SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project

[Narnash]

20 minutes ago, marsilainen said:

Is the faceplate easy to remove or is it part of the chassis?

part of the chassis

[darksable]

Hi guys!

 

Just received my white Sentry, and wanted to write a couple words about the unboxing experience and my first impressions. I'll be quoting from the post that I wrote on [H]ardforum:

 

Quote

Alright. Holy cow!!!

 

The package took five days bouncing all around Poland until it found the Customs Office, but after it cleared Customs, it took TWO DAYS to get all the way to the US and to my front door. (Where FedEx proceeded to ruin everything. )

 

Since there have been a lot of posts about building in the Sentry, but not yet one about unboxing, I figure I'll cover that. (Especially since I still need a couple parts before I can build in it.   )

 

So, without further ado, here it goes:

 

 

Spoiler

So.

 

The first thing that you see when you get your Sentry is... a sticker letting you know that you missed your Sentry.

 

 

Then you go to the FedEx building, only to be told that despite what the sticker they left you said, and despite the fact that yes, they do have your package in the facility, you have to wait for it to be delivered the next day. Thanks, FedEx.

 

So then you lie in wait for the postman. When I opened my door to him, he didn't even have the package with him - he had filled out another sticker on his truck and was sneaking up to leave it on my door again. Thankfully my supremely effective biological-based security alarm (Read: noisy-ass dogs) let me know he was up to his tricks again.

 

And holy cow! You guys were serious about this being a large box. It was actually sort of hilarious to me that such an intentionally tiny PC case came in such a huge shipping container; I was half expecting it to be nothing but nested boxes, like a series of matryoska dolls. 

 

 

(Sorry for not giving a better sense of scale, and for the potato-quality pictures, but, erm... I guess you can tell how large it is by the unintentional toes? The good news is that it's so blurry that I don't even have to worry about anybody seeing my address!  )

 

By the way, Zombi and Saper, since you guys asked - this was the side of the package that was the most beaten up. Apparently the barbarians know from the hundreds of hours I sunk into Civilization III as a kid that I'm not to be messed with, and so they left my package alone.

 

Opening it up, we find inside a foam-protected, plastic wrapped case. Good job on the packaging by the way; it doesn't waste nearly so much material as a lot of what I've seen, but still did a perfect job of protecting the contents. *(Again, sorry about the toes. I was a bit too excited to focus on taking perfect photos.)

 

 

I didn't take a picture of the black, Sentry-branded plastic bag that the actual packaging was inside, but it actually has carrying handles, which was a pretty cool touch.

 

The case inside has a very clean shrink-wrap job, and really looks as though it should be in a textbook for industrial design; it's very clean and conveys every single bit of information it ought to:

 

 

 

My hands were shaking as I was opening it up; I didn't want to scratch the cardboard box. 

 

The only complaint that I had during the entire process came here: Once the plastic was off, I actually had to be very gentle trying to get the box itself open, because every side of the lid fits inside the main box, so trying to pull it out without bending the cardboard took a second. (But really, I'm just nitpicking. The fit and finish was as nice as opening up a Noctua cooler, and I'd previously thought they were on a level of their own when it came to their packaging.)

 

One thing that I felt was a particularly nice touch was the note written on the front flap:

 

 

 

Inside you'll find a postcard, which is actually really neat, and a list of the parts included. I'm going to tattle on myself here because you'll find it funny: This picture took me a little while to get right, because the parts list is super glossy... to the point where, when I opened up the box, I went, "Why did they give me a sheet of stickers with the included screws on them?"

 

(No, I'm serious. It looks exactly like a sheet of stickers.)

 

I will say that the QR code is a really nice touch - it links to the manual on the zaber.com.pl website. The only thing that I might suggest is putting a small label for what it's a QR code for on the next revision... but since you have it right under the logo, that's really not a big deal.

 

Honestly, I like this way better than having a paper copy of the manual. It's always going to be up-to-date, and I can easily access it on my phone and find what I need instead of flipping through a paper booklet looking for the one tiny detail that actually matters.

 

Next up, off comes the sleek bag protecting the case from scratches. (And again, I really like the attention paid to branding here; it's all very slick.)

 

 

 

The case comes with (in counter-clockwise order, starting from the bottom left):

 

1) The mounting bracket for the primary two SSDs.

 

2) The secondary bracket for additional 2.5" drives in the GPU bay

 

3) The case badge plus rivets. (This will probably come preinstalled on future cases - I'd requested an option on mine.)

 

4) A bag of all the screws that you could possibly wish for - all seperated into their own baggies so that you don't have to hunt through a pile to find the right screw. (And possibly use one that's slightly incorrect and strip something while you're at it... yeah, I've done that before.)

 

5) All the necessary hardware to use the case horizontally. Again, I appreciate that this is separate, because it lets me keep everything in one spot in case I ever want to use the case that way. (And I'm probably not using the plastic plugs for the mounting holes. I'm weird that way.)

 

6) The USB 3.0 front panel connector. I was actually quite surprised to see that the cable is black; that's a nice little touch that I now recall having been mentioned at some point.

 

7) The flexible PCIe extender. I have to say, even though it makes perfect sense logically, I was sort of shocked that it was as short as it is. 

(For those of you who are curious, I have an excellent quality Samtec PCIe riser that I'll be comparing to this one.)

 

 

Oh, and here's a bit of advice for you. When you're super excited to play with your new toy, but you can't seem to figure out why the stand won't attach correctly... those extra two holes are actually there for a reason. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that.

 

 

 

Now that you've seen all the pretty shots of the Sentry, for those of you who are curious, here's what I plan on actually doing with it:

 

Spoiler

This is the computer that it will be replacing - an ivy bridge based mini ITX system using an original Raven RVZ-01. Notice how one of the rubber feet (which are only pressed on) got lost a long time ago during transport, and has since been replaced by a folded Kleenex. (and how one of the case filters fell off in a parking lot and wasn't found until it had been run over...)

 

 

This computer is currently sitting in my mothers' house, replacing an 8-year old Phenom II x2 system. She considers it to be a very nice upgrade which lets her grade her students' papers much faster, so at least it's still being useful. 

 

This is the system that will be going into the Sentry - a Kaby Lake i3-7350K. (Which is currently sitting at 4.7GHz with ease, not even breaking 75c... and that's before delidding it. My goal is to get 5.0Ghz and keep it below 75c inside the case.) The graphics card actually belongs to a friend - his motherboard went kaput, we thought it fried his graphics card, he gave it to me after buying a whole new system, and after repairing a fan, it works perfectly. Unfortunately, I haven't checked that it'll fit inside the Sentry, and don't necessarily want it anyways. It's probably going up on Craigslist / Ebay.

 

 

 

That is my venerable old 670, which served me quite well for many a year, plus the cooler off of a GTX 1080. My plan is to buy a founders' edition GTX 1070 and replace the stock cooler with the one from the 1080, which has the vapor chamber that the 1070's heatsink is missing. Anybody want some old graphics cards or nice sound cards? 

 

Oh, and the apparently obligatory dog? 

 

She thought the case was nearly as interesting as I did, until she got too curious and started licking the damn thing. Well, I guess it really is mine now...

 

 

So yeah, my Sentry is currently sitting next to me, absolutely taunting me. I left my old SFX-L power supply in the computer I gave to my mother, and have been using the 550w Antec power supply that was in her computer. (It's lasted for freaking ever, I'm rather impressed by it.) However, that means that I can't actually build in the Sentry yet!

 

I've got a Corsair SF450 on the way; I'll see how noisy it is, and then replace the fan with a Noctua controlled by the motherboard if I need to. I'll be purchasing a GTX 1070 FE, and using that 1080 cooler on it; the 250W vapor chamber cooler should do an excellent job of keeping it cool even during the hot desert summer. Finally, when I have money, I'll be upgrading my storage with an M.2 boot drive and a large, cheap 2.5" SSD so that I can be free of mechanical storage altogether.

 

Final thoughts? I can't stop touching the case. I absolutely love the powder coating on the finish; it's incredibly well done. Everything fits together perfectly; there's not even any wiggle or alignment gap between the stand and the case.

 

 

Thanks, guys!

[mach]

15 minutes ago, darksable said:

Hi guys!

 

Just received my white Sentry, and wanted to write a couple words about the unboxing experience and my first impressions. I'll be quoting from the post that I wrote on [H]ardforum:

 

 

Thanks, guys!

I'm replacing my rvz01 to a sentry too! The difference is my rvz01 is only half a year old and in mint condition. 

It must be a great feeling to halve the volume. I just regret buying an itx case this large in the first place!! 

My sentry order has just been locked, means that it could be another month or two to arrive

 

btw do you think your 450W power supply would be sufficient for overclocking the i3 and 1070?

 

(I have a silverstone sx600-g for my i7-6700 and 1060  I know it's overkill but I wanted to be future-proof in case of an gpu upgrade, and when I bought it the 600W costed me just ~$10 more than the 450W)

[darksable]

6 hours ago, mach said:

I'm replacing my rvz01 to a sentry too! The difference is my rvz01 is only half a year old and in mint condition. 

It must be a great feeling to halve the volume. I just regret buying an itx case this large in the first place!! 

My sentry order has just been locked, means that it could be another month or two to arrive

 

btw do you think your 450W power supply would be sufficient for overclocking the i3 and 1070?

 

(I have a silverstone sx600-g for my i7-6700 and 1060  I know it's overkill but I wanted to be future-proof in case of an gpu upgrade, and when I bought it the 600W costed me just ~$10 more than the 450W)

Heh, I started getting into mini ITX cases when the Bitfenix Prodigy came out and wowed everybody - compared to that, the rvz01 is downright svelte. ;p

 

And yes, the 450w PSU is going to be more than sufficient. The i3 is a 60w part - if we're building in a ridiculous amount of overage, call it 100w after overclocking. The 1070 is only 150w on top of that. Add perhaps 50w for all the other miscellaneous power draws (which is, again, a very, very high estimate), and you're looking at only 300w. I would be comfortable using a 1080 in this system without feeling the need to upgrade the PSU.

 

With your 65w, locked CPU and 120w graphics card, It'd be happy in a super-tiny rig using the HDplex FlexATX 300w power supply, like the S4 Mini uses.

 

 

 

[Freeks]

12 hours ago, darksable said:

I've got a Corsair SF450 on the way; I'll see how noisy it is, and then replace the fan with a Noctua controlled by the motherboard if I need to.

I've been using that SF450 in a Node 202 and now in the Sentry. Most of the time the fan is not turning on at all and even when, it's not audible.

[ZombiPL]

14th week of Sentry manufacturing process

Once again FAQ update since you guys keep flooding us with the questions
 

1) "My case wasn't delivered and it's June already..", "I have ordered 1st batch and i still didn't get my case" and such:
We are processing 150 cases for one shipment according to production scheme that is shown in campaign story. 1st batch is something different than 1st transport. We explained that 1st batch was connected with number of parts we can order from our subcontractors "in one order". When we will be processing your order you will get your tracking number. Please be patient.

2) "Tracking of my order stopped in Poland and hasn't been updated for few weeks"
Overseas orders were literally shipped by ship freight. It will take significant amount of time before the ship crosses the ocean and enter your country - around 6 weeks. When that happens your parcel tracking will be updated in your local post tracking system.

3) "The screws don't fit in the riser holes" / "The holes in the riser don't match the holes in the chassis"

The screws are not supposed to go through the holes in the riser! - it's just a coincidence that our riser has them this close. The mounting system is made to fit any brand of riser in this layout (with pcb and ribbon connected in this orientation to the slot) by grabbing the riser by the plastic slot body and not by its pcb. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE READ THE ONLINE MANUAL which is an extended version of paper manual shipped with Sentry.

Now few words about current production. We've locked orders for 3rd transport, which will be sent this week. Cases are assembled and right now we are in the middle of packaging process.

 

 

 

We also received white Sentry cases for 4th transport:

 

 

It looks like even with some delays everything is moving forward. Also many of our backers are sharing with us their photos of new builds made with Sentry. It helps us a lot to understand what needs you may have towards PC case. What is more, it would be great if everyone who already received his Sentry would share his thoughts with us in one of our forums. 

Here you have some examples of nice builds/desk surface arrangements made by our backers (more photos you will find in our forums topics):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ZombiPL]

15th week of Sentry manufacturing process
 

Another busy week spent mostly on packaging and paperwork. We are getting more and more feedback about the quality of different courier companies service. This time we have to talk about that a little bit more.

First of all, when you are going to sign shipping papers given by courier, please stop for a second . Please check the external package if there is no damage. Look for small holes in the transport box, broken carton or missing adhesive tape, or even other signs of bad package treatment we didn't mentioned but can be suspicious (like for example footprint of the shoe). If you don't find them, then sign the papers.
 

In case you will be concerned about something, please tell you courier that you want to get a form for a damaged package. If he doesn't have one, then get a piece of paper, describe the package condition and request his signature. After that you can sign the shipping papers and take the package. 
 

Quick real-life example:
Last month one of the courier companies (GLS) damaged our package in the transport. When our backer oppened it, it was obvious someone used some sharp tool on it, making a hole in all layers of Sentry packaging and finally damaging case itself. Our supporter and we reported this situation to GLS, but they refused to pay for their damage. We made an appeal, but they refused again claiming that our backer took the package from the courier without any complains. What is more, they claim they don't have any proof that we didn't send that package in such condition.... with damaged product and with several holes made by hook... This is sick, but that is how such companies work, to avoid paying for the damage made by themselves.

To avoid such situation, please:
 

CHECK THE PACKAGE BEFORE SIGNING DELIVERY CONFIRMATION
 

because some transport companies obviously don't understand simple signs:

 

 

Ok. Other things in short:
- some of packages from 2nd transport were randomly checked/oppened by customs services in search for... ancient stuff robbed by ISIS in conflict in Siria... yeeey...:(

- we sent 3rd transport of Sentry cases (please check your e-mails for a tracking number. If you didn't get it, this is probably not your transport yet),

 

 

 

 

 

- we started assembling process of 4th transport of cases (white ones). Please check if you have a phone number in your address information.

 

[mach]

I can only hope for the best for mine (3rd batch).

It's the first time receiving something shipped by actual ship. And I might not even be able to receive it myself as I'm away for most of July. The parcel is not even tracked in my country and I have to rely on my housemate to receive it for me. And if there's any problem with it I don't think complaining would help either. 

Seeing your updates only increases the worry...

[GhostHitWall]

since the first few batches of sentry have finally being delivered, I am wondering if there's a new ETA on when new orders could be placed in any form of distribution?

[ZombiPL]

On 11.06.2017 at 7:57 PM, mach said:

I can only hope for the best for mine (3rd batch).

It's the first time receiving something shipped by actual ship. And I might not even be able to receive it myself as I'm away for most of July. The parcel is not even tracked in my country and I have to rely on my housemate to receive it for me. And if there's any problem with it I don't think complaining would help either. 

Seeing your updates only increases the worry...

 

You are worried about your one case. We are worried about over 1000 cases which we did/will send  Don't worry. It looks like (for some unknown reason) those postal packages sent outside EU are reaching their destination in better condition than those which we are sending by courier companies inside Europe. 

[ZombiPL]

1 hour ago, GhostHitWall said:

since the first few batches of sentry have finally being delivered, I am wondering if there's a new ETA on when new orders could be placed in any form of distribution?

Please remember this is a community project. It means when we will finish sending all packages to our backers from indiegogo campaign we will have to take some time to look through their feedback and check if there are some things we can improve. We predict we will know everything before September.

[Cody_53027]

I got my shipping confirmation earlier this week. Looking forward to taking delivery.

[ZombiPL]

 

Sentry manufacturing process - weekly update

 

This week was a bit short mostly because it ended with long weekend in Poland (from Thursday to Sunday). Despite this, we managed to move things forward according to the plan:

- last transport of unpainted Sentry bodies (white cases) was sent to our 2nd paintshop,

 

 

- we finished preparing accessory boxes,

- 4th transport Sentry units are almost assembled and this week we will be packing them into transport boxes. 

 

It looks like someone is reading our updates It makes us really happy. Thanks to that we are getting feedback which we need, and also as a bonus we are receiving more and more photos of builds/desk surface arrangements with Sentry. Just like 2 weeks ago, below you can find some of new photos shared by our backers (as usual, you will find more in our forums topics) :
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ZombiPL]

Sentry manufacturing process - weekly update

 

Another "packaging week". We know these updates are becoming boring (assembled, packaged, sent, assembled, packaged, sent...), but many people are still waiting for their cases, so... let's begin

 

- Next transport of Sentry units (white ones) is packaged and is waiting for filing customs papers. Those cases will be shipped this week.

 

- Packages for backers living outside EU are/were mostly sent by the sea. It means the waiting time for their delivery is usually several weeks. If your package is transported in that way, after 4 weeks from shipment the tracking information on our courier's website can disappear. This is normal, so please don't be scared and just press 2nd "Search button", which will show up after clicking the 1st one. 

- We also received another transport of black Sentry bodies, so immediately we're starting assembling process of units for 5th shipment (5 out of 7).

 

 

- As usual we ask you for sending us photos of your builds made inside your Sentry cases. Just like in previous updates, in every 2nd week we will be inserting some of them at the end of the update. For us it is a great fun to watch your ideas and see if your are happy with what you received. For other backers this is a way to show Sentry's possibilities and talk about issues you had while cramping your hardware in such small case.

[ZombiPL]

Sentry manufacturing process - weekly update

 

Almost all packages from 4th transport sent. Only few cases are still waiting for the courier companies to pick them up, because some of you decided to change their addresses after we locked this option in your indiegogo accounts. Don't worry. Those will be sent on Monday and Tuesday. For people waiting for next transports we have one request: If you will decide to change your address to another country, please let us know about it. Indiegogo doesn't allow such option, so we have to solve it on our side. Your information will help us to avoid problems with sending packages to non-existing addresses in different than original destination countries. Thank you.

Ok. Back to the topic. As we wrote before, most of the packages from 4th shipping were taken by our transport companies:

 

At this moment we are working on assembling accessory boxes for 5th transport. By the end of this week we should be able to start preparations for another packaging process.
 

As a bonus to this update we are adding some photos sent by our supporters showing their nice PCs assembled inside Sentry. As usual you will find more in our forum topics.

[Brammm]

 

HYPE!

[MRP0P1NFR3SH]

Are there any more for sale or did you guys end production?

[ZombiPL]

Are there any more for sale or did you guys end production?

At this moment there are no additional cases for retail. Not yet. We have to wait until everybody will receive their cases from indiegogo campaign. We will gather their feedback and then we will decide if we are ready for retail or if we have to improve something. What is more, everyday we have many similar questions on our mailbox and we understand there is a need for future sales, so don't worry. It will happen, but we have to finish sending our indiegogo packages.

[MRP0P1NFR3SH]

On 7/7/2017 at 2:04 AM, ZombiPL said:

At this moment there are no additional cases for retail. Not yet. We have to wait until everybody will receive their cases from indiegogo campaign. We will gather their feedback and then we will decide if we are ready for retail or if we have to improve something. What is more, everyday we have many similar questions on our mailbox and we understand there is a need for future sales, so don't worry. It will happen, but we have to finish sending our indiegogo packages.

I appreciate the follow up. Thank you for that.

[ZombiPL]

 

Sentry manufacturing process - weekly update
 

Today we want to answer 5 most common questions from the last few weeks. Let's start:

1) My package was sent several days ago and i still didn't get it. Why it takes so long? I live outside Europe.

About 90% of packages for backers living outside Europe are being sent by ship. It means your package will have to travel through the sea and it will take several weeks.

2) You sent 1st shipment. How long is the "real-life" delivery time, which you measured?

a) EU delivery (based on 4 transports):
~70% within 5 days,
~85% within 7 days,
~100% within 10 days,

b) Non-EU countries outside European continent (average for whole world, based on 1st shipment):
~65% within 6 weeks,
~75% within 7 weeks,
~80% within 8 weeks,
- about 20 packages from this transport still weren't described as "delivered", so at this moment we can't say what is the max waiting time. 

3) What should I do if my package was sent and after many weeks my tracking information still says only "Sent from Poland"?

Please contact with your nearest post department and ask them which customs services office should receive your package after shipping from Poland (tracking number should be enough for them). After that you should contact that customs office. Those two institutions aren't updating their tracking information as often as they should, and your package can stay at their warehouse for weeks while you think it's still on a ship.

Example: Yesterday (8.07.2017) USPS updated information for several packages saying "Item arrived to the delivery office - 12.06.2017. Almost a month later...

4) Why you didn't give an option to choose more expensive transport?

Indiegogo didn't allow us to do it. We were allowed to use only one transport option for each country and we picked the one which was the cheapest among those which included online tracking and insurance.

5) Paper manual included in Sentry box isn't enough for me. Do you have something more informative?

Yes, we have. On every paper manual we have a web address and QR-code leading to our online manual. You can also find it here: http://zaber.com.pl/sentry/manual.pdf

 

Other standard news:
- we are at the stage of screwing steel Sentry bodies for 5th transport,
- accessory boxes for this shipment are ready,
- this week we will be packaging everything into printed carton boxes and then into transport boxes.

[VikingGaming]

16 hours ago, ZombiPL said:

-snip-

You may have answered this question, but I have not found it anywhere: Approximately how long does it take from the order being locked on Indiegogo to the package is sent? Just asking as my order is locked, but I have not received tracking info

[ZombiPL]

Just now, VikingGaming said:

You may have answered this question, but I have not found it anywhere: Approximately how long does it take from the order being locked on Indiegogo to the package is sent? Just asking as my order is locked, but I have not received tracking info

It's usually 2 weeks. We need time to prepare invoices, customs documents, shipping papers etc., so we have to be sure that someone won't change his address while we are already sending his package. If your (VikingGaming) package is locked, then probably it will be sent next week.

[VikingGaming]

7 minutes ago, ZombiPL said:

It's usually 2 weeks. We need time to prepare invoices, customs documents, shipping papers etc., so we have to be sure that someone won't change his address while we are already sending his package. If your (VikingGaming) package is locked, then probably it will be sent next week.

Awesome, thanks

[ZombiPL]

 

Sentry manufacturing process - weekly update

5th transport of cases is almost ready for shipment. As we wrote in the last update, this week all Sentry elements were screwed together and packed into their printed carton boxes.

 

There is still some work to do with transport boxes, while shipping papers and customs documents are already prepared. We are getting ready to start preparations for assembling 6th transport of cases (6 out of 7).

While we are working hard to deliver you your Sentry, backers who already received their units are showing their photos of unique setups they made with their cases. It's nice to watch how this SFF community grows up. Everyday we see more and more new people willing to join our forums topics and to share their experiences with others. It's really, really great

Just like in some of previous updates, below we are posting photos made by our supporters. And as usual, you can find more in our forums:

 

[knfa.28]

Curious to see (to those who already received their Sentry) if there is anyone who used an i7-7700K in their builds. How are the temps? Max stable voltage and overclock? Would you recommend the i7-7700K over the non-K (i7-7700) version for this build, or vise versa?

 

Thanks