I posted a
question about aerodynamics a while ago for a case design I was working on... Though I might share the design here and get some feedback.
I really was inspired to seek a more silent solution after my Gigabyte Aurora wouldn't stop rattling. So I decided to mess around on Sketchup and see what I could come up with, since until now I haven't run across a case the encompasses all the features I was looking for.
1. Removable Motherboard Tray
2. Removable, washable dust filter (and no stupid ventilation holes that simply negate the whole purpose of the filter)
3. Superior cable management
4. The 'tool-less' implementation would simply be the use of thumbscrews (can't stand those plastic thingys you only close on one side... for some people using fan controllers these things are hell and they actually broke some of my controllers.)
5. Separate thermal zones for HDD's Motherboard and PSU
6. No fans under 120mm
7. A minimalist look... none of those transformers faces on the front with a plastic door. *shiver*
8. And of course silent or the capacity to be silent with simple changes.
What I ended up designing met these requirements and more. The basic premise was to flip the Motherboard. Of course this idea is not my own but borrowed from the newest Voodoo Omen (and more recently the same idea was implemented in the Silverstone RV01, although the RV01 only was revealed in the final days of my designing the case and had no impact on my build). I liked how flipping the motherboard created the opportunity for all the exhausted hot air to exit from the top as it naturally would. This also can give the back of the case a really clean look.
External 5.25" Drive Bays - 4
External 3.5" Drive Bays - 1
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays - 5
Expansion Slots - 7
120mm Fans - 1 x 120mm top fan, 1 x 120mm bottom PSU chamber
140mm Fans - 2 x 140mm bottom mobo chamber
180mm Fans - 1 x 180mm middle HDD Chamber
The feature list now is as follows:
1. Three separate thermal zones All with their own dedicated fan or fans.
2. 1/8 inch thick aluminum construction including the side panels except for the front which is ΒΌ thick this is all of course to create a very sturdy and hopefully quieter design.
3. Back of case is clean and all cables pass through a single hole at the top of the case
4. Four 5.25 inch drive bays all equipped with thumbscrews.
5. Five 3.5 inch hot swappable drive bays accessible from the front of the case with a one touch open and close door. (I was thinking of adding a little clasp that closes over one of the slots with the words “system HDD” on it so people could identify that easily and not remove it by accident.
6. Removable power supply tray. Comes out by releasing four thumbscrews.
7. Removable flipped motherboard tray. Comes out by releasing four thumbscrews.
8. Motherboard tray holes for cable routing and the big one is to give access to the retention brackets for some larger CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard from the tray.
9. The two 140mm motherboard intake fans can be replaced by two 120 mm fans or a dual radiator if you should so choose.
10. All fans are 120mm 140mm or 180mm (All fan locations with fans larger than 120mm have holes to accommodate 120mm fans and the 180mm fan can be replaced with a 120 or a 140mm fan)
11. Since all the intake fans are lined up at the bottom of the case there is one dust filter that you can slide out from the front of the case, wash, and then slide back in.
12. To make it easier to service or replace the intake fans they are mounted on easily removable brackets that are released with four thumbscrews because of the cramped access to the fans through the lower chamber.
13. All fans and brackets (the PSU bracket and motherboard tray as well) are cushioned by rubber dampers to reduce vibrations.
14. I tried to create the most indirect path for the fan noise to reach you. The intake fans are all enclosed by the 1/8 inch thick aluminum body of the case except for in the back and the bottom where they gets their air.
15. The exhaust fans are all up top and they are also enclosed except for in the back and the top where all the vents are angled towards the back of the case.
16. There is extensive cable routing behind the motherboard however I know that you can't always hide the cables so I made a couple of cable trenches so you can at least tuck them away to the side. You can see on the trench up front I smoothed the edges so that they can't cut you or the cables
17. The side panels are released by squeezing the two handles together which retracts two locking bars on either side back into the door.
18. The top panel is also removable of course just pull it towards the back of the case and lift... it's hooked in there like a lot of older cases side panels (far left of the picture is the hook on the underside of the top panel) the difference is that at the front of the top of the case are two magnets sticking out the secure into two holes in the top panel.
Just a couple more views:
Above the motherboard but below the top panel with a view of 3.5" bay
Exploded view.
Airflow view.
General view.
Size Comparison with P182 (with an older design of my case... same size but you will notice a fan controller where the 3.5" drive bay is now)
Size Comparison with NZXT Khaos (blue) and Thermaltake Sword (white)
You may have noticed that there are more intake than exhaust fans. That's because I want to go for
positive airflow. So Instead of having every extra ventilation hole sucking in dust, air is now being forced out through every possible exit and in conjunction with the fan filter creating a (hopefully) dustless environment.
As far as the looks, nothing is set in stone. It can be one solid color 10 clashing colors with window without window. The important thing is the layout.
I guess I was always planning on having a version with a door and a version without and I was just wondering for the version with a door should I extend it up over the 3.5" drive bay?
Constructive criticism welcome of course otherwise why would I be posting it here? and my Apologies for the long post.
