SFF Passive Cube case: Streacom DB4

S

Snowdog

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Apr 22, 2006
Messages
11,262
I have been dreaming of something like this. A case that uses the outsides as a big passive heat-sink for a fan-less design. I imagine this will be quite expensive when it ships. They showed this as a concept back in 2013, but it looks like they are really going to make a product of it soon.

Streacom DB4 is a passively-cooled silver mini-ITX cube

db4-025-000.jpg


db4-000-180-open.jpg
 
This looks like the perfect case for my broadwell build. I just didn't see anything about price?
 
a dual slot full height PCI card (max 200mm length, 110mm height), -- this is a little sad because gaming sized cards are rarely 110mm.
 
chx said:
a dual slot full height PCI card (max 200mm length, 110mm height), -- this is a little sad because gaming sized cards are rarely 110mm.
Click to expand...

Most passive cases don't provide for a video card at all.

The Max power supply that fits is 240watts, and max cooling is 65 watts per side panel. This really isn't going to be a high powered gaming system.
 
chx said:
a dual slot full height PCI card (max 200mm length, 110mm height), -- this is a little sad because gaming sized cards are rarely 110mm.
Click to expand...

The EVGA 960s and 950s are reference height, so I guess those would fit.
 
Snowdog said:
Most passive cases don't provide for a video card at all.

The Max power supply that fits is 240watts, and max cooling is 65 watts per side panel. This really isn't going to be a high powered gaming system.
Click to expand...

iFreilicht said:
The EVGA 960s and 950s are reference height, so I guess those would fit.
Click to expand...

So then anything non-K Skylake fits TDP wise "on" one panels and the 960 fits "on" the other two. If you are gaming at "only" 1080p then the 960 while not plenty, can be OK. And of course the case is not yet out and when it'll be we are looking at the 1060 hopefully. Wouldn't that be sweet.
 
Any news on how the GPU cooling attaches to the side panel?

The ZF240 PSU doesn't have any 6 or 8 pin adapters, so a GTX 1050TI is the most powerful you can get in this case, right?

Also, Streacom mentions an upgrade cooling for the CPU but also here I haven't seen any kit available...
 
Hi, I got this case recently. Afaik there is no passive gpu system from Streacom for this case.

They have a LH6 Heat Pipe Kit , but I haven't seen stock anywhere.

I plan on buiding a 1080p gaming system with it (gtx1060), I find the stock cooling solution meh and am not going to use it. Btw way that is for my build, it should be sufficient for a HTPC.

Here is the only review so far.

I have build a passive system a long time a go and I know that the cpu is very doable. It gets tricky with the gpu, the vrm's are very tough to cool passively.

The case itself is very high quality, only thing that was a negative for me was that the feet weren't bend exactly to 90° and that made the case a bit wobbly. So I had to bend them myself but now it stands like a rock.

This build is going to take me forever as I don't have much time and I like to take it slow anyway. I'll post some pick when I start getting a bit into the build.
 
Raiju said:
Hi, I got this case recently. Afaik there is no passive gpu system from Streacom for this case.

They have a LH6 Heat Pipe Kit , but I haven't seen stock anywhere.

I plan on buiding a 1080p gaming system with it (gtx1060), I find the stock cooling solution meh and am not going to use it. Btw way that is for my build, it should be sufficient for a HTPC.

Here is the only review so far.

I have build a passive system a long time a go and I know that the cpu is very doable. It gets tricky with the gpu, the vrm's are very tough to cool passively.

The case itself is very high quality, only thing that was a negative for me was that the feet weren't bend exactly to 90° and that made the case a bit wobbly. So I had to bend them myself but now it stands like a rock.

This build is going to take me forever as I don't have much time and I like to take it slow anyway. I'll post some pick when I start getting a bit into the build.
Click to expand...

Hi there!
Thanks for the fast response. I am very interested to hear about your experience with the case. I am currently using an Ncase M1 and have great cooling. I am planning this build for a friend who does a lot of photo editing and also would like a very similar system to your with a GTX 1060.

Here are a few things that come to mind planning such a system.
- How do you provide the power for the GPU with the ZF240W PSU? It doesn't to have a 6 or 8pin plug for a GPU.
- What is the maximum width in the rear compartment where the PSU is located? What size PSU could you fit if you want to find something a little more powerful? The Corsair SF450 is 100 x 63 x 120mm. Any chance of fitting it?
- The spanish guys doing the review reached 100°C with an i7 6700K. What temps would an i5 6600 have here? I guess that type of CPU should be more than enough for most users.
- How do you plan on checking on VRM temps? I don't think the GTX 1060 comes with a temp sensor.
- Since the GTX 1060 has a TDP rating of 120W, a single side panel solution wouldn't work anyway. So unless Streacom have a similar solution to the dual side panel cooling for the GPU, I think the stock cooler will have to be used. Or what are you thinking?
- Is there space theoretically for a slim 120mm / 140mm fan under the top acrylic lid? I know this kind of defeats the purpose of a fully silent PC but even very slow rpm would help hugely with GPU, VRM, RAM, motherboard cooling. Friends of mine run a small laser cutting shop and can easily cut out air vents and mounting holes into an acrylic material.

Very challenging project! I look forward to seeing some pictures of your progress!
 
Last edited:
Raiju said:
Hi, I got this case recently. Afaik there is no passive gpu system from Streacom for this case.

They have a LH6 Heat Pipe Kit , but I haven't seen stock anywhere.

I plan on buiding a 1080p gaming system with it (gtx1060), I find the stock cooling solution meh and am not going to use it. Btw way that is for my build, it should be sufficient for a HTPC.

Here is the only review so far.

I have build a passive system a long time a go and I know that the cpu is very doable. It gets tricky with the gpu, the vrm's are very tough to cool passively.

The case itself is very high quality, only thing that was a negative for me was that the feet weren't bend exactly to 90° and that made the case a bit wobbly. So I had to bend them myself but now it stands like a rock.

This build is going to take me forever as I don't have much time and I like to take it slow anyway. I'll post some pick when I start getting a bit into the build.
Click to expand...

What about something like this below the lid? It is a 200mm x 15mm slim fan announced for early 2017.

200mm_fan.jpg
 
anak85 said:
Hi there!
Thanks for the fast response. I am very interested to hear about your experience with the case. I am currently using an Ncase M1 and have great cooling. I am planning this build for a friend who does a lot of photo editing and also would like a very similar system to your with a GTX 1060.

Here are a few things that come to mind planning such a system.
- How do you provide the power for the GPU with the ZF240W PSU? It doesn't to have a 6 or 8pin plug for a GPU.
- What is the maximum width in the rear compartment where the PSU is located? What size PSU could you fit if you want to find something a little more powerful? The Corsair SF450 is 100 x 63 x 120mm. Any chance of fitting it?
- The spanish guys doing the review reached 100°C with an i7 6700K. What temps would an i5 6600 have here? I guess that type of CPU should be more than enough for most users.
- How do you plan on checking on VRM temps? I don't think the GTX 1060 comes with a temp sensor.
- Since the GTX 1060 has a TDP rating of 120W, a single side panel solution wouldn't work anyway. So unless Streacom have a similar solution to the dual side panel cooling for the GPU, I think the stock cooler will have to be used. Or what are you thinking?
- Is there space theoretically for a slim 120mm / 140mm fan under the top acrylic lid? I know this kind of defeats the purpose of a fully silent PC but even very slow rpm would help hugely with GPU, VRM, RAM, motherboard cooling. Friends of mine run a small laser cutting shop and can easily cut out air vents and mounting holes into an acrylic material.

Very challenging project! I look forward to seeing some pictures of your progress!
Click to expand...

Hi,

I am going to use a sf600, there is enough room for it but you need to make your own mounting points, maybe cut out the bottom plate? Plan on using the sf600 passively so I am going to mount it naked to the rear panel with standoffs. There will be a thermal pad between the pcb and the panel that should take care of the vrm's on the back of the pcb. I have to stress the unit and see if it works like that. If not I need to bolt a bigger heatsink on the one that is already in there. If that also doesn't work I need a heatpipe from heatsink to rear panel but that gets tricky because the heatsink is live so it needs insulation. Don't expect I need to go that far since the system should draw max 240w under synthetic benchmarks and around 200w gaming.

Btw ZF240W is 240W combined it only has 168W on the 12V rail and I don't think you're supposed to use that molex on a videocard.

I honestly don't know what the temps are going to be with the stock cooling. As I see it heat transfer from heatpipes to panel is poor, you could see that in the thermal imaging pics, the panel should have gotten a lot hotter. Using thermal paste on both sides of the thermal pad would already improve things quite a bit imo.

Here is another review I forgot.

Regarding the vrm's on the gpu, very simple the card either shuts down or it doesn't :) I have this for the gpu, plan is to use long heatpipes attached in the middle to the gpu block and each end to a different panel. So effectively if will be cooled by 16 heatpipes and two panels. I haven't decided on the gpu yet because I also need heatpipes from vrm to rear panel so I am looking for a card easiest to rig that up.

There is 16mm under the lid so yes a slim fan should fit and if you are willing to cut the motherboard tray a bit a 25mm fan should go in too. The top lid definitively needs venting holes, too bad they didn't make that one out of metal like the rest of the case.

cheers

ps come to think of it, you can probably use the included rails to mount the psu. I should have one here next week so I'll see if that works before I tear it apart.
 
Last edited:
Raiju said:
Hi,

I am going to use a sf600, there is enough room for it but you need to make your own mounting points, maybe cut out the bottom plate? Plan on using the sf600 passively so I am going to mount it naked to the rear panel with standoffs. There will be a thermal pad between the pcb and the panel that should take care of the vrm's on the back of the pcb. I have to stress the unit and see if it works like that. If not I need to bolt a bigger heatsink on the one that is already in there. If that also doesn't work I need a heatpipe from heatsink to rear panel but that gets tricky because the heatsink is live so it needs insulation. Don't expect I need to go that far since the system should draw max 240w under synthetic benchmarks and around 200w gaming.

Btw ZF240W is 240W combined it only has 168W on the 12V rail and I don't think you're supposed to use that molex on a videocard.
Click to expand...

Why not the SF450 then? You will have more than enough power with that version. I am using it currently and the fan is inaudible and with the GTX960 / i5 6600K @4.5Ghz I draw 230W under benchmarking.

Would the SF PSU also fit with its casing on? I would test the whole system before starting to dismantle the PSU tbh.

I honestly don't know what the temps are going to be with the stock cooling. As I see it heat transfer from heatpipes to panel is poor, you could see that in the thermal imaging pics, the panel should have gotten a lot hotter. Using thermal paste on both sides of the thermal pad would already improve things quite a bit imo.

Here is another review I forgot.
Click to expand...

I also think that the copper pipes need to be covered in thermal paste on all sides. That review video didn't seem to really make sure that all surfaces are covered with the paste. So I also think that better temps can be achieved with a little more care. For the pipes on the side panel you can use thermal paste on the pipes before using the thermal pad to mount against the side panel. That way you can ensure that aluminium mounting block also acts as a heat transfer.

Regarding the vrm's on the gpu, very simple the card either shuts down or it doesn't :) I have this for the gpu, plan is to use long heatpipes attached in the middle to the gpu block and each end to a different panel. So effectively if will be cooled by 16 heatpipes and two panels. I haven't decided on the gpu yet because I also need heatpipes from vrm to rear panel so I am looking for a card easiest to rig that up.
Click to expand...

That heat sink looks like a great solution. I am just not quite sure where you plan on mounting the heat pipes. The L-shaped pipes would only be mountable towards the front (where the CPU is mounted) or back of the case. To mount towards the side you would need U-shaped pipes.

For the VRM, you could always use small heat sinks which should help like these. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00637X42A/ref=psdc_2998409011_t1_B00GWFMG1S

There is 16mm under the lid so yes a slim fan should fit and if you are willing to cut the motherboard tray a bit a 25mm fan should go in too. The top lid definitively needs venting holes, too bad they didn't make that one out of metal like the rest of the case.
Click to expand...

Acrylic is easier to laser. I am sure you can find a shop somewhere who can help you out with that. I think the slim 200mm fan from Noctua would be a great solution for a lot of cooling problems without cutting the motherboard tray.

If you really want aluminium you could also get it lasered to measure. What do the mounts of the top case look like?

ps come to think of it, you can probably use the included rails to mount the psu. I should have one here next week so I'll see if that works before I tear it apart.
Click to expand...

Yes, try not voiding the warranty if you can (6 years is a long time).
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Yes sf450 will fit as is.

Here is another review, looks like 65w processor gets a bit problematic. Looks like heat gets trapped inside the case as expected.
 
Raiju said:
Yes sf450 will fit as is.

Here is another review, looks like 65w processor gets a bit problematic. Looks like heat gets trapped inside the case as expected.
Click to expand...

Good to hear about the SF450. Did you change your mind from 600w to 450w?

So the temperatures using 1 side panel are not an option for me then. What are you going to use? Maybe time to order the LH6 Heat Pipe Kit directly from Streacom.
 
the thing with the 600w unit is he can just use it fanless, i think is a good idea
 
D4rkn3ss said:
the thing with the 600w unit is he can just use it fanless, i think is a good idea
Click to expand...

The SF450 runs fanless for the specs that one would put in this case. I actually have never seen mine spin up, even under load. It draws 230W under benchmark load.
 
anak85 said:
The SF450 runs fanless for the specs that one would put in this case. I actually have never seen mine spin up, even under load. It draws 230W under benchmark load.
Click to expand...

really? well i just have one and i tested fanless with a 1060 / i3-6300 and i can tell no way it will work fanless for long term in gaming, it heats just too much, it wasnt designed for this. this is a live test report.
 
D4rkn3ss said:
really? well i just have one and i tested fanless with a 1060 / i3-6300 and i can tell no way it will work fanless for long term in gaming, it heats just too much, it wasnt designed for this. this is a live test report.
Click to expand...

In the DB4 case? I guess load isn't the only criteria for the fan then. It must be temperature controlled as well because you have a lot less load power than I do. So probably the SF600 would also spin up...

Btw, what are you experiences with this case? How do you have the cooling set up and what GPU? Would be great to read your experiences and temps...
 
anak85 said:
In the DB4 case? I guess load isn't the only criteria for the fan then. It must be temperature controlled as well because you have a lot less load power than I do. So probably the SF600 would also spin up...

Btw, what are you experiences with this case? How do you have the cooling set up and what GPU? Would be great to read your experiences and temps...
Click to expand...

not with this case, with an SG05 with a 120mm noctua up front. i tried fanless because of the same reasoning you had, it works fine but not with constant gaming.
 
Ok, but that is a slightly different circumstance because you had the CPU and GPU both dissipating heat within the system.

I build in a SG13 and also tested the temps without a front fan. I had to stop my load test as it got too hot.

In the DB4 with the CPU and GPU heat going outside the case you should have a better temperature in the case. Nevertheless, I would still add venting holes and a slim fan in the top of the case. The SF450 should be just fine and I don't think it will perform any differently to the SF600.
 
well do as you like, im just here because im curious about this case
 
D4rkn3ss said:
omg its so cute! nice review, you can easily stuff a mini 1060/1070 with an sfx psu in there
Click to expand...

You would have 2 fans in there totally defeating the purpose of the case. The psu would need a custom bracket and there is no room for a pcie cable for the graphics card.

Look likes it's cold where Dmitry lives, what is going to happen in summer when ambient temps are much higher or if you run full load for couple of hours instead of the 5 mins he did from what I can make out.

This is a HTPC case, I think you will be disappointed if you buy it for anything else.


Curious about Calyos, doesn't look as good as the DB4 but it seems a lot more functional and they already proved they can passively cool a Intel Core i7 5820K with a GeForce GTX Titan X.

1.jpg


2.jpg


3.jpg


Complete system with ASUS Z170I PRO GAMING motherboard and ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini. No idea how big it is.
 
Raiju the system i listed on this thread is my tv box, it is cool and almost dead silent with both noctuas (cpu/case) usually at 400rpm. i sometimes get things because i like the look of it and then i solve the problems that comes with later, im using itxs for almost seven years :p
 
final-jpg.25785


I finished my build, 18 heatpipes and 4 tubes of mx4:)

Ssee worklog for more pics, gamed about 2 hrs and gpu didn't go past 48C. We are are having exceptionally hot days for the time of the year so ambient is about 24C.

Really tempted to rebuild with ryzen+vega once it is here to max this case out.

Very very happy with results
 
Raiju said:
Really tempted to rebuild with ryzen+vega once it is here to max this case out.

Very very happy with results
Click to expand...

Excellent work. I think your attention to detail and generous use of thermal paste gave you better results than many before you.

Though you would likely need all 4 sides just to cool a Vega GPU so I think you must be joking about that. A GTX 1060 would be very doable though and pop in a quad core Intel in your current socket if you don't go too high on clock speed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Raiju
like this
Darn, I forgot vega is still 14nm, vega20 then. I think two panels can do 150W.

It all boils down to good contact. The shims I used really smash the heatpipes against the panels, gpu is mounted high pressure too. Although my cpu temps are good, the naked die route was not that smart, I miss some pressure there. Could easily have shaved 5C off the cpu temps.

All in all I learned a lot, used cheap parts on purpose, case is is gonna be with me for a long time as soon as some real yummy hardware pops up I'm rebuilding to the max.
 
You were previous very pessimistic about the DB4 cooling ratings, now I think you have switched to over-optimistic.

Bear in mind your GPU is only a 75W part, and unlike AMD cards it actually only draws a max of ~75 Watts, and you have it hooked up to 110W rated cooling solution, so you are comfortably under.

I really wouldn't want to push it over the limit.
 
I've just bought this case and hoping to do ryzen build in it. I'd be interested to know all your thoughts on using a Seasonic fanless 400W psu rather than the streacom one. I'm not comfortable enough around psu components to do what raiju did to his sf450 (great build btw, i will be borrowing many of your ideas!) but wondering about thermals.

At this point I'm planning to use a ryzen 3 1300x, M.2 NVME storage and either a zotac or evga 1050ti (I can't seem to find the gigabyte one you used raiju, guessing it wasnt released into my market.

Thanks in advance!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top