SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project

[SaperPL]

I've updated images to the most recent version

[ZombiPL]

I will only add to my brother's post, that those 360deg views are with possible improvements which we'll probably add in our 5th prototype.

[SaperPL]

Results of testing weekend are here

 

HARDWARE

 

Test bench:

 

Pentium G3258

Intel BOX cooler 46mm

Gigabyte B85N Phoenix

8GB DDR3 1600Mhz in one stick

Chieftec SFX-500GD-C

2.5" WD Caviar Blue 1TB

4mm rubber feet in desktop/horizontal position

 

Test cards:

 

Palit GTX 970 4GB Blower Type (150W TDP)

 

 

Gigabyte R9-270X Windforce 3X OC @ 150W (-20% Power) - we've been asked on [H] to do this kind of same power comparison.

 

 

METHODOLOGY

 

First thing to mention is that most of you would want to see really different temps on each gpu and case and it's not really going to happen because of how thermal throttling and gpu boost work. Essentially cards will go up to 80 degrees with boost going way more than declared boost frequency and when they hit the 80 degrees they throttle down to base clock to cool down and go up a bit and do that over and over. That's how it'll work if they won't hit the fps cap like v-sync.

 

Because of that I've decided to observe the clocks rather than simply log the temps. I burned the card up to stable 80 degrees (or other stable) and logged the average clocks and framerates in games and benches. This can tell us how the card will throttle down rather than how hot it will be.

 

Screen resolution 1920x1200@56Hz instead of 1080p60 - Basically I don't have 1080p screen because I still have my good old 16:10 screen that can be oversized if required. 1920x1200@56Hz is a really close workload to 1080p60 and I had to use such screen resolution to run benchmarks in 1080p

 

All games were running max possible settings.

 

Games were played in same locations instead of running scripted benchmarks but I picked a lot of them to average the results. I think that will do.

 

Games were played with Vsync except for Alien: Isolation which I decided to let run freely on max fps because all other games wouldn't exceed fps cap. 

 

CS:GO was added with the cap as a different graphics quality title to check out temps on lower clocks. It was excluded from the average values in the summary.

 

RESULTS

 

 

Results - Desktop/Horizontal position

 

 

 

Results - Stand/Vertical position

 

 

 

Summary in games. CS: GO excluded because of VSync cap.

 

CONCLUSIONS

 

Huge open air coolers will most likely work a lot better than blower coolers in vertical position.

 

Blower Coolers doesn't look to be starved for air in horizontal position.

 

There's not really a problem with card's temperatures since they're still running their nominal clocks when hitting the thermal barrier of 80 degrees.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

 

Chieftec SFX-500GD-C makes chirping sound initially but it goes away after some time. The grill's gold coloured plate makes it get out of the SFX standard dimensions. It had to be turned around to the inside to fit. The plate doesn't touch the fan this way so there's no worry.

 

45cm long modular cables can be fit inside the case but it requires proper approach. We'll tweak the design to ease that process.

 

Palit GTX 970 Blower's fan makes chirping sound all the time even when running at 20% of speed. I wouldn't advise picking such unit for a vertical stand on the desk.

 

10mm tall rubber feet will most likely be added as secondary or default stands for horizontal position to not starve the open air coolers.

[Beeeyeee]

 

GIMME NAO.

[Masada02]

Wow, can't believe I haven't seen this before. This looks seriously good guys. I want to build a monster PC inside one of these things. Hopefully the upcoming Fury X2 will fit inside along with a powerful enough PSU. I am definitely on-board for buying one of these when you are ready to start delivering them.

[SaperPL]

Wow, can't believe I haven't seen this before. This looks seriously good guys. I want to build a monster PC inside one of these things. Hopefully the upcoming Fury X2 will fit inside along with a powerful enough PSU. I am definitely on-board for buying one of these when you are ready to start delivering them.

It should fit inside if it's air cooled (wc radiator won't fit) but a 400W GPU and 700W SFX-L might be an overkill for such case because of the thermal parameters. That gpu would throttle down a lot in such small case, I think. Nice monster idea to go alongside with 18-core E5 on asrock X99 itx board.

 

Rather than that we're targeting gpu's like GTX 960 - 980 and simillar for the TDP of 100-160 or something like that.

 

With next prototype we're planing to send one unit to Linus and he might play with it and check for example Titan X gpu for our case.

[KarateHottie93]

SIDE WINDOW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!111

[Curufinwe_wins]

Does it come in black?

[SaperPL]

Does it come in black?

 

Yes, it does. We didn't make such colour version for the photos yet but with next prototype we'll probably do that too.

 

It should look close to this:

 

All details will be black like in the white version but the main body will be black.

 

 

SIDE WINDOW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!111

 

 

It probably won't happen, at least not for the initial run because of the window thickness and metal cover integrity.

[Masada02]

It should fit inside if it's air cooled (wc radiator won't fit) but a 400W GPU and 700W SFX-L might be an overkill for such case because of the thermal parameters. That gpu would throttle down a lot in such small case, I think. Nice monster idea to go alongside with 18-core E5 on asrock X99 itx board.

 

Rather than that we're targeting gpu's like GTX 960 - 980 and simillar for the TDP of 100-160 or something like that.

 

With next prototype we're planing to send one unit to Linus and he might play with it and check for example Titan X gpu for our case.

It makes sense that you are designing around the mid-high range of components as that's what most people end up using. I just want to try and push what's possible in a small form factor. Hopefully the X2 is air cooled (although I doubt it). I bet with the amount of ventilation you designed in it would stay at relatively decent temperatures. I'd be more worried about that 700W SFX-L being too close to the usage of the total system.

 

It would also be neat if there was a way to put a 120mm radiator somewhere. I'm pretty sure it isn't possible without re-arranging almost everything and removing areas for drives, but it would be sweet.

[SaperPL]

It would also be neat if there was a way to put a 120mm radiator somewhere. I'm pretty sure it isn't possible without re-arranging almost everything and removing areas for drives, but it would be sweet.

 

There's literally no space for 120mm radiator and especially with card like Fury X2 which will be something around 250-265mm long, I think. I've been figuring out if we can fit Fury X but it's radiator is simply too big.

 

Rather than that if you're going for the overkill then you should consider getting some water blocks for the fury and cpu and drilling  the holes for hoses in place where we attach the nameplate on the back of the case(right of gpu bracket looking from behind).

 

That would be awesome to put a silent pump in some reserve tank and hide it somewhere near the TV shelf.

[s90011]

Should be installed slim Blue-ray Disc thickness of only 12.7mm can put 2.5 ssd should also go into?
Fitted slim Blue-ray Disc can be used to put the living room when htpc
When would probably trafficked? Trafficking in ebay?

[SaperPL]

Should be installed slim Blue-ray Disc thickness of only 12.7mm can put 2.5 ssd should also go into?

Fitted slim Blue-ray Disc can be used to put the living room when htpc

When would probably trafficked? Trafficking in ebay?

There's actually no safe place for the slim optical drive. That's because the only place that would fit it is above the gpu and depending on the gpu the temperatures would damage the drive while gaming. We know that there's some users still wanting the odd but it's really hard to fit it in this size.

 

You can have two 2.5" drives if you use the short SFX power supply. Alternatively you can use 2.5" drive + msata/m.2 ssd installed on the back of the motherboard when using SFX-L. In general we've assumed that if you're buying SFX-L and huge gpu then probably getting a motherboard and m.2 ssd for such a rig will also be an option while those who are moving with their old SFX psu's will be able to put two 2.5" drives. There's also option to install drives in the VGA bay on the bottom - 3 bottom mounts + side brackets enabling stacking up to four of drives on each mount, but that will depend on the gpu thermals and gpu size. For example you can put short 210mm max gpu and 4 stacked drives in front of the gpu.

 

We're trying to launch asap which means hopefully end of the year but there's still few details to figure out. We'll most likely set up own shop/payment site with paypal as a backend so you have some kind safety provided by them.

[s90011]

There will be slim Blue-ray Disc holder to buy kits thing?
It can be like rvz02 have made slim Blue-ray Disc holder
Provide consumers choose whether to install slim Blue-ray Disc
Also ask whether in Asia have the opportunity to buy this cabinet?

[SaperPL]

There will be slim Blue-ray Disc holder to buy kits thing?

It can be like rvz02 have made slim Blue-ray Disc holder

Provide consumers choose whether to install slim Blue-ray Disc

Also ask whether in Asia have the opportunity to buy this cabinet?

No, we're not planning optional optical drive handle for the case because of the thermals. It's more of a gaming ring/steam machine build than htpc.

 

RVZ02 is 20mm thicker and 5.25 liters bigger in general than our case

 

We're running small production and splitting it into options would increase the cost. Optional optical disc drive means additional changes in multiple pieces and that would mean splitting the production.

 

We're planning on shipping worldwide so if there's no problem with shipping to your country then you should be able to buy it.

[s90011]

 It will be on sale in the year 2015?
Probably predict the price of 149 or 99?
Front only usb3.0 thing? Well there is no 3.5mm audio output?
Really looking forward to this size 7 liter cabinet
Put the living room when htpc very good but not slim dvd drawbacks
SilverStone sfx 450w power supply suitable thing? Like the highest visibility in the market is also custom template SilverStone Well?

[SaperPL]

 It will be on sale in the year 2015?

Probably predict the price of 149 or 99?

Front only usb3.0 thing? Well there is no 3.5mm audio output?

Really looking forward to this size 7 liter cabinet

Put the living room when htpc very good but not slim dvd drawbacks

SilverStone sfx 450w power supply suitable thing?

It looks like we should get it ready before the end of the year, so yes sale should start this year.

 

I think it'll be closer (if not exceed) to $149 since there's a lot additional parts that people wanted us to include during the project like the riser which is big piece of the cost, the power cord and usb 3.0 front panel piece.

 

Only usb 3.0 for clear looks and for the size of front panel. This is designed as console pc in front of tv so people will most likely use hdmi audio output anyway. For the ones using it on a desk it's just 30cm difference from back to front so with gaming headsets designed to reach from cases standing on the ground it shouldn't be a problem.

 

The power supply needed will depend on what graphics card you will want to put inside. I'd advise using long SFX-L power supply with 120mm fan because those are quiet in comparison to standard short sfx.

 

Like the highest visibility in the market is also custom template SilverStone Well?

 

I don't understand what you mean. if you're asking about the psu type then SFX is defined in ATX specification so it's not a custom psu type. The custom thing about it is that SFX-L is longer than the standard SFX by 3cm but the bracket/attachment method is the same.

[s90011]

This will limit the height of the highest CPU heatsink
I do not know if applicable cryorig C7
I want to use this new GPU the R9 nanometers graphics are OK
Therefore, PCI adapter can support 3.0

[SaperPL]

This will limit the height of the highest CPU heatsink

I do not know if applicable cryorig C7

I want to use this new GPU the R9 nanometers graphics are OK

Therefore, PCI adapter can support 3.0

Cpu cooler height limit is around 48mm so 47cm cryorig C7 should fit. We'll most likely buy this one for tests when it gets to stores in Poland to know if there's any problems with that. the supposedly 46mm intel box cooler is leaving 3mm space to the top in current prototype so it shouldn't be a problem in height if there's no additional problems in other dimensions.

 

R9 nano will fit inside without a problems. It's a great mini card that's keeping the pci-e form factor specs so there's no problems with that.

 

We're still talking with pci-e riser manufacturers to figure out the best possible option to complete our bill of materials. The pci-e 3.0 support shouldn't be a problem with any of those risers with 5cm ribbon length in terms of bandwidth. The other thing is supplying 150 watts through the slot and this is the part we're still trying to optimize between the price and quality.

 

Also be sure to buy the motherboard with high end chipset supporting the pci-e 3.0

[Beeeyeee]

Should be installed slim Blue-ray Disc thickness of only 12.7mm can put 2.5 ssd should also go into?

Fitted slim Blue-ray Disc can be used to put the living room when htpc

When would probably trafficked? Trafficking in ebay?

the fact is, nobody uses Optical Media anymore, and if you really need it buy an external one that you can use on multiple systems if needs be

[Beeeyeee]

Do we have any kind of an ETA? I know its still early in development, but I have a whole setup just waiting for a new home. 3 months? 6 months? I mean, I would love to get my hands on a prototype even. just wondering.

[s90011]

Sorry my English is not good
The mini cabinet is very suitable to use Skylake
Non-k cpu are tdp 65w low-height radiator should be able to solve the heat problem
In the match gtx970 or r9 nano and other low tdp smallest game console was born
Really looking forward to when I think I'll pre-order sale of this cabinet!
If the 149 that the accessories are on sale? Buy good receive cabinet is to assemble their own or already assembled?
It is now more concerned about the high freight shipped to Taiwan

[SaperPL]

 

the fact is, nobody uses Optical Media anymore, and if you really need it buy an external one that you can use on multiple systems if needs be

Yeah, that's right. We're not targeting the ODD because now you can even stream the movies from netflix or other streaming services.

 

Do we have any kind of an ETA? I know its still early in development, but I have a whole setup just waiting for a new home. 3 months? 6 months? I mean, I would love to get my hands on a prototype even. just wondering.

 

I'd say 3 months is really close. At this point it looks like this:

 

1) We've ordered last required sample pieces this week. It'll take probably up to two weeks for them to come from China and Taiwan. That includes the proper 5cm risers and USB 3.0 cable and some other smaller items.

 

2) We'll have to test it out once again with those sample pieces and fix things in the design and I think it might take up to week in between other things we've got at our jobs to do.

 

3) We'll order pre-final prototype in black colour that will include all those changes made since prototype V. After we get that we'll have to check the manufacturing details and do that last fixes. That might take a week or two to get it from metal shop because they have to put us somewhere in their timeline.

 

4) We'll order final prototype in white colour that will be sent to Linus. Once again it might take up to two weeks depending on how metal shop can fit our small order into their timeline.

 

5) We'll send the prototype to Linus for reviewing. Meanwhile we have to tackle the payment system and international shipping.

 

So in theory I think we might be ready for orders and manufacturing in two months but so far nothing went as smoothly as we'd like thus I can't say that's a sure thing.

 

Sorry my English is not good
The mini cabinet is very suitable to use Skylake
Non-k cpu are tdp 65w low-height radiator should be able to solve the heat problem
In the match gtx970 or r9 nano and other low tdp smallest game console was born
Really looking forward to when I think I'll pre-order sale of this cabinet!
If the 149 that the accessories are on sale? Buy good receive cabinet is to assemble their own or already assembled?
It is now more concerned about the high freight shipped to Taiwan

 

The standard boxed cooler for 65w cpus is completely fine but if you want something quieter then you should be able to fit Cryorig C7. We'll probably test that one out.

 

If you want a short card then note the fact that both gigabyte and asus make a oversized pcb for 970 mini's which won't let you fit it with PEG connectors inside our case. You'd have to go for galax, zotac or something like that. R9 nano is a nice card but it draws 30 watts more than 970 and isn't a lot faster while being horrendously overpriced.

 

As for the shipping prices it looks like the cost will be something like this:

$15- $25 - shipping to europe depending on country

$50 - $60 - for intercontinental shipping but it'll also depend on country (I've quickly checked it for USA, Canada and Taiwan)

We might be able to shave off the shipping prices a little since we'll be sending a lot of those packages but I haven't spoken to the shipping company yet.

[s90011]

5 prototype sure no problem, then will sell the prototype 5 When the model thing?
This means that probably around November to determine with the listing date in order to know the price?
I ask if there is a sale of those parts?

[SaperPL]

5 prototype sure no problem, then will sell the prototype 5 When the model thing?

This means that probably around November to determine with the listing date in order to know the price?

 

5th prototype will have slight changes from what you see on photos that will ease the component installation and cable management inside the case. It's not a big change and shouldn't bring any new problems.

 

The price will be determined after we decide on the pci-e riser to be shipped with the case. We ordered samples of few types to choose from. We have to optimize the cost and quality here. 

 

 

I ask if there is a sale of those parts?

 

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean but I'll try to respond: If you want to know if we'll sell the parts for the computer then the answer is no - we're only manufacturing and selling the case. Making a pre-built computer wouldn't be a good idea since we would need to additionally handle the warranties on those components, we'd have pay more for the money transferring and for the shipping. That's probably why pre-built riggs cost more.