New Case Company

[Build_Nerd]

Hi All,

 

I have been considering starting my own computer case company for quite some time now. It has been a back and forth thing in my mind because it will definitely take money (duh) to get moving on it and get prototypes made etc. I have my own design in my mind, but wanted to reach out and ask you lovely people if there is anything that you have wanted to see in a case design that you never have, or multiple things you've seen in many different cases that you would love to see all in one case - any form factor is an option. My current design I have in mind is a Mid ATX or Full depending on what I finally decide would be best, but your suggestions could be things you would like to see in certain form factors or in general (please specify if possible).

 

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you all!

[Cela1]

If you go ahead with this then you may want to think of making an ITX case as well as an ATX as they are starting to be a bit more popular and cost less to make . Also make sure you include helpful things like cable tie points and ample cable room, side panels are also sweet obviously. If it is successful, then maybe send Linus one to review, I'm sure he will be kind.

 

Best of luck with any plans that do happen also .

[Julian5]

I would love some sort of a case to show all of the pc (Maybe a glass enclosure) I really like PSU basements and I would love to have a vertical gpu

[catzambia]

Give it a clean look, like some of Antec's cases, don't go for some weird rgb plastic piece of crap.

[Cela1]

Just now, catzambia said:

Give it a clean look, like some of Antec's cases, don't go for some weird rgb plastic piece of crap.

This. While tacky products appeal to kids, they push away the refined audience.

[TheRandomness]

2 minutes ago, Cela1 said:

This. While tacky products appeal to kids, they push away the refined audience.

This but expand the lineup so there're multiple colour options for the same case and allow for RGB strips to be mounted easily?

[Xineas]

Just now, TheRandomness said:

This but expand the lineup so there're multiple colour options for the same case and allow for RGB strips to be mounted easily?

Or have a lineup with RGB lighting strips built in from the factory

[Antony Leung]

Good airflow, for better temps, like the Enthoo pro. and air dust filters everywhere. 

[vladonizer]

I love small Mid Towers that can have an EATX mobo, without any optical bays, with decent RAD support. making a new build soon, wouldnt mind seeing some new cases as there is only one that I have found that would work for me. Anyways good luck with this!!

[TheBestUserName]

There are more 2.5" drives (ssd and hdd) in-use among my computer and my son's two computers.  In fact, the only 3.5" drives we use are for our backups. So personally I like to see plenty of mounts for the smaller drives.  I bought adapter mounts, but having a solution built into the case would have been nice so that I wouldn't have had to buy addional accessories. 

[Build_Nerd]

10 hours ago, Cela1 said:

If you go ahead with this then you may want to think of making an ITX case as well as an ATX as they are starting to be a bit more popular and cost less to make . Also make sure you include helpful things like cable tie points and ample cable room, side panels are also sweet obviously. If it is successful, then maybe send Linus one to review, I'm sure he will be kind.

 

Best of luck with any plans that do happen also .

Definitely, I am going to add a poll to this thread in order to decide whether first case form factor should be ITX or ATX Mid or Full Tower. Thanks a bunch - I am trying to take a step in a direction that includes the enthusiasts instead of just including the stuff I want in a build (as an enthusiast myself of course) but not what others might go for. Going for that crowdsourced feel in a way.

10 hours ago, Julian5 said:

I would love some sort of a case to show all of the pc (Maybe a glass enclosure) I really like PSU basements and I would love to have a vertical gpu

You are wanting to see more than a single see through side panel? I can see a full tempered or plexi glass side panel, but the more of those you get it becomes more costly unfortunately, but worth consideration. Thanks.

10 hours ago, catzambia said:

Give it a clean look, like some of Antec's cases, don't go for some weird rgb plastic piece of crap.

I gotta be honest, I have never thought of Antec as having super clean case designs haha but I am wanting to stick to some minimalistic designs with super clean aesthetics. Personally I like the 750D or 900D for instance.

8 hours ago, vladonizer said:

I love small Mid Towers that can have an EATX mobo, without any optical bays, with decent RAD support. making a new build soon, wouldnt mind seeing some new cases as there is only one that I have found that would work for me. Anyways good luck with this!!

That is definitely something I will consider. With all the changes to drives and the fact that people, including myself, are wanting drive bays completely out of the case with the option to add them in somehow I am really considering having optical bays and no drive bays with an option to add them in somehow. This would allow for something similar to the Define S but of course not copying them directly.

9 hours ago, Antony Leung said:

Good airflow, for better temps, like the Enthoo pro. and air dust filters everywhere. 

See above ^^. I think that going that route will allow the builder to decide where they would like to possibly restrict their air flow or even have the opportunity to not restrict it at all and go with a full liquid cooled build and their drives either on the back of the motherboard tray, or along the bottom (depending on final design).

10 hours ago, TheRandomness said:

This but expand the lineup so there're multiple colour options for the same case and allow for RGB strips to be mounted easily?

Will always have this one under consideration but would be something that may come after the original launch. Having started in this way that I am, with asking for enthusiast opinion and input, I would most likely do the same to find 1 or 2 colors that people would like to see as options from the assembly line. In terms of mounting RGB strips (or LED light strips in general) this was great to hear is wanted. Of course I have done so in the past and am going to be doing so with my current build (not in my own case until this comes to be) I have some ideas already to address this idea and will definitely build upon it, thanks.

10 hours ago, Xineas said:

Or have a lineup with RGB lighting strips built in from the factory

That is always an option and something to consider down the road. I think that this may be something that is added on later after the success of a first case maybe as a later option for the case, but really it just adds to the cost of the consumer and could be easily bought on your own at the quality level you desire instead of being forced to deal with whatever quality the manufacturer (in this case my own company) puts in for you. Just my thoughts but as I said I will definitely consider this.

 

Thanks for the input all and please keep em coming, this is the beginning of a potentially long road before everything comes to be.

[Cela1]

2 minutes ago, Build_Nerd said:

Definitely, I am going to add a poll to this thread in order to decide whether first case form factor should be ITX or ATX Mid or Full Tower. Thanks a bunch - I am trying to take a step in a direction that includes the enthusiasts instead of just including the stuff I want in a build (as an enthusiast myself of course) but not what others might go for. Going for that crowdsourced feel in a way.

You are wanting to see more than a single see through side panel? I can see a full tempered or plexi glass side panel, but the more of those you get it becomes more costly unfortunately, but worth consideration. Thanks.

I gotta be honest, I have never thought of Antec as having super clean case designs haha but I am wanting to stick to some minimalistic designs with super clean aesthetics. Personally I like the 750D or 900D for instance.

That is definitely something I will consider. With all the changes to drives and the fact that people, including myself, are wanting drive bays completely out of the case with the option to add them in somehow I am really considering having optical bays and no drive bays with an option to add them in somehow. This would allow for something similar to the Define S but of course not copying them directly.

See above ^^. I think that going that route will allow the builder to decide where they would like to possibly restrict their air flow or even have the opportunity to not restrict it at all and go with a full liquid cooled build and their drives either on the back of the motherboard tray, or along the bottom (depending on final design).

Will always have this one under consideration but would be something that may come after the original launch. Having started in this way that I am, with asking for enthusiast opinion and input, I would most likely do the same to find 1 or 2 colors that people would like to see as options from the assembly line. In terms of mounting RGB strips (or LED light strips in general) this was great to hear is wanted. Of course I have done so in the past and am going to be doing so with my current build (not in my own case until this comes to be) I have some ideas already to address this idea and will definitely build upon it, thanks.

That is always an option and something to consider down the road. I think that this may be something that is added on later after the success of a first case maybe as a later option for the case, but really it just adds to the cost of the consumer and could be easily bought on your own at the quality level you desire instead of being forced to deal with whatever quality the manufacturer (in this case my own company) puts in for you. Just my thoughts but as I said I will definitely consider this.

 

Thanks for the input all and please keep em coming, this is the beginning of a potentially long road before everything comes to be.

You seem to have a good road plan starting with one as a trial then expanding. GL.

[Antony Leung]

If hope your made a good company with a excellent costume service and very popular like EVGA and one day i could buy you a case. 

[Build_Nerd]

15 hours ago, Antony Leung said:

If hope your made a good company with a excellent costume service and very popular like EVGA and one day i could buy you a case. 

Thanks, as do I. I actually have had the most experience in my working career in the customer service/sales sector so customer service standards for me with this upcoming company are going to be through the roof and make EVGA look like scrubs  jk they are an awesome company that I may end up working for in the near future while I plan through this case company.

 

15 hours ago, Cela1 said:

You seem to have a good road plan starting with one as a trial then expanding. GL.

thanks a bunch. I will be either continuing on this thread once I get some CAD designs done, or making a new one to post the design process and such so if you would like to follow the topic, either way I will at the least post a link to the new thread.

[Antony Leung]

Hey @Build_Nerd I suggest you the ATX full for having support to all MB form factor. from the itx to a ETX. is like any program that have support on different OS or like a game that is for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, ONE, WII U, PC. that kind of game will give you advatage of sales for any kind of costumer that will pay a it. Same to your Case

[Cela1]

FYI it is ATX, micro-ATX and mini-ITX.

(For the poll)

[Build_Nerd]

15 hours ago, Cela1 said:

FYI it is ATX, micro-ATX and mini-ITX.

(For the poll)

m-ATX is more of a motherboard classification nowadays from what I've seen but we can change that. I'll do so now.

 

15 hours ago, Antony Leung said:

Hey @Build_Nerd I suggest you the ATX full for having support to all MB form factor. from the itx to a ETX. is like any program that have support on different OS or like a game that is for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, ONE, WII U, PC. that kind of game will give you advatage of sales for any kind of costumer that will pay a it. Same to your Case

Thanks for the input. I hope you put that in the poll. I can definitely understand that part of the sales strategy. Capture as many enthusiasts, gamers, etc with your first case as possible then expand to the smaller form factors after building somewhat of a name.

[Howitz]

1.Get some badass fans included, there's nothing worse than buying a 100-150 $ case that uses 5 $ worth of fans... do it even at the compromise of led strips.

 

2.Also you probably know about the noise dampening pads they apply in the panels, it might be worth checking if you can make a transparent one that you can put behind the window, this way you can have a window side panel without the noise compromise. (Problem is to have a very cear and transparent one so you can see what's behind)

 

3. Have a robust chasis and robust panels, put some strategically placed reinforcements where needed (requires some engineering as you have to do so with efficiency to cut production costs.(it's quite a pain to buy a case and to realize it's so weak it could be made of paper amd you would'nt see the difference...

 

4.Get linus to do a review video of your product. (Somehow)

 

5. Search for, and apply feedback. Accept and understand that you will likely not achieve your best case on the first design.

 

6. Make sure you put dust filters strategically, as even phantek's enthoo pro have flaws in this regard (as in having intakes behind a dust filter, rendering it useless)

[Build_Nerd]

17 hours ago, Howitz said:

1.Get some badass fans included, there's nothing worse than buying a 100-150 $ case that uses 5 $ worth of fans... do it even at the compromise of led strips.

 

2.Also you probably know about the noise dampening pads they apply in the panels, it might be worth checking if you can make a transparent one that you can put behind the window, this way you can have a window side panel without the noise compromise. (Problem is to have a very cear and transparent one so you can see what's behind)

 

3. Have a robust chasis and robust panels, put some strategically placed reinforcements where needed (requires some engineering as you have to do so with efficiency to cut production costs.(it's quite a pain to buy a case and to realize it's so weak it could be made of paper amd you would'nt see the difference...

 

4.Get linus to do a review video of your product. (Somehow)

 

5. Search for, and apply feedback. Accept and understand that you will likely not achieve your best case on the first design.

 

6. Make sure you put dust filters strategically, as even phantek's enthoo pro have flaws in this regard (as in having intakes behind a dust filter, rendering it useless)

1. I agree haha I hate that in the cases I have used over the years and wouldn't want the same situation. It will be interesting to get this part done well for low cost. Maybe a partnership with a certain silent fan company would work, but of course that would take some persuasion on my part

 

2. Yes that would be amazing, but I don't see that happening haha foam by design cannot be transparent so it would mean creating an entirely new material that has sound dampening ability. For the most part, glass does an extremely good job though, and there are types of glass that have yet to be used in case construction, although seemingly due to cost. That is one thing that I have yet to ask and will have to change the poll to at some point - what price range would be most desired for a higher end, sleek, and well designed case with possibly a tempered glass side panel?

 

3. I agree and will do my very best to do so while keeping cost reasonable for msrp.

 

4. The dream. haha

 

5. This is definitely something that will happen often. Starting the design process and building of the company in the way that I am here, I plan to include our customers feedback for the future builds and products as well.

 

6. For sure, I have been watching tons of Linus reviews of cases to see where they went wrong and be able to right those wrongs all in one case (or as many as possible). Thanks for all your input!

[Patrick3D]

My top 3 case wishlist items:

-removable motherboard tray or easily accessible mounting area

-color other than black, silver, or blue (red or white preferred)

-quick connector for front panel header wires

 

My current favorite is the CoolerMaster V21 (mATX) which lets the owner place the window on any side or top and also allows the front panel headers to be located on any side or top/bottom.

 

[vladonizer]

Also, I would love to see more cases that are mostly one color like black, but then has options for a little of different colors

[Spotswood]

Don't design the case in a vacuum.  Take advantage of the community's input early in the design e.g. the NCASE M1 and DAN A4-SFX design threads on [H].

 

 

[Build_Nerd]

13 minutes ago, Spotswood said:

Don't design the case in a vacuum.  Take advantage of the community's input early in the design e.g. the NCASE M1 and DAN A4-SFX design threads on [H].

 

 

That is what this thread is for haha

[Build_Nerd]

1 hour ago, Patrick3D said:

My top 3 case wishlist items:

-removable motherboard tray or easily accessible mounting area

-color other than black, silver, or blue (red or white preferred)

-quick connector for front panel header wires

 

My current favorite is the CoolerMaster V21 (mATX) which lets the owner place the window on any side or top and also allows the front panel headers to be located on any side or top/bottom.

 

Easily accessible in term of plenty of space for your hands to get in without running into hard drive trays n such. Since you referenced the CM V21 I assume you mean the ease that case has for installation?

 

I have seen very few blue cases but that is understandable. I personally have wanted to see more white cases nowadays myself so you can bet that will be an option - most likely not from the start, but soon after launch.

 

Do you have a reference for the front panel header wires that you speak of? I believe I know what you mean, but want to make sure. I would love to be able to include this with some clarification.

[Build_Nerd]

27 minutes ago, vladonizer said:

Also, I would love to see more cases that are mostly one color like black, but then has options for a little of different colors

Can you give me a reference for what you mean by a little of different colors? Are you meaning offering a full single color case, and then offering options for accent colors? As if NZXT had a full black Noctis but offered the other versions that have the accent coloring?