LPX 3000MHZ ( yes there weren't any 3200MHZ ram left at the size that I wanted)
PSU: Corsair SF 600
FAN: 4x NF - A9x14
Cooler: L9x65
Riser: 1x 30cm B type from Liheat and 1x 25cm B type from Liheat


Aside, most of the parts arriving what I have to say today is that I have a schedule for Wednesday at the fablab meaning that I should have the 1st prototype ready!


Now that the parts are out of the way, things should be more adherent to the schedule.

I have incredible faith that this chassis should be delivered at the most by Q4, but I'm aiming for mid Q3.

I have to say an incredible thanks to Jakob at Noctua, for believing in this project! And helping it coming one step closer to reality!

are you still work on this project?

 

[Soul_Est]

Hope to see how you progressed with the project. I am hoping to see this case and more coming out to fill out the niche of SFF that Phanteks and Corsair occupy.