vr Arctic Case: Console-Sized, Liquid-Cooled, RGB!

[Pecacheu]

Introducing the B-Tech Arctic computer case! At only 5.2 liters of internal volume, it's one of the smallest ITX cases with full-length GPU support on the market! (That's right, smaller than the RVZ03 or even the Sentry case!)

 

The Arctic case achieves a stunningly accurate "console aesthetic" look thanks to it's glossy plastic exterior construction, ample vent holes, and clean, screw-free external design, including on the back and bottom! But just because your computer looks like a console doesn't mean it should perform like one! That's why Arctic supports full-length GPUs and comes standard with built-in liquid cooling! It even includes a built-in 1500W DC power supply (2x compact 750W AC bricks), with future battery-pack expansion planned!

 

But it doesn't end there. The Artic isn't called "Arctic" for nothing. It's got built-in sub-zero cooling capable of handling over 550W of total system heat dissipation! That means your system could be cooled down to 0° C FREEZING even at LOAD!

 

And if you don't want the extra power consumption and noise, you can simply swap the Arctic A/C Block in the loop out for the regular Radiator Block,

thanks to our custom designed quick-swap fittings that allow detaching parts of the cooling loop without draining!

 

Sign up for the mailing list here!

For progress updates and to be notified when our Kickstarter Campaign goes live!

 

But of course, you need photos! Here are some 3D renders.

These are NOT proof of concept renders. They are taken using the real model, not a striped-down version missing internal structure or interconnects.

 

The Arctic Case in Glacier White. The top intake is a custom designed ~100mm RGB 4-pin fan. The final design will also have a backlit logo on top.

The case can be opened quickly and easily thanks to the innovative magnetic-latch system, which sends power and data for the LED illumination through magnetized contacts, making the case side-panels totally wire-free.

 

Arctic Case in Cobalt Black:

 

From the side, you can see the 360° addressable RGB LED ring.

A non-slip rubber pad with an intricate pattern lines the bottom of the case to give it a two-tone look.

 

From the front you can see 3 of the 8 individually controllable 4-pin exhaust fans.

A/C units connected to the watercooling loop with a custom copper heatsink block are positioned behind these to achieve CPU/GPU temps BELOW ambient!

And did I mention there's a flipping TURBO BUTTON!?

 

You'll also notice there's no power button. That's because it's capacitive!

To turn the system on, simply tap the left-front area of the case.

 

Of course, you're probably also wondering how on earth we're controlling 10 independent 4-pin fans (including the pump) and over 70 zones of RGB lighting...

 

Well, existing 4-pin fan splitters are not able to control fan speed independently or even report individual fan speed, leaving you with no way to ensure your fans/pumps are still working properly, not to mention they're way to big to fit in a case this small, so we decided to come up with our own solution. Introducing the Arctic Control Board! Able to control 12 independent 4, or even 3-pin fans with per-fan auto-config and per-fan RPM control. Plus, it has RGB lighting control, capacitive touch circuitry, A/C cooling control, case-open detect, and even front-panel IO!

 

Front IO:

• 1x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0
• 2x Reassignable HD Audio Jacks
• RGB Illuminated Capacitive Power Button w/ Adjustable Sensitivity
• User-Configurable Turbo Button (Mechanical MX Blue-like Switch, because why not)

 

What's Included with the Case:

• The case. Obviously.
• Custom 1500W PSU (98.5% DC-side efficiency, not cheap!) w/ Dual (also custom) 750W AC Power Bricks.
• Pre-assembled copper CPU & GPU water loop.
• Universal CPU waterblock.
• Dual thermoelectric A/C radiator units.
• 8x 60mm side fans, 1x slim ~100mm RGB intake fan.
• 64 pixel 360° addressable LED ring.
• Dual-channel smart RGB controller & 12-channel 3/4-pin PWM driver with per-fan RPM feedback.

 

And, if you don't want to build a system yourself, pre-built configurations featuring delided 7th-gen Intel i7 CPUs, ASRock Z270 Motherboards, NVMe SSD Storage, and watercooled NVIDIA 1060, 1070 Ti, or 1080 Ti GPUs will also be available, starting at only $920!

 

We already designed and tested PCBs, prototyped proof-of-concepts, and part-fit tested with cardboard, foamboard, etc.

But we're not there yet! Here's what still needs to happen:

• Plastic case prototype, More part-fit testing.
• Refining pressure-fit and screw hole sizes based on material properties.
• Kickstarter video!
• Building an epic system in the thing!

 

Once we've done all that, we can launch the campaign to gather funds for entering production!

Current estimated launch date: Mid-February, 2018.

 

Sign up for the mailing list here!

For progress updates and to be notified when our Kickstarter Campaign goes live!

 

B-Tech Arctic. Compact Liquid-Cooling for the Masses!

Edited November 15, 2017 by Pecacheu
More clarification, and 1200W -> 1500W PSU due to similar BOM-prices, Better Title

[TVwazhere]

11 hours ago, Pecacheu said:

It even includes a built-in 1200W power supply!

Seems a bit excessive...

[Pecacheu]

6 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

Seems a bit excessive...

The main reason for it is because AC-DC circuitry tends to work at maximum efficiency at about 50% load (actually, I think there was an LTT episode about that), so if your system draws ~450W and the cooling draws ~100W, you're into the high-efficiency region. Also, at max power the A/C could draw as much as 700W peak on the 12V line alone, so 1200W is defiantly necessary.

 

The PSU can also auto-detect if only one of the power bricks is connected and current-limit the cooling. (Or, at least it will. The current prototype PSU doesn't have that capability. You can't simply use a diode because it would have to dissipate the full 600W at load. We're thinking a current-sensing shunt resistor coupled with a comparator.)

[TVwazhere]

4 minutes ago, Pecacheu said:

at max power the A/C could draw as much as 700W peak on the 12V line alone, so 1200W is defiantly necessary

The A/C sounds like the big reason. That makes more sense now  

[Pecacheu]

Don't know if anyone will be in the area since LTT themselves are Canada-based, but we're doing a booth at the NOVA Maker Faire on the 18th!

 

I'll be showing off a mostly-working 3D printed prototype playing VR games, as well as a project I've been working on... A machine-learning super-computer that predicts mathematical formulas (totally unrelated lol).

 

Anyway, I've made a few design changes to the Arctic.

- Firstly, the sub-zero cooling will probably be a removable module, whereas originally it would be permanently installed and a totally separate model from the non-sub-zero version. Also, I've made some extra room in the design for slightly larger GPUs, however most third-party (non NVIDIA or AMD brand) cards probably still won't fit, but basically every OEM card with an aftermarket waterblock should.

- Additionally, I've discovered I'll have to use thicker than normal front/side fans in the final version, as standard-size 10x60mm fans are too low-airflow, even with 8 of them in there. They are extremely quiet, though.

- The top fan will be a regular 90mm fan. I'd like RGB for the top fan, however RGB 90mm are very difficult to find (though there are a few), so I'm planning on using clear single color fans, removing the LEDs, and either replacing them with individual RGB LEDs, or simply wrapping an RGB light strip around them.

- With the slightly more efficient interior design, I've discovered that there's actually room for dual graphics cards! There's very little room however, so I'd need to design custom shrouds for the waterblocks and custom fittings, but I was gonna need some custom radiator blocks for the case anyway, so that's nothing new. The question is what to do with that extra space in the normal, single GPU models... Optical drive version anyone?

 

Also, I don't think I mentioned in the description, but at the rear, the case has a quick-disconnect port. That's for connecting optional external cooling. The design of the port is really cool. There's a bunch of tiny levers, springs, and mechanical components inside. When the mating connector is attached, it redirects the loop through the connection, but otherwise the connector routes water straight through, bypassing it when nothings connected. The trick was designing to not leak any water while in between these two states.

[TVwazhere]

6 hours ago, Pecacheu said:

I've discovered that there's actually room for dual graphics cards!

Isn' that kind of a mute point if this is an ITX case?

[Pecacheu]

No, I found a BIOS that works with 16x to dual 8x risers (they are used in servers to double the PCI slot count). Haven’t tested that yet but I have tried my single 1080 Ti with 8x vs 16x slot on another mobo to see if there is any performance loss, and I didn’t find any, so I think this might just be crazy enough to work.

[TVwazhere]

20 minutes ago, Pecacheu said:

No, I found a BIOS that works with 16x to dual 8x risers (they are used in servers to double the PCI slot count). Haven’t tested that yet but I have tried my single 1080 Ti with 8x vs 16x slot on another mobo to see if there is any performance loss, and I didn’t find any, so I think this might just be crazy enough to work.

PCI-E 3.0 x16 to x8 yield very little bottleneck, you can even run it at x4 with almost no loss in performance (GPU's just dont saturate that much of the bus) That would be crazy to see though!

Spoiler

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_1080_PCI_Express_Scaling/24.html