SFFtime P-ATX, the 9L case with ATX and AIO support!

[riba2233]

Hi guys! I would like to present you my case that I've been working on for some time now, the P-ATX.

 

 

P-ATX prototype:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Complete gallery:

 

 

https://imgur.com/a/lxUcwIp#7cJdTuG

 

 

Please bear in mind that this is not how the final product would look, it will be powder coated and anodized and thus have much better finish

 

 

 

 

As an SFF enthusiast, I am well aware that going SFF means accepting some compromises. But I've asked myself, does it have to be so many of them? One thing led to another, and after few months of design, and thinking out of the box (pun intended), I'm proud to present the SFFtime P-ATX, a case with following specifications:

 

- 9L volume, 380 x 342(343) x 69(72) mm dimensions (overhangs from aluminum front/top face)

- console/"pizza box" style case with CPU and GPU fans in the same orientation

- SFX/SFX-L power supply up to 130mm (TFX or Flex-ATX with optional brackets)

- support for following motherboard sizes:

- mini-ITX

- mini-DTX

- micro-ATX

- ATX

- e-ATX (only with TFX or Flex-ATX supply)

- support for dual slot graphic card, up to 374mm length

- support for 120mm AIO (or 92mm with optional adapter)

- CPU coolers up to 53mm in height (support for AMD Wraith Stealth, also no turbulence problem on C7 and L9 with 25mm fan)

- support for up to 2 3.5" HDD's, and up to 8 2.5" SSD's or HDD's, depending on GPU length and AIO

- up to 3 60mm case fans on top, and 1 60mm fan or 2 40mm fans on the bottom of the case

- back of motherboard accessible for cooler and M.2 installation

- 2 front usb 3.0 ports

- included ADT pci-e x16 riser cable

- custom made power switch that integrates into case design

- Kensington lock that also locks the left panel

- powder coated 1mm steel construction with 3mm aluminum stand and front/top face, and 0.6mm steel side panels

- competitive price

- 100% made in and shipped from Croatia, EU

 

As you’ve probably noticed, the main advantage is ATX motherboard support, which makes it the smallest ATX case in the market! This allows for almost unlimited choice of motherboards and raises hardware compatibility to another new level. So, you can choose board that has more features, more memory support, more storage ports, better VRM, better cooler clearance, older generation boards, or simply much cheaper board, since we all know that ITX boards and not the cheapest. If you need to spend extra money for SFF case, and small PSU, at least you can save some money on motherboard.

Want to put Threadripper in 9L case? Now you can to that!

 

One thing I would like to point is the AIO airflow pattern. It draws cool air from the left side, and exhausts heated air directly out of the case, and doesn’t bring it to the other components. That way it has an edge comparing to other cases that either draw warm air from the inside of the case, or exhaust warm air to the other components which is not ideal, especially in SFF case.

 

I am currently starting the production of the first batch (100 pcs), and it should be ready in the second half of September.

 

 

Some renders:

 

https://imgur.com/a/KHYH0Ce#OYeO7mz

 

 

And some pictures from prototyping and with configuration inside:

 

https://imgur.com/a/tP8zOZ4#91WorCH

 

https://imgur.com/a/W1kOE0n#7Q8mU3q

 

https://imgur.com/a/PzKYuzu#DA6ZFMH

 

https://imgur.com/a/s56HZcr#nsyweku

 

Main body and sides will be powder coated in black, and aluminum parts will be anodized in black or transparent (raw aluminum look).

 

Here are renders showing different hardware configurations, based on number of drives, GPU length and whether you use AIO:

 

https://imgur.com/a/o4SCLNi#x8PWe54

 

 

Also TFX and Flex-ATX brackets:

 

https://imgur.com/a/bN7lEe9#Hw5xu9Y

 

 

And 92mm AIO adapter:

 

https://imgur.com/a/fM6iVzo#nKooxoL

 

 

 

Price point will be around 185 USD (plus shipping, +VAT for EU).

 

 

 

I would like to hear your thoughts on design, features, and of course, if you have any questions, I would be glad to answer them!

 

 

 

Thank you for reading

[kelvinhall05]

Ooh, that's nice. I actually fucking love the current finish it has. Maybe consider selling it that way (potentially at a discount?) among other models.

 

The price sounds cheaper than what I expected, but still quite expensive, but considering that this is a "homemade" case, it is very competitively priced lol. This is probably the best case with the least compromises that's under 10L in volume. I love it. Great job.

 

 

EDIT: I do have one idea. It would require the entire case being re-done, but maybe have the PSU, GPU, and hard drives be as a "second layer" in front of the motherboard? It might be a pain to build in but it would be nice.

[riba2233]

24 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Ooh, that's nice. I actually fucking love the current finish it has. Maybe consider selling it that way (potentially at a discount?) among other models.

 

The price sounds cheaper than what I expected, but still quite expensive, but considering that this is a "homemade" case, it is very competitively priced lol. This is probably the best case with the least compromises that's under 10L in volume. I love it. Great job.

 

 

EDIT: I do have one idea. It would require the entire case being re-done, but maybe have the PSU, GPU, and hard drives be as a "second layer" in front of the motherboard? It might be a pain to build in but it would be nice.

 

 

Thank you for the reply, I really appreciate it

 

You are right for the price, it's high generally speaking, but on the lower end for small series SFF case. I am trying to keep it as low as possible.

 

Yeah, I think I have pretty good compatibility for 9L case, especially on the MBO front.

 

The finish will be almost the same, just more professional, don't worry

 

 

As for the proposed layout, it would actually have bigger volume, and would not offer much benefit, you would have worse GPU and AIO compatibility, and everything would be harder to access. In current layout only the GPU is in front of the MBO, as second layer.

[riba2233]

Here is how you can fit a threadripper, 1080ti and AIO into 9L case:
 

 

No wasted space and there's still space left at the top for three 60mm case fans

[TVwazhere]

On 8/3/2019 at 5:35 AM, riba2233 said:

- 9L volume, 380 x 342(343) x 69(72) mm dimensions (overhangs from aluminum front/top face)

- ATX

As you’ve probably noticed, the main advantage is ATX motherboard support, which makes it the smallest ATX case in the market! 

....... This is insane! I have to wonder though, with the increasing popularity of M.2, how having a GPU back so close to where M.2 drives typically mount would impact temperatures...

 

On a side note, whats the max GPU length given no 3.5" or 2.5" drives?

[riba2233]

Hi, thank you!

 

I think it shouldn't be a big problem. There is not so much heat generated down there (SSD's aren't loaded continuously), plus there will be perforations on back and bottom sides of the case. Also, all of the "sandwich" style SFF cases (which are pretty common these days) have even worse position for m.2 SSD's and they work

I will take some thermal images when I assemble the case again with two NVME SSD's loaded, without any case fans and post them.

 

 

Without any drives you can fit up to 374mm gpu, and fit two 2.5 SSD's behind it.

[TVwazhere]

1 hour ago, riba2233 said:

Without any drives you can fit up to 374mm gpu, and fit two 2.5 SSD's behind it.

Nice!

 

Is that Inventor or Solidworks I see? I'm guessing Solidworks

Yes I did browse the other forums for posts on this

[riba2233]

Hehe I see you found it   Yeah it's a go to place for SFF enthusiasts, but I was hoping to see some interest here since LMG has posted a lot of SFF content and I'm a big fan of it

 

 

It's actually Inventor

 

 

 

[TVwazhere]

4 hours ago, riba2233 said:

Hehe I see you found it   Yeah it's a go to place for SFF enthusiasts, but I was hoping to see some interest here since LMG has posted a lot of SFF content and I'm a big fan of it

Yeah we have a few of those enthusiasts here, but obviously you'll get the best feedback through a forum like that. 

4 hours ago, riba2233 said:

It's actually Inventor

Interesting. I've never dimensioned in 3D in Inventor, but then again I've never had a need to.

[riba2233]

I used them only to show some clearances, otherwise I don't

[PianoPlayer88Key]

On 8/3/2019 at 2:35 AM, riba2233 said:

- support for following motherboard sizes:

- e-ATX (only with TFX or Flex-ATX supply)

 

 

 

I would like to hear your thoughts on design, features, and of course, if you have any questions, I would be glad to answer them!

 

 

 

Thank you for reading

When you say e-ATX, does that mean it would take boards like these?

 

 

 

 

Too often I see cases that claim EATX compatibility, but can only fit boards like these.

 

Also if you didn't use a GPU (used an APU instead) and maybe also used a mini-ITX (or micro-ATX or standard ATX) board with a 1U CPU air cooler (or just the heatspreader, underclocking & undervolting as necessary), how many 3.5" drives might you be able to shoehorn into the case?

[kelvinhall05]

 

 

 

 

2

3 minutes ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

When you say e-ATX, does that mean it would take boards like these?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too often I see cases that claim EATX compatibility, but can only fit boards like these.

 

Also if you didn't use a GPU (used an APU instead) and maybe also used a mini-ITX (or micro-ATX or standard ATX) board with a 1U CPU air cooler (or just the heatspreader, underclocking & undervolting as necessary), how many 3.5" drives might you be able to shoehorn into the case?

Well...those aren't eATX boards. Those are SSI EEB boards (I think that's the form factor, but I know for sure it's *not* eATX).

[PianoPlayer88Key]

9 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Well...those aren't eATX boards. Those are SSI EEB boards (I think that's the form factor, but I know for sure it's *not* eATX).

But what about 

?

 

The 2nd article also does mention SSI EEB separately.

 

[riba2233]

Yeah I get the issue. I didn't even think of longer EATX motherboards since all mainstream case companies only include EATX support up to around 277 mm.

 

So, here is is, EATX compatibility on P-ATX case:

 

- with Flex (1U) supply - up to 285 mm

- with TFX supply - up to 280 mm

 

 

I also have larger case on design (around 13.5 L) which will have EATX compatibility like this:

 

- with SFX supply - up to 272 mm

- with Flex (1U) supply - all the way (330 mm board, with 25 mm spare space)

- with TFX supply - up to 305 mm

 

 

Thank you for pointing that out! Wish all the manufacturers would do that

[TVwazhere]

20 hours ago, PianoPlayer88Key said:

But what about 

Modern "E-ATX" boards are technically SSI-CEB, which are essentially about 1" longer than Standard ATX. SSI-EEB is the 12x13 size, which is also what E-ATX truly is (they are technically two separate definitions but share the same screw mount arrangement)

 

I'm not sure why it's done this way; probably for marketing purposes to not confused the average consumer. When looking for a "true E-ATX" case, I suggest looking for cases that specifically list SSI-EEB support, as you're guaranteed then to have a case that fits.