SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project
#1
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[Information for ADMINS]In the links i've posted, there is no information about stores, selling or even prices. We still didn't end prototyping stage and we're looking for support from the community.

Hello Guys,

I'm new here, and i don't even know if i'm writing in a proper section, so please don't roast me too much Smile

Together with my little brother, in our free time we've designed a small form factor, console-sized pc case. We were fans of 1st steam-box design, but when it didn't happen, then we decided we will design our own pc case. The project name is "SENTRY".

The case is almost as small as actual and past generation of consoles (<7L), can be carried in many 17'' laptop bags or backpacks and you can use it with high-end components available on the market (for example GPU's with up to 305mm length).

Right now we are prepering to send our case for the reviews. And this is a moment, where we need your help. We need to know what do you think about this case. All good and bad things you will notice. We didn't start preordering and production stage, so we need to know if we're really ready. Maybe You will find something we can improve? We need as many informations and questions as possible.

Thank You for Your help!


Here are some photos, link to the website of our small project and a video of assembling our test PC (more information you can find on our website):

www.zaber.com.pl/sentry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hji_kuBnZsE

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#2
1. Your design seems very professional, although I am not a gamer and cannot comment on the requirements of your target market.

2. Although there are certainly people here who like to game on the same machine they watch kodi on, the primary market for people on this forum will be for sub 1L quiet boxes like chromebox, NUC, Zotac etc. Therefore I am not sure that this is the best place to ask.

3. All the best and good luck.
If I have helped you or increased your knowledge, click the 'thumbs up' button to give thanks :) (People with less than 20 posts won't see the "thumbs up" button.)
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#3
I like it. I'm currently using a Silverstone case that is pretty big and getting ready to build a server. That one was serving double duty, but now I've run out of drive space. Only thing I would of like to of seen would maybe be a slim slot load DVD drive space.

Sent from my LG-H901
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#4
It's nice but I'm not find of machines with PSUs that must be of a specific niche form factor. Silverstone is coming out with a model of there's thought that fits a full ATX PSU while sacrificing some features that the SFX variant offers to make room (You lose optical and some HDD mounting) which is how I'd go. Much cheaper PSUs and a wider range of choices.
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#5
(2016-06-26, 06:35)DJ_Izumi Wrote: It's nice but I'm not find of machines with PSUs that must be of a specific niche form factor. Silverstone is coming out with a model of there's thought that fits a full ATX PSU while sacrificing some features that the SFX variant offers to make room (You lose optical and some HDD mounting) which is how I'd go. Much cheaper PSUs and a wider range of choices.

We know this case is a niche and we don't predict to product it in millions. We just wanted to make a pc case for ourselves and we found out that, many people also wanted to get one. That's why we are asking everywhere we can what we can improve in our case. One of these improvements people are asking us is the ODD, which You mentioned. It would be nice if we could fit it inside the case, but we would loose the possibility to install long GPU cards or our case would grow to over 10L. We're still thinking about it, but today, when you are using Steam you don't really need optical drive. One of our main goals was transporting our case in 17'' laptop bag. If we add ODD, then we will loose this option, because, as i said before, the case will grow up.
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#6
Really great design. Two questions though:
1. What about cooling? Have you made some tests?
2. Can you put there GPU with non-reference cooling?
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#7
(2016-06-27, 10:48)Draghmar Wrote: Really great design. Two questions though:
1. What about cooling? Have you made some tests?

We've made many tests, starting from the mathematical simulations with different ventilation holes sizes (like those below):

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and finishing with heavy load, high-quality real-life tests:

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(2016-06-27, 10:48)Draghmar Wrote: 2. Can you put there GPU with non-reference cooling?

Of course You can.You can insert a GPU up to 305mm long and If You seen a gallery in our website, there are photos with radeon R9-270X Windforce 3 Edition, which is a big GPU card.

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You can put in SENTRY many non-reference graphic cards, but You have to remember about PEG connectors. If Your GPU PCB will be too wide, than You will have problems with connecting additional power connectors for Your card. If Your card was made according to PCI-E card electromechanical specification, then everything should be fine. In other words, Your GPU needs to have a standard, non-oversized PCB.

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#8
Ok. Thanks for the reply. Smile
Do you have some estimated date of release? (and price? Tongue)
I'd change my desktop to this design...but first I'd have to change HDD from 3.5 to 2.5 and replace ATX power supply to the SFX one.
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#9
(2016-06-27, 12:39)Draghmar Wrote: Ok. Thanks for the reply. Smile
Do you have some estimated date of release? (and price? Tongue)
I'd change my desktop to this design...but first I'd have to change HDD from 3.5 to 2.5 and replace ATX power supply to the SFX one.

We are still waiting for power cables to arrive, and then we're sending our case for a review to Linus from LinusTechTips. After that review we'll send our SENTRY to other reviewers. Because all of those actions needs time, we predict we'll be ready for production by the end of this Summer (August is a good date Smile)

I can't say anything about the price. It will be something between $169 and $199. Everything depends on final calculation, which we'll make after our power cables will arrive.
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#10
Are you going to sell from Poland? I'm asking because of €, VAT and stuff like that.
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#11
(2016-06-27, 13:16)Draghmar Wrote: Are you going to sell from Poland? I'm asking because of €, VAT and stuff like that.

Unfortunately yes. At least at the beginning. We're not a pc cases manufacturer and this is our hobby, not a day-time job. Normally we design wind turbines and heavy-duty machines for heavy industry. To sell our pc cases from local stores in each country or at least from each continent, we would need a lot of orders, and at this point we can't really say how many people would like to have a hi-end PC instead of console under their TV. Maybe in the future we'll use some other ways of transport than selling directly from us as manufacturer. For now, if You're not from EU, than You have to be prepared for additional local tax and bigger transport costs (everyone who is from a country which isn't in EU will have to pay such internal fees). We don't know how much You should add to our price, because vat, customs fee, etc. are different in different countries.
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#12
I think the case looks really good! you two have done an amazing job.
The only thing I think the case needs is some graphics on it. Something that will stand out and make it a design that people will recognise from afar.
It looks to bare bones atm, thats my opinion
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#13
yeah thats it, it needs a logo
I can see that the single circle represents an eye...sentry
but it needs a logo and some simple design

is this planned or is that the final design?
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#14
(2016-06-27, 13:33)ZombiPL Wrote: Unfortunately yes. At least at the beginning. We're not a pc cases manufacturer and this is our hobby, not a day-time job. Normally we design wind turbines and heavy-duty machines for heavy industry. To sell our pc cases from local stores in each country or at least from each continent, we would need a lot of orders, and at this point we can't really say how many people would like to have a hi-end PC instead of console under their TV. Maybe in the future we'll use some other ways of transport than selling directly from us as manufacturer. For now, if You're not from EU, than You have to be prepared for additional local tax and bigger transport costs (everyone who is from a country which isn't in EU will have to pay such internal fees). We don't know how much You should add to our price, because vat, customs fee, etc. are different in different countries.
Actually that's not a problem for me as I'm from Poland too. Smile I was asking about that because in most cases price in $ is a little lower then in € because of VAT and sometimes shipping. And this mean you could sell me directly in PLN (if I would decide to buy that is Tongue)
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#15
(2016-06-27, 13:45)kilimanjaro Wrote: yeah thats it, it needs a logo
I can see that the single circle represents an eye...sentry
but it needs a logo and some simple design

is this planned or is that the final design?

Heh Smile i also wanted some kind of logo Smile But this is a community project and we like democracy. We were making SENTRY for the last 2 years with users from [H]ard forum and LinusTechTIps forum, and people decided they want to have a clean design, without logo. What is more, many people think this case's clean look reminds them a sentry turret from Portal game, and this is probably the reason why they picked in a poll "SENTRY", as the name for this case. I'll talk about Your idea with my bro (who is a also a designer of this case), and we'll see. But You know... democracy..Smile

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SENTRY: Console-sized gaming PC case project0