Never seen before! World smallest ITX case with full size GPU 4.7L, ready to break record!

LegoFab

Weaksauce
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Tired with duplication idea? Today I will show you a design that you never seen before: Dung Beetle ITX.
Dung Beetle ITX is ITX case only 4.7L (inner), specifcation:
-Inner dimensions 296x176x90.
-Max graphic card size : Length 298mm, Height 42mm.
-Max CPU cooler height : 37mm.
-Support Flex ATX PSU.
-Support 1x92mm front fan.
-Structure 2mm stainless steel sheets with LegoFab connection method, it makes case to be smallest, easy to fabricate, good cost and high quality.
It's really small and cool as well, size is same with graphic card box!!
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I think that plugging a power cord from the top or side is a compromise that not many will accept for the sake of cutting down volume. Also it looks like you don't have the middle wall of the case designed yet and the motherboard can't just hang on the backplate.

Tired with duplication idea? Today I will show you a design that you never seen before: Dung Beetle ITX.

This sounds kind'a like cringy TV commercials. Please don't do that, especially if your layout is basically a clone (a duplicate) of existing case's layout :p
 
I think that plugging a power cord from the top or side is a compromise that not many will accept for the sake of cutting down volume. Also it looks like you don't have the middle wall of the case designed yet and the motherboard can't just hang on the backplate.



This sounds kind'a like cringy TV commercials. Please don't do that, especially if your layout is basically a clone (a duplicate) of existing case's layout :p
This is a concept version, for commercial version I will use thin female cord to hide PSU, Motherboard is mount to frame by long standoff from graphic card frame (not show in 3d model).
 
I may not speak for everyone, but I'll be straight with you, I don't want to buy anything called the Dung Beetle. I'd work on that name if I were you.
I call that name because he is the small but strongest animal, I'm considering to change name to "Tiny-Rix" after finishing prototype.
 
I call that name because he is the small but strongest animal, I'm considering to change name to "Tiny-Rix" after finishing prototype.

And I certainly respect the dung beetle as an animal, but I'd never name a case after you, you know? It just doesn't make a good name. I'd also stay away from that alternative for potential copyright reasons.
 
I think if you're going to go THAT tiny, you should make it externally powered and only support ITX graphics cards. Then you can be at ~3.5L. There's a need for a case like that honestly. I think going full-length GPU is kind of neither here nor there. Either go smallest possible, or give it a few more liters.
 
I somewhat like the concept, but I see a couple of big issues if you're planning for this to be a consumer product

1. Every corner and edge is a hazard that will nick or scratch everything it touches.
2. Even if you use a thin male-to-female extension, the power cord will still be on the outside of the top of the case.

Definitely will keep an eye on this project to see where it goes.
 
I think if you're going to go THAT tiny, you should make it externally powered and only support ITX graphics cards. Then you can be at ~3.5L. There's a need for a case like that honestly. I think going full-length GPU is kind of neither here nor there. Either go smallest possible, or give it a few more liters.
I disagree. I liked the hutzy, back when that was an active project, because it supported an internal psu. I absolutely loathe needing an external brick, both because it further limits power output and because it adds more volume overall when travelling. I'd much rather have a single complete package of a pc with greater compatibility and therefore upgrade-ability and have it be *slightly* larger than to break it into multiple pieces, even if each is as small as it can be. Hutzy proved that compete package can be as small as 4L, this is acceptably larger as it stands and can accommodate a full size gpu. So far no other case has made it to market within this size range while maintaining support for internal psu and gpu, it's definitely got a place without making into something it isn't, as long as the kinks can be worked out.
 
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I disagree. I liked the hutzy, back when that was an active project, because it supported an internal psu. I absolutely loathe needing an external brick, both because it further limits power output and because it adds more volume overall when travelling. I'd much rather have a single complete package of a pc with greater compatibility and therefore upgrade-ability and have it be *slightly* larger than to break it into multiple pieces, even if each is as small as it can be. Hutzy proved that compete package can be as small as 4L, this is acceptably larger as it stands and can accommodate a full size gpu. So far no other case has made it to market within this size range while maintaining support for internal psu and gpu, it's definitely got a place without making into something it isn't, as long as the kinks can be worked out.

Well I don't want to digress from topic, but I think this is a subjective thing. To me an external brick is better for traveling as it makes the PC more modular. Also, an external brick can be put on the floor/under the desk, it doesn't get dusty, it doesn't make noise, and it doesn't add heat to the case. It also means the case will be much lighter. And a a PC this tiny will not need more than 330W. For anything bigger I definitely agree with you, but for a sub-4L PC, I think an external brick makes sense. This is why laptops, NUCs, the DeskMini, etc. all have external power. I would have used the Hutzy with an external brick, so I think something like it, but with a shallower basement that only supports an HDPlex and no 2.5" drives is a product that doesn't exist right now that there is demand for. I hope someone will make it eventually. But to each their own. I'd be okay with 4L case too that supports HDPlex and FlexATX. I just want to see a product like that made, other than CustomMod's.

And I agree that having a power connector at the front/top of the case is just ridiculous, even with a 90-degree connector it would look silly.
 
Well I don't want to digress from topic, but I think this is a subjective thing. To me an external brick is better for traveling as it makes the PC more modular. Also, an external brick can be put on the floor/under the desk, it doesn't get dusty, it doesn't make noise, and it doesn't add heat to the case. It also means the case will be much lighter. And a a PC this tiny will not need more than 330W. For anything bigger I definitely agree with you, but for a sub-4L PC, I think an external brick makes sense. This is why laptops, NUCs, the DeskMini, etc. all have external power. I would have used the Hutzy with an external brick, so I think something like it, but with a shallower basement that only supports an HDPlex and no 2.5" drives is a product that doesn't exist right now that there is demand for. I hope someone will make it eventually. But to each their own. I'd be okay with 4L case too that supports HDPlex and FlexATX. I just want to see a product like that made, other than CustomMod's.

And I agree that having a power connector at the front/top of the case is just ridiculous, even with a 90-degree connector it would look silly.

Why not go for the custommod case then? It sounds like exactly what you're looking for, though I haven't been keeping up with it so I don't know if there's any known issues with them. This case idea is trying to stand out by being significantly smaller than the a4 while still supporting internal psu and full size gpu, which hasn't been done yet. There's no need to make it into something it's not, is what I'm saying.
 
I think if you're going to go THAT tiny, you should make it externally powered and only support ITX graphics cards. Then you can be at ~3.5L. There's a need for a case like that honestly. I think going full-length GPU is kind of neither here nor there. Either go smallest possible, or give it a few more liters.
My Moster ITX design has 3 model: Model S is what you mention.
 
I somewhat like the concept, but I see a couple of big issues if you're planning for this to be a consumer product

1. Every corner and edge is a hazard that will nick or scratch everything it touches.
2. Even if you use a thin male-to-female extension, the power cord will still be on the outside of the top of the case.

Definitely will keep an eye on this project to see where it goes.
1.The corner will be like that (r=0.5mm) :
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and edge will be smooth after treatment.
2. Height of power cord thin type (I mean is the one plug in to PSU) is less than 10mm so we can put PSU under top plate, and It connected to outside cable by 4 pin ATX, case include 1 4 pin to standard cord cable.
 
Why not go for the custommod case then? It sounds like exactly what you're looking for, though I haven't been keeping up with it so I don't know if there's any known issues with them. This case idea is trying to stand out by being significantly smaller than the a4 while still supporting internal psu and full size gpu, which hasn't been done yet. There's no need to make it into something it's not, is what I'm saying.

Fair enough.

Their manufacturing tolerances and overall quality are really sub-par, the cases ship with lots of defects and QC issues. Also, I'd prefer to use a certified DC-DC product like the Dynamo or HDPlex.

My Moster ITX design has 3 model: Model S is what you mention.

Do you have link to that? All I found was your Model M (console-style).
 
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Fair enough.

Their manufacturing tolerances and overall quality are really sub-par, the cases ship with lots of defects and QC issues. Also, I'd prefer to use a certified DC-DC product like the Dynamo or HDPlex.



Do you have link to that? All I found was your Model M (console-style).
Model S is also console type with about 3L, I will show after finishing prototype of that model M.
 
This is modified to hide PSU and add water cooler:
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Size of water cooler version is 7L (300x140x180) and add mid plate between mother board and GPU
 
Rather than increasing the size for a 240mm rad, why not allow the psu to be optionally mounted on the gpu size with a short gpu and see if a 92mm rad will fit on the motherboard side in its place? I don't know component measurements off the top of my head, it might not work, but it may be worth looking into.
 
Rather than increasing the size for a 240mm rad, why not allow the psu to be optionally mounted on the gpu size with a short gpu and see if a 92mm rad will fit on the motherboard side in its place? I don't know component measurements off the top of my head, it might not work, but it may be worth looking into.
120mm and 240mm radiator is more popular so design to use that will be easy to make a commercial version.
 
I may not produce water cooler version an just add accessories for some one like to mod with water cooler.
 
Fair enough.

Their manufacturing tolerances and overall quality are really sub-par, the cases ship with lots of defects and QC issues. Also, I'd prefer to use a certified DC-DC product like the Dynamo or HDPlex.
My fabrication method accuracy is less than 0.1mm so you almost will not see tolerances in my case, it is much accurate than bending method so no defect and less QC issues, if you choice supper cheap shipping method this will be problem.
 
My fabrication method accuracy is less than 0.1mm so you almost will not see tolerances in my case, it is much accurate than bending method so no defect and less QC issues, if you choice supper cheap shipping method this will be problem.

While I understand that you want to neglect tolerance issues because you are not bending anything and putting together flat panels only (which is really great for the shipping cost) you still have to figure out how to handle paint thickness.

Your approach (from what I've seen in the thread about your other case, the S4-Mini clone) shows that you assume client will mount the components WHILE assembling the case, so you can't assume fitting without a paint because customers won't be able to paint them while there are already components inside.

If you paint those panels before assembly (either you will powder coat them or client will paint them on their own), then you have to consider the paint thickness variation or your clients will be stripping paint on connection points. You don't hide them (connection points), so it (stripped areas) will be visible.
 
While I understand that you want to neglect tolerance issues because you are not bending anything and putting together flat panels only (which is really great for the shipping cost) you still have to figure out how to handle paint thickness.

Your approach (from what I've seen in the thread about your other case, the S4-Mini clone) shows that you assume client will mount the components WHILE assembling the case, so you can't assume fitting without a paint because customers won't be able to paint them while there are already components inside.

If you paint those panels before assembly (either you will powder coat them or client will paint them on their own), then you have to consider the paint thickness variation or your clients will be stripping paint on connection points. You don't hide them (connection points), so it (stripped areas) will be visible.
The one you see is old design, new design you will not see any bad connection point, the only one visible is same with the case come from big manufacture.
I will ship a finished product with standard packing (nylon bag, foam, carton, manual...). Steel version is just about 2kg, I will try to reduce shipping cost to about 30-40$, I found some courier in my country they can ship to North America with just 6-12$/kg but may be hard to claim if damage or loss.
 
The one you see is old design.

Several of your responses to critique refer to a newer design. Can you show that design? Seems like the best way to keep people interested is to show that it doesn't have the previously-mentioned flaws.
 
The one you see is old design, new design you will not see any bad connection point, the only one visible is same with the case come from big manufacture.

I think you did not get what I meant. Your connections will be visible if you want to avoid bending.

You are not bending metal therefore you don't need to care about bending precision - that's ok, I agree to that. It's also neat in terms of shipping costs as the volume will be low.

Since you don't have any bends made to turn connection points between the external surfaces/panels inwards, you use some type of 90 degree connection between each two sheets to make some kind of locking system, that's also an interesting approach.

Your case seems like something that will be built while mounting the system - I mean that you won't be able to put the frame together completely before installing components. I may be wrong here, but nevertheless you will want to ship the panels painted for the most of your customers.

So with painting starts your clearance and precision issues - If you were to assemble frame before painting, with tight fitting panels it would be good, but I assume you want to ship a package of flat panels to limit the volume.

If you want to paint the panels before putting them together, then you will have to assume some clearances for connection points or you will be scratching and/or stripping paint on them during assembly unless you have an automated paint shop that lays perfectly even layer of powder coating.


So you either need to construct the case frame to be assembled completely before component installation and assume that client will paint it himself afterwards OR you need to take paint clearances into account for design of your panel connections.

Also note the fact that 0.1mm x 2 (when two panels come together) is quite enough leeway for the case to be clicking and resonating with hard drives spinning inside unless everything is tightened by screws or some kind of tension.
 
Several of your responses to critique refer to a newer design. Can you show that design? Seems like the best way to keep people interested is to show that it doesn't have the previously-mentioned flaws.
I mean the picture he saw in other thread.
 
I think you did not get what I meant. Your connections will be visible if you want to avoid bending.

You are not bending metal therefore you don't need to care about bending precision - that's ok, I agree to that. It's also neat in terms of shipping costs as the volume will be low.

Since you don't have any bends made to turn connection points between the external surfaces/panels inwards, you use some type of 90 degree connection between each two sheets to make some kind of locking system, that's also an interesting approach.

Your case seems like something that will be built while mounting the system - I mean that you won't be able to put the frame together completely before installing components. I may be wrong here, but nevertheless you will want to ship the panels painted for the most of your customers.

So with painting starts your clearance and precision issues - If you were to assemble frame before painting, with tight fitting panels it would be good, but I assume you want to ship a package of flat panels to limit the volume.

If you want to paint the panels before putting them together, then you will have to assume some clearances for connection points or you will be scratching and/or stripping paint on them during assembly unless you have an automated paint shop that lays perfectly even layer of powder coating.


So you either need to construct the case frame to be assembled completely before component installation and assume that client will paint it himself afterwards OR you need to take paint clearances into account for design of your panel connections.

Also note the fact that 0.1mm x 2 (when two panels come together) is quite enough leeway for the case to be clicking and resonating with hard drives spinning inside unless everything is tightened by screws or some kind of tension.
Ok, may be not clear to explain. The locking system is a special type, include screws, flat head hidden type):
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No painting for stainless steel and aluminum version. only for carbon steel version.
Let's wait for new prototype come next week to see more clearly.
 
In the future , I will consider to make screws invisible as well by special solution, case will look like that:
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Model S is also console type with about 3L, I will show after finishing prototype of that model M.

If you managed to fit a Mini ITX board, an ITX graphics card and a DC-DC PSU into a 3L mini-tower, you must have defied the laws of physics. I would really love to see that concept, I've been waiting for something like it -- a truly portable desktop PC. I think it'll be your best seller as there are already good options for the other configs.
 
If you managed to fit a Mini ITX board, an ITX graphics card and a DC-DC PSU into a 3L mini-tower, you must have defied the laws of physics. I would really love to see that concept, I've been waiting for something like it -- a truly portable desktop PC. I think it'll be your best seller as there are already good options for the other configs.

If I remember correctly, itx mobo and gpu back-to-back with flexATX psu underneath is 4L, and that includes internal psu. I'd believe that swapping that for a DC-DC and lining it up on the GPU side instead of flat under both could bring it to 3L.

Edit to clarify: I haven't done any math for that, just going on what I remember and saying I'd believe that claim without the math.
 
If I remember correctly, itx mobo and gpu back-to-back with flexATX psu underneath is 4L, and that includes internal psu. I'd believe that swapping that for a DC-DC and lining it up on the GPU side instead of flat under both could bring it to 3L.

Edit to clarify: I haven't done any math for that, just going on what I remember and saying I'd believe that claim without the math.

You have to put the DC-DC flat under the motherboard and GPU, there's not enough room on the GPU side. At that point you're looking at 3.8L. You could potentially only support HDPlex/Dynamo 160W or G-Unique that connects directly to the 24-pin (not worth it IMO), then you're looking at ~ 3.3L. 3L seems impossible, but I'm curious to see what LegoFab has thought of.
 
You have to put the DC-DC flat under the motherboard and GPU, there's not enough room on the GPU side. At that point you're looking at 3.8L. You could potentially only support HDPlex/Dynamo 160W or G-Unique that connects directly to the 24-pin (not worth it IMO), then you're looking at ~ 3.3L. 3L seems impossible, but I'm curious to see what LegoFab has thought of.

In that case, it's probably reducing the space between the motherboard and gpu below spec and will probably reduce compatibility with motherboards with m.2 drives.
 
In that case, it's probably reducing the space between the motherboard and gpu below spec and will probably reduce compatibility with motherboards with m.2 drives.

Even so, you can't get to 3L. I don't think it's possible. But 3.5L is possible, I'd love to see that.

For what it's worth, CustomMod does have 3.2/3.7L ITX cases with the back-to-back style and console style respectively, with ITX GPUs supported and G-Unique PSUs only.

I know, but their cases are not very good, no offense. This tangent kind of started out of sentiment to look for another manufacturer of that style case. I'd love to see NFC or Dan do it... But let's see what LegoFab has in store. I would like to have a couple mm on each side for dust filters though.

Anyway, sorry for digressing.
 
Even so, you can't get to 3L. I don't think it's possible. But 3.5L is possible, I'd love to see that.



I know, but their cases are not very good, no offense. This tangent kind of started out of sentiment to look for another manufacturer of that style case. I'd love to see NFC or Dan do it... But let's see what LegoFab has in store. I would like to have a couple mm on each side for dust filters though.

Anyway, sorry for digressing.

I'm just here for the theoretical design anyway lol. If custommod has it at 3.2L within spec with regards to space between the gpu and mb, reducing it to the point that the gpu and mb are barely separated by a thin plastic shield could get that last .2L off that you need.
 
I'm just here for the theoretical design anyway lol. If custommod has it at 3.2L within spec with regards to space between the gpu and mb, reducing it to the point that the gpu and mb are barely separated by a thin plastic shield could get that last .2L off that you need.

Well the CustomMod Mini is 3.24L, but GPUs, motherboards, and I/O shields regularly haven't fit. I'm not sure what part of that is size restriction and what part is poor manufacturing tolerances. But I don't think you can push the motherboard and GPU any closer without sacrificing rear M.2 support and risk overheating, which wouldn't be worth it. Maybe 3L is theoretically possible, tho I don't think so. I'd like a case with HDPlex or Dynamo support though. So I'm perfectly fine with 3.5-3.8L, I just want someone other than CustomMod to make that case.
 
Confused why we're stuck on full-length GPUs. The mini versions seem to work pretty well, and would reduce volume quite a bit.

I'm also in favor of internal PSUs rather than a brick, but agree having it on any side besides the back (or bottom I suppose, with a hole for the cord) would be odd.
 
Well the CustomMod Mini is 3.24L, but GPUs, motherboards, and I/O shields regularly haven't fit. I'm not sure what part of that is size restriction and what part is poor manufacturing tolerances. But I don't think you can push the motherboard and GPU any closer without sacrificing rear M.2 support and risk overheating, which wouldn't be worth it. Maybe 3L is theoretically possible, tho I don't think so. I'd like a case with HDPlex or Dynamo support though. So I'm perfectly fine with 3.5-3.8L, I just want someone other than CustomMod to make that case.
It' will fit any way.
Just wait, I'm going to show some amazing series that may include what you want.
I don't want every one comment that is only design so I will show after finish prototype.
 
Confused why we're stuck on full-length GPUs. The mini versions seem to work pretty well, and would reduce volume quite a bit.

I'm also in favor of internal PSUs rather than a brick, but agree having it on any side besides the back (or bottom I suppose, with a hole for the cord) would be odd.
See answer above.
 
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