BOXX Ultra Compact

grabcad

The all-sheet metal design features powder-coated panels for an upscale appearance. It comprises two partitioned sections, one for the main hardware components like motherboard, graphics cards, and CPU water cooling, and another for storage and power supply unit (PSU). Directly positioning intake fans in front of the main hardware without any hindrance ensures optimal airflow and better cooling. Two 5.25-inch bays are utilized for storage and optical media devices like docking units from ICY DOCK, with one featuring a laptop-style DVD drive slot and two 2.5-inch HDD/SSD bays, and the other offering six 2.5-inch HDD/SSD slots. The designer believes that all storage devices should be easily accessible and hot-swappable without opening the case, with no room for further 3.5-inch HDDs unless they are PCIe SSDs. Optical drives are considered obsolete due to downloadable storage capacity, while 3.5-inch drives may be replaced by 2.5-inch ones in the future. The case has two 10cm fans behind a removable front cover for minimal internal dust accumulation. A 1U type PSU is placed vertically behind the 5.25-inch bays, connected internally with an adaptor to the external power cable. There's room for a large water-cooling sink if graphics cards are attached. The detachable front column can be customized to fit additional USB ports, firewire, and thunderbolt. Measuring H 338mm W 204mm D 342mm, this design is slightly wider but shorter in depth and height compared to the 4150 workstation. Most internal parts were downloaded from GrabCAD, with special thanks to ICY DOCK for providing their bays in 3D format.