12L SFF mATX case from over a decade ago, the Vinster M@X

Silas1128

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Jun 19, 2012
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So a little over 10 years ago I was at the NOR'Easter LAN tournament with my CS team and saw a booth with this case. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. It was VERY compact, especially for that time, yet used mostly standard parts. It measures just 11.5 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches (11.9L). Custom made by a guy in Mass, only a few hundred ever made from what I remember. I just HAD to have one. I've done a few builds in it over the years and even posted here before. But I decided I wanted to move my rig into it again and make some real changes

Now, I've had no need for an optical drive for quite some time, and I wanted to give it better cooling and a bit more modern look, sort of. So I dremmeled/cut out the optical bay, 2 80mm fan spots, and the floppy drive. It conveniently was just a bit bigger than 240x120mm. My current GPU, and most I've measured, are just over 10.5", this left very little space between the front of the GPU and and where the 2 case fans would be. I would either need to get slim 120x15mm fans or have them stick about 10mm out the front of the case, which is what I did (I also had 2 new Corsair 120mm fans, so why not). I grabbed a $10 mesh trash can from Home Depot and cut out a grill with tin snips and just glued it in place with some GOOP. Kind of half assed, not the cleanest bends, but it was more a proof of concept. That was my excuse anyway, it'll probably stay this way for a while.

So here's the build (not the latest tech, but works for my gaming needs):
i7-4790k @4.9ghz, delidded, cooled with Noctua NH-D9l (this cooler was a god send, as it fits the case by mere millimeters)
24GB DDR3 @1600mhz
ASUS Gryphon Z97 mATX
EVGA GTX 1070 SC (some pics show 980ti, swapped it for a 1070 because it's much more power efficient)
1tb m.2 SSD, on pci-e adapter board
Seasonic 500W 1U PSU, some customer wiring to eliminate what isn't needed.

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My dad owned a business telephone repair company for a couple decades. I snagged one from his inventory and glued it on top. It's been their since I bought it. I like it, I've thought of removing it a couple times, but always end up leaving it.
 
Nah, rework it...

Imagine making it so you could use it for Skype calls & the such...!
 
Blows my mind you can't get something this perfect from a case maker.
I agree, there should be something just like this from case manufacturers.

With the 1U power supply on the bottom, it reminds me of the EVGA Hadron.

It seems almost impossible to find a small case unless you go with mini-ITX. When I’m building computers for my friends, they all want small computers, but they don’t want to pay the premium for mini-ITX boards and SFX power supplies. Something like this case would be just right for them.
 
It's so true, I always find myself going back to this case. I've done several builds in it over the years. It's so simple and easy to work with, I've done some rewiring of the PSU. I removed sata and molex cables, added the low profile GPU plugs (12 years ago all GPU's had the power out the back). But it's just so unique.
 
I agree, there should be something just like this from case manufacturers.

With the 1U power supply on the bottom, it reminds me of the EVGA Hadron.

It seems almost impossible to find a small case unless you go with mini-ITX. When I’m building computers for my friends, they all want small computers, but they don’t want to pay the premium for mini-ITX boards and SFX power supplies. Something like this case would be just right for them.

I agree. I haven't found a decent small mATX case that didn't have a compromise somewhere along the line. Closest was the Sliger Cerberus, but it's too narrow for a good CPU cooler and uses SFX PSU. The only mounting for an AIO with the stock config is in the bottom with a raised pump (bad).
 
I agree. I haven't found a decent small mATX case that didn't have a compromise somewhere along the line. Closest was the Sliger Cerberus, but it's too narrow for a good CPU cooler and uses SFX PSU. The only mounting for an AIO with the stock config is in the bottom with a raised pump (bad).
The 1U PSU seems like a big compromise, no? More expensive per watt and louder than SFX or ATX. Also the OP's case is only 140mm wide, compared to the Cerberus at 172mm. Not only is it more limited on CPU cooler height, it won't fit anything but reference-width GPUs, which are becoming increasingly rare.
 
The 1U PSU seems like a big compromise, no? More expensive per watt and louder than SFX or ATX. Also the OP's case is only 140mm wide, compared to the Cerberus at 172mm. Not only is it more limited on CPU cooler height, it won't fit anything but reference-width GPUs, which are becoming increasingly rare.

I'm not saying that the OP's case is the answer. I just haven't found a great mATX case yet. I got an OG Fuma into the Cerberus, but that's about the best I could do. I had to run it with only 1 fan because of RAM and VRM limitations.

I guess that is the D9L. I only took a quick look at it.
 
Yeah my case has about 115mm cpu cooler limit. I'm running the NH-D9L, at about 110mm. It honestly is a champ. My delidded 4790k ran at 4.8 for years in that case.

The 1U seasonic PSU I have ran silent (no fan) unless it was under heavy load. I can honestly say I don't ever remember noticing it.

But my case is also approaching 15 years old LOL... I originally saw these at a LAN competition in MA in 2007... so yeah, it runs into some issues. But so far nothing too crazy. Hell, even the newer RTX cards should fit.
 
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