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!nverse: A Highly Versatile Console Form-Factor Case Design

esplin2966
By esplin2966
in Cases and Mods
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Hey everyone, I'm getting ready to run some systematic tests. Here is what I have planned so far:
 
1) CPU Temperature Tests - With Prime95

a. With outer panels off

i) Intel Stock Cooler

ii) Silverstone AR05
iii) CM 120V AIO Cooler
iv) CM 240M AIO Cooler

 

b. With outer panels on

i) Intel Stock Cooler

ii) Silverstone AR05
iii) CM 120V AIO Cooler
iv) CM 240M AIO Cooler

 

 

 
2) GPU Temperature Tests - With Unigine Valley

a. With outer panels off

i) With fans over GPU

ii) Without fans over GPU

 

b. With outer panels on

i) With fans over GPU

ii) Without fans over GPU

 

 

 
3) Structural Tests
Put my 50 inch TV on top of the case (including components in it) and look for buckling, bending, and other modes of physical failure.
 
4) Noise Tests - Measure noise in dBA with noise meter

a. Idle

i) With fans over GPU

ii) Without fans over GPU

 

b. Load

i) With fans over GPU

1. CPU with Prime95

2) GPU with Unigine Valley

 

ii) Without fans over GPU

1. CPU with Prime95

2. GPU with Unigine Valley

 

 

 

 
5) Special Noise Test - Measure noise in dBA with noise meter

a. With case inverted

b. With case upright

 

 
A few questions:
 
1) With the temperature tests, should I keep the fans spinning at a constant speed, or let the PWM take care of it?
 
2) Is a specific kind of test that you would like to see? Let me know and I will add it in.
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I would assume  most people would try to have their systems PWM controlled; especially in a small form factor type of environment. That being said, having the fans running at a constant speed 100% of the time throughout your testing creates a controlled environment for measuring temperatures in your tests; so that may be the most accurate and useful option.

Cinders: - i7 4790K (4.5GHz) - Gigabyte Z97X-SOC - 16GB Klevv DDR3 1600MHz - EVGA GTX 980Ti ACX2.0+ (1548MHz Boost) - EVGA Supernova 850GS - NZXT H440 Orange/Black (Modified) -
Unnamed System: i5 4690K (4.2GHz) - MSI Z97I-AC - 8GB G.Skill DDR3 2400MHz - EVGA GTX 950 SSC - Raidmax Thunder V2 535W - Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX

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If your plugging everything into the motherboard I would say set everything to standard fan settings on PWM or DC voltage control for 3 pin and let it do it's thing since that will probably give a good average for temps for most people.

Updated Modding FAQ

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I would assume  most people would try to have their systems PWM controlled; especially in a small form factor type of environment. That being said, having the fans running at a constant speed 100% of the time throughout your testing creates a controlled environment for measuring temperatures in your tests; so that may be the most accurate and useful option.

 

 

If your plugging everything into the motherboard I would say set everything to standard fan settings on PWM or DC voltage control for 3 pin and let it do it's thing since that will probably give a good average for temps for most people.

 

 

Looks like I'll just let the fans do their thing! I heard that GPUs will automatically throttle themselves down when they heat up, is that true? Because that's a bit different, and maybe it might be more accurate for me to keep GPU fans at constant 100%.

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Looks like I'll just let the fans do their thing! I heard that GPUs will automatically throttle themselves down when they heat up, is that true? Because that's a bit different, and maybe it might be more accurate for me to keep GPU fans at constant 100%.

A GPU will throttle it's performance to protect itself from overheating, yes. But most people will try to find a comfortable balance between temperature and noise. Let the GPU fans do their thing and see how temps get. Every person's configuration will be different, and though it is best to have a case with a wide range of compatibility, you can't possibly account for everything everyone will do.

Other than that, I'm eager to see the results. Good luck in your testing!

Cinders: - i7 4790K (4.5GHz) - Gigabyte Z97X-SOC - 16GB Klevv DDR3 1600MHz - EVGA GTX 980Ti ACX2.0+ (1548MHz Boost) - EVGA Supernova 850GS - NZXT H440 Orange/Black (Modified) -
Unnamed System: i5 4690K (4.2GHz) - MSI Z97I-AC - 8GB G.Skill DDR3 2400MHz - EVGA GTX 950 SSC - Raidmax Thunder V2 535W - Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX

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Looks like everyone wants to see tests with PWM, but also want fan speeds (in % maybe?) plotted with the temperature, so that's what I'll do.
 
Here is an updated test list. I've also added one more test for various PCIe riser cables.
 
1) CPU Temperature Tests - With Prime95

a. With outer panels off

i) Intel Stock Cooler

ii) Silverstone AR05
iii) CM 120V AIO Cooler

iv) CM 240M AIO Cooler

 

b. With outer panels on

i) Intel Stock Cooler

ii) Silverstone AR05
iii) CM 120V AIO Cooler

iv) CM 240M AIO Cooler

 

 

 
2) GPU Temperature Tests - With Unigine Valley

a. With outer panels off

i) With fans over GPU

ii) Without fans over GPU

 

b. With outer panels on

i) With fans over GPU

ii) Without fans over GPU

 

 

 
3) Structural Tests
Put my 50 inch TV on top of the case (including components in it) and look for buckling, bending, and other modes of physical failure.
 
4) Noise Tests - Measure noise in dBA with noise meter

a. Idle

i) With fans over GPU

ii) Without fans over GPU

 

b. Load

i) With fans over GPU

1. CPU with Prime95

2. GPU with Unigine Valley

ii) Without fans over GPU

1. CPU with Prime95

2. GPU with Unigine Valley

 

 

 

 
5) Special Noise Test - Measure noise in dBA with noise meter

a. With case inverted

b. With case upright

 

 
6) PCIe Riser Test - Compare Unigine Valley Benchmark Results

a. Shielded 3M PCIe riser cable

b. Unshielded PCIe riser cable

c. Unshielded PCIe riser cable with EMI shielding tape over it

 

 
Let me know if you guys think of anything else to test. Thanks!

 

A GPU will throttle it's performance to protect itself from overheating, yes. But most people will try to find a comfortable balance between temperature and noise. Let the GPU fans do their thing and see how temps get. Every person's configuration will be different, and though it is best to have a case with a wide range of compatibility, you can't possibly account for everything everyone will do.

Other than that, I'm eager to see the results. Good luck in your testing!

 

That's true. I think I'll just let the GPU fans do their thing, and then just show as much data along with temperature as possible (fan speed, clock frequency, etc). Thanks for your help and support!

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Hey everyone, here are the results of the temperature tests for the !nverse case.

 

Test Configuration:

 

CPU: i5-4690K

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 240M

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z97N-WIFI

RAM: G.Skill Ares 2400MHz CL11 2 x 4Gb

Storage 1: Sandisk 120Gb SSD

Storage 2: Seagate 500Gb 7200RPM HDD

GPU: Gigabyte R9 390 Gaming

PSU: Silverstone SFX SX600-G

Case Fans: 2 x Silverstone FW121

 

The CPU is overclocked to 4.4GHz so that the system is sufficiently stressed in order to obtain decisive results.

 

Test Setup:

 

Due to suggestions from cowsgomoo, I decided to drill holes all over the case in order to allow the exhaust of the liquid cooler radiator to go directly out of the case, as well as make more exhaust holes for the GPU. This setup, with holes all over, is called "Porous". A sample image of the porous setup is shown below:

 

emTwD9Z.jpg?1

 

To capture the original exhaust hole configuration of the case, I tape the extra holes closed. In this setup, the exhaust of the liquid cooler radiator would have to flow past the motherboard and the PSU to eventually exhaust out the side. There are also less exhaust holes for the GPU. This setup is called "Air Tunnel". A sample image of the air tunnel setup is shown below:

 

xpYyAha.jpg?1

 

To obtain a baseline, optimal cooling scenario, I take apart the exterior panels and open up the inside of the case to the outside. In this setup, the airflow from the GPU and the liquid cooler radiator is completely uninhibited. This setup is called "Open Air". A sample image of the open air setup is shown below:

 

5LLybfL.jpg?1

 

Furthermore, I test whether raised the case higher up from the table helps with the cooling. A sample image of the raised setup is shown below:

 

EKblq7Q.jpg?1

 

I also compare the temperatures of the GPU when there are case fans over the GPU, air funnels over the GPU, and just bare GPU.

 

All in all, this comes to 18 possible setups:

 

CPU:


  • Open Air (OA)


  • Air Tunnel - Raised (ATR)


  • Air Tunnel - Unraised (ATU)


  • Porous - Raised (PR)


  • Porous - Unraised (PU)

 

 

GPU:


  • Open Air (OA)


  • Air Tunnel - Raised - Bare (ATR - bare)


  • Air Tunnel - Unraised - Bare (ATU - bare)


  • Porous - Raised - Bare (PR - bare)


  • Porous - Unraised - Bare (PU - bare)


  • Air Tunnel - Raised - with Fan (ATR - fan)


  • Air Tunnel - Unraised - with Fan (ATU - fan)


  • Porous - Raised - with Fan (PR - fan)


  • Porous - Unraised - with Fan (PU - fan)


  • Air Tunnel - Raised - with Funnel (ATR - funnel)


  • Air Tunnel - Unraised - with Funnel (ATU - funnel)


  • Porous - Raised - with Funnel (PR - funnel)


  • Porous - Unraised - with Funnel (PU - funnel)

 

 

Test Methodology:

 

To stress test the CPU, I run Prime95 Small FFTs for 10 minutes. To stress test the GPU, I run Unigine Valley Benchmark three times in a row. Aside from the CPU and GPU temperatures, I also measure the motherboard temperatures, hard drive temperatures, and fan speeds.

 

The ambient temperature is maintained at 22.8 C (73 F) for all tests.

 

Test Data:

 


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Test Result Summary:

 

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From the summary above, we can arrive at a few conclusions:

 


  • For all tests, the difference between the porous setup and the air tunnel setup is about 1-2 degrees.


  • For the CPU tests, raising the case makes the max single core and max averaged core temperatures about 3-4 degrees cooler. For the GPU tests, raising the case makes the max temperature about 8-10 degrees cooler, except for the bare GPU setups.


  • For the CPU tests, the best, non-open-air setup produces max single core and max averaged core temperature that is about 8 degrees hotter than the open air setup. For the GPU tests, the best, non-open-air setup setup produces max temperature that is about 5 degrees hotter than the open air setup.


  • For all tests, both hard drive temperatures do not exceed 45 C.

 

 

Next Steps:

 

Right now, the case feet is about 8mm tall. I want to figure out exactly how tall the case feet needs to be to achieve the same level of cooling as the raised setups.

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Temps are looking pretty good, I'm certainly not looking to put as power hungry or hot a system in the case (same i5 but only like a GTX 950 inside). And not overclocking like crazy either. For me personally the tests are promising, though probably raising the feet an additional 2-4mm would offer a significant drop in temperatures.
Regardless, I'm very interested to see how the testing progresses! Keep up the great work!

Cinders: - i7 4790K (4.5GHz) - Gigabyte Z97X-SOC - 16GB Klevv DDR3 1600MHz - EVGA GTX 980Ti ACX2.0+ (1548MHz Boost) - EVGA Supernova 850GS - NZXT H440 Orange/Black (Modified) -
Unnamed System: i5 4690K (4.2GHz) - MSI Z97I-AC - 8GB G.Skill DDR3 2400MHz - EVGA GTX 950 SSC - Raidmax Thunder V2 535W - Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX

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Temps are looking pretty good, I'm certainly not looking to put as power hungry or hot a system in the case (same i5 but only like a GTX 950 inside). And not overclocking like crazy either. For me personally the tests are promising, though probably raising the feet an additional 2-4mm would offer a significant drop in temperatures.

Regardless, I'm very interested to see how the testing progresses! Keep up the great work!

 

Thanks for the support! I will definitely raise the case feet by a few mm for the next prototype. Exactly how much would be up to testing.

 

I think the main takeaway of this set of tests is that with raised case feet, this case performs fairly well relative to an optimal configuration (open air), which is all anyone can wanted from any case. To make sure the test was the worst case scenario, I overclocked the i5 as much as possible and used basically the hottest GPU on the market. This way, people don't have to worry much about their choice of components.

 

i5 with a GTX 950? What kind of build are you planning to go for?

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Sweet case! I hope it makes it to production, the world needs more small cases with rad support.

 

Thanks! I personally think that liquid coolers are the only way to get good performance in small cases. I definitely agree that we need to see more radiator support from small cases, particularly console-form-factor cases, where tower coolers are impossible.

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Thanks for the support! I will definitely raise the case feet by a few mm for the next prototype. Exactly how much would be up to testing.

I think the main takeaway of this set of tests is that with raised case feet, this case performs fairly well relative to an optimal configuration (open air), which is all anyone can wanted from any case. To make sure the test was the worst case scenario, I overclocked the i5 as much as possible and used basically the hottest GPU on the market. This way, people don't have to worry much about their choice of components.

i5 with a GTX 950? What kind of build are you planning to go for?

It's an existing build I currently have (in my signature) that used to have an R9 280X. A buddy of mine was in a bind so I donated him the 280X and grabbed a 950 for $130; the system isn't used much outside of gaming as a LAN system. The i5 is transferred from my main system after upgrading to a 4790K.

Cinders: - i7 4790K (4.5GHz) - Gigabyte Z97X-SOC - 16GB Klevv DDR3 1600MHz - EVGA GTX 980Ti ACX2.0+ (1548MHz Boost) - EVGA Supernova 850GS - NZXT H440 Orange/Black (Modified) -
Unnamed System: i5 4690K (4.2GHz) - MSI Z97I-AC - 8GB G.Skill DDR3 2400MHz - EVGA GTX 950 SSC - Raidmax Thunder V2 535W - Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX

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so what are the chances you want to let these cad files go so i can make my own =p

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so what are the chances you want to let these cad files go so i can make my own =p

Probably very low since this is a business venture :P

Cinders: - i7 4790K (4.5GHz) - Gigabyte Z97X-SOC - 16GB Klevv DDR3 1600MHz - EVGA GTX 980Ti ACX2.0+ (1548MHz Boost) - EVGA Supernova 850GS - NZXT H440 Orange/Black (Modified) -
Unnamed System: i5 4690K (4.2GHz) - MSI Z97I-AC - 8GB G.Skill DDR3 2400MHz - EVGA GTX 950 SSC - Raidmax Thunder V2 535W - Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX

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hey it doesnt hurt to ask =] id customize the shit out of the outer case i have some good ideas

 

another side question whats the thickness of the material used for the case?

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It's an existing build I currently have (in my signature) that used to have an R9 280X. A buddy of mine was in a bind so I donated him the 280X and grabbed a 950 for $130; the system isn't used much outside of gaming as a LAN system. The i5 is transferred from my main system after upgrading to a 4790K.

 

You, sir, are a good friend. Maybe you can add more storage to this system, possibly turning it into a portable NAS to give it more use?

 

I love the 4790k btw. The recent skylake releases are kinda a disappointment.

 

hey it doesnt hurt to ask =] id customize the shit out of the outer case i have some good ideas

 

another side question whats the thickness of the material used for the case?

 

I think it'll be OK for me to give you the CAD files, since I do want modders like you to do some interesting things with the case :) I actually believe a custom water-cooled loop is possible in this case, so that might be something cool for someone to try.

 

We would have to sign some sort of agreement stating that you won't sell the design and won't give the CAD files to other people, etc.. Standard stuff to protect the work that my team has been doing for the past year.

 

The outer panels are 2mm thick aluminum. After having handled the prototype, I think 1.5mm thick aluminum should be sufficient.

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 yea id be using 1.5mm(16g) but id be using Mild steel or Stainless as thats what i have it would look cool in just polished stainless steel =]

tell me were to sign =]

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 yea id be using 1.5mm(16g) but id be using Mild steel or Stainless as thats what i have it would look cool in just polished stainless steel =]

tell me were to sign =]

 

Haha, let me finish the final design iteration first ;)

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Wow, you have some real talent, it is one of my dreams to someday make a custom case! :D Seeing you suceeding like that is really motivating!

 

Spoiler

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790k @ 4.8ghz  Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Storage: Kingston V300 Series 240GB Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 3TB Video Card: 2x(SLI) Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II @ 1410mhz / 1600mhz Case: Corsair 760T White Power Supply:  AX1200i  Buildlog: [ Build Log ] Black and Green build

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Wow, you have some real talent, it is one of my dreams to someday make a custom case! :D Seeing you suceeding like that is really motivating!

Hey man, thanks a lot for your kind words!

 

If it's your dream to design a custom case, you shouldn't worry about it being too hard or needing prior knowledge. I started off having completely zero idea how to design a case. You just have to keep working at it and asking people for feedback until you get something that is good.

 

Definitely go for it, I'm rooting for you! And if you have any questions, don' hesitate to contact me. I'm more than happy to help out :)

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I have the skills and contacts to desgin the case myself and get it made for pretty cheap! The thing is i wouldn't have anything to put inside my custom case :P

 

Spoiler

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790k @ 4.8ghz  Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Storage: Kingston V300 Series 240GB Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 3TB Video Card: 2x(SLI) Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II @ 1410mhz / 1600mhz Case: Corsair 760T White Power Supply:  AX1200i  Buildlog: [ Build Log ] Black and Green build

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I have the skills and contacts to desgin the case myself and get it made for pretty cheap! The thing is i wouldn't have anything to put inside my custom case :P

 

lol time to save up for a new build?

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lol time to save up for a new build?

 I actually have a full rig of parts from past upgrades, im only missing a gpu :D But im saving for a car right now, so sadly, wont be soon :D

 

Spoiler

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790k @ 4.8ghz  Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 5 Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Storage: Kingston V300 Series 240GB Storage: Western Digital Red Pro 3TB Video Card: 2x(SLI) Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II @ 1410mhz / 1600mhz Case: Corsair 760T White Power Supply:  AX1200i  Buildlog: [ Build Log ] Black and Green build

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 I actually have a full rig of parts from past upgrades, im only missing a gpu :D But im saving for a car right now, so sadly, wont be soon :D

 

Good plan. Buy a car so you can drive to microcenter!  :P

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