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SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project
- Thread starter SaperPL
- Start date
The Fragile
Limp Gawd
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It's about to get even smaller with the Slim version.
The Fragile
Limp Gawd
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N
NemesisX
Guest
This looks fantastic. Nice job fellas.Little Update!
After many e-mails asking about making a "live" size comparison with consoles, we've decided to add some new photos to SENTRY gallery.
At this moment we are only waiting for new power cables and we're ready to send SENTRY to LTT for a review.
I too am dying to know when Linus receives his unit. I know he has a pretty big operation now so it may even be a few days or more after its received that they even open it, let alone schedule and shoot a video review. Unless they review it off camera and privately provide feedback to SaperPL.
I'm a little relieved the case isn't available yet, it's giving me a reason to wait on upgrades like AMD's Vega, and Nvidia's GP100. Otherwise I'd throw my money at a Sentry and a 1080 today.
I'm a little relieved the case isn't available yet, it's giving me a reason to wait on upgrades like AMD's Vega, and Nvidia's GP100. Otherwise I'd throw my money at a Sentry and a 1080 today.
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NemesisX
Guest
Hopefully Linus doesn't drop it. 
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NemesisX
Guest
How's the progress coming, guys?
Sorry guys for not answering so often in the last couple of days, but we both have a busy time at our daytime jobs, and our free time is very limited.
While packaging, we decided we have to order some additional stuff which should be included with sentry (carton insets, more small foil bags, silica gels, etc.). Last of those pieces have delivery time on next Thursday, so if there won't be another delay, then next Friday will be the date of sending 1st package for external review. I can't tell you guys anything more, because since this is our hobby project, we can't spend on it more then 3-4 hours a day (after work ofc). After August, when we will be at preordering stage, then everything should go a lot smoother. Right now, 15.07 is the new date of sending the package to Linus from LTT.
p.s. Did you guys see the "story-telling" post Saper made for 9gag? I can't find if he posted it here.
Sentry - our case project for PC Master Race
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N
NemesisX
Guest
Well you're busy guys, it's understandable!
No worries. Any updates are appreciated.
Haven't seen this one yet, thanks.
I haven't seen this asked before, but judging by the dimensions, it would appear that one could (somehow) fit several 40mm fans along the perforated sides of the Sentry. Is it possible to fit/attach them in any way? Or is it utterly unnecessary? The cooling is as good as it is going to get?
Also, I don't know how exactly things would be arranged but, I was thinking about an ITX width version of the sentry for in the future. There are now many power GPU's, including gtx1070, R9 Nano, that are exactly the same length as the itx motherboard. A smaller version of the sentry would be possible if it allowed for only these size gpu. Maybe it would not be so difficult to shrink the current design and offer a small gpu mini-itx and current full gpu mini-itx version. I would buy both! Have you guys thought about this?
Also, I don't know how exactly things would be arranged but, I was thinking about an ITX width version of the sentry for in the future. There are now many power GPU's, including gtx1070, R9 Nano, that are exactly the same length as the itx motherboard. A smaller version of the sentry would be possible if it allowed for only these size gpu. Maybe it would not be so difficult to shrink the current design and offer a small gpu mini-itx and current full gpu mini-itx version. I would buy both!
Have you guys thought about this?We've played around with several 60mm and 50mm fans installed along the detachable wall beside gpu but the problem is those tend to be really loud on different RPM's so scaling their speed by the load isn't a great idea and running them constantly on full load isn't good idea either.
We've dropped those because those were only working for the blower type card and weren't doing anything for the open air ones.
I think that if you really want to do this, then you should pick up two 50mm slim fans and somehow attach those at the rear of the side wall to blow directly at the side of your blower type gpu.
The problem of fans inside such case killed the LRPC project, i think, and what we did with case cover inlet is a viable alternative unless you want to go extreme with open air 250W gpu's running OC'd.
We've dropped those because those were only working for the blower type card and weren't doing anything for the open air ones.
I think that if you really want to do this, then you should pick up two 50mm slim fans and somehow attach those at the rear of the side wall to blow directly at the side of your blower type gpu.
The problem of fans inside such case killed the LRPC project, i think, and what we did with case cover inlet is a viable alternative unless you want to go extreme with open air 250W gpu's running OC'd.
Private_Ops
[H]ard|Gawd
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NemesisX
Guest
There are some pretty idiotic comments on that page. Kudos to you for having the patience to respond.
Dat shipping box
What's wrong with it?
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NemesisX
Guest
"Dat" usually implies awesomeness, i.e. "dat ass", etc.
Private_Ops
[H]ard|Gawd
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- 1,870
We want to start sending review samples starting next week. We're getting ready for that literally now. We'd like to launch sales before the summer ends and there's not much left to prepare in terms of what we need for production, we just have to organise stuff and be prepared to handle payments.
We'll obviously ship to Spain, whole EU, US and Canada, other countries will depend on how shipping looks to those countries including package insurance etc.
We'll obviously ship to Spain, whole EU, US and Canada, other countries will depend on how shipping looks to those countries including package insurance etc.
FrozenSpaghettiYeti
n00b
- Joined
- May 30, 2016
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Would this case be able to house a graphics card that is 308mm in length? The site shows a diagram where a 305mm gpu fills up the length of the case.
EDIT: I'd like to use a Sapphire Fury Nitro
EDIT: I'd like to use a Sapphire Fury Nitro
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Do you guys have a online store platform for taking and managing orders and payments? Will it be added to your current website? Will you only be accepting paypal? What about Amazon Payments? I'm not sure if that's available in Poland. Sorry for a million questions, I just cannot wait. I will definitely be first in line! Hopefully you guys will have enough units available and don't have supply shortages like some large companies *cough* Nvidia *cough*
We've got space up to 306mm but that last 1mm is a margin of precision error so 305mm is a proper limit. Even if Fury Nitro were to fit in length, you'd have problem with connecting the PEG power connectors since it's pcb is oversized. Finally 275W TDP gpu is not a great idea for this case, really
We're going to use paypal and it'll most likely be added to our website with shipment selection. I don't think we can use Amazon Payments since both Amazon isn't in Poland and they require a certain stock of product to be ready to ship straight away and that doesn't work with our initial manufacture-per-order sales model.
As for the supply shortages, I wouldn't be scared of that because our component suppliers can provide supply quantities in tens of thousands units, our metal manufacturer is quite large company and if such big orders were to happen then we'll bring in the core of the company to scale up the production.
iFreilicht
[H]ard|Gawd
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Oh god the replies make my skin crawl. Not sure if posting to 9gag for publicity is worth the hassle.
After we've dropped info on reddit, we've had sudden boost in subscriptions so we've just decided to try some other random places and 9gag came to mind.
And yeah, it's pretty bad place in the net to even talk with people about this since when you respond too much to question you may event get your posts randomly and unknowingly hidden from being viewed.
Anyway I've still got some tricks up my sleeve for publicity, but I'm constantly thinking of some more. If any of you have ideas then please share
And yeah, it's pretty bad place in the net to even talk with people about this since when you respond too much to question you may event get your posts randomly and unknowingly hidden from being viewed.
Anyway I've still got some tricks up my sleeve for publicity, but I'm constantly thinking of some more. If any of you have ideas then please share
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NemesisX
Guest
Do you think the EVGA 1080 FTW would fit into this case? It's 266.7 mm long by 128.6 mm tall. I've looked at all the blower models and they're pretty crappy quality. It's not worth it to save a little bit for the lower quality.
9gag is where all the inbred mutants congregate.
www.imgur.com might be a great place for publicity if you manage to make it to the front page. I would upvote your post immediately. As long as you post this in story form like you did on reddit you could probably make it to the front page. Might gain some subs that way.After we've dropped info on reddit, we've had sudden boost in subscriptions so we've just decided to try some other random places and 9gag came to mind.
And yeah, it's pretty bad place in the net to even talk with people about this since when you respond too much to question you may event get your posts randomly and unknowingly hidden from being viewed.
Anyway I've still got some tricks up my sleeve for publicity, but I'm constantly thinking of some more. If any of you have ideas then please share
I was just thinking the same thing, although didn't want to suggest it as getting to the front page is a feat!
I'm sure you'll get many more subscribers once some reviews have been posted on YouTube and other forums.
pendragon1
Extremely [H]
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- 47,990
not sure if its allowed but just post in this thread anywhere that you put it up and everyone here will make sure its noticed
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NemesisX
Guest
It's honestly not that hard to get to the front page. Been there many times myself. As long as the pictures are put into the form of a story with descriptions like what was done on Reddit, I am sure it will reach the front page. The front page is temporary anyway, but if it's liked a bunch of times it can get anywhere from 1,000 views to 100,000 views. It's a quick way to possibly get some subs. It doesn't hurt to explore easy avenues. If it doesn't make it to the front page, I'd honestly be very surprised.
Especially on a channel with the sheer amount of subs Linus has.
From what I can see, the FTW editions will have hard time fitting due to the PCB oversize / PEG connectors, however there's two non-FTW version with ACX 3.0 coolers which will definitely fit.
I have literally no idea why people keep asking about fitting those oversized and overpowered gpus inside
Thanks for the tip guys - I've posted the story image on imgur here: imgur.com / YeF2CrZ (can't post direct link not to embed it) let's see how it works.
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NemesisX
Guest
Oh, so it's the connectors, not the actual card size. The non-FTW versions are roughly the same base/boost clocks, just without the pretty RGB lighting (which is why I wanted it, lol). But if the non-FTW editions will definitely fit then I'm sold. I've had nothing but terrible luck with ASUS customer service and have always had a good experience with EVGA, so I'm sticking with them this time around. Was considering a blower card for this, but the parts are such garbage on those. Going to pretty much have this in the vertical position 100% of the time.From what I can see, the FTW editions will have hard time fitting due to the PCB oversize / PEG connectors, however there's two non-FTW version with ACX 3.0 coolers which will definitely fit.
I have literally no idea why people keep asking about fitting those oversized and overpowered gpus inside
I think it would be better to post this during the day (it's midnight where I am). That site is a lot more active during that time. Also, you forgot to put a link to your website at the bottom of your post.
Little update and call for feedback.
I'm currently doing a manual for Sentry and it would be awesome if you could check it out and give us your thoughts, especially about what you may not understand.
The manual is in Work In Progress state so it's still incomplete.
Most recent file will be held here: http://zaber.com.pl/sentry/manual.pdf
I'm currently doing a manual for Sentry and it would be awesome if you could check it out and give us your thoughts, especially about what you may not understand.
The manual is in Work In Progress state so it's still incomplete.
Most recent file will be held here: http://zaber.com.pl/sentry/manual.pdf
D
Deleted member 222586
Guest
Sorry guys for not answering so often in the last couple of days, but we both have a busy time at our daytime jobs, and our free time is very limited.
Just some food for thought: if updates on this website are so scarce at this moment, when the project is getting traction... what would happen once you have people's money? IMO, side-job or not, you should try to focus on this. I can only imagine that if you dedicate so little time to update a topic on a forum (something that takes barely 5 minutes) that might potentially bring you hundreds of sales, the chances of you showing more interest and updates once you have accomplished your goal (Getting the $$$$) are pretty scarce to non-existing.
What i meant is that, this is really difficult to write some updates when you are afk for one or two weeks. We are answering people in something like 10 forums and this really takes some time to answer everybody. What is more, every day we get dozens of emails and those people also want some answers. Remember there are only two of us in this project, and we're doing our best. What is more, when we came back from business trip, we are answering with a maximum delay of several hours, and i think everybody got their answers.
I think You are really unfair with this one. Your statement seems like someone will get paid for doing nothing and thinks only about money. For the last 2 years, everyday after 8-12 hours a day at work, we spent 3-5 hours designing new prototypes. From the start we were saying that this is a hobby project, on which we don't expect to earn a lot of money. When you start such project, you don't know if it will succeed. We still don't know it, because we're before pre-ordering stage. If we had such knowledge, then we would switch our jobs to part-time jobs and SENTRY probably would be designed in about half of the year. Right now because of the high costs of the production, we don't expect to earn more money on Sentry, then we are earning at our standard jobs. This is why we will keep working on this project in our free time, without changing our jobs system. Because of that, sometimes we will have delays with answering, but with production, we will try to make it as fast as possible (6-7 weeks after preorder), and it won't be 6 or 7 months, like some other manufacturers do.
I think that the topic has enough info we can give you about the project status and the only thing you'd like to know more would be exact price and launch date and we can't give you that yet. Why? Because we won't know them until we fully establish supply chain for manufacturing including packaging.
Figuring that out is incremental because sometimes you just can't decide on things without having other pieces of the puzzle ready. This is one of the reasons why it takes so much time.
The second one is that there's tons of companies that sell products and services they cannot really provide in feasible quality and timely manner or their staff is constantly changing thus staying inexperienced, which makes even ordering something custom a time consuming process, even if you precisely know and tell them what you want.
Time on our end isn't really a problem when we take orders, because then we just gather them, order supplies and take vacation when they arrive to process all of them and ship the product. If orders are going to be way over what we can process ourselves then we'll process them with our company staff as a big project.
Figuring that out is incremental because sometimes you just can't decide on things without having other pieces of the puzzle ready. This is one of the reasons why it takes so much time.
The second one is that there's tons of companies that sell products and services they cannot really provide in feasible quality and timely manner or their staff is constantly changing thus staying inexperienced, which makes even ordering something custom a time consuming process, even if you precisely know and tell them what you want.
Time on our end isn't really a problem when we take orders, because then we just gather them, order supplies and take vacation when they arrive to process all of them and ship the product. If orders are going to be way over what we can process ourselves then we'll process them with our company staff as a big project.
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NemesisX
Guest
They owe you nothing. They have jobs and are doing this as a side project as a hobby and are doing the best they can with the time they have. You're coming off as a bit rude.
For the GPU and side-panel installation steps on page 18 & 19 (and possible the side panel removal stop on page 4), it might be better to reorient the case view to the orientation used on page 15 to avoid obscuring the GPU riser location and screw hole location. The side panel installation step on page 19 may also benefit from an arrow or inset view clarifying that the front bracket of the side panel is intended to sit behind the front faceplate rather than in front (possibly duplicated on page 4 for the side panel removal step to prime the reader to pay attention to it's location).
The intended location of the front side panel bracket is 'obvious', but with even a few mm of play it would be easy to install it in the wrong location, and then potentially bend the side panel trying to 'stretch' it to fit the mounting holes at the rear. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
D
Deleted member 222586
Guest
I'm a very business-centered person. What I mean is that we are talking about money, plain and simple. Hobby or not, you expect to sell a product and people expect to get a product for the money they will pay (I'm a potential customer, mind you) and, with that in mind, you should try to develop your business-centered side. First of all, if you answer so many emails on a daily basis... you should start wondering why so many people need to send you their queries personally. Maybe you don't have a proper FAQ available? Or maybe it isn't carrying the information people seek? Of course, if some potential customers want their case made of unobtanium then I understand why they would write an email... otherwise, I'm sure 90% of the emails you receive are simple things that should be explained somehwere. Either way, fixing this will make your life easier because you will have more time to dedicate to important stuff and less time to answer things that have been answered 30 times before. This used to happen where I work many years ago: transactions required a dozen emails because informations wasn't concise nor useful and clients wanted to know about what they were paying in full detail. Nowadays we require 1/3 of the time to process anything with any client, simply because information is readily available and we don't have to do everything on a peer-to-peer basis.
Secondly, updating something doesn't mean adding more information. I understand that you can't give more information when there is none to be had. Everybody understands that. And everybody understands why the price isn't set in stone yet... and most of the users do not really care about that. It is reasonable, all things considering. But, you fail to realise that updating something is as easy as something like this:
"Hey guys, just wanted to give you a little heads up. We are still waiting for XYZ process. Other than that everything is where it should be. I shall keep you guys posted".
With this sort of comment you:
A) Do not give any new information. BUT:
B) You do show others that the project is ongoing and that you understand that people are interested and acknowledge that by dropping some mumbo-jumbo that does precisely that: keeping the interest and and showing that work is being done.
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The part about updating the project takes close to no time at all (2 minutes per forum, tops; and that is weekly) and will yield very good results.
They do and they don't at the same time. I'm a potential customer and we are talking about money here. Any enterprise that has money involved should be handled in a professional manner, both pre-sales and post-sales. And if pre-sales aren't handled properly... what about post-sales? Once people have handed their money?
I can understand your point of view but I won't agree with it because you simply don't see our point of view on this.
First of all we are targeting first production run at people who understand this niche and get the limitations of such small cases etc. We don't want hundreds of people randomly picking up the case because it looks good since it brings more problems initially then it's really worth. That's why the website + upcoming manual should be enough for people to understand what this product is and we are not preparing an idiot-proof product.
Secondly those tons of questions are straightly about whether we will sell those units from the test batch and whether some huge 300W TDP gpu will fit along with AIO CPU water cooling. I can understand people not getting the problem with reference card limitations but it should be obvious that the case is not supporting water cooling if there's no mention of it in the specs.
About tiny updates - after tons of photo sessions to keep you guys up to date with how the product looks like and other photos of what we're doing we don't really have anything left to show you since the manufacturing process is mostly ready and what's left is tiny stuff we have to order to have review samples shipped fully equipped and ready.
Finally, once again - I'm still treating this as a hobby, but I want to provide professionally made product, however that doesn't mean I'm hell bent on selling tens of thousands units and pushing it to every household.
Starting December till now I've had little-to-none time since I've been basically running four projects simultaneously;
- a gamedev studio where we've grown from four people to almost 20 in those six months where I'm basically running the whole project on the tech side as lead gameplay programmer,
- toolset for documentation generation for our powerplant line
- new company website both in terms of coding/arrangement and gathering materials for it
- and of course Sentry.
And Zombi had his plate full as well.
It's just easier for me to jump in and out of forum on notification in-between build times on my workstation to quickly answer questions rather then prepare tons of materials for the OP to explain everything.
Anyway, when I'm ready with manual I'll try to attach some proper info for the GPU restrictions in the OP taken out of the manual.
First of all we are targeting first production run at people who understand this niche and get the limitations of such small cases etc. We don't want hundreds of people randomly picking up the case because it looks good since it brings more problems initially then it's really worth. That's why the website + upcoming manual should be enough for people to understand what this product is and we are not preparing an idiot-proof product.
Secondly those tons of questions are straightly about whether we will sell those units from the test batch and whether some huge 300W TDP gpu will fit along with AIO CPU water cooling. I can understand people not getting the problem with reference card limitations but it should be obvious that the case is not supporting water cooling if there's no mention of it in the specs.
About tiny updates - after tons of photo sessions to keep you guys up to date with how the product looks like and other photos of what we're doing we don't really have anything left to show you since the manufacturing process is mostly ready and what's left is tiny stuff we have to order to have review samples shipped fully equipped and ready.
Finally, once again - I'm still treating this as a hobby, but I want to provide professionally made product, however that doesn't mean I'm hell bent on selling tens of thousands units and pushing it to every household.
Starting December till now I've had little-to-none time since I've been basically running four projects simultaneously;
- a gamedev studio where we've grown from four people to almost 20 in those six months where I'm basically running the whole project on the tech side as lead gameplay programmer,
- toolset for documentation generation for our powerplant line
- new company website both in terms of coding/arrangement and gathering materials for it
- and of course Sentry.
And Zombi had his plate full as well.
It's just easier for me to jump in and out of forum on notification in-between build times on my workstation to quickly answer questions rather then prepare tons of materials for the OP to explain everything.
Anyway, when I'm ready with manual I'll try to attach some proper info for the GPU restrictions in the OP taken out of the manual.
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