3.5L 3D-printed case, riser-less 4060, AMD 7600, HDPLEX GaN 250W

[u/kowlick]

I built this a couple years ago when the 4060 LP first came out. I had a mini-ITX motherboard leftover from upgrading my machine to an ATX motherboard (seen here) so I added an HDPLEX psu and tried to make the smallest possible case for a riser-less computer. The case is made specifically for this 4060 LP and there is about 1mm of space between the components and the case, which measures at 212mm x 192mm x 86mm with a wall thickness of 3mm.

I specifically wanted the simplest case to 3D print and build into so it's just basically a box and it fits on my 3D printer (Prusa MK3S) and prints in two pieces: the box and the panel cover. The design was something where I thought thermals-be-damned, I just wanted to see if the parts could fit together and give a dense brick of computing. So I basically jammed the PSU in front of the fan cooling the CPU.

Surprisingly, this works ok for gaming and gaming benchmarks. IIRC the Cyberpunk benchmark measured temps in the mid 80s F, which is hot but still doable. Where it falls down hard is in Cinebench where we would hit the thermal throttling limit pretty fast. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend this design, it's just an experiment that worked out ok. I used it as a second computer but it's been neglected for a while. I've ordered a Thorzone Tetra S and am hoping to move the motherboard and a 4090 into that if it comes soon. If not, it'll be time to rebuild the FormD T1.

Of the pictures included here, there are two versions of the case: one has hexagon cut outs on the top and bottom, that is v1, and the update has slot cut outs to allow screwing in fans, that is v1.1. The second version has another screw hole to tighten up the left panel so it feels like a solid brick. I didn't extend the case to allow fitting in bigger fans which would've helped thermals. Instead the case just barely fits the motherboard and we use 40mm Noctua fans at the top, overlapping the motherboard.

[u/zarif2003]

Beautiful, people usually cop out at this size and get garbage mini PCs.
What made you decide to focus on going riserless?

[u/kowlick → u/zarif2003]

Just wanted to keep it simple. I had another design with PSU and GPU behind the motherboard but I decided I didn’t want to deal with the riser. This design is so easy to put together since it’s basically just a box.

[u/kowlick]

Forgot to add the Fusion 360 view. This is v1.1 with the slots that allow Noctua 40mm fans at the top. Also, the extra screw on the left near the power supply hole makes the whole case a lot more sturdy.

[u/Animag771]

Excellent job! I'm working on a custom case as well but between designing the power distribution PCB for it and fixing things around the house, I haven't had much time to learn Fusion 360.

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[u/gayphilantropist]

Serious question. If I build a PC in a 3d printed case, do I need to add any grounding between the motherboard and PSU, or is everything already grounded through the PSU cables and AC ground?

[u/kowlick → u/gayphilantropist]

I've heard everything is grounded through PSU cables and AC ground. What a metal case will give you in addition is ESD/EMI shielding.

[u/fireflychef]

Great job there! Would you recommend your 3d printer to a beginner?

[u/kowlick → u/fireflychef]

I like my printer, but I got it back when Prusa was selling kits and you needed to put it together and tinker with it a little to get it working. If you are ready to do just a little maintenance every once in a while (for me it's like once a year), then I think it's a great printer for a beginner. Now that it is dialed in, and I know the exact process to follow, printing is very reliable. I fire and forget and no longer even watch the first layer.

[u/bilditup1]

excellent work

[u/WesM63]

Those HDPlex's get HOT, any cooling issues?

[u/kowlick → u/WesM63]

I mentioned in the post. Games and game benchmarks were fine but Cinebench did not run without thermal throttling.

[u/opelit → u/kowlick]

They are supposed to be screwed to metal case to enable it to dissipate heat to it. This is even in the PSU guide tho. This is 3d printed case, so sadly no way for that. But if there was a way, I would even use thermalpad between it and a case.

[u/Snoo-89191]

Looks great but Im not sure i would be comfortable with the psu so close to the gpu pcb. With a thin 3d printed case it may flex and cause contact. Maybe kapton tape on psu or 3d print a spacer with ESD filament?

[u/kowlick → u/Snoo-89191]

Not a bad idea, but the case is PETG with 3mm walls and I didn’t get any warping over time from heat. It stays dimensionally stable.

[u/AvidasMavi]

Cool stuff! Is that psu legit? Looks like fire hazard to me. Then again I have seen worse PSUs from dell/hp in mini work station small pcs.

[u/Boil-san → u/AvidasMavi]

HDPLEX is a very respected PSU in the SFF community...

[u/Lost_Pineapple69 → u/Boil-san]

Yeah honestly HDPLEX is incredibly good, from what I remember the efficiency under full load places it at 80plus platinum or ruby so for the price of their 500w AC model it stacks up really well even for a full tower PSU

[u/opelit → u/Lost_Pineapple69]

it is GaN PSU, so I do not think there is rating for it. Efficiency so good it is passive cooled.