Skoups ooba PC Build, please help

Introduction

Despite recommending and reviewing several high-end cases for clients and friends, I have never really invested a lot of money in my own personal case. It has been several years since I even had something resembling a case. Keeping up to date with case developments, the one case that I really liked was a Lian-Li full tower cases, but at R6000 it was a tad bit heavy for the wallet. My argument was that a second graphics card (for similar cost) would do a lot more for my gaming than a new case. That was when I decided screw this, why not design and build something myself.

Not restricted by anything, I reviewed various case designs, everything from wall-mounted desks, monitors with built in computers. Some designers even built their computers into their desks. However, none of the above appealed to my practical side since I like to upgrade my components from time to time. Effectively, I wanted a non-obtrusive piece of furniture that is very practical, yet, does not become the focal point within the room. Perspex, steel cages, bright LED’s and fancy side panel cut outs will thus not accomplish my objective.

Four years ago, during my first event at RAGE I chatted with somebody from BoC sitting next to me and we discussed some cases found at RAGE. I think we looked at Jono’s case, whom had a wooden box of some sort, and both agreed that the concept had potential. I especially liked it since it would have been cheap and easy to build. Oh, how wrong was I not! I explained to the guy’ my idea about having a high quality case when he suggested that if I am serious about building some high quality case that looks like furniture, that I first look at some woodworking videos he had. After watching the first video, I realised I am way out of my depth to even consider building my own case the way I envisaged it. So, for the last 4 years I have been honing my skills, building all kind of furniture using various materials such as solid wood, plywood, granite, ceaser-stone, metal and Perspex in order to one day get to a stage where I can build my own. I think I am finally ready to consider building my own PC case.

This post here describes the final design before I will commence with the actual built next week. I figured, let me just get some opinions from the experts (you guys!) before I embark before actually building it. This will be the last opportunity I have to make any adjustments or incorporate other people’s ideas before I begin. Just for the record, I already purchased the wood, and my idea is to start building next week as I need to finish one other project first.

May I ask that you please be very critical in your responses, as I would rather want to resolve any issues now than half way through the build?


I looked at various cases, and I liked the PC-X2000 from Lian-Li, it is the stylish, simplistic, yet highly efficient design. My aim is to achieve something similar. I therefor used the PX-X2000 dimensions to get the creative juices flowing. As soon as the juices started to flow, I ran into obstacles with regard to the material that I needed. Each material that I was considering had different properties; and each one will require its own unique design. Figured, before I proceed any further, why not look at the materials so that I do not need to end up with multiple designs. The end dimensions is as such larger than the PC-X2000 case.

I considered several materials, Perspex, Aluminium, Steel, Wood and even Granite at some stage. Perspex just does not give me that classy feel. Aluminium cases is found everywhere on the net so that will be a boring built. A steel case will end up being too heavy a design for anything practical. Granite was my second choice especially since I have worked with granite before. I like the fact that granite does not retain heat and with the proper airflow can get rid of hot air quickly. The added benefit of being able to put a cup of coffee on the top of the case and not worry about stains was an added benefit. However, the thought of carrying a full size granite case to RAGE resulted in a mind melt.

Doing a search on the net, several people have attempted wooden mods before, so unlike my granite idea, (which would have been the first, the last, and the only) I have some other suckers to learn from. I recently done some carpentry with Khaya Nyassica, a tree stemming from the family Meliaceae, and was quite pleased with the way in which it worked. Since the wood above, better known as African mahogany, is generally use for high-class furniture I figured that it should retain that classy look years from now.

The minimum thickness solid mahogany is sold at is 28mm, after planing and smoothing it, the end depth is between 26mm and 20mm. Knowing that I will be working with at least 20mm thick boards of Mahogany I am finally able to start focusing on the design.

I do not want any fans or metal protruding from the front, sides or top. The design should be suitable to host any future upgrade I may consider. It need to fit underneath my desk, but should not look out of place if I decide to put it next to my monitor. The design should be capable to mount dual socket server boards such as the EVGA-SR2 board. The space should be sufficient if I ever decide to mount two CPU’s, then I would also like to be able to mount two water coolers such as the H100. A slight positive air pressure is required.

The minimum hardware
It is very hard to gage what the dimensions will be for hardware in 3 years’ time, let along 6 or 7 years. I do know what the minimum hardware is that I need for the machine today, and if I can allow for a bit of extra space in there, we should be fine in a couple of years.

The case will play host to my main gaming rig. The popular ATX and E-ATX standard exist for gaming boards. Despite the norm being ATX, several companies have released a form factor named Ultra-ATX allowing for up to nine PCI slots. EVGA however released a monster in 2008 named the HTPX standard. If I want to future proof my design, I need to ensure sufficient space for an HTPX board.

The case should be capable to handle dual or even triple graphics cards. If I design the case to accommodate an HTPX board, any graphics card or expansion card of any nature should not be a problem either.

Power supply, my current power supply is a Corsair HX1000 with these dimensions, 150mm (w) x 86mm (h) x 200mm (d). It is considerably bigger than standard power supplies. The trend however is more power efficient computers so I can see that my power supply should last me another couple of years. However, allowing for a little bit more depth in the PSU will not hurt. Another option is to allow for dual power supply mountings.

The drive bays should cater for a minimum of six 3.5” drives, an optical drive, and some 2.5” bays. It should perhaps also allow for breakout boxes as found on certain fan controllers, sound cards, or temperature measurements.

Motherboard tray
An ATX motherboard measure 305mm by 244mm compared to the HTPX standard of the SR2 measuring 345.44mm x 381mm. The only board that is bigger than that is the Workstation ATX (or WTX) board measuring 355.6mm x 425.4mm. Intel developed the WTX standard 1998 and it did not really take to the market. The HTPX, developed in 2008 by EVGA seems to be the more realistic choice for big boards but also unlikely format for the mainstream market. To play it safe, I could allow a little bit of extra space around the edges to ensure that the case can accommodate anything else in future. My final dimensions for my motherboard tray is thus 400mm (top to bottom) and 468mm (back to front). This is 55mm higher and 87mm deeper than a SR2 require.

Airflow
The beauty of working with wood that is so much thicker than metal is that one can make the fans flush with the inside of the case without them even protruding from the inside. The airflow that I am thinking off is to have air sucked in from the bottom, and propelled at the back. Dust filters on all intake fans, together with a positive air pressure inside the case should take care of the dust.

The intake of air is by way of three 120mm fans bottom mounted, and a H70 CPU water cooler mounted on the back. Outlet fans on the graphics card, a dedicated 120mm fan at the back, and the power supply should provide a positive air pressure. The hard drives will receive 120mm cool airflow from the bottom, while three 80mm fans will provide airflow from behind the hidden chamber over the drives. The power supply will absorb the hot air from the H70 the power supply and immediately remove it from the case. If this becomes a problem, then the H70 and the 120mm outlet fan can be swapped around.

I may build a custom fan speed controller (after all it is just a couple of pots one need) which will also allow me the opportunity to turn my own mahogany dials. I have not decided where this will be mounted, either in one of the 5.25” bays, or perhaps next to the USB ports on the bottom.

Drive bays
How many optical and hard drive bays is always a tricky problem. The three main standards we need to know about are the 5.25” bay, the 3.5” drive, and the 2.5” drive. The dimension of a 5.25” bay is 82.55mm x 146.1mm. It is interesting to note that the bay is actually not 5.25” in width (it is actually 5.75”) but the name 5.25” stuck due to that being the size of the original floppy disks used in those bays. Also the 5.25” bays that we are used to today for our DVD writers is in fact only occupying half the height of an original 5.25 bay. Half height bays (the ones in use today) measure 41.3mm x 146mm. A 3.5” hard drive (bay) in turns measures 101.6mm wide, by 25.4mm high, by 146mm deep. The 2.5” bays measure 69.85mm in width, but could be anything between 7-15mm in height, and measure 100mm deep. The beauty of 2.5” drives however, is that you can install four of them into a single 5.25” bay, so just include an extra 5.25” bay.

The 3.5” format seems to remain the de facto standard for larger data storage devices while the 2.5” drives are favoured more for SSD drives. One still need a 5.25” optical drive so we need to have a combination of all three possibilities. I do not plan to store any real data on this computer so I do not need tons of hard drive space, the main objective here will be speed. Various ways exist to generate more speed from a hard drive, one is SSD drives while the other is RAID. The cost of a full out SSD system is still too much. My plan is to install six 3.5” Velociraptors in RAID 0 to be used for data storage space, while two SSD’s should do the trick on the OS drive. Therefore, we need six 3.5” bays and a minimum of two 5.25” bays (one for the 2.5” and one for the 5.25” drive). To future proof the case a bit, I will go with three 5.25” bays if we ever need to install additional break out boxes.

Another requirement that I want to have is that my optical drive bay opens to the side of the case and not as is the norm to the front. I had seen too many times that people bump into optical drives that is open if they protrude from the front. Also, given my hearing, my case will always be sitting on my right hand side.

Cable Management
The idea is that the cable management be designed in such a way that the inside of the case remain as clean as possible. To that end, a second chamber is incorporated in the build. The motherboard tray will be a full panel of solid mahogany. The motherboard tray will cover a secret chamber that is large enough to accommodate all the cables. However, to improve cable management at the back, 10mm deep channels will be routed into the motherboard tray.

The power supply is always a difficult component to have neat wiring for. What I am doing in that regard is to turn the PSU 90 degrees so that the side normally pointing down, is now pointing towards the side panel. This allow a false panel to be installed that is flush with the PSU hiding the cables protruding from the PSU itself. The false panel will guide the cables to the hidden chamber behind thereby hiding all cables from the PSU.

Summary
The above is more or less, what I have in mind for my new case. However, before commencing with the actual built please let me know if you can foresee any problem areas, or if there is anything that I might have missed. I already procured the Mahogany, and have another week or so before I can commence with this built. Unfortunately, once the build commence, there will be little opportunity to make adjustments. The below are various views as drawn in Google Sketchup. The dimensions are as close as possible to the actual dimensions. Note that each dado and each hole serves a specific purpose, if the purpose is unclear, please let me know and I can explain.

The comments that I will appreciate is the following:
* Is the case big enough, what future upgrades will I have difficulty to accommodate inside the case? (I can remove the 3.5” drive bays if I need even more space for the motherboard.
* What is the optimal way to position the fans behind the hard drives? One idea I toyed with is that the bottom fan suck cool air from the main chamber and then the other two fans blow it back over the drivers. The way that I have them now is that all three will blow air over the drives from the hidden chamber. I am however concerned that the hidden chamber will generate a negative air pressure thereby sucking in dust. Any suggestions on how to resolve that potential problem will be appreciated?
* Is the airflow from three 120mm fans at the bottom sufficient?
* Would you put the H70 on the top or the bottom?
* Would the heat from the H70 not cause problems for the PSU, in that it is sucking in hot air from the CPU?
* The hard drive cages, will that allow sufficient air?
* I will route 10mm channels in the back of the motherboard tray (remember the beauty of dealing with 26mm pieces of wood). The idea is that I will tie the cables down (either by way of Velcro or cable ties) in these channels thereby keeping the back side very clean as well. Other suggestions on cable management?

Trust me if I say, I have been thinking a long time on this case design and that in less than 8 days’ time I can finally commence with its build, needless to say, I am excited about it! So, if there is anything that I have not considered, or something you do not agree with, or something you think I could improve on, please let me know now while I can still make modifications to the final design please.

Thanks for reading, and please be critical. I will much rather fix it now than hacking a solution midway through the built.

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skoups- sounds solid

have you thought of a veneer? IE - supawood is easy to work with and can be veneered in pretty much all sorts of wood. (I am not talking about the plastic veneer) - you can even get formica which looks like granite. not as heavy as granite but i think available in 16mm and 32mm - I will have to check with the suppliers - you could look at your nearest kitchen DIY place for ideas if you think it is a viable alternative. problem with most off the shelf veneers is that they are chipboard - which i dont really like.
Another alternative is to find out where Daz got his flooring from because those floorboards looked mighty comfortable (and they might be thinner/lighter)

If you do go for the thicker wood, there is a trick the deck chaps use to help prevent warping (not that i am too worried in your case) (pun intended). they basically have grooves along the length of the grain.

ITO the cable management - I am sure you could find some of those covers that are used by the electricians, and make the cable grooves so that the cover fits in. - just a thought :)

I would put the PSU at the bottom - If only to keep weight at the bottom of the case (balance and CoG) and not have the weight of the PSU hanging on wood (vibrations can loosen screws)
That could then make space for a DUAL H70 setup, and I would have them at the top because of airflow and heat rising.

Thanks Fly, I actually have a contact here that can do veneer ply wood, or even veneer supa wood, minimum thickness is 6mm or something very thin. They actually do veneer mahogany, but I found that it is pretty expensive for what you get. Granted, those veneer woods do look good and tend to work a lot easier than real wood.

edited above - you got skype?

Fly, let me just ensure I understand you correctly. You want to move the PSU to the bottom and then move the h70 up all the way to the top? I've tried to pull that off, but the only way to get that to work is if you then put the second H70 next to the current one, unfortunately the width of the case is just not big enough to put two 120mm radiators next to each other. I am also restricted in terms of the height of the case, as right now I have little bit less than 10mm room between the bottom of my desk and the case. I could obviously make the case a little bit wider and see what it will look like if I do have the two next to each other.

I am not sure how good one can see on the pictures, but the PSU will actually be resting on the motherboard tray as well thereby spreading the weight.

I'll play around, see if I can incorporate the said changes.

Yes, I do have skype, it was just not switched on yesterday. Nickname is Skouperd.

Since I'm going to install my XSPC Rasa RS360 water cooling kit this week... my thoughts on your build are that you can install Corsair H70's and so on... but case lacks space to install a custom water kit with large and possibly multiple rads, along with a res and pump.

Good point Murgs, just tell me if I am wrong since it's been a while since I looked at h20 kits. I was thinking about watercoolers and the way that I've argued is as follows.

Resoviour, most kits will be either fitting inside a 5.25" bay or be mounted on the outside of the case. The odd ones not complying with the above (such as the Galaxy 1 cooler) mean that I may need to remove one or two of the 3.5" drive bays. For those mounting outside the case, there is sufficient space on the flat part next to the PCI brackets to drill through two holes for the external pipes.

With regard to the radiators, now they do in fact come in various shapes and sizes. Most rads that I've seen however has a mounting for a 120mm fan, which mean I could potentially mount it in the same place that my current h70 is sitting. Alternatively, the others that I've seen are massive ones housing a couple of 120mm fans which is generally mounted on the top of the case. In that case, I should have enough space on the bottom below the fans to mount it there. (I've allowed 70mm from the top of the bottom to the ground).

Saying all that, point taken, thanks for raising it. Any suggestions on how / where I can enhance the current design to incorporate other coolers perhaps?

Wow - nice Skoups.
I love doing fit-for-purpose DIY Jobs - as seen with my HAF932 custom LAN Carry Rig.
I'd suggest, like what I do with these sort of things, is start with el-cheapo materials 1st before committing to something that will be the final product. Much like what I've done with my 1st build of my LAN rigging.

I know it sound really trailer-trash, but build it with masonite 1st, see if it does what you want, if the placements will work or if there are major design flaws that you discover only once you fully mounted all the kit you want to put in there.

At least thats the way I'd do it, use it / don't use it.

Nice solid design though, really impressed with the thought thats gone into it.

Although I've never built into one, I've heard good things from Fractal cases and the layout is similar to yours. Check them out for ideas.

http://www.fractal-design.com/img_pr...EF-R3-BL-5.jpg

I agree with Murgs wrt your H70 radiator. Whilst you will want to make that flush, consider that you may want to expand that to 240mm radiator in the future. The H100 dimensions are : 122mm x 275mm x 27mm.

Aside from that it looks good, just not sure you should refer to the peeps on this as 'experts'.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Skouperd

Fly, let me just ensure I understand you correctly. You want to move the PSU to the bottom and then move the h70 up all the way to the top?

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I did think that there would be space for side by side, but looking at it now i am wondering if the fan below could in the future be used for the 2nd H70 (if that is the way you want to go ITO how far into the future you want to plan).

Another thought - have you given any thought to using the insides of another case for holding your HDDs/SDDs? or do you want the inside to match the outside as well?