NFC - S3 Chassis (100% aluminum, ITX, and made in America)

Hey guys and gals. I have been working on this project a while and am nearing completion. Wanted to put my chassis out here in the open for comments, questions, and criticism. It is still in development but nearing completion and availability. I'm interested especially about comments in the looks category, as the physical engineering has been pushed very hard already to accommodate the hardware in such a small chassis.

http://i.imgur.com/z0PzMl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/k3rTil.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RZXLDl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/P2czWl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1BOgXl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3SKuzl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HLH2pl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uIWcml.jpg


System is 2.4" x 13" x 9". AKA as small as possible while cramming in a HD7770, SSD, SDVD, itx Motherboard, (Asus P8Z77-1) and the goodies needed to fit it all together. Chassis is 100% 6061 T6 Aluminum. Can't think of anything else important...:-/ If you have any questions though I will try to answer as best I can. If not, thanks for looking! :)



The high res versions can be downloaded here, if interested. Have a good day, wherever you might be. :wave:

We demand pictures of its guts! (I wanna see where you stuffed the PSU.)

is the stand optional?

BTW its looks awsome man!

Pictures of guts coming soon. :)

The whole thing runs off a 180w power brick, though it has never peaked anywhere close to that. It boots at 114 and during heavy gaming it never gets over 55w. Heck, Ivy Bridge is so efficient that superpi doesn't make the system hit 55w draw.

Thanks for the comments!

Dude! That's awesome! I want it for my future HTPC. Simple and elegant, love it.

You thinking about selling those? If you do at what cost?

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Originally Posted by fr0wn3r

Dude! That's awesome! I want it for my future HTPC. Simple and elegant, love it.

You thinking about selling those? If you do at what cost?

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Thank you so much for the compliments.

This isn't an official press release of sorts, more like a sneak preview to the community whom I trust and respect. With that said I do indeed intend to sell them. Because they are manufacturered using slow, precise, and expensive methods in small quantities (for as close to a perfect finish as I can get) they are not affordable as a stand-alone chassis. My plan is to try and sell the systems as boutique PC to pay for a large run so I can offer them at a realistic price.

If anyone is still interested in one now at current costs- they are available, just PM me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by \/icious

is the stand optional?

BTW its looks awsome man!

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Thank you! The stand will come with the system (and barebones chassis). The system is detachable, however, if that is what you are asking. It locks on the stand and can be removed without any tools--so you can use it in your media center setup or on your desk. =) I'll have more pictures of this feature soon.

Awesome itx case:up:

WOW! I just love the design. I want to throw my current ITX case out of the window! It's just stunning. I'm in love.


Now we just need more powerful PSUs. I'd love to see something like this w/ a GTX 670 & i5 3570k (OC'd a bit). Make the case the heatsink. ;)


Any plans to make some other cases? I'm following this! :up:

That is just sooooooo purdy :yepp:

Looks gorgeous.

^^ That's one sexy mother-bitzz :D

would have loved usb 3 port on the front.. and a wider matx version :)

Awesome, thumbs up!

Any plan on dust filters, or maybe have to be used directly over the HSF and video card?
(so they are internal and wont mess the looks)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by geo

would have loved usb 3 port on the front.. and a wider matx version :)

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Duly noted, thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Holy_COW

Awesome, thumbs up!

Any plan on dust filters, or maybe have to be used directly over the HSF and video card?
(so they are internal and wont mess the looks)

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Brainstormed, protoyped, tested, and at this point-rejected. I would love to visit this at a later release, just had to cut a bunch out for my first launch in order to make it happen. I hate dust and would love to have my systems totally void of them. The GOOD news is the fans on the GPU and CPU run at a low RPM even under gaming loads, and there are no induction fans...so the system doesn't get as dusty as my X51 (which I love, and came out toward the end of my development.)

Here is a side by side comparison I mocked up for fun:
(X51 has similar hardware potential)

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3435/s3vsx51side.jpg

It looks great. The only small problem is dust getting in from the side vents.

can't use use the actual case as the CPU heatsink??? I mean it is made of aluminum after all

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kuroikenshi

can't use use the actual case as the CPU heatsink??? I mean it is made of aluminum after all

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I wonder what the increase in cost would be for the consumer. I remember zalman doing this for a silent PC and wow, it was basically unaffordable!

any update on this? i just love he horizontal profile of the case.

now that is a pretty stunning case! well done on the design and execution of it

I was going to ask the price but after "they are not affordable as a stand-alone chassis." i decided not too :P

I am a fan of itx with riser. But the problems for me in this case are dust and power. Because it isn't high power, it won't have much of a dust problem. You can use modest but fast hardware that is also quiet under load if you pick carefully. But if I want a 4.2ghz ivy bridge and a gtx 670, I'm not sure that is possible in a case pushed so small.

What is the highest power picopsu? 160w? Did you research a custom psu board with more power? There have been 200w+ ones out there.

So this case is definitely good. But I have a hard time with a premium cost case that can't take premium cost hardware. You can get by with stock ivy bridge and no hard drive space and no dust filters (as long as you can get in easily with canned air), but the idea of downgrading to a lower res monitor, games and running a gtx 660 or 7770 doesn't get me so hot and bothered.

I personally don't like the 'NFC' cut-out logo; the the honeycomb is nice.. overall.. haaaawt! want! :D

Every comment is taken to heart. I am taking the case around and getting feedback and opinions. ITX will not be the only formfactor for this lineup...but it is the one I want to start with. :)

I am working toward a final revision, and trying to see what interest is in it as well as manufacturing options. I would love to make this unit accessible in price (my dream) and it looks like it is a real possibility with some recent events--now I just need to verify demand.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bamtan2

I am a fan of itx with riser. But the problems for me in this case are dust and power. Because it isn't high power, it won't have much of a dust problem. You can use modest but fast hardware that is also quiet under load if you pick carefully. But if I want a 4.2ghz ivy bridge and a gtx 670, I'm not sure that is possible in a case pushed so small.

What is the highest power picopsu? 160w? Did you research a custom psu board with more power? There have been 200w+ ones out there.

So this case is definitely good. But I have a hard time with a premium cost case that can't take premium cost hardware. You can get by with stock ivy bridge and no hard drive space and no dust filters (as long as you can get in easily with canned air), but the idea of downgrading to a lower res monitor, games and running a gtx 660 or 7770 doesn't get me so hot and bothered.

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Bamtan, I wanted to address your comments in particular because it is good to get in the mindset of a user like yourself. The S3 is honest to goodness a new case category...I don't have a name for it yet but ultra mini-itx kinda works for now. It is a size smaller than mini-itx, which in my opinion one of the best examples is the SG05.

Part of the challenge in determining a market will be seeing if users are interested in something even smaller than the SG05, but with the same capability for 1080p. Dell thinks it can be done (when their X51 launched as the same time I was showing off the beta version of this at CES) and now Falcon NW (although their Tiki is more of a mini-itx). The X51 and S3's hardware loadout potential is identical, but as one can see from the comparison pictures the X51 is much larger.

Many of my friends and acquaintances do not use their big daddy rigs every day--we use smaller 1080p "HTPC" PCs hooked up to our TVs to play our games and engorge ourselves on media. This is not everyone, just one market. There are several PCs available for this today--high quality (high dollar as well) aluminum htpcs...but they do not allow for 8" double slot graphics. I created the S3 to fill this role since I couldn't find something off the shelf for myself. :)

This is just some of the thinking behind it. Your opinion helps me verify it and weigh it so I appreciate it. :)

--Power (This section is for INFORMATION only. :) )

I do indeed have a special Pico PSU. It starts off its life as a 160XT variant, and goes through some changes. What not everyone knows is these puppies can have more than 160W pushed through them...it just becomes a manner of how you dissipate heat. What is more important, in my testing (tested about 3,000 dollars in PSU variants) for getting more power to your components and remaining stable is a good power brick. Finding ones that can deliver enough Amperage and remain stable and cool is the real challenge and I went through many to find some that would be acceptable. Since the goal, again, is to have a box that can max out one's television, insane hardware is not needed inside the box, but if it were my powersupply combo could keep up surprisingly well. For instance, one of my test rigs was running a Sapphire 6970 OC and an i7 2700k, which eat up more power than their modern variants. By the time 2k TVs are mainstream I hope the hardware has progressed enough to keep up. :) I will constantly be working toward improvement...this final S3 is the ninth complete physical redesign (and who knows how many virtual ones). This is simply the one I thought was ready to show you all. :)

Again, this is just for fun information...it is not science, a warranty, bragging, or anything else...just information. ;)

--Dust

I hate dust...a lot. I was surprised at the comments (gotten several) mentioning lack of dust filters. I am assuming these comments were made knowing the tradeoff (in size, looks, price etc) so I will be thinking about this in a next revision. I love them in big ATX cases, but for smaller cases it becomes more of a pain to remove and clean them than it is to take the lid off and spray (in my opinion). Since the S3 is so open air, one doesn't even need to take the lid off to clean. Some information: The S3 positions hardware so it can do most of its cooling passively...it has plenty of venting and all the heatsinks are pointed up. Even with a stock i3 cooler (without a copper core) the three test units I have running i5 3450s remain under 16db under load in 75(F) room.

Note that I am NOT arguing ANYONES point or criticism. Simply stating where I was coming from and some of my observations. ALL criticism and comments are not met with a closed mind or challenging disposition. Thank you for any and all replies!!!

I feel like this design has some conflicting design cues. What's the purpose of the angled design of the side panel cutouts? What's it trying to convey? Speed? Motion? Where is it drawing your eyes? It seems, to me, to evoke architecture or structural supports, but ones that feel superfluous to the design.

What about the logo? The font choice and stylized wing graphic don't seem to fit with any of the other design elements. Or eachother, for that matter.

I think you have the basis for a nice minimalist design here, but I think you've taken a wrong turn by trying to add "design." It seems like so many designers feel like they need to justify their existence in a company and end up overdesigning things. Not that that applies in your case. Dieter Rams said, "good design is as little design as possible." That's worth keeping in mind. Check out more of his design philosophy and designs.

If it were me, I might change the cutouts to three equal-sized horizontal rectangles. Or replace the side panel with a single piece of perforated aluminum that wraps around the top and bottom. That might hurt airflow too much though. For the logo, I'd work on the font and either simplify and move the graphic, or ditch it altogether. I'd like to see the screws on the back-side panel/stand moved out to the corners (or hidden entirely), if possible. The shiny power button clashes with the matte/satin finish of the rest of the case. Would be nice if it were flush and the same material/finish as the rest. I'd like to see more alignment between the elements on the front panel, though I'd probably ditch the optical slot and logo depression anyway (silkscreened or lasered logo instead).

My $0.02.

1. link: http://www.tomshardware.com/pictures...-mini-itx.html -- flip through this whole story, it is amazing. I really enjoy how the falcon northwest guy told his story in such detail.

2. one can always combine two power supplies, two power bricks, and two holes in the back. cumbersome but not to the people who want it. just an option. it is possible that this would work well. have one power supply configuration as default, with a supplementary one for extra cost, allowing extra video power. people like having options, and options can extract more value for you. example: a space in the case for a 200W psu board, but it only comes with a 100W board by default. upgrade to the 200W psu and adapter for extra money. further upgrade to a psu2psu adapter and a 160W picopsu with adapter for extra-extra money and high end power.

3. in a case with little air flow, dust is definitely not much of a concern. I'm just sensitive to it because almost every case ever has dealt with dust poorly, making you choose between your stuff getting caked, and you being hassled constantly to get in and clean it. P180 was one of the first cases to make me really happy -- a dense door on the front for sound proofing, and big removable filters behind it. even though you did need to remove plastic and metal to make it work best.

4. I want to play with a falcon northwest tiki so very much. but now I am also curious about what is inside your case. you said "my powersupply combo"....... :-)

This is my first post here and the only reason is simply to support this project.

I like the design of X51 but none of the chassis manufacturers (such as silverstone, lian-li...etc) are making cases in form factor that is comparable of S3.

I hope S3 will be ready for ordering soon and I have no doubt to get one when it comes out :-)

The last several posts gave me a bunch to think about. I am going to be working with Pudget systems over the next month to have them test out the chassis. They won't necessarily be influencing design but they build a ton of systems and will be able to help me think through any errors that might cause a user unnecessary difficulties.

Once that is done, it will be time to find funding and put them into production. If any of you have loaded friends in the music industry, now is the time to speak up. :)

nice to hear the chassis might be affordable :)

IMO you might as well do a kickstarter and start official "beta" discussion threads with detailed pictures on every friendly hardware site. doesnt matter if the feedback from posters is good or not, as long as they are talking about it. set the kickstarter to have as modest a monetary goal as possible, and make all the sponsorships except the very lowest one be credits toward buying the final case. use forum feedback to set the optional monetary milestones, where more money = more requested features and options.

Will have to keep my eyes on this. Looks like a perfect replacement for my HTPC that has gradually been migrating into larger and larger form factors due to the annoyance factor of tiny cases. Very nice.

Yes please.

Every single one of your designs always make me swoon with excitement.

It is a beautiful case and more importantly it is a case which has clearly been designed to look good as part of a high end AV system.

The only companies doing this as well as you are Hdplex and Wesena. I have an Hdplex 3 and based on that I have a few comments.

1.For an HTPC the most likely source of noise is the optical drive and crucially vibration. How that is mounted and whether there is any anti-vibration or dampening is important. In my AV kit I have a wonderful Sony Blu ray player, but in quiet sections of movies the player is clearly audible. It maybe as simple as some silicon to isolate the drive from the case mounting. A similar point is that how the drive locks into the mounting cage is important - screws are fine but with laptop style slim line drives the mounting screws tend to be tiny and not that good at gripping. Make some special screws up with some rubber washer and a large head.

2. Cable management. Neither Wesena nor Hdplex have any. It is a pain because good cable management makes a big difference in low air flow conditions.

3. Similar point but my experience of Picu-PSU and similar is that they lack any form of cable sleeving - just put some black sleeving on it will simplify a lot.

4. Is there any place on front of case for IR receiver so you can use a remote control?

5. Would much prefer a tray mounted optical drive to slot mounted which are difficult to find and not cheap.

Nice design!

However:

1. External USB Bluray drives >>>>>>> ALL.
You can use them for Mac.
Also, having an external USB Bluray rewritter you don't need to buy several internal drives if you have multiple computers. Just plug your external rewritter where you need.

2. I would put some USB 3.0 connectors on the front.

3. You should make a version without GPU slots. A lot of people use APUs with integrated IGPs as HTPCs so there's no need for extra slots.

4. Pls, mesh a part on the motherboard's side panel in order to make the heat to escape from the CPU's backplate.

hey, any update on this?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by geo

hey, any update on this?

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+1. I've been looking at mini-itx cases recently and this looks awesome.

Looking really good ! Been facinated with mini-ITX systems but they haven't been powerfull enough for gaming untill recently.
I've tried to make a monolithic but small case like that from scracth 3mm alu but my limited skill and handtools never netted me anything, lol.

I've been wondering why nobody made a powerbrick powerfull enough to run a decent gaming setup, since the PSU takes alot of room.
The silverstone Sugo etc. have been able to fit in gaming gear for a long while, but imo it's way too big & bulky for mini-ITX.

I was pleased to see that the new 670GTX without the stock cooler is only 17cm long, so the size of a mini-ITX board capable of running
1080p quite easily. Silverstone has nice SFX psu's that will run 680GTX etc. Few more years and I'll finally be able to run 2560x1600 games with
a console sized stylish & minimalistic gaming puter <3 ....I hope :)

I was wondering how you've done the power supply ? A modded 160XT Pico PSU and a modded power brick ?
How do you connect a dedicated graphics card to a pico, I know it's been done. Im guessing it involves making
some additional soldered cables and stuff.

Was looking at some gaming laptops the other day, Eurocom Panther for example had a 300W + power brick,
and it's running a quadcore and 7970m crossfire or 680M SLi configs. I know they are not as powerhungry as their
desktop counterparts but still draw some juice.

It's just that nobody has made one for a mini-ITX chassis, the Pico seems to be the most powerful thing out there.
Doubt it would run my Z77E-itx, i5 3450S and 670GTX setup that im trying to shove into a Streacom passive case.

So far my best bet is to modify a Silverstone 450SFX or buy an Athena power 400W flex atx PSU.

mini-itx is the future, and im looking forward how your project goes :up:

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates. I have been obsessing over several projects, including this one, and I let many things fall off my plate...

I face two major roadblocks with this project:

1. Defining my customers.

My goal for the S3 was not to compress extreme gaming hardware into as small a box as possible. I have another project for that, and companies like Digital Storm, Cyber Power, and Falcon Northwest have done this in 2012. I had hoped to beat them to the punch...but oh well. My goal was to find the hardware that pushed out great graphics to 1080p TVs and Monitors--and make THAT as small as possible. The hardware I have been using in the S3 chomps down Skyrim, Civ V, Crysis 2, Far Cry 3, and other modern titles at this resolution. The goal was not to be excessive--but find what was necessary then go over that mark.

...unfortunately the kind of people who are interested in boutique, high-quality chassis are the kind of people who demand excessive hardware. I've met with a bunch of people in 2012 who keep crushing my willingness to invest in this project because they all want huge GPUs or liquid cooling. CES was also disheartening in that regard. From everything I have heard I think I need to re-evaluate everything I have been told and work on something for longer cards and heavier duty PSUs.

2. Controlling Costs

This is what I have been working on in the past several months. I want a chassis that is high quality, but is affordable. When I say affordable I do not mean cheap...but the S3 was looking to scale down to $432 (chassis alone!) in runs of 100 and that is just ridiculous. I have had several manufacturers laugh at this estimate and claim they can make the box for 35 bucks, and then give up a month later or not return my calls. In the meantime I reworked the design to the S3 "mini" which still supports dual expansion cards (although smaller). This really isn't a replacement for the S3, but rather a stepping stone refining the customer (people looking for moderately powerful machines to drive their TVs).

This year I fully intend to launch a mini-itx chassis or bust--likely they will be heavily subsidized (by me!). At this time it looks like the S3 Mini might be what I launch with...and it will disappoint many people I am sure. Hopefully from it I can get some direction and insight, however.

As soon as I have REAL, hard information for you guys I will let you know.


SINCERELY THANK YOU! You all have been great--posting here negatively or positively helps, and to hear so much encouragement about something I am truly passionate about is incredible. <3


Some technical info:

I do indeed have my own Pico Variant built by the engineers at Mini-Box. I can't give specifics because we are still working out licensing, patents, and all that jazz. I can say that the 160XT is incredible and can far exceed its peak load of 200 watts, but heat does become an issue. My hint to people wanting to build their own mini systems is the control heat through custom heat pipes or other soldered sinks. The power brick is what is the real challenge to overcome...so many high voltage bricks are utter crap and cause system crashes and burn up after fifty or so hours. I said this before but I have gone through dozens and dozens of bricks finding one that was going to work for me...and I had to eventually have one modified by the supplier.

I HIGHLY SUGGEST working with the first two generations of the Xbox 360 brick for you custom guys out there! It is extremely well built and can peak at over 300w and run (without melting) at 200-250 continuously (which is enough to run some heavy duty hardware). You can find them on ebay for 12-15 shipped these days. You have to modify the head, obviously, but you can do it easily with Radio Shack parts.

Thanks again!

-NFC

It occurred to me that I never showed you guys the inside:

http://i.imgur.com/NnmWOAll.jpg
(Some of the support pieces are not in that photo, please understand why I can't disclose them yet).

S3 Mini:

http://i.imgur.com/tTUaaIql.jpg

Comparison (bad shot I know) S3 mini and S3's backs are even:

http://i.imgur.com/ic9FNHVl.jpg

NOTE that the S3 Mini is unfinished and has some slight changes and standard dressing to go through.

Nicely done, but will it run Crysis?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NFC

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates. I have been obsessing over several projects, including this one, and I let many things fall off my plate...

I face two major roadblocks with this project:

1. Defining my customers.

My goal for the S3 was not to compress extreme gaming hardware into as small a box as possible. I have another project for that, and companies like Digital Storm, Cyber Power, and Falcon Northwest have done this in 2012. I had hoped to beat them to the punch...but oh well. My goal was to find the hardware that pushed out great graphics to 1080p TVs and Monitors--and make THAT as small as possible. The hardware I have been using in the S3 chomps down Skyrim, Civ V, Crysis 2, Far Cry 3, and other modern titles at this resolution. The goal was not to be excessive--but find what was necessary then go over that mark.

...unfortunately the kind of people who are interested in boutique, high-quality chassis are the kind of people who demand excessive hardware. I've met with a bunch of people in 2012 who keep crushing my willingness to invest in this project because they all want huge GPUs or liquid cooling. CES was also disheartening in that regard. From everything I have heard I think I need to re-evaluate everything I have been told and work on something for longer cards and heavier duty PSUs.
Thanks again!
-NFC

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I've following this for a while now and glad you posted an update. at this point i think you should define your customer and not the other way round.

Start with an Indigogo or Kickstarter campaign - make your case for 1080p gaming machine + HTPC with the smallest footprint that could hide behind TV look part of one's AV equipment. I'm sure there is great demand for such a thing out there. you could also speak to these guys who built a case from scratch and now have a indigogo campaign going on. http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1717132

IMHO this is exactly kind of innovation in form factors Desktop / PC badly needs.

I myself am not looking for a gaming/htpc box, rather a thin workstation running VMs that i can carry around/ through airports for work :) the S3/S3 mini would be perfect for me with a few minor mods :)

I love that m1 case; thank you for bringing it to my attention. I'm going to be referring people to now. I'm pretty sure the plan at this point is to make some minor changes to the S3 mini, crowd fund a reasonable run to gauge interest, and follow up with the S3.

I'm going to have my prototypes done at the end of this week and I'll try to post an update.

Thanks.

Fine, Crysis Warhead. Will it run Crysis Warhead?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NFC

I love that m1 case; thank you for bringing it to my attention. I'm going to be referring people to now. I'm pretty sure the plan at this point is to make some minor changes to the S3 mini, crowd fund a reasonable run to gauge interest, and follow up with the S3.

I'm going to have my prototypes done at the end of this week and I'll try to post an update.

Thanks.

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cant wait for the prototypes. looks like you funded the prototypes yourself :/. note that the M1 case funing is for a prototype now not the case.
anyways, start threads on OCN and [H] and see if PC technews sites can provide reporting on Kickstarter / Indigogo campaign.

again, cant wait!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UrbanSmooth

Fine, Crysis Warhead. Will it run Crysis Warhead?

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Ok I laughed. :)

I knew that you were looking. :up:

God this is a beautiful case
I've been looking for something this compact for a HTPC build

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NFC

1. Defining my customers.

My goal for the S3 was not to compress extreme gaming hardware into as small a box as possible. I have another project for that, and companies like Digital Storm, Cyber Power, and Falcon Northwest have done this in 2012. I had hoped to beat them to the punch...but oh well. My goal was to find the hardware that pushed out great graphics to 1080p TVs and Monitors--and make THAT as small as possible. The hardware I have been using in the S3 chomps down Skyrim, Civ V, Crysis 2, Far Cry 3, and other modern titles at this resolution. The goal was not to be excessive--but find what was necessary then go over that mark.

...unfortunately the kind of people who are interested in boutique, high-quality chassis are the kind of people who demand excessive hardware. I've met with a bunch of people in 2012 who keep crushing my willingness to invest in this project because they all want huge GPUs or liquid cooling. CES was also disheartening in that regard. From everything I have heard I think I need to re-evaluate everything I have been told and work on something for longer cards and heavier duty PSUs.

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people are stupid. at the maximum, all you need to support is: 10.5" titan, 3770k with aftermarket heatsink, asus z77 itx, 3.5" hard drive, 2.5" ssd, and some margin for external expansion like a usb hard drive. this covers almost all capabilities, and yet it doesn't require very much. it certainly doesn't require pointless water cooling or mutant size video cards. even the dvd drive is a luxury IMO, and I'm switching to using external USB optical drives now, because they are never used.

and even if you supported nothing but the video card, a cpu, and a 2.5" drive, you'd still cover almost everybody. extremists can make their own case... you can't please everybody. the system except the video card uses 150W max, and the video card is 250W max, and this is with margin that is 400W max and there are ways to power that in a small case. and a case that supports this will also make a good 100W system with a picopsu.

you can even get rid of all internal expansion and just add a third PCI-E slot, and let people add their SSD there with a 2.5" expansion bracket. remove all the features you want as long as it gets the job done: fast small computer, or whatever you view your requirements to be.

I hope you dont get discouraged listening to too many people.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bamtan2

people are stupid. at the maximum, all you need to support is: 10.5" titan, 3770k with aftermarket heatsink, asus z77 itx, 3.5" hard drive, 2.5" ssd, and some margin for external expansion like a usb hard drive. this covers almost all capabilities, and yet it doesn't require very much. it certainly doesn't require pointless water cooling or mutant size video cards. even the dvd drive is a luxury IMO, and I'm switching to using external USB optical drives now, because they are never used.

and even if you supported nothing but the video card, a cpu, and a 2.5" drive, you'd still cover almost everybody. extremists can make their own case... you can't please everybody. the system except the video card uses 150W max, and the video card is 250W max, and this is with margin that is 400W max and there are ways to power that in a small case. and a case that supports this will also make a good 100W system with a picopsu.

you can even get rid of all internal expansion and just add a third PCI-E slot, and let people add their SSD there with a 2.5" expansion bracket. remove all the features you want as long as it gets the job done: fast small computer, or whatever you view your requirements to be.

I hope you dont get discouraged listening to too many people.

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Bat, sounds like you have a few ideas, man.

this is something i'm looking for in startpost for a mod project.

Ram a GTX680 classy in there with a Evga M-itx, fast ssd like revodrive or so, nice mods etc...

Did big and extreme now i whant to make as small as possible with hybrid TEC cooling and big power in small form.

http://i.imgur.com/umxxeLCl.jpg

Hey guys and gals, quick update.

I have a max build-out planned which will get into the meat and potatoes of all the combinations of stuff you can cram into the S3 Mini. I'll be doing some benchmarks--synthetic are easy but I want to do some real world stuff too--especially showing power draw and bust some myths there. Comments and tip are certainly appreciated.


I have the final revision of the S3 Mini in small run production right now. Manufacturing in small quantities with the highest grade material and talent (our MNF usually builds spaceshuttle and aircraft parts) is quite expensive, but it is a stepping stone. Help is welcome too in this regard if you want to send me an email . Included in my run are the full-bandwidth PCIE ribbons and the 200w PSUs.

I hope to have cost information soon, including on custom powdercoat color options.

In the meantime I have modeled up the S3 Mini in Sketchup for y'all to play with. Many people are expecting the system to house long cards, and I am sorry that this will not be the case for this box. I have two more boxes planned after this one, but in the meantime I suggest checking out the ultra sexy NCASE.

http://i.imgur.com/tHtz9l7.jpg
SKETCHUP FILE DOWNLOAD

The S3 Mini is...mini. I can't wait to show you guys what it can do when properly built-out!

Here are more beta shots:

http://i.imgur.com/jS2PRyzl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8xFPxYyl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/apl1icDl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/oPg4l7gl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/K9W9F2xl.jpg

Thanks guys.

Niiiiiice!

wow, this case keeps getting better and better..

Zotac and Asus have 670 "Mini".. should be perfect for this case... would leave some space for some cables/ ssd too


any update on the kickstarter ? cant wait to get one for myself :)

I'm not really a fan of those screws being exposed externally. It looks much cleaner without 'em.

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Originally Posted by geo

wow, this case keeps getting better and better..

Zotac and Asus have 670 "Mini".. should be perfect for this case... would leave some space for some cables/ ssd too


any update on the kickstarter ? cant wait to get one for myself :)

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The GTX 670 will be even smaller if you remove the stock cooler and slap a waterblock on it. :up:

Thanks for the comments and critique. I am working on a kickstarter and I will see if I get accepted. In the meantime I am going to offer these for sale if it means at a higher price, and just offer more customization.

For example, thick, waterjet cut custom backplate for the Intel DH77DF board:

http://i.imgur.com/84MIdkk.jpg

How about a video overview showing off all angles, features, and even acoustics with whatever cooling system that might be used (even if it's just at stock)?

So what's the price?


I wonder if there's anyone on XS in the PSU business. There has to be a solution to get a a high end I7 & gtx 680/690 in one of these, even if the extrenal power brick is the size of a cinder block!


These are sick man! :up:

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http://i.imgur.com/oPg4l7gl.jpg

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Some say, The Stig powers the most powerful computers in the world.

What we know for sure, is that HE'S THE STIG!

Please take my money.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Michalius

Please take my money.

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join the club :p. this thing cant go live soon enough

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Michalius

Please take my money.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by geo

join the club :p. this thing cant go line soon enough

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Yep, you can count on me purchasing one of these, whenever it is finalized...
I need a new box for my htpc.

anyone know whats the best aircooler that might fit in this case?

It depends on the motherboard; if the CPU socket is on the edge opposite the expansion slot then a blower style cooler like one from Dynatron works exceptionally well. My DFI MI is setup like this.

The reining fad these days is to stick the cooler right in the middle of the board (which is dumb) but for that design the Silverstone NT07 works very well.

Where does the PSU go now?

damn that's a nice looking case

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Originally Posted by Darakian

Where does the PSU go now?

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Methinks a PicoPSU will suffice. :up: