Only front airflow case

[wannanewcase]

Hey all, I want to put my computer inside an ikea kallax/expedit 43x43cm (13’x13’) shelf. I have an ATX motherboard and a pretty long full size graphics card, so HTPC would sadly not be an option for me.

I was wondering if you folks know of any cases that would offer me adequate cooling? Obviously, only the front would be available for that, as the shelf is against a wall.

Maybe something with two vertical compartments connected at the back, so that the air would be drawn in at the bottom half of the front cover and exit at the top half, travelling through he case? I couldnt find anything similar done before, is it maybe too inefficient or implausible?

[Bananasplit_00]

Just have it exhaust where the air turns around instead?

[wannanewcase]

Just now, Bananasplit_00 said:

Just have it exhaust where the air turns around instead?

nah, there is a wall there. I only have the front available

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, wannanewcase said:

nah, there is a wall there. I only have the front available

I may be from IKEA land but I don't really know each and every thing from them, what's preventing the hot air you exhaust there from just rising up?

[wannanewcase]

5 minutes ago, BlueScope819 said:

Glorious technical design right there. My only issue is that your motherboard seems to be backwards. I would make a front IO cutout on the front which means that the gpu would be on the right side and the CPU cooler on the left.

yeah, thats what i meant 

totally forgot about the IO, it would be on the front as you described

[wannanewcase]

Just now, Bananasplit_00 said:

I may be from IKEA land but I don't really know each and every thing from them, what's preventing the hot air you exhaust there from just rising up?

I only have a tiny slit between the shelf and the wall, I dont think much air will pass through there..

[wannanewcase]

Just now, BlueScope819 said:

I think what he means is that you would use a CNC to cut ventilation in the top of it similar to this:

I dont think it would be possible in my case, the shelf above is already full

[gloop]

2 hours ago, wannanewcase said:

I dont think it would be possible in my case, the shelf above is already full

What you could possibly do is get a case with fan mounts at the bottom, and then cut slits in the bottom of the shelf. 

[wannanewcase]

8 hours ago, gloop said:

What you could possibly do is get a case with fan mounts at the bottom, and then cut slits in the bottom of the shelf. 

 

11 hours ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

Just have it exhaust where the air turns around instead?

From what you folks are suggesting it looks like my initial idea is not feasible. Is it only because it’s uncommon or do the thermals make no sense? I consider building something like on the picture myself (like cardboard or something).

[Bananasplit_00]

10 hours ago, wannanewcase said:

I dont think it would be possible in my case, the shelf above is already full

I love how the effort in thr drawing of the shelf interiors goes down so rapidly from left to right

 

2 minutes ago, wannanewcase said:

 

From what you folks are suggesting it looks like my initial idea is not feasible. Is it only because it’s uncommon or do the thermals make no sense? I consider building something like on the picture myself (like cardboard or something).

I don't think I'd recommend cardboard for a PC case. I've done it, it's a bitch to work with because everything is heavy. Not worth the effort imo. I don't really see any issue with the design you drew up besides cable management and port access, just don't expect it to be exceptionally cool

[wannanewcase]

56 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

I love how the effort in thr drawing of the shelf interiors goes down so rapidly from left to right

 

I don't think I'd recommend cardboard for a PC case. I've done it, it's a bitch to work with because everything is heavy. Not worth the effort imo. I don't really see any issue with the design you drew up besides cable management and port access, just don't expect it to be exceptionally cool

thanks for the feedback, I will take a look at alternative materials

[Bananasplit_00]

24 minutes ago, wannanewcase said:

thanks for the feedback, I will take a look at alternative materials

Some plywood or MDF should work fine, anything you can put motherboard standoffs into should work alright

[wannanewcase]

On 7/18/2020 at 9:28 AM, Bananasplit_00 said:

I love how the effort in thr drawing of the shelf interiors goes down so rapidly from left to right

 

I don't think I'd recommend cardboard for a PC case. I've done it, it's a bitch to work with because everything is heavy. Not worth the effort imo. I don't really see any issue with the design you drew up besides cable management and port access, just don't expect it to be exceptionally cool

well well, now I am considering cardboard once again, thanks to the new LTT video

[wannanewcase]

test fit

[Mick Naughty]

I’d keep with the initial design my self. But with mdf. Recess the intake fans and make a decent lip for a shroud to cover the whole thing and still be able to imbed some magnets for a filter. 

[wannanewcase]

On 8/9/2020 at 1:30 AM, Mick Naughty said:

I’d keep with the initial design my self. But with mdf. Recess the intake fans and make a decent lip for a shroud to cover the whole thing and still be able to imbed some magnets for a filter. 

I dont have any experience with filters, so I wont use them for this build. 

A heavy metal mesh will be covering the front, holding the IO shield and the fans.

Also, I strongly recommend getting a metal sheet to hold the motherboard inplace, so that you have more space for SATA connectors under the GPU riser.

The fans are 3x140mm and 1x120mm

[wannanewcase]

It works! Terrible cable management inside, will fix later. Had problems with a finicky pcie riser cable, the display output would freeze randomly. Solved it by reconnecting everything and wiggling the cable a little bit. Very happy!

[wannanewcase]

someone contacted me privately, so here is my reply for everyone to enjoy

 

 

temperatures are not a problem for me (dont care, just wanted to get rid of the bulky pc case), but with two 140 on intake and 140+120+gpu (and cpu if you buy a metal cooling thingy) i dont think you will run into problems. 

 

psu is mounted at the back with the fan facing forwards and the power switch upwards, so it will intake from the front and push the warm air upwards.

 

Caveats:

• get a smaller motherboard that atx (less pci slots) because of the bend of the pci riser (have experienced freezes, reseated and wiggled it, now it works) or mount the gpu normally and get a smaller fan instead of 120.
• y axis is problematic if you have two 140 at the top and bottom. get a thin metal sheet underneath the motherboard (you can reinforce it with horizontal metal sticks underneath, to which you maybe will be able to attach the fans’ top holes). If your IO plate is taller than mine, you’d have to measure it out and maybe get a smaller fan at the top
• somehow manage your cables so that they dont get into the fans when you push the whole thing inside

 

[wannanewcase]

here you see psu and drives from the inside (from the front)

 

and

 

GPU cutout, motherboard standoff extension to support gpu below to the left of the displayport cable (there is also a metal 90 degree angle at the back to support the gpu), the power on button and reset wires

 

mesh is held by nails