Minisforum, maker of SFF PC's, showcases six liter case design that allows a top mounted GPU over it.

[AlexGoesHigh]

Like the title reads. Minisforum is showcasing a six liter volumen case design that allows for a GPU to be mounted at the top of the case, like if it were a hat.

 

A design like this basically allow the user to run any kind of GPU regardless of size including the monster that the RTX 4090 is with ease, and since is just a full length PCIe slot, any other kind of expansion device can be used.

 

On the other side there's the disadvantage that is gonna be on the exterior of the case directly exposed to the environment (though given there's people running open cases and the more rare wall mounted PC, this shouldn't be to problematic)

 

And there's the fact that given that this is pretty much a concept, immediately there's things to question, for one Minisforum didn't address how the GPU will be powered and the other is that the slot is the only thing holding the GPU in place, there's not even support braces like test benches or anything, but this isn't a final product anyways so Minisforum should address this issues if they decide to release this to market, right now they are taking feedback on their twitter X post.

 

As far as spec goes, Minisforum say they are working to support both AMD and Intel platform, on AMD they are using the Ryzen 7045HX and on Intel the latest Raptor Lake HX parts, both are mobile platforms but they're at least the fastest mobile platform of both companies and with unrestrained power and better cooling so performance should be close to desktop parts

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My thoughts

Very promising, that's definitely a way to have a small PC but without the size limits on expansion.

 

Sources

https://www.pcgamer.com/minisforums-new-mini-itx-pc-lets-you-mount-a-gpu-on-top-of-the-case/

 

[Spotty]

I'm not surprised that they opted not to show any photos with a graphics card installed. Going to look like shit with power cables hanging off the top of the card. This would have actually been a practical use-case for the type of slot powered graphics cards that Asus is doing.

[jaslion]

This is going to look so dumb

 

Whats the point even of this? You have a gpu dangling on a port with some cables drooped over it and depending on how it's attached it can be a disaster waiting to happen. Like does it screw in or is it just holding on for dear life to the pcie slot? If so a slight nudge is enough for damage.

[porina]

3 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Whats the point even of this?

I'm trying to work that out too. Maybe someone likes to switch GPUs all the time, but don't want to run open bench?

 

It doesn't have to be GPU. Could be other expansion possibilities.

[leadeater]

So designed the quickest way to snap your GPU PCIe connector off in the slot? Good job.

[TVwazhere]

I think the worst part about this is it's a 6L case for essentially a motherboard and power supply. 

 

Additionally, a soldered CPU and SO-DIMM memory really limit the amount of customization SFF enthusiasts can do. 

[Forbidden Wafer]

Worst deal ever. 2L are what separate this thing from the NUC12.

[Doobeedoo]

So BGA chip and SO-DIMM huh? At this point having integrated GPU as well would be to go-to though. Really AMD could easily do this and make a high-end APU and I can see this one day.

[williamcll]

They need to find a fan that vibrates above human hearing.

[Mark Kaine]

what where's the psu and where do i put my 4090ti??? UwU this looks dumb sorry 

[Mark Kaine]

5 hours ago, williamcll said:

They need to find a fan that vibrates above human hearing.

so 30000 hz?

[WolframaticAlpha]

I would like framework's gpu port to catch on. GPUs have become monstrous and so have PCs. I would happily pay extra for GPUs if they start selling nuc-alikes with such gpu slots.

[dizmo]

That's a monumentally stupid idea. Why they thought that would be good product design is beyond me.

[SnugglyGirl]

Wouldn't that make the case it's self top heavy with the size of new cards meaning it will fall over with a bump? also it will look very ugly.

Makes no sense at all to buy this case.

[DoctorNick]

But you can get DAN Case C4-SFX:

[Alkaid]

I don't get the point at all. PCI-e slot can be physically damaged very easily. Isn't there any protect or securing mechanics? And where will be power cable for the GPU?

[samxtham]

Though I won't argue that the design is... questionable, I can kind of see a use case where, similar to LMG (though it'd be on a much smaller scale), you want a bunch of standardised (SFF) PCs that allow for quick and easy customisation where you need it.

In a hypothetical small office environment you could have the base configuration (without GPU) for general purpose, and then throw on something like a 1650 or a2000 for those that need it - just considering cards that can run off the PCIe slot power for less "ugly cables" (which takes me on a tangent about my disappointment in the Intel a380 being a 75W card but still requiring an 8-pin cable? Would have been a nice "modern" option).

If you look carefully you can see a cutout in the wood top panel for those tabs of the GPU bracket to fit through - would like to see some clamping mechanism on those tabs for stability in lieu of the usual screws.