• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Qmicra II Preview

D

Da_Bomb

n00b
Joined
May 14, 2005
Messages
53
Hello all, just got a e-mail about from pcdesignlab.com saying they had a preview of their next case. Its just sketchup designs, but with a fully internal watercooling setup it looks pretty awesome. 3 120mm fans to boot (2 to rad, 1 on back of case). Not trying to stir up any of the controversy over the first :p . But this one looks like a must buy to me :cool: what do u guys think?

http://www.pcdesignlab.com/smf/index.php?topic=220.0
 
Personally I think its a smart move to go to the 120mm fans. Dave also stretched the case a bit to allow for 650w+ power supplies and fit a Zalman 9700 hsf inside the case. The design also improves durability, strutural integrity and easier removal of case cover. A definete improvement over the original design overall. Those that are into watercooling setups will like the changes as well. The only real downside is that cost hasnt been reduced thus leaving it out of the mainstream for most average enthusiasts. Just my first impressions of the new Qmicra design.
 
It looks like they put a lot of thought into this. Unlike the Ultra Micro Fly II which I thought is a step backward functionally (no vents in the front)...

How well did the first version sell? It was out of my price range...
 
What kills me is people look for SFFs and then applaud when they get bigger! Sure they have more options, but they lost sight of why they went SFF in the first place!

Is the rad on the left side? Is there room to put fans on it?

Lolento said:
It looks like they put a lot of thought into this. Unlike the Ultra Micro Fly II which I thought is a step backward functionally (no vents in the front)...
Click to expand...
Noise escapes through the easiest route available and when you put vents in the front the sound will be coming directly at you. That is the tradeoff for vents in the front.

CAD looks clean, but it is going to be a lot taller and probably less attractive than the CGI indicates.120mm in the front was an improvement, but if you compare that case to others that use 60mm fans above the I/O plate, they match up to the top of the PCI brackets. That means it extends another 6cm above the PCI brackets and the overall case is that much taller.

Things that would help are to install a nice looking mesh filter on the front, ditch the Nintendo style front button and add a handle to the top.

Someone could make a very nice case with Microfly dimensions, but the problem is they haven’t.
 
They sold out of the original Qmicra so I guess it was a success. Dave at PCDLabs believes it to be anyway and since he's owner and operator of the company he should know best.

As I'm learning about SFF setups I think the ultimate setup would be a cube type case that can fit a ATX mobo, ATX psu and G80 video card inside it. Of course that wouldnt make it mATX though. Nor would it probably make it a SFF unit in classification. But it would definetely be small and really badass! :D
 
^ I agree and they could do it! If ATX dimensions defined SFF then Q-Micra, X-Qpack, Microfly and SG01 are all out. They could fit it - they just don't.
 
sleepeeg3 said:
Is the rad on the left side? Is there room to put fans on it?
Click to expand...
The topdown shows clearance for fans on the Rad, just like in my BloodMoon installation to the first Qmicra.

sleepeeg3 said:
CAD looks clean, but it is going to be a lot taller and probably less attractive than the CGI indicates.120mm in the front was an improvement, but if you compare that case to others that use 60mm fans above the I/O plate, they match up to the top of the PCI brackets. That means it extends another 6cm above the PCI brackets and the overall case is that much taller.
Click to expand...
I know it's hard to estimate without discrete dimensions, but I think it's only about 1 inch taller than the first Qmicra. I find things are rarely LESS attractive than the CAD, I think the CADs are blocky and disproportionate. I am sure better renders are on the way!

sleepeeg3 said:
Things that would help are to install a nice looking mesh filter on the front, ditch the Nintendo style front button and add a handle to the top.
Click to expand...
There will be mesh in the entire front panel inset to the cutout...the button is a bulgin (like in the first Qmicra) and there are two handles integrated into the shell instead of the bar shaped ones before.

IMO, he worked really hard to address issues like fitting bigger GPUs, better air cooling HSF, H20 without heavy mods, and full size PSUs to drive it all.
 
fresh pics of the new one:
http://www.pcdesignlab.com/Qmicra/p17_sectionid/1

http://www.pcdesignlab.com/plugins/...p?categoryid=1&p17_sectionid=1&p17_imageid=61

Fair to say "I'm getting one."

1.) It's a bit taller than the first Qmicra (Qv1), but only something like 7/8" to 1" taller.
2.) All 120mm fans this time, extra height put to good use IMO.
3.) Better HDD saddle design IMO.
4.) Option for Mod-less H20 cooling.
5.) I believe the price will be substantially less than Qv1.
6.) Better handle design: integrated into the Shell.

Comments?
 
burnin8r said:
well done, this case looks very promising. any indication of price range ?
Click to expand...
PCDesignLab is now accepting preorders at a price of $320 (IIRC that's $80 cheaper than the original QMicra, but you may or may not need a couple extra parts).
 
The v2 is nice but I just got a used v1 from dworley and that has sated my need for a high end matx case.

Now if I was doing watercooling I would be compelled to make the purchase.
 
Slyne said:
PCDesignLab is now accepting preorders at a price of $320 (IIRC that's $80 cheaper than the original QMicra, but you may or may not need a couple extra parts).
Click to expand...
I think it's the same price. Whatever, it's still outrageous.

The mesh looks much better than the first. Too tall to look compact.
 
samduhman said:
The SG03 can do pretty much everything (except full sized heatsink) the Qmicra II can right?
Click to expand...
The extra height they added might help with some, but the centralized PSU still limits them.

Is the mesh only on one side of the case? The design would seem to allow a second dual rad, if you sacrificed some PCI slots. Maybe even a single 120mm rad and sacrifice none! Even though it supports a dual rad, it is still thin.
 
The mesh is only on one side. And the Q2 fill fit a Zalman 9700hsf
 
samduhman said:
I've been considering the upcoming Silverstone SG03 (black) but then ran up on the Qmicra II and fell in love till I saw the price :eek:. Gonna be a tuff call.

The SG03 can do pretty much everything (except full sized heatsink) the Qmicra II can right?
Click to expand...
Not only the heatsink, but the Qmicra also allows three 5"25 bays while the SG03 only has one 5"25 and one 3"5.

You could also say that the Qmicra allows for a push-pull fan combination while the SG03 has no rear fan (unless you use the PSU as air extractor).
 
The Qmicra is designed by someone that actually keeps up with products of today. Not only that but I helped with part of the new design (although I admit a lot of my ideas were changed or shot down haha).

In the end, the Qmicra is almost a custom case and you pay a custom price. If you want to fork up the $$ then you will get a case that doesn't disappoint. If not, then we have Asian cases that can do what you want.
 
Skott said:
As I'm learning about SFF setups I think the ultimate setup would be a cube type case that can fit a ATX mobo, ATX psu and G80 video card inside it. Of course that wouldnt make it mATX though. Nor would it probably make it a SFF unit in classification. But it would definetely be small and really badass! :D
Click to expand...

You mean, something like this? Not much bigger than the SFF cases out there either :D

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166041

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166042
 
I dont care for acrylic cases. I prefer all metal. But thats just me.
 
{pdX}addict said:
So the exterior sides of the case don't match? The CAD drawings were the only indication I saw that they didn't. Just wanted confirmation. :p
Click to expand...

I thought the mesh was on both sides too till Dave (owner of PCDLabs) informed me differently.
 
{pdX}addict said:
cool, thanks for the reply. Did you pre-order?
Click to expand...

No, I have a unused Qmicra v1 that I plan to use in my next build. I wish I had waited a couple more months before buying but, meh.. I live with it. If i had to do it over again I'd definetely would get the v2 model.
 
Slyne said:
Not only the heatsink, but the Qmicra also allows three 5"25 bays while the SG03 only has one 5"25 and one 3"5.
Click to expand...
...because you needed 3 for...? Unless you have a 5 1/4 res and do a lot of CD/DVD copying, not much use to the average consumer.

WintersFury said:
You mean, something like this? Not much bigger than the SFF cases out there either :D

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166041

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166042
Click to expand...
Actually over 25% bigger in volume than the largest mATX cuboid cases, not including the QMicras. It's not bad though. If it was smaller, totally cubic, included a handle and supported a dual rad, I would probably grab one. The one great thing about acrylic cases - it doesn't matter what side you cut holes in! You don't have to worry about the aesthetics of the front, side or top panels, you can just hang things everywhere.

There was a cool 10" cube awhile back, but the designer stopped making it and it ran $200. Same site offered a 13" one, but it looked a bit big. I wonder how noise levels are on acrylic cases?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top