SFF Professional CGI Workstation

[UrbanSmooth]

Interesting, keep us updated.

 

[cvgd]

Where does the IO plate go? Opposite the drive slot? The design looks a bit like the playstation. Very interesting.

 

[SaladDressing]

I am gonna say you should be designing cases. that looks totally cool!

And for USB 3.0 headers Bitfenix just released some. Check their site. http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/news/show/17,bitfenix-unveils-new-usb-3-0-solutions/

Thanks for the compliment, wwischerath!

And thanks for that BitFenix link! That's what I'm after... that's if the motherboard I'm going for has internal USB3 headers.

Let's see how it all pans out. I have a distributor here quoting an ETA in June for the MSI Z68MA-ED55 micro-ATX board. I've been pressing him to be more specific, but unfortunately no reply. As far as I can tell from the schematics in the manual, the Z68MA-ED55 does not sport an internal USB3 header, only the two USB3 ports out the back.

 

[SaladDressing]

Interesting, keep us updated.

Thanks UrbanSmooth, will do.

Where does the IO plate go? Opposite the drive slot? The design looks a bit like the playstation. Very interesting.

Appreciate your interest, cvgd!

Ideally front panel USB ports and power button would go next to the slim optical up towards the top. It depends how much those devices protrude internally and what may get in the way.

 

[SaladDressing]

The Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 micro-ATX motherboard has an on-board USB3 header plus (iirc) an extra rear bracket holding two extra USB3 ports. I would strip these two ports off the bracket and install them onto the front panel.

I would also consider having two or four USB2 ports alongside that to conveniently handle dongles, memory sticks and older external HDDs.

Time to check the availability of this board. Seems ideal for what I'm building.

 

[SaladDressing]

Here's an image showing the component layout. Although it shows no cable routing, spacing was arranged with cables in mind.

This layout will change as I work on adding structures, brackets and panel seams.

 

[UrbanSmooth]

Any way to get a standard ODD in there? The slim ones are much too expensive and really do not work so well.

 

[Dragonphreak]

I would suggest just going with an external ODD.

 

[Necere]

I would suggest a laserdisc player. They work the best.

 

[SaladDressing]

Any way to get a standard ODD in there? The slim ones are much too expensive and really do not work so well.

A standard optical drive hogs internal volume like an elephant inside a taxi. Yes, slim drives are expensive, but IMO worth it in extreme situations.

My experience has been that the standard drives eventually go faulty while I haven't yet seen a notebook optical frustrate me.

Anyway, right now I'm seriously interested in compact, and a slim drive caters perfectly for that. I've considered an external optical to save even more space, but (1) there is usually free space somewhere in the layout for a slim optical and (2) there's still much to be said for the covenience of a built-in DVD/Blu-Ray drive and (3) I'm Fedex-tracking such a drive through Kazakstan via Germany en-route to South Africa as I type; ETA on Monday.

I've worked out a 2nd micro-ATX case which is only 12Liters in volume but it can handle up to about 23cm or 24cm full height expansion cards (the Fasetti can only handle 18cm cards). This new case, which I call the Gillimi, can be put into a backpack more like a notebook. For me a backpack is the portable ideal. I've even managed to bring down the volume to 11Liters but that causes more dramatic styling whereas the 12Liter version is more conservative.

I'll post renders ASAP.

 

[UrbanSmooth]

Fair enough.

 

[SaladDressing]

The initial Gillimi design (which is my 2nd micro-ATX case) made the workstation slightly more compact, more suitable for backpack travel, and increased its full-height expansion card length from 18cm to around 24cm.

However, even before I was able to post a render of the Gillimi, I was inspired and came up with the Gillimi 2, which has an actual volume of only 11.25Liters (13.6L boxed volume) with 38cm of longitudinal space for full height expansion cards. Whereas the Gillimi 1 had all the plugs and ports on the back of the machine, the Gillimi 2 has the power plug underneath (employing a right-angled plug running the cord out the back) and the ports on top of the machine; much like the Silverstone FT03.

I'll follow up shortly with renders of Gillimi 1 & 2 (no Gillimi 3 for now, I promise).

 

[UrbanSmooth]

Awaiting your renders.

 

[SaladDressing]

What was the Gillimi 2 concept is now officially renamed to be only Gillimi and shown here. I won't be showing the Gillimi 1 concept.

Comparing the Gillimi to other micro-ATX case sizes from Silverstone as well as carry-on luggage. That's a segment of the power cord visible round the back.

The case is raised to allow the PSU exhaust out the bottom and to have clearance for the right-angled power plug. The feet detach easily.

The Gillimi has space for full-height expansion cards up to about 38cm (nearly 15 inches) in length.

Gellimi micro-ATX enclosure specs
boxed volume = 13.6Liters (13cm wide x 25.5cm deep x 41cm high)
actual volume = 11.25Liters
case cooling: 140mm fan mounted on CPU heatsink (Thermalright AXP140 as reference)
PSU: standard ATX PSU (maximum 150mm length)
mass storage: 2 x 2.5" drives
optical storage: 12.7mm slim optical drive slot-in

The motherboard backplane shows upwards granting easy access to ports when the machine is standing in the floor, while the optical drive slot would be more difficult to reach. Placing the machine on a desk would make access to IO ports more difficult while the optical drive and front panel USB ports (not shown in render) would be easy to access.

Comments and criticisms are very welcome!

 

[Necere]

If you ever want to use video cards with side-facing PCIe power connectors, 13cm of width isn't going to provide the needed clearance.

 

[SaladDressing]

If you ever want to use video cards with side-facing PCIe power connectors, 13cm of width isn't going to provide the needed clearance.

Good point Necere, thanks!

I'm only now getting acquainted with the possible dimensions of certain graphics cards.

Once you start laying out your own rig you gain a lot of respect for the top chassis makers. Catering for all the component possibilities is a rather tall order! It's a very worthwhile exercise to do a virtual 3D layout even if you don't custom build.

I think it is definitely easier for me to create a niche chassis and achieve a smaller volume because I'm purposefully limiting my design to certain smaller components like low profile CPU cooler, 2.5" HDDs, and slim optical. I'm also not catering for two dual-slot GPU cards, although I suppose I easily could while still keeping the enclosure quite portable. However, I want to remain true to my original purpose: a workstation.

Referring to large professional cards, the Nvidia Quadro 6000 card has a 25cm length, which leaves 13cm of free space in the Gillimi's expansion volume which could perhaps be used for an additional cooling fan which blows air over the expansion cards.

 

[Machupo]

The next case I building will be 140mm "width" (in it's case, that's height, but same reference frame -- away from the mobo) to accomodate "top"-mounted plugs for the pcie power... they'll still have to be low-profile connectors (custom job as I haven't seen anyone selling them), but they'll still fit.

 

[UrbanSmooth]

Looks like fun little cases.

 

[SaladDressing]

Looks like fun little cases.

Thanks UrbanSmooth.

The next case I building will be 140mm "width" (in it's case, that's height, but same reference frame -- away from the mobo) to accomodate "top"-mounted plugs for the pcie power... they'll still have to be low-profile connectors (custom job as I haven't seen anyone selling them), but they'll still fit.

Thanks for sharing, Machupo. When I thought about clearance for these connectors I was disappointed to have to "give-back" the space I'm trying to save just for a plug. Now that I think about it, the Silverstone GD06 is 15cm... and you say 14cm requires custom plugs... what a challenge!

Perhaps the expansion slot area needs to be "flexible" so that the case is slim and compact for travelling but can still accommodate protrusions like power plugs, but once deployed, an extra few centimeters here or there won't matter at all. Hmmm... some type of transformer chassis coming up...

As for layout, I value the Gillimi most for the length of cards it can handle and for the tiny footprint.

 

[SaladDressing]

I've modified the Gillimi micro-ATX enclosure with a collapsible expansion card bay which transforms the enclosure from this:

Gillimi work mode

• deployed chassis volume = 13.75Liters
• can still handle 38cm long expansion cards
• now has 15cm space to cater for cards with top edge power or data connectors
• now has extra free space next to last expansion slot to cater for thick cards

to this:

Gillimi travel mode

• collapsed chassis volume = 11.65Liters
• 10.5cm (width) x 41cm (height) x 27cm depth

To fold down for travelling: unplug & remove expansion cards, store cards inside the expansion bay cover, and secure cover in collapsed position (with cards stored inside).

I have not yet done 3D models & renders since I'm busy on a project. I'll see when I can post some visuals.

 

[UrbanSmooth]

Would like to see this animated, if possible.

 

[SaladDressing]

Would like to see this animated, if possible.

Good idea, UrbanSmooth, although I'll only do that once I've decided this is THE ONE.

I'd like to do a scale cardboard box of the collapsed dimensions and then see how that works in the real world inside a bag. For now I'm a bit tired of this virtual stuff.

I want to see if there's any more out-of-the-box thinking p) that may result in a further benefit. If one works with the idea of a single chassis with two modes - collapsed & deployed - and the deployed size is not that important, while the collapsed size is, then there could be one or two more things that may be "transformertized"... thinking here of extra cooling, etc.

Then imagine... all this powered by robotics and the case transforming automatically at the click of a button...

 

[UrbanSmooth]

Yes, the whole robotics thing would be neat, however, it could be done without robotics, saving you and your customers more money.

 

[SaladDressing]

I've just put together a scale cardboard box to physically model the Gillimi in travel mode (collapsed)... 10.5cm (width) x 41cm (height) x 27cm depth.

I then slipped it into a medium sized Vaude Gallery Air 30Liter hiking/travel backpack. It went in easily, zipped up tightly, with some space in the bag to spare. A 50Liter backpack should additionally offer the needed space for protective padding.

I'm pleased that the Gillimi is portable and my basic goals with a micro-ATX form factor are met.

However, the box is actually larger in real life than I imagined. I suppose until expansion cards and powerful PSUs adopt smaller size standards, a really tiny SFF workstation will not be possible. I'm not complaining, just contemplating matters from the viewpoint of trying to go as small as possible.

 

[SaladDressing]

This Panasonic UJ235A slimline Blu-Ray writer arrived a few days ago. Only had a chance to take some photos today...

 

[SaladDressing]

Here's a photo of the Gillimi-sized cardboard box next to my old CM Stacker chassis. The former is about 6 times smaller in volume than the latter. Please excuse the rough cardboard box... it was made really quickly late at night using scrap cardboard

Seeing the new Gillimi next to the old workstation, I gained an appreciation for just how small and portable the new enclosure really is.

 

[SaladDressing]

After modeling the FirePro V4800 card and bracket precisely to scale and inserting that into the Gillimi 3D model, I'm concerned.

The card's bracket extends past the card's underside by a whole 15mm.

Not only does it force me to raise the motherboard mountings by a further 5mm (and thereby possibly requiring a thicker chassis design) it also means that in travel mode the Gillimi needs to stow away not a 110mm tall card but 125mm! So after skimming away space like mad, here I am adding volume again.

Let's see in which direction this forces me.

 

[Necere]

Have you experimented with layouts using PCIe risers at all? With flexible risers you can put the GPU almost anywhere...

 

[SaladDressing]

Have you experimented with layouts using PCIe risers at all? With flexible risers you can put the GPU almost anywhere...

Thanks Necere! I was just thinking about such a thing but I was at a loss at what keywords to Google.

 

[SaladDressing]

Frustrated with the massive size of expansion cards (), I have essentially given up on creating a generic compact micro-ATX enclosure. Instead my focus has shifted to house specific parts in as compact a case as possible.

Using the Gillimi as the starting point and after playing around with a Flexible PCI-Express Riser Card and water cooling, I came up with the Pannano micro-ATX enclosure. Below is a rough concept render...

Pannano micro-ATX enclosure specs
boxed volume = 10.25Liters (10cm wide x 25cm deep x 41cm high)
actual volume = 9.4Liters
case material: 2mm aluminium sheeting
CPU cooling: 14cm fan cooling a Corsair H60 radiator
PSU: standard ATX PSU (maximum 150mm length)
mass storage: 2 x 2.5" drives
optical storage: 12.7mm slim optical drive slot-in

Cooling
The PSU takes in outside air and vents it out beneath the machine.
The water cooler also takes in air from outside.
Vent holes in the chassis body exhaust warm air from inside the enclosure without an extractor fan.

I wanted to have the GPU breathe outside air, so it had to be positioned over the CPU. If the GPU is flipped the other way it can be mounted over the expansion slots and the radiator over the CPU but then the GPU takes in warm air.

Noise
Even though the case is compact, I'm trying to stay away from small fans to reduce noise. I'm not sure how noisy the small fan on the GPU will be.

Free the GPU
Because the GPU is mounted parallel to the motherboard and not perpendicular to it as is usual, the case is only 10cm thick.

Killing the other Expansion Slots
Because of the water cooler radiator placement, the other expansion slots are made useless, but they're useless anyway since they aren't being used by this workstation.

Most Compact Yet
The Pannano is my most compact layout yet and will very easily slip in and out of a travel bag. Unfortunately this comes at a cost: (1) the other expansion slots are useless and (2) the Pannano is not a generic case and will only accommodate these specific components (although with little modification it will handle 24cm GPU cards).

Conclusion
Although the Pannano has not been finalized, I can say that the ability to freely mount the GPU card parallel to the motherboard (after having had that space freed up by a water cooler) is the key to having a slim enclosure which in turn is prerequisite to slipping a powerful workstation into a backpack with ease (with space to spare for keyboard, tablet, mouse, etc.).

Once again feel free to post your thoughts and criticisms.

 

[SaladDressing]

Does anyone know if a 16X PCI-Express flexible riser would degrade the performance of the GPU card?

It appears the ribbon cable used comes in differing qualities which may (or may not) influence speed?

 

[SaladDressing]

My Internet research shows that theoretically a riser should not cause performance degradation. However, I have found very little anecdotal evidence to conclusively support this. Some suggest performance loss, while some seem content. I have found no published tests showing performance with and without a riser.

I was surprised how many riser makers and products there are and that it is not only driven by custom case builders but also the 1U and 2U server market.

As for me, I'll be working with two flexible risers; a 16X for the GPU positioned over the CPU area, and a 1X for the Wi-Fi network adapter positioned over the expansion slot area under the H60 radiator.

 

[fps_krumm]

I may be wrong but wouldn't all data going across a PCI bridge/riser/cable be digital in nature and not analog? And as long as the individual cables used for each pin on the PCI flex cable are able to support the "bandwidth" of what the PCI slot is dishing out, then the cable will either work or it won't.

This sort of falls back under the HDMI cable gimmick where the $3k cable will perform the same as the $3 one. It either works or it doesn't. And if the PCI cable doesn't work then send it back

 

[wwischerath]

I think it depends. the video signal would be ok (most likely), the there is always a voltage drop thru connections and and over the cable length. The PCIe supplies up to 75W of GPU power, so there is a potential for loss here. I would think that it should be minimal with the lengths being used, as long as quality wiring is used.

 

[SaladDressing]

After being side-tracked from this custom case project by a paying project, I'm slowly getting back into it again (still wrapping up the paying job so things are still slow).

With all this time having passed, I'm pleased to have a fair selection of micro-ATX Z68 boards available here in South Africa at rather reasonable prices, including the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z. I'm definitely glad I waited for the Z68 series.

I'm considering a travel monitor to slip into the backpack behind the mobile workstation. Slipping a large 27" monitor into the backpack won't work for carry-on, so I'm looking at a 21.5" 1920x1080 IPS monitor which is still considerably larger than the typical 17" desktop replacement notebook screen. The LG IPS226V-PN monitor is only 4cm thick without the stand, making the monitor plus workstation 14cm to 15cm thick (10cm within carry-on limits). Turning the monitor panel vertically, the 51.5cm width, although bigger than the 41cm height of the computer case, still fits carry-on (4cm within limits). Same goes for the 33.25cm height of the monitor which is wider than the workstation (11cm within carry-on limits). Perhaps the workstation could act as a stand for the monitor so that I only need to take the monitor panel along.

I'm aiming for a desktop-replacement-notebook-replacement... a fully mobile workstation that packs as much punch and screen real estate that can be fit comfortably into a carry-on backpack.

 

[SaladDressing]

I've ordered most parts for my portable workstation. Some parts should be delivered this week. The SSD I'll get at a later stage.

Here's what I received this past week...

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. The first time I'm moving beyond Windows XP.

Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm, 1TB. By adding only 4mm to the width of my custom portable case design I can accommodate a 3.5-inch HDD in place of a 2.5-inch, which offers higher performance and capacity - enough reason to go that slight touch bigger on the case.

4 x 4GB Kingston Hyper-X RAM, 1600MHz.

Asus Maximus Gene-Z micro-ATX motherboard.

The other components I'm waiting for this week are:

• PSU
• CPU
• CPU cooler
• wireless network adapter
• wireless keyboard
• wireless mouse

I'm doing this temporary build inside my CM Stacker case which has stood unused for nearly 2 years. I stripped the CM Stacker and put it in the pool to soften up the dirt and to be able to rinse it really well after scrubbing.

This temporary build will allow me to work on the machine while allowing me to complete the design and construction of my portable case.

I'll keep you guys posted as I advance.

Please feel free to comment and offer advice or critiques.

 

[SaladDressing]

I received the other parts and built the temporary rig in the CM Stacker case.

Even though the CM Stacker has some decent cooling options, I'm purposefully only running the cooling which I intend running in my SFF custom case so that I can more realistically judge temperatures. The PSU, liquid cooler and GPU fan are the only fans running on the system.

The modular PSU is amazing! Only plug in what you need, sleeved cabling... I know most of you guys are used to having it this nice but it really is fantastic!

This is the first time I use liquid cooling. Installation was a slight challenge but simple enough. This system is virtually silent, even with the case covers off. I'm amazed at how quiet these fans really are!

I haven't yet tested my 3D applications with the ATI Firepro V4800. Still installing all my software.

Onboard diagnostics and overclocking features has made this motherboard a pleasure!

16GB of RAM. After Windows 7 boots,10% of the RAM is used and I have no worries about having room for my apps. I'm really glad I didn't hold back on RAM.

The slimline blu-ray burner doesn't have a mounting bracket inside this desktop case. I thought of modifying a set of 3.5-inch HDD brackets, but then went with resting the optical drive on the HDD cage on a slice of foam with foam bits wedging it in place on the sides. This is fine for now. Eventually my custom case will have mounting brackets made especially for it. The slot-load mechanism is a joy to use and it plays blu-ray movies very nicely.

I did overclock the i7 2600K to 4.6GHz using auto tuning to get a feel for it. RAM running at 1650MHz. During the IntelBurnTest running at Maximum the CPU temperature peaked at 67 degrees Celcius with the system stable. I still want to learn about tweaking the overclock settings. Seems like the system has some room for a little more speed that will come in handy with those high quality 3D renders!

 

[jeremyshaw]

Awesomesause!!

I was almost going to believe this project thread dead

Max4GENE makes everything easier, doesn't it?

 

[SaladDressing]

Awesomesause!!

I was almost going to believe this project thread dead

Max4GENE makes everything easier, doesn't it?

Reason for delays...a lot of time waiting for all these Z68 parts to become available in South Africa and the fact that I've been working on a large project for clients. I'm really glad I waited.

Monday I hope to have all my software transitioned onto the new workstation from my notebook. Productivity should really jump up a notch or two. It's been a pain coping on the notebook after my old workstation mobo burned out. And recently my MacBook fan has been making a racket, making the new quiet system a rescue for my sanity (yes, noisy MacBook fan is THAT bad).

I'm still waiting for a wireless network adapter.

I've started working on styling for my custom case.

I'll also be modeling actually measured parts for doing the final case layout, something I couldn't do up until now. I'll update this thread with renders once I have them.

 

[SaladDressing]

I installed the D-Link DWA-556 PCIe network adapter today. This completes the computer components for this build. In my custom SFF case these cards will be installed on flexible risers.

I trust this adapter will give me good service. I've always enjoyed good Wi-Fi signal from my notebook and I'm hoping to repeat that experience on this workstation.

When installed in my SFF case, these aerials will be sitting on top of a small tower unit (motherboard backplane points upwards) on top of my desk with better reception than it is enjoying now where it is mounted down below in the CM Stacker case.