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M3A2 Beta Project: Discontinued
- Thread starter CMadki4
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Adding risers tall enough to clear the ODD may not give the PCIe card enough headroom. That has yet to be determined.
LigTasm
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Here are just some superficial renderings of two smaller versions of the already tiny M3A2. Internal design has not been fully developed. That will take more time.
Ultra-mini: 208mm x 208mm x 90mm; 3.9 liters
Mini: 325mm x 238mm x 90mm; 6.96 liters
- picoPSU, 1-2 x 2.5" SSDs, low-profile GPU
Standard: 325mm x 320mm x 90mm; 9.36 liters
- 1U or TFX PSU (under review), full-sized GPU (9" max length)
- specs previously stated
What do you think of that tiny little thing?
I want that tiny little thing like RIGHT NOW. That is almost the same as what I was trying to figure out in those PM's, except I don't need the optical drive (wouldn't it block the fan anyways?).
Haha, great! Would you be able to wait until end of May?
Yeah, the optical would block the fan spot. The rendering was a really quick revision to the full sized M3A2. I just sized it down and let'er rip. More thought needs to be put into it over the next week or so.
It won't. Not at 90mm tall anyway. Maybe at 100mm.
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Gawd
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I didn't realize an ODD could fit between the risers. It's still a close fit though; half-height cards are 65mm tall, but I don't know what the actual total height from the bottom of the MB to the top of the card is. A slim disc drive is 14mm, add in the thickness of the case panels (6mm), space between the drive and the MB, and whatever thickness the MB itself adds and you have a very close fit.
It would be nice though, you could fit a more or less 'complete' system in a tiny space without needing any kind of custom parts.
Edit: Another thought though is that the case panels are fairly thick, so if you ended up just 1 or 2mm short you might be able to carve a little groove in the top panel to allow the card's PCB to just fit in.
It would be nice though, you could fit a more or less 'complete' system in a tiny space without needing any kind of custom parts.
Edit: Another thought though is that the case panels are fairly thick, so if you ended up just 1 or 2mm short you might be able to carve a little groove in the top panel to allow the card's PCB to just fit in.
Just measured a mockup: low-profile card + motherboard + ODD is roughly 90mm. 77mm or so without the ODD.
Adding to the height of this particular case design isn't practical. My side panels are extruded, so I'd have to order another die for a taller profile. However, I can still make sheet aluminum cases of varying size on the fly.
Adding to the height of this particular case design isn't practical. My side panels are extruded, so I'd have to order another die for a taller profile. However, I can still make sheet aluminum cases of varying size on the fly.
Yes, it is. Interesting card!
Or use thinner aluminum panels. 2mm top and bottom thick panels would free up 2mm of space
If you use 1.5mm sheet aluminum cases, does it increase things like CPU heatsink clearance? Is it cheaper to use sheet aluminum? I'd really like 70mm CPU heatsink clearance for a 45mm heatsink and a 25mm thick 120mm fan.
You added 5mm to one of the original deminsions, is that width? Would you still need that extra 5mm with sheet aluminum construction?
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geostation
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wow. this is getting better and better! what is the height without the ODD and cpu heatsink clearence?
Wow now 3 versions after I ranted about going smaller, awesome lol.
Yes! Perfection at last should I say? =D. This is exactly where I've been seeing components land, in terms of size-conscious design, those 3 separate and unique sizes! The Ultra-Mini being a common mod you'd see around hehe, with a pico-PSU and pretty modest, LP card. The Standard, well it's great, you can fit the most powerful stuff, without having to go into the overrated water-cool-everything hype lol. The mini is the one that doesn't get a lot of love, and is long overdue! TFX please, a short, non-LP card, and with plenty of oomph for driving games at 1080p. TFX is ideal if for no other reason other than Seasonic making that Gold part. Seasonic #1 in quality and noise. Myself, noise is the #2 thing after size I take into account. Well, there has been love from manufacturers in this mini form factor, but it's been misplaced IMO, SFX when it can be TFX, Full Size ODD ew!, 3.5's when you should commit to 2.5 at certain sizes! etc.
The mini and ultra-mini, I would buy, without ODD space hehe. If Steam won't make a steam box, they should promote this as a DIY build or something lol.
Yes! Perfection at last should I say? =D. This is exactly where I've been seeing components land, in terms of size-conscious design, those 3 separate and unique sizes! The Ultra-Mini being a common mod you'd see around hehe, with a pico-PSU and pretty modest, LP card. The Standard, well it's great, you can fit the most powerful stuff, without having to go into the overrated water-cool-everything hype lol. The mini is the one that doesn't get a lot of love, and is long overdue! TFX please, a short, non-LP card, and with plenty of oomph for driving games at 1080p. TFX is ideal if for no other reason other than Seasonic making that Gold part. Seasonic #1 in quality and noise. Myself, noise is the #2 thing after size I take into account. Well, there has been love from manufacturers in this mini form factor, but it's been misplaced IMO, SFX when it can be TFX, Full Size ODD ew!, 3.5's when you should commit to 2.5 at certain sizes! etc.
The mini and ultra-mini, I would buy, without ODD space hehe. If Steam won't make a steam box, they should promote this as a DIY build or something lol.
Some more quick and dirty renderings. I made it even smaller. 3.6 liters, what? I'll have to see if that's actually a reasonable size. Only enough room for a couple 2.5" drive. ODD and 3.5" just have no place on a case this size. But here you go and let me know what you think!
No, not really any room for 3.5" drives. Definitely not two of them.
Sheet aluminum is much cheaper. I still make cases out of aluminum sheet, just not this one.
Same as the original M3A2, 69mm at this point.
I do appreciate all the input! I'll look into that down the road.
Thank you! Lots still needs to be detailed out and designed, but the rough design is there.
I'm still going to pursue the M3A2 primarily, but if anyone wants one of these smaller variants I can make them too when I nail down the little design details.
Stardog Champion
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I would say if you go that small make it thin mini-ITX. It would work well for the new Gigabyte thin mini-ITX motherboards. They only come with a thin mini-ITX I/O shield.
^^ but I don't think thin ITX is designed with a PCI-E slot in mind, there may even be power restrictions in terms of the CPU. So.. that really isn't for this case. That could be served with something with no room for a PCI-E slot, like an Antec ISK100, and similar offerings, not really the target for these cases I'd say, for something with that level of restriction, I'd go with an Intel NUC, doesn't get smaller than that.
I have a suggestion, to make one as slim as possible, with full GPU support. No ODD, no 3.5" hdd, 60mm maximum height (basically it's the SFX PSU's height). One could use the stock intel cooler, or better, a cooler like Noctua's NH-L9i which i have and i'm very pleased with it (using it on a i5 3570k). 
And why not put the USB ports on one side of the case? It's not very pretty with them on the front, imo.
And why not put the USB ports on one side of the case? It's not very pretty with them on the front, imo.
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In regard to the ultra-mini - where are the drives mounted? Also, could you put ventilation holes above the I/O panel? You'll also need a hole somewhere for mounting the PSU adaptor connector. Also, do you think installing a GPU in there might be a little difficult? It looks pretty tight there??
I don't think that's correct, the gtx 650 lp is a dual slot card, looks like the ultra mini is single slot only?
You don't need the second slot its just the vga port and you can disconnect the cable. However the cooler on the card takes up a second slot like a few other low profile cards so i wish their was more room.
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I have to agree. Making the case a little wider is a small concession to make and allows for a little flexibility. Low profile cards are uncommon in general, so the ability to fit a dual slot version would be nice. That front panel USB connector might also create issues in the narrower design.
And about the optical drive. You could, if you really wanted to, just mount it above the board and use a low-profile CPU cooler. Noctua and Scythe make coolers that should easily fit in that space, and it's not like you're going to be putting in a very high power CPU anyway. A smaller vent, pushed toward the back, would still allow for fresh air to come in without being blocked by the drive. Space for 2.5" drives might be a problem though.
Drown Babies
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The zotac 650 is dual slot, I think that's a little better than a 7750. I have the 7750, it's actually pretty good, but it does struggle with heat. This case should have much better circulation than mine, but it's still hard for that tiny cooler to keep up.
No problem, I can bump the width of the Ultra-mini back out to the original dual-slot capable width.
Okay the Ultra-mini is back out to 208 x 208 x 90. This will give a low profile GPU a little more room.
I'm looking for a low profile card that actually consumes two PCI slots, not just one with a bigger heatsink/fan that consumes the spot next to it. Do they exist?
And just for poops and giggles, here's a nice size comparison, haha:
Both the M3A2 and M3A2 Ultra-mini are pretty small little cases:
I'm looking for a low profile card that actually consumes two PCI slots, not just one with a bigger heatsink/fan that consumes the spot next to it. Do they exist?
And just for poops and giggles, here's a nice size comparison, haha:
Both the M3A2 and M3A2 Ultra-mini are pretty small little cases:
This is just my opinion, but I think you should focus on something, particularly the 1st case layout. For the other's there are already similar cases out there in habey, Wesena, Streacom, while the first layout only exists in complete systems, which customers can't get w/o buying a prebuilt system. Again, just my opinion.
I agree totally. I won't be making the Ultra-mini unless someone requests one until after M3A2 Betas are out. But I just wanted to throw the rough renderings up for fun.
CMadki4, if you're going to widen the Ultra-mini then it's probably worth putting a second slot for a dual slot GPU card. Just for future proofing, if nothing else.
Diverge, while I agree that there are similar cases to the ultra-mini out there, they all have reasonable flaws, including poor ventilation, poor HSF support etc. This case overcomes those short-comings.
EDIT. CMadki4, what case fan support will the ultra mini have? Obviously the 120mm on top..... will there be anything else?
Diverge, while I agree that there are similar cases to the ultra-mini out there, they all have reasonable flaws, including poor ventilation, poor HSF support etc. This case overcomes those short-comings.
EDIT. CMadki4, what case fan support will the ultra mini have? Obviously the 120mm on top..... will there be anything else?
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Not sure. Probably nothing beyond the top 120mm fan. Not really a whole lot of room in there without cutting vents in the front panel.
Will do.
Stardog Champion
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I guess I should clarify
. It'd be nice to be able to have a thin mini-ITX I/O plate option on the Ultra mini case for the new Gigabyte thin mini-ITX motherboards since they only have the thin mini-ITX I/O shield.Thin mini-ITX boards do have a PCI-e slot.
This. Nevertheless focusing on the bigger one makes sense, so I'll be following the development of them all, while holding my excitement for the two smaller ones =P. 120mm on the ultra-mini =D, what more could we ask for, that's relatively huge.
@ Stardog,
Didn't realize you were simply talking about the I/O plate. Good to know they have PCI-e slots, the boards I saw only have mini-pcie? so yeah =P.
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