CaseLabs Makes a Comeback Under New Management

[SLObinger]

I dont know anything about CaseLabs so must ask were these cases so special in some way that folks have actually been waiting around for 4 years for a spare part on a case vs just getting a new case?

 

[SN2716057]

Awseome! Can't wait for parts

 

[wEeViLz]

I dont know anything about CaseLabs so must ask were these cases so special in some way that folks have actually been waiting around for 4 years for a spare part on a case vs just getting a new case?

Yes, they're very well built, modular, don't need tools to open and close them, extremely custom water-cooled loops freindly. My radiators are completely hidden in the modular top in my Mercury S8. I've got quick disconnects coming into and out of my CPU block and reservoir, i can remove the entire motherboard with tray attached without even draining my loop. If i get some time i'll post some pics this weekend..

 

[Waldorf]

not sure how far this will go, as giving a discount just because shipping costs more,
is already throwing money out the window, they same way US shops dont give discounts for shipping stuff to europe/australia.
ignoring for a moment how "smart" it is, do offer discounts for things you dont even have/sell yet, in a non existing shop,
to ppl that dont really have any other option of buying (short of used).
not saying rip ppl off, but i doubt it will impact their part sales much if there was no discount.

and doing things like ports around the board area will just reduce the number of possible buyers even more.

@caroline!
you do realize, +7B ppl on this planet might have different taste than you?
how many do you think will sell if its like in the pic?
how many do you think will buy it if its round (as in "different")?
right...

 

[DanNeely]

I'm aware of the official reason, but have never completely believed it... it was too convenient, especially when no other case manufacturers apparently had the same problem.

That sounds a lot more plausible: slightly problematic business practices, and when the tariffs hit that pushed the company over the edge.

They don't have to innovate, they just have to look at what other case manufacturers have done and take it to the next level, while adding their own quality-of-life improvements. I don't want or need a case where half of the cost is tempered glass, I want a case that is functionally a joy to build in, a case where I actually make excuses to build in.

As has been mentioned, if CL were to also offer a facility to manufacture and sell and support case designs that others have come up with, it would be a significant value add.

Computer cases were just a side project for the parent company. Their main business for decades had been making enclosures for defense related customers. The feds probably used Firm Fixed Price contracts to lock in how much they'd pay for enclosures for at least the current fiscal year (and potentially longer if the programs were making things that took longer than a year to make factoring in all the lead times); which would put the risk of materials cost changes on the contractor.

A post I remember them making a month or three before they went under said that the metal suppliers that they had long term (fixed price?????) contracts with weren't able to supply the metal they needed forcing them to buy on the spot market. And anything on the spot market is going to be disgustingly expensive vs what you pay via regular contracts where the delivery is planned well in the future.

Multiple big hits, any one of which could have been surivable combined to push them over the edge.

 

[TechLurker]

I dont know anything about CaseLabs so must ask were these cases so special in some way that folks have actually been waiting around for 4 years for a spare part on a case vs just getting a new case?

To list a few things off the top of my head:

• They were the makers of some of the first, truly modular cases available. Back then it was the usual wide variety of plastic, thin aluminum, or thin sheet metal cases; many of which still had fixed bays that could not be customized much without buying adapters (5.25" bay to 3.5" HDD or 2.5 SSD adapters, or 3.5" HDD/Floppy Drive mounts to 2.5" SSD mounts).
• You could order a case piece by piece, or as a full, unassembled kit, and put them together.
• They were one of the few case makers who bothered to make motherboard installation easy via removable motherboard trays, which allowed for building the computer outside of the case and then just sliding it in and locking them in place.
• They were the one of first large form-factor case makers out there, back when ATX, XL-ATX, and E-ATX were popular form factors.
• They also made large cases that were easy to work in, and were one of the first to start marketing dual-chamber cases and extra-wide cases (which would later be emulated by Lian Li and Thermaltake), and to a lesser degree by others.
• They were made pretty well out of thick steel or aluminum, compared to many other cases of the time period, and had a basic powder coating that made them very resistant to scratches and dents.
• They were also customizable according to preference.
  • If you wanted to make a mini-server with 20+ HDDs, you could do so via fan+HDD cage mounts.
  • If you wanted to make a mini-server with 40 2.5" SSDs, you could do so via fan+SSD cage mounts.
  • If you wanted to put massive rads (such as Alphacool's Monsta rads), they could accommodate 2 of them + push-pull fans on each.
  • They could even be stacked; you could theoretically stack 2 or more cases on each other, or more commonly, you'd buy the pedestal add-on sub-chassis that served as either dedicated radiator space or expansion for another PSU, and mount that on top or on the bottom of the core case.

Basically, they were the cases one spent money on if they wanted something that would last, and could be upgraded as newer parts were released for (again, this is before 3D printing became a thing). As it was all standardized by case model, and for some parts, universally compatible across their lines, you could be sure that the parts you buy later on would always work with the case, compared to regular case makers where support for cases fades out as new trends and models come in.

Their nearest rival is/was MountainMods, which also specialized in modular, sheet metal cases (although the quality and finish was nowhere near as nice as CaseLabs'), and I'm not even sure if MountainMods is still actually in business or if the site's just abandoned. MountainMods at least survived long enough to see the mining boom; producing a few cases specifically for GPU-based mining.

 

[CaseLabs-Emil]

This is great!

Glad to hear it, and thank you for your kind words. It means a lot for me and my team!

Indeed it is.

I hope they will be as good and successfull as Fractal.

Thank you so much. It would be hard to be competitive with that industry giant but hopefully we get a good thing going with a healthy and sustainable business that allows us to slowly grow and ramp up while doing what we love to do.

caselabs cases are mostly for custom water loop builds?

Yes and no. While a majority of our cases support watercooling, can swallow a lot of radiators and have a lot of space for tubing etc we have some models that are supposed to use air cooling. Eric, a f

*were

As you see, they plan to do SFF and other stuff. Guess they aim to a wider audience.

Yes, our aim is to broaden our product category somewhat. I would like for CaseLabs to be a viable option for anyone building a new system whether or not it is SFF or a monster build, air cooled or watercooled etcetera. While we won't have a case in every category tomorrow, we will have eventually have it.

Then it is just the problem with our cases costing a leg and an arm, but we're also looking into that. Outsourcing manufacturing to China won't be a solution for us.

Good luck!

Thank you so much! Always nice to get well wishes like this.

I can finally get the other half of my front IO ports working again!

Yes, you can! And after a while you can even get a updated front I/O with USB-C!

Super hyped! Gimme those S3 panels and USB-C IO!

Glad to hear that you're excited. We at CaseLabs are excited too!
Front I/O with USB-C will be a thing once we start updating existing models.

Hopefully they will have diverse supply chains so they wont get blindsided.

At the moment we're talking with a contract manufacturer in Sweden, close to where I live. We've also had an initial talk with an Austrian manufacturer and looking for an North American partner.

Will be watching this space. Make it happen, and please don't move along with the full-blown aquarium trend we're starting to see. Don't be that 13-in-a-dozen company please. Carve out your own space, there's enough low hanging fruit in case space today.

I think CaseLabs is in a good position as is. It can always get better. We have some "full-blown aquariums" right now if we look at the size. I won't compromise with the design, quality or functions of the case. If I did, it wouldn't be a CaseLabs case any more. I like the brand and the aesthetic of the cases, otherwise I wouldn't have bought the IP.

With that said, I think there can be some improvements on the looks and design, but nothing like "a steel frame and six tempered glass sides". I like what Fractal did with North, Ridge and Define. I like Phanteks Evolv too. I don't want a big single piece of tempered glass for the side. A door with a tempered glass window is okay.

While this plan seems reasonable, I would feel a lot better if they explained what led the company into bankruptcy in the first place, and what they're going to do to prevent that from happening again. It doesn't matter how slow or fast they move if the company ends up defunct again in another year's time.

I don't have all the details but from what I have heard the Trump tariffs on aluminium made the price for the material increase, because CaseLabs wasnt really a big "player" in the aluminium industry they couldn't just go and buy a bulk load of aluminium before the prices increased. This led to an 80% increase in cost of aluminium for them. At the same time, either a client for the parent company CFC or for CaseLabs itself went bankrupt and couldn't pay their bill so CaseLabs/CFC in turn couldn't pay their bills.

Some people don't think that is true and I don't know enought about it to try to tell them different. It's just what I know. I've also seen financial statements leading up to, and into 2018, and CaseLabs were doing better and better each year.

Knowing little about CaseLabs other than that it sounds like they focused on custom loop builds, my guess is just that: custom loop builds are a tiny, *tiny* fraction of all PC builds. The only way to feasibly keep a company operating when that's most of (or your entire) customer base is to charge obscene prices. That's doable when you're the only show in town, but there are a large number of PC case manufacturers; people have other options.

If they're expanding into more general cases, this'll be really interesting to watch. Small companies have the opportunity to make some wild designs and tend to follow trends a lot faster than big, established case designers/manufacturers. Good luck to them!

CaseLabs is/was a boutique brand. Small volumes, almost all tailored towards the individual customer. You're right that it is a tiny fraction of all the PC builds and that is also why the prices were so high. If you have expenses like employees, machines and workshops you need a certain volume of sales or else you're gonna bleed money paying all that with only a couple of sales each month (I'm not saying that CaseLabs only had "a couple of sales am month", I'm talking more generally now).

While we still want to offer the best of the best, with the prices that comes along with that, I don't think that is a sustainable business practice if you want to continue to exists. So we're looking into branching out and developing more affordable cases too. So we can have our cake and eat it at the same time.

If only they made affordable cases.

I agree with you, and that is one thing that I want to focus on developing once we're done updating our existing models.

Aye. Not a knock @ CaseLabs, 'boutique' brands do have a place.

It'd be great if we could get a sheet metal enclosure manufacturer to affordably build 'custom flat pack cases' and even offer a design / submission tool.
(Like how PCBs have become w/ the 'maker' movement)
Imagine: 'Designing' a semi-custom case, receiving the sheet metal pre-stamped and pre-cut for folding/assembly. Just up to you to give it a finish and hand-assemble.
Sadly, the only companies I've seen look at this concept, have *also* been extremely high-priced 'boutique' brands...

Daniel, my partner in crime, is onto something similar like a design/submission tool or working with/collaborate with others. I do agree with him but I see the problem with taking on outside designs because they need to go through a lot of iterations before the design is finalized and then you might only sell one case. For us to turn a profit from that... I wouldn't even want to think what a case like that would cost.

But I do like the idea of collaborating with like tech youtubers, content creators and do limited runs of cases.

Back in 2018 Trump dropped tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The resulting increased material costs, coupled with a large account defaulting, killed the company. Original message archived on this Reddit post.

That's about what I have heard. CaseLabs actually did pretty well leading up to, and into, 2018 when they went into bankruptcy.

This is great, glad to hear this name again.
I heard that the new management would be aiming to expand the product line other than original styles.
I just hope they will have the same "vibe" and carry out the essence of the original caselab concepts.

Thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot for me and the team.

Yes, we are aiming to expand our product line. I don't know if I want to touch the design too much, I kinda like it, but there are some improvements to do and our fans will have a say in what they want to see in new cases.

I can assure you that me, Daniel and Eric are all superfans of CaseLabs. Daniel, that crazy guy, has like four cases. One he bought from CaseLabs and the rest he bought from other sellers and scavanged parts for. He's a bigger geek than I am since I only have a brand new SMA8 that still lies unopened. Ordered it in September 2017 if I remember correctly.

Ehh , SFF is pretty much compatible with custom loops , you can have dual 240 rads under 20L ( ask me how do i know ) .... Besides SFF is niche i don't see how they are aiming for wider audience by going SFF .

SFF isn't the only thing we're aiming to do. I know that Eric, another team member, likes SFF and I think it is something that is missing from our product line-up right now so it feels natural and right to a SFF case or two. We'll also look into other form factors and other sizes.

My idea is that we have a couple of cases for all form factors and in different sizes and needs. We might not be able to do that, but we will sure try our hardest to do it.

Hello Emil, this is 1998 calling, and we want all our same-ole-same-same, boring AF, no-design-effort, rectangular boxen back like, yesterday !

There are only ~162.479MM of those already available from practically every case mfgr on the planet, so if the prototype shown above is part of your plan to revive the company, then we will soon be waving bye bye to ya all over again.....

I know that CL's cases of the past were really well made and sold relatively well in certain circles, but what the market really needs today is some fresh, clean and most of all INNOVATIVE new designs that are way different than what everyone else is stamping out every minute of every day of every week....

Hello!

So, what would be a case that doesn't feel like "same-ole, same-same, boring AF, no-design-effort, rectangular box"? What features should it have? What form? What is an innovative design that you would like?

How would you innovate cases when everything is bound to atx? I mean, you can buy a sphere or a pyramid or a triangle or a boat if you want, but there’s a reason the majority are rectanglar.

I kinda agree with this. You can see different design concepts like what Fractal Design has done with North, Ridge, Torrent and Meshify. But other than that it isn't really that much to innovate if you don't want to go with a not-so-practical form like the ones you mentioned.

I agree that the looks of a CaseLabs case can feel a little bit dated somethimes, but I'm nostalgic and like it. We could always experiment with other looks on new cases and we will gather input from fans, friends and customers.

Old CaseLabs had a business-focused side too (forget if it was corporate, industrial, commercial, or enterprise), with the boutique side really just leveraging the fabrication facility they already had for making custom/semi-custom computer racks/mounts for customers. At least one insider mentioned that the reasons for a lack of spare parts in CaseLabs' twilight years was that they were trying to still fulfill higher-priority orders for their business clients, and what they had left they tried to fulfill boutique purchases.

They officially blamed Trump's tariffs for killing their business due to the cost of steel and aluminum going up, but mentioned by some insiders too was that CaseLabs either couldn't meet the scale/demand of the commercial side they were building for without taking a loss (price-locked agreement issues), or they didn't receive the payments they were due and were wrangling it out (contract issues). And that was on top of the legal fight they had with Thermaltake over Thermaltake's Core 100/200 "modular cases and pedestals", which closely emulated the popular Caselabs' MAGNUM SMA8/TH10.

Hence, the new CaseLabs looking to diversify with SFF options as well as modernizing old options, on top of potentially producing simpler kits. If anything, I'd tentatively compare them to InWin; making specialty, high-value cases (maybe not as bombastic as InWin's limited edition cases), but also a lot of more typical, economical cases. Possibly even branch out with rebranded or custom merch such as fans, cables, and distro plates, on top of working out some agreements with other boutique builders, such as OriginPC (who've done custom builds in various specialty cases) or iBuypower (who've also done some custom builds in OEM and specialty cases).


It's not much of an innovation, but if I were CaseLabs, maybe a power distribution passthrough or power points around the motherboard tray, allowing for cleaner cabling.

Given the size of their larger chassis and the old removable motherboard tray + rear panel design, integrate some power connectors on or around the tray, to allow for cleaner cabling. Basically taking an idea similar to what Seasonic is sort of attempting with their Syncro line of PSUs, that have a distribution panel to plug custom cables into, allowing for a cleaner build, or what Digital Storm had done in one of their extreme custom builds with ATX plug points built into the dividing walls between the mobo-side and the PSU/cable side (featured in a few LTT videos). Maybe also include optional screw-in or magnetic strip-held shroud covers to hide SATA or USB cables coming off the mobo (and also hiding the wire pass-throughs).

Heck, with how their cases also allowed for double or even triple PSU options, they could also integrate something similar to the Phanteks Power Combo, allowing plugging in of two PSUs to a distribution panel that sends the power out to everything needed. Granted, that's more for those that might want to push extremes with say, a Threadripper or Epyc and multiple GPUs, and has access to two dedicated outlets (each on their own 20a circuit).

More or less this. The parent company was called California Fabrication Company, or CFC, and shared a workshop with CaseLabs. CFC had been around since the 70's I think and CaseLabs since like late 2000's or early 2010's.

I like your idea of working out an agreement with OriginPC or iBuyPower and have to look into it later on when things settle down. As far as rebranded or custom merch, if we decided to make fans, distroplates, cables etc we'll probably do it ourselves if we can, or at least design them ourselves and have a reliable contract manufacturer do them for us. I wouldn't want to go the route that others do and offer the same merch with a diffrent label. That doesn't feel like CaseLabs.

Power distribution passthrough or power points is an interesting idea. I'll keep that in mind and see if it is doable once we start looking at desgning new cases.

I'm aware of the official reason, but have never completely believed it... it was too convenient, especially when no other case manufacturers apparently had the same problem.

That sounds a lot more plausible: slightly problematic business practices, and when the tariffs hit that pushed the company over the edge.

They don't have to innovate, they just have to look at what other case manufacturers have done and take it to the next level, while adding their own quality-of-life improvements. I don't want or need a case where half of the cost is tempered glass, I want a case that is functionally a joy to build in, a case where I actually make excuses to build in.

As has been mentioned, if CL were to also offer a facility to manufacture and sell and support case designs that others have come up with, it would be a significant value add.

Some people don't believe it and it is fine. Others do and it is also fine.

What "slightly problematic business practices" would that be? Sounds nefarious, or do you just mean "manufacturing expensive cases that doesn't sell well and doesn't generate enough revenue for the company to say in business"? I had a look at the finances leading up, and into, 2018 and it all looked fine to me. CaseLabs was doing better and better each year. But that is history, we're a different company and will try some things to stay in business.

As long as you sell in Australia I welcome the change,

We'll sell world wide once we open.

Make something without the moronic oven glass if you really wanna stand out. A normal case so to speak.

You can always buy a case with a solid side panel. Unlike other cases you get to customise your case to a very high degree. Don't like acrylic? Upgrade to tempered glass! Don't like tempered glass? Go with a solid side panel instead.

yeah I really like my Corsair 110q case. Silent padded panels on every panel inside to dampen noise, not sure what the technical term is, but I really like my case. my glass case from montech cracked, so I went back to my old one. really like my old case better honestly.

I'm glad that you're satisified with your Corsair 110q, it looks like a solid (hehe) case! Silent padded panels is something that would be nice to include in our updated models.

Hope they release a modern I/O panel that is a drop in replacement for the old ones that dont have UCB-C

Updated front I/O with USB-C will be a thing once we start updating our existing models.

Computer cases were just a side project for the parent company. Their main business for decades had been making enclosures for defense related customers. The feds probably used Firm Fixed Price contracts to lock in how much they'd pay for enclosures for at least the current fiscal year (and potentially longer if the programs were making things that took longer than a year to make factoring in all the lead times); which would put the risk of materials cost changes on the contractor.

A post I remember them making a month or three before they went under said that the metal suppliers that they had long term (fixed price?????) contracts with weren't able to supply the metal they needed forcing them to buy on the spot market. And anything on the spot market is going to be disgustingly expensive vs what you pay via regular contracts where the delivery is planned well in the future.

Multiple big hits, any one of which could have been surivable combined to push them over the edge.

That's more than I knew. Very interesting to read. Must have missed that post.

To list a few things off the top of my head:

• They were the makers of some of the first, truly modular cases available. Back then it was the usual wide variety of plastic, thin aluminum, or thin sheet metal cases; many of which still had fixed bays that could not be customized much without buying adapters (5.25" bay to 3.5" HDD or 2.5 SSD adapters, or 3.5" HDD/Floppy Drive mounts to 2.5" SSD mounts).
• You could order a case piece by piece, or as a full, unassembled kit, and put them together.
• They were one of the few case makers who bothered to make motherboard installation easy via removable motherboard trays, which allowed for building the computer outside of the case and then just sliding it in and locking them in place.
• They were the one of first large form-factor case makers out there, back when ATX, XL-ATX, and E-ATX were popular form factors.
• They also made large cases that were easy to work in, and were one of the first to start marketing dual-chamber cases and extra-wide cases (which would later be emulated by Lian Li and Thermaltake), and to a lesser degree by others.
• They were made pretty well out of thick steel or aluminum, compared to many other cases of the time period, and had a basic powder coating that made them very resistant to scratches and dents.
• They were also customizable according to preference.
  • If you wanted to make a mini-server with 20+ HDDs, you could do so via fan+HDD cage mounts.
  • If you wanted to make a mini-server with 40 2.5" SSDs, you could do so via fan+SSD cage mounts.
  • If you wanted to put massive rads (such as Alphacool's Monsta rads), they could accommodate 2 of them + push-pull fans on each.
  • They could even be stacked; you could theoretically stack 2 or more cases on each other, or more commonly, you'd buy the pedestal add-on sub-chassis that served as either dedicated radiator space or expansion for another PSU, and mount that on top or on the bottom of the core case.

Basically, they were the cases one spent money on if they wanted something that would last, and could be upgraded as newer parts were released for (again, this is before 3D printing became a thing). As it was all standardized by case model, and for some parts, universally compatible across their lines, you could be sure that the parts you buy later on would always work with the case, compared to regular case makers where support for cases fades out as new trends and models come in.

Their nearest rival is/was MountainMods, which also specialized in modular, sheet metal cases (although the quality and finish was nowhere near as nice as CaseLabs'), and I'm not even sure if MountainMods is still actually in business or if the site's just abandoned. MountainMods at least survived long enough to see the mining boom; producing a few cases specifically for GPU-based mining.

A very comprehensive list of what made CaseLabs so great and what I hope to continue on once we've brought back this slumbering beast.

 

[trsttte]

Here's an idea to make things more affordable, since you're in Sweden after all,

Modular pieces that can be flatpacked, just like Ikea does it.

 

[DanNeely]

Daniel, my partner in crime, is onto something similar like a design/submission tool or working with/collaborate with others. I do agree with him but I see the problem with taking on outside designs because they need to go through a lot of iterations before the design is finalized and then you might only sell one case. For us to turn a profit from that... I wouldn't even want to think what a case like that would cost.

Either Caselabs or MountainMods used to offer custom fan cutouts as an option; but stopped because they found the combination of cad work to create instructions for the fabricator and the slow down from making a 1 off cost more than they were able to charge for the service.

 

[bonehead123]

So, what would be a case that doesn't feel like "same-ole, same-same, boring AF, no-design-effort, rectangular box"? What features should it have? What form? What is an innovative design that you would like?

Well...

1) The flat-packed modular idea is cool IMHO, and would certainly reduce shipping & warehouse costs...
2) Some not-so-same-same examples that you could possibly consider for some ideas:

A. Thermaltake TT900 - (what a beast @55lbs empty) perhaps without so much glass... I still have one of these from a few years ago, and it was so flexible & easy to build in, I was frequently reconfiguring it just because I could, which was taking up way too much of my free time
B. Azza Pyramid - unique & cool for sure but definitely a niche item
C. Phantek's Evolve Shift XT - yea still a little rectangular, but adjustable and with some flair added in
D. Cougar Gemini X - again maybe cut back on the glass a little and maybe make the angles all over
E. Thermaltake Level 20XT - I used this for my son's gaming rig and it was such a cool and easy build, several of my clients wanted them too...perhaps a little shorter but wider and a little less glass would work too ?
F. Cryorig Taku - sweet minimalism for sure.... perhaps a slightly larger one for ATX boards ?
G. Streacom DB4 - same as F above

As you can see, most of these avoid the typical failure points that I cringe at everytime I see a PR for yet anutha over-hyped & disappointing boxed-up conflaberation that gets labeled as "NEW"

Regardless of design or style, all "NEW" cases must have USB-C ports, functional/flexible cable management, and a wide variety of finishes/colors/surface textures..and either ship with all fan mounts filled (meaning don't build places for 6-8 fans but only include 2-3 fans in the box), or NONE AT ALL for a lower price point.....

Just something to think about

 

[caroline!]

You can always buy a case with a solid side panel. Unlike other cases you get to customise your case to a very high degree. Don't like acrylic? Upgrade to tempered glass! Don't like tempered glass? Go with a solid side panel instead.

Don't worry, fortunately(?) you can't have me as a customer, nobody ships where I live, I know worldwide isn't actually worldwide. And not like I can afford like $600 for a case anyway, that's what I earn in a year.

>mfw

 

[CaseLabs-Emil]

Here's an idea to make things more affordable, since you're in Sweden after all,

Modular pieces that can be flatpacked, just like Ikea does it.

Another idea is to include a Dalahäst or Surströmming with every purchase. Call it "Swedish roulette".

CaseLabs actually did flatpacked modular pieces already and that is what we intend to do now too.

And funny that you brought up IKEA. I've always said that if we do get around to update our assembly guide we should take inspiration from the IKEA manuals. ^^

Either Caselabs or MountainMods used to offer custom fan cutouts as an option; but stopped because they found the combination of cad work to create instructions for the fabricator and the slow down from making a 1 off cost more than they were able to charge for the service.

I know that Jim (or some other CaseLabs representative) talked about why CaseLabs didn't do more custom jobs anymore and listed the same reason you gave (the cost for doing this would be more than they could charge for the service).

Well...

1) The flat-packed modular idea is cool IMHO, and would certainly reduce shipping & warehouse costs...
2) Some not-so-same-same examples that you could possibly consider for some ideas:

A. Thermaltake TT900 - (what a beast @55lbs empty) perhaps without so much glass... I still have one of these from a few years ago, and it was so flexible & easy to build in, I was frequently reconfiguring it just because I could, which was taking up way too much of my free time
B. Azza Pyramid - unique & cool for sure but definitely a niche item
C. Phantek's Evolve Shift XT - yea still a little rectangular, but adjustable and with some flair added in
D. Cougar Gemini X - again maybe cut back on the glass a little and maybe make the angles all over
E. Thermaltake Level 20XT - I used this for my son's gaming rig and it was such a cool and easy build, several of my clients wanted them too...perhaps a little shorter but wider and a little less glass would work too ?
F. Cryorig Taku - sweet minimalism for sure.... perhaps a slightly larger one for ATX boards ?
G. Streacom DB4 - same as F above

As you can see, most of these avoid the typical failure points that I cringe at everytime I see a PR for yet anutha over-hyped & disappointing boxed-up conflaberation that gets labeled as "NEW"

Regardless of design or style, all "NEW" cases must have USB-C ports, functional/flexible cable management, and a wide variety of finishes/colors/surface textures..and either ship with all fan mounts filled (meaning don't build places for 6-8 fans but only include 2-3 fans in the box), or NONE AT ALL for a lower price point.....

Just something to think about

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it!

CaseLabs actually shipped their cases flatpacked when possible. My own SMA8 is still flatpacked in its unopened original box as we speak.

I agree with you that there are some ways we could introduce a new case into our product line and not have it feel like it is just another metal box same as the others. With that said, I don't think we'll ever be as bold as doing a pyramid or doing a steel frame glass sides. That's just not how or what we are, at least not right now. I think it is important to try to conserve the identity of CaseLabs while still trying to do something new design wise. Cases like Phanteks Evolve Shift XT, Cryorig Taku, Fractal Design Node 202/304/804, Fractal Design Core 500 is probably where we can be headed but putting our own identity on such cases.

Updated front I/O with USB-C will be avaliable for all cases once we start updating our old cases and designing new ones. Flexible cable management is absolutely possible in our cases and we offer up to eight different colors on our cases. Regarding finishes and surface textures, that would make a already expensive case even more expensive because now we have even more options and might need to hold parts for everything in our warehouse. Our cases ships without fans because we believe that the customer should get to chose what fans they want (and often they are not that great). I almost always switch the fans that comes with the case for Noctuas.

Don't worry, fortunately(?) you can't have me as a customer, nobody ships where I live, I know worldwide isn't actually worldwide. And not like I can afford like $600 for a case anyway, that's what I earn in a year.

>mfw
View attachment 281058

Ouch. May I ask where you live?

 

[bonehead123]

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it!

CaseLabs actually shipped their cases flatpacked when possible. My own SMA8 is still flatpacked in its unopened original box as we speak.

I agree with you that there are some ways we could introduce a new case into our product line and not have it feel like it is just another metal box same as the others. With that said, I don't think we'll ever be as bold as doing a pyramid or doing a steel frame glass sides. That's just not how or what we are, at least not right now. I think it is important to try to conserve the identity of CaseLabs while still trying to do something new design wise. Cases like Phanteks Evolve Shift XT, Cryorig Taku, Fractal Design Node 202/304/804, Fractal Design Core 500 is probably where we can be headed but putting our own identity on such cases.

Updated front I/O with USB-C will be avaliable for all cases once we start updating our old cases and designing new ones. Flexible cable management is absolutely possible in our cases and we offer up to eight different colors on our cases. Regarding finishes and surface textures, that would make a already expensive case even more expensive because now we have even more options and might need to hold parts for everything in our warehouse. Our cases ships without fans because we believe that the customer should get to chose what fans they want (and often they are not that great). I almost always switch the fans that comes with the case for Noctuas.

Fair enough

Agreed on the identity and fans, I would also prefer to choose my own for every build (just not those gawdy notchurners ) instead of having an ever-growing collection of fans that I had to replace to get them all the same.. and good to hear on the updated I/O panels too !

As far as finishes/textures, I know that would be an added cost, and you could certainly limit it to a few selections, or perhaps make a few "special/limited editions" that would only be produced IF/AFTER a certain number of customers ordered or put down a non-refundable deposit on them...

 

[RH92]

SFF isn't the only thing we're aiming to do. I know that Eric, another team member, likes SFF and I think it is something that is missing from our product line-up right now so it feels natural and right to a SFF case or two. We'll also look into other form factors and other sizes.

Sounds like a good plan to me . Being a huge SFF fan but a also a huge fan of CaseLabs industrial design i would certainly like to see a SFF case following that philosophy . I liked the BH4 but personally i would love to see something under 20L .

 

[CaseLabs-Emil]

Fair enough

Agreed on the identity and fans, I would also prefer to choose my own for every build (just not those gawdy notchurners ) instead of having an ever-growing collection of fans that I had to replace to get them all the same.. and good to hear on the updated I/O panels too !

As far as finishes/textures, I know that would be an added cost, and you could certainly limit it to a few selections, or perhaps make a few "special/limited editions" that would only be produced IF/AFTER a certain number of customers ordered or put down a non-refundable deposit on them...

Regarding limited/special editions, Daniel and I have talked about it. He is into collaboration with modders or otherwise well-known people in the community to do their take on our cases. Or design a case with them. I think it is a neat thing to do now and then and will probably look into doing it at some point.

We've also talked about doing something like "Massdrop".

Sounds like a good plan to me . Being a huge SFF fan but a also a huge fan of CaseLabs industrial design i would certainly like to see a SFF case following that philosophy . I liked the BH4 but personally i would love to see something under 20L .

Yeah, I agree. The BH4 is nice and all, but I think we could go a little smaller than that. Shave off some width of the case and it would be awesome. I recently looked at SFF cases just for inspiration. I like cases like DAN Cases A4-SFX, GEEK N500 Lite, GEEK G1 and G2, GEEK M5, the Raw and Ghost from Louqe (also Swedes!), Sliger SM550, Fractal Design Node 202, NCase M1, Thor Zone Mjolnir etc. I think all of them are sub 10L so it is possible to make a small but beautiful case. In a optimal world we would make like a 5-7L, a 10L, a 15L etc. But that might be to many cases all at once. We have to discuss that once the time has come for it.

In the mean time, are there any SFF cases that you (or anyone else for that matter) feel like this is the best SFF case out there? Or something that you just feel is visually pleasing etc? Would love to have input from you all!

 

[RH92]

Yeah, I agree. The BH4 is nice and all, but I think we could go a little smaller than that. Shave off some width of the case and it would be awesome. I recently looked at SFF cases just for inspiration. I like cases like DAN Cases A4-SFX, GEEK N500 Lite, GEEK G1 and G2, GEEK M5, the Raw and Ghost from Louqe (also Swedes!), Sliger SM550, Fractal Design Node 202, NCase M1, Thor Zone Mjolnir etc. I think all of them are sub 10L so it is possible to make a small but beautiful case. In a optimal world we would make like a 5-7L, a 10L, a 15L etc. But that might be to many cases all at once. We have to discuss that once the time has come for it.

In the mean time, are there any SFF cases that you (or anyone else for that matter) feel like this is the best SFF case out there? Or something that you just feel is visually pleasing etc? Would love to have input from you all!

You could probably add FormD cases to that list ( minimalistic yet premium build quality ). Max of two SFF sizes sounds like a reasonable idea , i believe for instance one close to 10L limited to aircooling and one under 20L ( be it 15L , 16L , 18L etc ) with some decent watercooling support ( dual 240 would be neat ) could be a good idea and serve most SFF community needs. Something i don't see often in SFF cases are integrated distro plates so maybe there is something for you to exploit there .

 

[TechLurker]

To preface my suggestions, I'm mostly focused on the legacy cases, most of which were pretty massive but had lots of flexibility to work with.

Daniel, my partner in crime, is onto something similar like a design/submission tool or working with/collaborate with others. I do agree with him but I see the problem with taking on outside designs because they need to go through a lot of iterations before the design is finalized and then you might only sell one case. For us to turn a profit from that... I wouldn't even want to think what a case like that would cost.

But I do like the idea of collaborating with like tech youtubers, content creators and do limited runs of cases.

Regarding limited/special editions, Daniel and I have talked about it. He is into collaboration with modders or otherwise well-known people in the community to do their take on our cases. Or design a case with them. I think it is a neat thing to do now and then and will probably look into doing it at some point.

We've also talked about doing something like "Massdrop".

If you're looking into some techtubers, I know Jayz2Cents actually loved one of your cases, and it was one of his longest-lasting feature build cases that he used to keep updated and used both at work and at home. When he retired it, it was one of his regular display pieces in the background of some of his older videos (before he moved to his new warehouse set).

Another techtuber, GamersNexus doesn't really do collabs, but it might be interesting to do a GN-based case that hits all of his criteria (except cost) as a limited run case (at least unless financials turn out well enough to do regular "drops" with GN and their fanbase).

Beyond that, and while it might not be a popular suggestion here, you could also consider testing the waters with small to mid-size cases and collab'ing with the anime and anime-like fandom, the way HYTE (iBuypower's in-house brand) and ASUS have done to general success (moreso for Asia-only tech company mascots).

I like your idea of working out an agreement with OriginPC or iBuyPower and have to look into it later on when things settle down. As far as rebranded or custom merch, if we decided to make fans, distroplates, cables etc we'll probably do it ourselves if we can, or at least design them ourselves and have a reliable contract manufacturer do them for us. I wouldn't want to go the route that others do and offer the same merch with a diffrent label. That doesn't feel like CaseLabs.

I'd also add Digital Storm to the mix, they've done plenty of amazing work in massive cases (several of which again, were featured by LTT), and any of the other boutique PC builders. Many of them tend to either order high-end semi-custom cases for their top builds (Digital Storm and Origin PC), or use high-end cases with the branding sanded off for their builds (iBuypower did with several NZXT cases in the past).

Power distribution passthrough or power points is an interesting idea. I'll keep that in mind and see if it is doable once we start looking at desgning new cases.

Power distribution would be great; moreso if you can somehow work that onto the motherboard tray, allowing for clean cabling to the EPS, 24-Pin, and GPUs, while also having some discreet passthroughs for things such as SATA data cables. It would make it much easier to install too, after having slid the tray in, and just plugging things into it front and back. Granted, this is probably only viable for the large cases that do have the pull-out motherboard tray.

And if things work out well enough, maybe consider some updated interior panels for liquid-cooling pass-throughs too.

Both examples (power distribution passthrough and liquid passthrough) blatantly exemplified by Digital Storm's custom Aventum-X case, which is what I had imagined CaseLabs would have done if they had survived to now, taking advantage of the increased focus on grand watercooling setups from the likes of Lian Li's O11 Dynamic (a very popular liquid cooling case with a distro block up front) as well as the increased focus on "clean cabling".

I know that Jim (or some other CaseLabs representative) talked about why CaseLabs didn't do more custom jobs anymore and listed the same reason you gave (the cost for doing this would be more than they could charge for the service).

While custom jobs seems unlikely, I do hope you'll eventually be able to offer some pre-designed patterns that could be requested on order down the line at extra cost. For example:

• Ordering a solid side-panel with spacing and cutouts for 1, 2, 3, or 4 vertically or horizontally mounted fans or radiators (and the option to pick between x120 or x140 fan/radiator options).
• Ordering a motherboard tray + backplate with fewer PCI slots (assuming you keep the 10 slot configuration of old), or a motherboard tray + backplate with more PCI slots AND a base to screw in PCI risers (basically spreading out any additional cards down via PCIe risers), or a motherboard tray + backplate with Vertical PCI slots, or a motherboard tray + backplates with additional fan/radiator mounts.
• Ordering an internal dividing panel (whatever that panel that separated the motherboard from the cable mess is called) that permits the addition of more drives plus a 120 or 140mm fan, beyond the old front-mounted 5.25 mounts that allowed for either 3.5 or 2.5 inch drives mounted to the fan mounts. Basically allowing converting of the large cases into server-like cases if desired. Loosely inspired by Nanoxia's Deep Silence 6, which could accommodate another tower of HDD/SSD drive cages in the "middle" of the case, and stick another radiator or fan stack between the forward-most HDD bays, and the next set of HDD bays (basically keeping the airflow strong over toasty drives or a toasty radiator).

 

[CaseLabs-Emil]

You could probably add FormD cases to that list ( minimalistic yet premium build quality ). Max of two SFF sizes sounds like a reasonable idea , i believe for instance one close to 10L limited to aircooling and one under 20L ( be it 15L , 16L , 18L etc ) with some decent watercooling support ( dual 240 would be neat ) could be a good idea and serve most SFF community needs. Something i don't see often in SFF cases are integrated distro plates so maybe there is something for you to exploit there .

Thank you for the suggestion! Both the T and O series of FormD looked very nice, adding FormD for my "inspiration board" that I will use once it is time to start designing cases.

We've discussed doing distro plates for our cases and I think we will move on with that idea once we start designing new cases. We'll probably have to work with someone with the know-how to design and manufacture distro plates, but they will be made to be perfectly compatiable with our cases. I wish that dude with the awesome looking moustache from bit-tech still posted videos. I loved his

AORUS Ensis

and Aquaceras

builds. He would be a dream to work with I think. So knowledgable, so creative, such a great eye for detail and quality.

If you're looking into some techtubers, I know Jayz2Cents actually loved one of your cases, and it was one of his longest-lasting feature build cases that he used to keep updated and used both at work and at home. When he retired it, it was one of his regular display pieces in the background of some of his older videos (before he moved to his new warehouse set).

Another techtuber, GamersNexus doesn't really do collabs, but it might be interesting to do a GN-based case that hits all of his criteria (except cost) as a limited run case (at least unless financials turn out well enough to do regular "drops" with GN and their fanbase).

Beyond that, and while it might not be a popular suggestion here, you could also consider testing the waters with small to mid-size cases and collab'ing with the anime and anime-like fandom, the way HYTE (iBuypower's in-house brand) and ASUS have done to general success (moreso for Asia-only tech company mascots).

Yeah, I know of JayzTwoCents. It was his Skunkworks build that got me hooked on CaseLabs. I was looking for a new case for a build that I wanted to do and were looking at like Phantkes Enthoo, Phanteks Evolv X and Corsair 900D but they all felt a little... lacking. Then I stumbled upon JayzTwoCents where he built

Skunkworks

and I just felt that I needed to have the same case. A couple of years later I bought the case, never had the time or money to actually build something in it (I still have a plan for the case) and later on I bought the IP. I'd probably love to do something with Jay once we have the financial stabillity to sponsor people.

Steve at Gamers Nexus would also be someone that I would love to work with. He is soooo knowledagble and passionate.

The anime fandom collaboration is something new to me. It would also be fun to do but something that probably won't happen for a long time, if ever.

I'd also add Digital Storm to the mix, they've done plenty of amazing work in massive cases (several of which again, were featured by LTT), and any of the other boutique PC builders. Many of them tend to either order high-end semi-custom cases for their top builds (Digital Storm and Origin PC), or use high-end cases with the branding sanded off for their builds (iBuypower did with several NZXT cases in the past).

Great suggestion! I'll keep that in mind once we're operational and start looking for collaborations or other business partners.

Power distribution would be great; moreso if you can somehow work that onto the motherboard tray, allowing for clean cabling to the EPS, 24-Pin, and GPUs, while also having some discreet passthroughs for things such as SATA data cables. It would make it much easier to install too, after having slid the tray in, and just plugging things into it front and back. Granted, this is probably only viable for the large cases that do have the pull-out motherboard tray.

And if things work out well enough, maybe consider some updated interior panels for liquid-cooling pass-throughs too.

Both examples (power distribution passthrough and liquid passthrough) blatantly exemplified by Digital Storm's custom Aventum-X case, which is what I had imagined CaseLabs would have done if they had survived to now, taking advantage of the increased focus on grand watercooling setups from the likes of Lian Li's O11 Dynamic (a very popular liquid cooling case with a distro block up front) as well as the increased focus on "clean cabling".

While it is not my area of expertise I think we could try it out, just need to find someone that has experience with that type of design. I would be willing to give it a go if we do find someone that can help us out.

Regarding liquid cooling pass-throughs, we've talked about this in our Discord community and we will look over the pass-throughs once we start the revisions of each case. There were some issues with the holes in the grommets being to large so the tubing didn't fit snuggly in them. We're talking about replacing them with standard pass-through fittings. One thing to keep in mind that we are probably taking away some freedom in how to do runs if we decide to put a pass-through fitting at "this place" instead of "that place". But it would probably be okay.

The power distribution on the Digital Storm Aventum-X looks amazing. Now I'm totally sold that we should do something similar.
Regarding the distro plate for CaseLabs cases, it would either go in the front like the Lian Li O11 Dynamic you mentioned or where the reservoirs would go (in between the motherboard and the front) which would be my preferred placement of a distro plate in a CaseLabs case.

While custom jobs seems unlikely, I do hope you'll eventually be able to offer some pre-designed patterns that could be requested on order down the line at extra cost. For example:

• Ordering a solid side-panel with spacing and cutouts for 1, 2, 3, or 4 vertically or horizontally mounted fans or radiators (and the option to pick between x120 or x140 fan/radiator options).
• Ordering a motherboard tray + backplate with fewer PCI slots (assuming you keep the 10 slot configuration of old), or a motherboard tray + backplate with more PCI slots AND a base to screw in PCI risers (basically spreading out any additional cards down via PCIe risers), or a motherboard tray + backplate with Vertical PCI slots, or a motherboard tray + backplates with additional fan/radiator mounts.
• Ordering an internal dividing panel (whatever that panel that separated the motherboard from the cable mess is called) that permits the addition of more drives plus a 120 or 140mm fan, beyond the old front-mounted 5.25 mounts that allowed for either 3.5 or 2.5 inch drives mounted to the fan mounts. Basically allowing converting of the large cases into server-like cases if desired. Loosely inspired by Nanoxia's Deep Silence 6, which could accommodate another tower of HDD/SSD drive cages in the "middle" of the case, and stick another radiator or fan stack between the forward-most HDD bays, and the next set of HDD bays (basically keeping the airflow strong over toasty drives or a toasty radiator).

Great suggestions. I'll think about it. I'm not negative about the idea and as long as there are customers willing to pay for it I think we should offer it. If it costs... just pulling a number now... $150 USD for a custom part, someone is willing to pay that and we still make a profit from it I don't see why we shouldn't accomodate that customer.