The next NCASE project: a Steam Machine-style case (indeterminate)

It's the one flaw every new ITX case now a days from a major company seems to share. They are all too big. There's a reason why half a decade later the SG05 is still the gold standard.

amen sister
 
Lol. That Lian-Li case is the dumbest thing in the world. But I still think it's awesome (that and their Spyder, Conch, and desk cases).

Just saw their new PC-Q19 ITX case with VGA support. Not sure about size comparison, but it looks awfully similar to the LRPC..


The Q19 is all aluminum, in black or silver w/opt. vertical stand. GPU up to 8.6" via riser, SFX PSU, 3x 2.5" + 1x 3.5" drive support. $149.


So how does the LRPC differ from the the Q19? I'm assuming the Q19 is huge in comparison. Specs says it's 1ft³.. so 28L??

I think this is a very good example on how an otherwise really sleek design can get ruined by a messy usb/power button layout. The front just looks too busy. I have usually been a big fan of LianLis machined line on some of their cases, especially on black cases, but on this one i dont think it works. WIth so little surface area on the front panel it just looks crowded

As for size, its wider and taller, but more shallow than the ncase. It doesn't really matter in horizontal position, but i don't think it works as well in vertical position.

I don't think the Q19 is a close competitor. I consider it a foul-looking waste of space that can't even take full length graphics cards. I'd go as far as calling it a fail. :p

Calling it a failure might be a bit drastic, but given it has the same volume as the M1, it's not brilliant. The fact that there are trade offs here which you don't have on the LRPC doesn't really help either.
- No Long GPU
- No ODD. (I don't want one, but with the ncase being over 5L smaller we know it is theoretically possible.)
- Price seem to be set at $149 (according to this), which is close enough to whatever this is going to be.
 
Love my SG05 but I would appreciate something console sized that isn't a turd hardware support wise. This is likely to be the only one.
 
Personally i would just want a smaller SG05, without the optical drive and with front mounted SFX support (a smaller SG07, but with the SFX mounted vertically).
 
Are this Lian Li models the competition you were talking about, Necere?

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Holy shit. Those look nice(Sorry Necere). The fact that the card they're showing for the ITX example is an ITX 760 isn't promising though.
 
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Are this Lian Li models the competition you were talking about, Necere?
-snip-

Where did you find those? I can't find any page for specs on those.

I have really conflicted thoughts on that ITX case though. It looks REALLY nice but it doesn't look as small as the LRPC (It looks a little thicker but it's hard to say without specs). I also don't like the small gpu restriction and worry about things like dust easily getting into the system.
 
Are this Lian Li models the competition you were talking about, Necere?
No, this is the first time I've seen these. Also wondering where you found them? Construction looks like Lian Li, but the design and lack of branding makes me think they were developed by another company. Based on the Dirac PSU, I'm guessing they might be for the Japanese market.

Some observations:
  • There appears to be no directed airflow scheme, instead relying on free flow with large openings. Dust control is obviously not a priority here.
  • All three designs call for long flexible PCIe risers, none of which are actually shown connected. That's not going to be cheap.

Holy shit. Those look nice(Sorry Necere).
Lol. I have no problem with people expressing their appreciation for things I didn't design. I'd much rather have honest opinions than sycophants.
 
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Wow. In a bad way. :D

* Again, a lot of wasted space.
* Unfiltered huge air slots = dust, noise and bad protection.
* Looks like unfinished concept prototypes. Hobby projects.
 
No, this is the first time I've seen these. Also wondering where you found them? Construction looks like Lian Li, but the design and lack of branding makes me think they were developed by another company. Based on the Dirac PSU, I'm guessing they might be for the Japanese market.

Some observations:
  • There appears to be no directed airflow scheme, instead relying on free flow with large openings. Dust control is obviously not a priority here.
  • All three designs call for long flexible PCIe risers, none of which are actually shown connected. That's not going to be cheap.


Lol. I have no problem with people expressing their appreciation for things I didn't design. I'd much rather have honest opinions than sycophants.

It's from Lian Li's facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/LianLiHQ/posts/371846119637089
 
Holy cow that ITX is a lot larger than the picture makes it look like. The dimensions are 400mm x 390mm x 138mm which is 21.7L roughly. No thank you.

edit: Gah, Necere beat me to it.
 
I am really dissapointed now. As the page loaded and i got a very quick glance at the pictures i thought Necere had made more renders of the internals and got all excited.

They say they are for wall mounting, so guess they're not really targeting SFF at all. They aren't afraid of thinking outside the box though, I'll give them that:)
 
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They say they are for wall mounting, so guess they're not really targeting SFF at all. They aren't afraid of thinking outside the box though, I'll give them that:)

Wall mounted display cases would explain everything, yes.

I agree about Lian Li's experiments, except that most of them are hideous. :D
 
those lian li cases are giant and bad and miss the point of this kind of case
 
That's Lian-Li: they have an idea, don't care about efficiency, compatibility or performance, they manufacture it and you get to buy it, crappy or not. While I merit them looking outside the box, it's just not well designed at >20L and still not able to house a decent GPU.

A prototype of the Steam Machine ? Hell yes !
 
Prototype?! So excited! Bought the first version M1 for a build for a family member and they love it, and I'll definitely buy one of these too. :D
 
This case is gorgeous and quite frankly, in my opinion, PERFECT. As long as we get an optical drive in this baby, its golden. Wouldn't be much of a home theater pc if it couldn't play blurays would it :rolleyes: Thats where I think Lian-Li has gone horribly wrong with their most recent SFF release. Its stupid if you can't get a cd/dvd into it. So yeah, every render that I've seen on this forum looks fantastic. Just HAVE to have that optical drive, preferably the slim kind. :)
 
Just HAVE to have that optical drive, preferably the slim kind. :)

I don't think you'd be able to fit a 5.25" bay in here, and I have no intention of optical media, but to each their own.;)

-EDIT- You might be able to fit one in the GPU compartment if you have a really short card, but don't quote me on that.
 
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This case is gorgeous and quite frankly, in my opinion, PERFECT. As long as we get an optical drive in this baby, its golden. Wouldn't be much of a home theater pc if it couldn't play blurays would it :rolleyes: Thats where I think Lian-Li has gone horribly wrong with their most recent SFF release. Its stupid if you can't get a cd/dvd into it. So yeah, every render that I've seen on this forum looks fantastic. Just HAVE to have that optical drive, preferably the slim kind. :)

I hope not, as putting a drive in ruins every other thing, including the looks.
 
Wouldn't be much of a home theater pc if it couldn't play blurays would it :rolleyes:

For the umpteenth time, this isn't an htpc. :rolleyes:

But, Necere is checking the possibility of allowing ODD support without making the case worse for everybody else though, so you might get lucky. :)
 
-EDIT- You might be able to fit one in the GPU compartment if you have a really short card, but don't quote me on that.

A long way back i the thread Necere said that ther is not, by a small margin, space lengthwise for a 170mm GPU and slimline Odd + connectors. This would rule out a regular ODD as well, but even if possible it woumd seriously screw up the front panel design.

They have been taking the ODD comments seriously but hav neither confirmed or denied the implementation of one. We'll jest have to see what they come up with:)

Edit:
For the umpteenth time, this isn't an htpc. :rolleyes:

But, Necere is checking the possibility of allowing ODD support without making the case worse for everybody else though, so you might get lucky. :)

Seems like you already said what i said.

Since the Staem-machine is so close to the traditional HTPC form factor externally, its only natural people "want this to be" an HTPC. I don't really see the problem anyway as long as ODD solution don't screw it up for the rest of us. ODD seems to be a big thing for some people regardless of using the term HTPC or not.
 
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I would be surprised if a double-digit percentage of potential buyers regularly played blu-rays on their windows HTPC. It's an irrelevant feature for a high-end gaming case because of how much better a walmart blu-ray player is in comparison. Who with this kind of money will settle for such a terrible blu-ray player as powerdvd?
 
It's an irrelevant feature for a high-end gaming case because of how much better a walmart blu-ray player is in comparison. Who with this kind of money will settle for such a terrible blu-ray player as powerdvd?
Why would you voluntarily use PowerDVD?
MPC-HC, AnyDVDHD, and MadVR will give you excellent output quality (beating any standalone BD player, cheap or expensive). No BD-J menus, but that just means you load the main feature directly from the disc and bypass unskippable trailers/etc.
 
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