Project Thin-X - Scratch build 2.6L case with discrete GPU support

[ccRicers]

This name should be temporary, but Thin-X stands for Thin mini-ITX with eXpansion card support.

It is a case for mini PCs, under 3 liters (final volume estimated at 2.6-2.7L) and can be used in one of two configurations: mini-ITX motherboard only, or thin mini-ITX motherboard with single slot expansion card. The second configuration can offer powerful graphics performance for a very small size. It is similar to size to the Alienware Alpha or some of Zotac's Zboxes.

The idea is to have a very portable mini PC without sacrificing too much power. Because as much as I like the idea of those gaming mini PCs, some of its components are set in stone and can't be upgraded. Usually either the CPU or the GPU is fixed, or both. But thanks to some single-slot cards, it is possible to pack in a GTX 1050 Ti inside a case this small. I am going to be using a thin mini ITX board with a flexible 4x to 16x PCIe riser cable to connect the cards. The case frame will be made out of 3D printed SLS plastic, while the panels are matte black 3mm acrylic.

 

Here is the design for my case, with two SSD and low-profile card configuration.

The top view:

 

 

Back view:

 

 

Dimensions (not including rear tab) are 200mm x 203mm x 63.5mm. A volume of 2.6 liters.

 

Here is the actual card I'll be using, an ASL G1502 Battle Flag (GTX 1050).

 

 

It currently is running on my system, open-air, with a non powered riser to the motherboard. The board is a Gigabyte GA-H110TN-GSM. This board works well with the card. Currently I'm using only a Pentium G4400 but I plan to upgrade to a Kaby Lake Pentium or i3 later on.

 

 

I've already made one prototype but the design was simpler and couldn't really support the GPU card installed. The new case parts are being produced and shipped as of the time of this post. There are extras, enough to build 5 cases. It was more economical to have the acrylic panels made in bulk.

[TheRandomness]

@iamdarkyoshi C'mon print my case so I can 1-up this guy (no hard feelings).

This is really cool though

[ccRicers]

1 hour ago, TheRandomness said:

@iamdarkyoshi C'mon print my case so I can 1-up this guy (no hard feelings).

This is really cool though

Yep, I remember your Breadbox build here (and on SFF forums), glad it's still chugging along!

[iamdarkyoshi]

3 hours ago, TheRandomness said:

@iamdarkyoshi C'mon print my case so I can 1-up this guy (no hard feelings).

This is really cool though

It'd help if my printhead could move in a straight line so I can level the bed

[ccRicers]

All right, I have not yet gotten around to start a build in the case, but I've unpacked the parts and have started assembling pieces of it. Here are some pics of the unpacking and some of the assembled parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire album with all the pics can be seen here:

https://imgur.com/a/5ax1QEC

 

There are some kinks to be worked out which can mostly be resolved with minor updates to the 3D printed parts. However, there is an issue with the bottom panels. They are a bit too short, by 6mm from side to side, and some of the mounting holes do not align. Therefore, I will need to have the bottom panels re-done with the correct dimensions.

 

The other pieces came out just as they should, and I could at least put them together so I can demonstrate some kind of build. But I cannot ship and use the case as is as without the bottom panels they won't be sturdy enough.

 

So continuing today and tomorrow I will try to get as much of the case done as possible and work out how to install the parts. The hard drive installation may be a bit tricky, but as with other very small cases like the S4 Mini, a specific order of installation is preferred.

 

[sharp40k]

Well this peaked my interest. Time to move from lurking to commenting...

What program are you using to design and render this in? Something basic like SkethUp, or...?

Also, why not just use the half-height card conventionally with the PCIe x4 slot's open back instead of a riser mounted horizontally?

Just curious.

[ccRicers]

I have assembled four sides of the case and, with a motherboard installed, it feels more solid. Still need to re-order the new bottom panels for it, especially since all the other units will be sold.

 

Now for the fun stuff- building a complete system in it. With just a thin Mini ITX motherboard and blower CPU cooler, it feels sturdy enough to hold in your hands or stand on its own. I did some strength testing with the frame, by setting the case upside down.

 

 

There's no noticeable bending in the standoffs in this 3D printed frame, or any wobbling. The screws thread into the material very well. This also shows the advantage of having the standoffs separate from the bottom panel. You can easily install backplates for your CPU cooler, or an m.2 drive if supported, without removing the entire system.

 

Side and top view shots of the case with motherboard and cooler....

 

 

 

 

I took it back to my desk and plugged the SSD back in. It's currently running GPU-less right now but that's a matter that I'm still working out. There's still lots to do to make sure this case is as user friendly as possible so there are still potential improvements. However it runs very cool and quiet especially with the top lid closed.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, sharp40k said:

Well this peaked my interest. Time to move from lurking to commenting...

What program are you using to design and render this in? Something basic like SkethUp, or...?

Also, why not just use the half-height card conventionally with the PCIe x4 slot's open back instead of a riser mounted horizontally?

Just curious.

 

I just used Sketchup for the 3D design, and then exported different faces to SVG drawings to create the vector drawings for the acrylic laser cutouts. The SVG drawings were combined using Inkscape.

 

I chose to use a PCIe riser to mount the card horizontally because I wanted to pack the hardware in the smallest space possible. Installing it conventionally does make it easier, but the case will be larger, and a bit too large for what I wanted.

 

As in the original post, I want to get it very close to the mini PC form factor of some of the pre-build mini PCs that offer some "gamer" performance, but demonstrate it can be done with completely off-the shelf parts. That is getting it closer to 2.5 inches in height instead of 4 inches.

 

My observations and issues encountered so far:

• Installing an SSD directly onto the mounting holes is not impossible, but I found it rather cumbersome to put your hand in and around it to prop it up as you screw it on.
• I will design a SSD tray to ease installation, that can still fit around the frame. As usual, you screw the SSDs onto the tray, then the tray to the case. The tray will sit flush to the top, with countersunk holes for screws. This will be made of a thin 1.6mm delrin (acetal) plastic sheet.
• The hole for the power switch is a tad too small, meaning you need to apply quite a bit of pressure to push it through, or attempt threading it using the switch itself. Holes need to be filed or enlarged. However...
• I may forgo the idea to use vandal-style switches altogether. I'm thinking either a custom made 3D printed switch or a capacitive sensor switch with a label engraved on the panel.
  • Either of these options I will want a switch that is pre-soldered on a breakout board to make wiring a lot simpler.
• The ASL GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti cards are probably the longest cards that'll fit in this case and they need a bit of work to install.
  • You'll need to unscrew the I/O bracket and then replace it as the card needs to be inserted separately.
  • Shorter cards (~170mm) shouldn't have this issue and won't need to have the bracket removed.
• The front PCB I/O panel fits, but just barely. The USB cables run into the motherboard and it's definitely going to be too much of a hassle to run these cables through.
  • I'll either just supply a blank (no I/O) front panel, or one supporting just one or two USB 2.0 connections on the front.

 

There's still a lot of work to be done in testing out parts and compatibility with the case. The frame I received to build this case isn't perfect, and will need to figure out the kinks more as I continue.

 

[Professor Dingledore]

wow! This project makes me wish I had a 3D printer and somewhere local I could get acrylic laser cut. Looking forward to the rest of the progress updates.

[AskTJ]

Damn, that looks very nice.

[ccRicers]

20 hours ago, Professor Dingledore said:

wow! This project makes me wish I had a 3D printer and somewhere local I could get acrylic laser cut. Looking forward to the rest of the progress updates.

 

10 hours ago, AskTJ said:

Damn, that looks very nice.

 

Thanks! I don't have any printing equipment- I used third party services for both the 3D printing and laser cutting. The printing service has capabilities well beyond the cheaper hobby printers. Stuff I can't afford myself!

 

Now, time for another major update!

 

Day two of running my PC in this case. I now installed the GTX 1050! First here are some pics of the case with the top lid closed. And my 70% mech keyboard, an Ajazz AK33, for a size comparison.

 

 

Some more shots of the case:

 

 

 

The first two pictures in this post are from yesterday, and I took the one right above today. This is when I started to install the ASL GTX 1050. Also, I'm reconsidering keeping the vandal-style switch. I found it's possible to buy some cables with spade connectors to make wiring a lot easier.

 

Here is a top view with the GPU in place. This one was tough to install! Any longer and it probably won't fit. I had to unscrew the I/O bracket, then temporarily remove the rear cover to push the card into the bracket.

 

A big downside to this GPU is that the fan is always spinning at full-tilt and none of the GPU overclocking/cooling programs I tried had any effect on controlling the fan speed. So I installed a fan speed reducer/noise reducer cable with resistor. The top cover had to be removed to fit it all inside.

 

 

After that I was able to secure the card into place with the retention tabs.

 

 

 

The rear I/O cutout needs to be a bit longer for a future revision. It cannot fit one of the screws for the DVI port so I had to leave it out. But both ports are still usable.

 

 

The following picture shows there's enough breathing room for the CPU cooler below the SSD. There's at least 10cm of space there.

 

 

Here's a view of the GPU through the top vents. It should be able to cover some CPU coolers for mini ITX as well, though in a few boards where the CPU socket is closer to the PCIe slot, it may not cover it as effectively. I have yet to test thermals for that kind of APU/mini ITX setup.

 

 

After all that, I had to run some benchmarks! I ran Heaven and Superposition first. Lighting is not as good in my bedroom, but hopefully you can see the results.

 

 

A score of 4455 on Superposition medium 1080p settings. The GPU temperature peaked at about 76 C. Everything is at stock. Not bad for a 2.6 liter system!

[Heesleemer]

wow!

[AskTJ]

Amazing how much you can fit in a tiny space. Nice update.

[Rosinbole]

Kind of a Lazer3D LZ7 style... I'm really digging this  

[ccRicers]

Lazer3D is definitely an inspiration. At first I was noodling around with metal custom cases but that took too long for plans to develop into something decent so I decided to try with acrylic and 3D printing. Definitely not trying to rip off the style but trying to make something of my own

[ccRicers]

I decided to stick a more interesting GPU into the case. I have the WX 4100 installed in this case now. I also moved the SSD to the back to give the CPU cooler more air room. It does not seem to have any effect on temperatures, as the SSDs are mounted high enough so it doesn't obstruct the cooler much.



You should be able to mount even a 15mm thick SSD such as the new Intel Optane 905p. It depends on the cooler height, of course.

A new hard drive bracket will make it easier to install the 2.5" hard drives. First you will need to connect the SATA cables to the motherboard, then install the GPU and move the SATA cables underneath it, mount the hard drives to the bracket and then screw the bracket on to the case.



For my case I will be making it out of 1.6mm acetal, but for future revisions, they'll be 3mm matte black acrylic. This is because I'm able to update the frame design to accommodate the 3mm brackets.

[Netvic]

On 5/17/2018 at 1:35 AM, ccRicers said:

I decided to stick a more interesting GPU into the case. I have the WX 4100 installed in this case now. I also moved the SSD to the back to give the CPU cooler more air room. It does not seem to have any effect on temperatures, as the SSDs are mounted high enough so it doesn't obstruct the cooler much.



You should be able to mount even a 15mm thick SSD such as the new Intel Optane 905p. It depends on the cooler height, of course.

A new hard drive bracket will make it easier to install the 2.5" hard drives. First you will need to connect the SATA cables to the motherboard, then install the GPU and move the SATA cables underneath it, mount the hard drives to the bracket and then screw the bracket on to the case.



For my case I will be making it out of 1.6mm acetal, but for future revisions, they'll be 3mm matte black acrylic. This is because I'm able to update the frame design to accommodate the 3mm brackets.

How did this case work out? I've been looking for decent cases for a pfsense build for my new router. Finding a smaller case with pcie is rare for some reason. I can't justify paying 200 for an NFC S4, and the other alternatives aren't available in a decent size. If you think it would work for my build, would you mind sharing some of the prints files and recommendations on where to print it? I have an Ender 5 3D printer, but it wouldn't make anything that polished. 

[Fraya]

nice to see you made effort to design and build a case and system, it always nice to see what people come up with and can do.

one thing i think you could have saved a lot of space is why not go for M.2 nvme drives to save space, save cables. 

also for the screws used, if the panels were a little thicker you could have recessed them using "cap head" machine screws a little like Parvum do with there cases. 

 

apart from that looks like a nice little PC, not sure about good enough for LAN party because the space limits the high end performing components, but for sure a student going to college or university, or for office work etc with some mild gaming if needed yes it looks good.