In my ongoing search for a better LAN box, I am working on a 17 litre case mod. Essentially, it's a compact mATX case cut down in size. The queries I have are about the front section layout. The case is approx 175mm wide and 265mm high. I planned to mount an SFX PSU at the top with the fan taking air in through the front and venting at the top. I want to have a 120mm inlet fan below it, but space is pretty tight there for it. The case has an 80mm exhaust fan above the I/O plate and I wondered if a 92mm inlet would be sufficient. Otherwise, I could put a slim 100mm fan on the side panel at the front like I have dine in the past, but the airflow wouldn't be ideal. I'd do it in sketchup, but have no aptitude for drawing or layouts. Am I doing the right thing? the SFX can't go elsewhere and a front fan seems the thing to do (Ncase M1 does ok without one though...) Thanks
Subtec, absolutely. I've been watching it for a few months on Hardforum, along with the super mad tiny case from Dondan. Great to see his prototype has arrived and is just what he created in his head and then through the process with help from all those useful people out there. Thanks, that's the sort of thing I'm looking to do; maybe even buy a Nova in the long run.
Have you considered using 1u rack PSU, kind of similar to what evga did with the hadron? There is even smaller ones I call 1/2 1u which are only like 40x40x150mm or something close to that. The really small ones are hard to find in higher wattages though, and seldom have more than one pci-e if any.
Ivan, the thought had passed by me about 'flat' PSUs, but didn't think there would be any with enough grunt [300+ W] for a small gamer. I do have the original Silverstone 300W SFX PSU at the moment, so was working on SFX. A Flex ATX may just make things easier if SFX doesn't work.
They make 1u psu up to at least 1000w as I have seen them in some multiprocessor servers. Stuff in the 300-500w range really shouldn't be a problem. Though, more than likely you would need to rewire leads due to lack of pci-e for gpu. Most of them do have several sata/molex so you could just bundle the 12v and ground from some of those, crimp on some new pci-e plugs and desolder the 5v leads to tidy it up.
I did't realise they went that big! Good thinking with the PCI-E power, maybe rewire Molex to PCI-E adaptor cables if needs be. That's all useful to know if 1U comes into play. Thanks again
Looks a good buy thanks Ian, but a standard ATX PSU is too big for my proposed case mod. Looking to mount my existing SFX with fan facing forward as an intake and as big as I can fan below it to cool the case.
