Caselabs Returns

[ThaiTaffy]

So according to gamers nexus this morning Caselabs has been purchased by a new owner and will restart production of the original designs.

 

[tabascosauz]

Caught me a bit too late, now a little too attached to my new ATX board

But I've always wanted to have either a Mercury S3 or a Nova X2M, so if next/next-next gen AMD or Intel has good ITX boards, and CL's new owner succeeds, the dream might be in reach again! Watercooling in the Cerb X carries too many compromises right now, a Caselabs would be perfect.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

The new owner seems to be committed to carrying on Caselabs quality, modularity and aesthetics with the current cases and any future designs. The sma8 was by far the best case I've had the privilege of working with, if they manage to get through the legal rubbish that's left over from Thermaltake's destruction of name with enthusiast's I will 100% support them and purchase a case no matter how big it is.

 

[GamerGuy]

I'm using a Caselabs Magnum M8 for my 2nd rig, and have a spare Caselabs mATX case, though that sucker is almost as big as the M8 when both parts are attached together.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

I'm using a Caselabs Magnum M8 for my 2nd rig, and have a spare Caselabs mATX case, though that sucker is almost as big as the M8 when both parts are attached together.

Haha I've moved on to sffpc's now and the thought of going back to a big case seems impossible but I would make an exception for Caselabs.

 

[maxfly]

Oh man that would be badass if they can pull it off! I am so so tired of the ho hum crap that we've been inundated with for the last 5 years.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Nice, probably the best in PC cases. Only Lian Li has ever impressed me with quality but not so much with the O11

 

[claes]

View attachment 219320

What case is that?

 

[Sithaer]

Maybe I will be the first here to admit but I have no idea what Caselabs is.
After doing some research I still can't recall ever seeing their cases being sold in my country so probably thats why.

 

[tabascosauz]

What case is that?

I think that's just OP's own case. zzaw b3 or something. Must have attached it by accident, nothing to do with caselabs

Maybe I will be the first here to admit but I have no idea what Caselabs is.
After doing some research I still can't recall ever seeing their cases being sold in my country so probably thats why.

Large, heavy, extremely high quality and very expensive cases. Thermaltake ripped off CL Mercury line with their Core X line. I guess the Core X line was the only way to get that layout after caselabs went down.

They would be coming back to a different market though. Back then NCASE M1 and DAN-A4 didn't yet exist, so CL 2.5mm powder coated alu was all the rage. Nowadays plenty of cases come with 1.5-3mm alu.

The only reason I didn't get an S3 back then was because I was flying off to college and got into the SFF game. And ended up flying all over with the PC for the next two years. If that wasn't the case I was ready to go to a bargain basement H61 ITX board just to accommodate the S3.

I remember my personal favourite build of all time was a hardtube build that someone did in a white S5 over on OCN. I'll have to charge up my ancient iPad Mini just to find that picture

Ah, found it, by snef on OCN, it was an S3. There's a black one as well with an ASRock board and white coolant, but I can't find it.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Wasnt there a front page news article or forum post about caselabs coming back before?

Found it. Some thought it was a hoax.

Seemingly Fake Twitter Account Claims the Return of 3dfx Interactive

Nostalgia is perhaps the most present feeling among many gamers across the globe, and someone is seemingly playing with ours as there is a Twitter account claiming the return of a company that has been dead for 20 years. 3dfx Interactive, once a giant in the graphics card industry, is allegedly...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[Splinterdog]

Maybe I will be the first here to admit but I have no idea what Caselabs is.
After doing some research I still can't recall ever seeing their cases being sold in my country so probably thats why.

Me too!

CaseLabs' Popular Magnum SMA8 Case Undergoes Transformation

Premium custom PC case maker CaseLabs announced today a new revision to the Magnum SMA8 case which is easily the company's most popular and best-selling case. The original Magnum SMA8 was released two years ago, and it has become the preferred case for many water-cooling aficionados. The Magnum...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[Operandi]

I was about to ask if CaseLabs ever made any sane sized cases then saw the X2M, dosn't seem like many people took it up though based on Google results. It looks pretty nice though a maybe bit too understated, that and the power button and port location are terrible. Hopefully they do have more in plans for normal sized cases though, I'm not interested in huge monstrosity of a case.

 

[tabascosauz]

I was about to ask if CaseLabs ever made any sane sized cases then saw the X2M, dosn't seem like many people took it up though based on Google results. It looks pretty nice though a maybe bit too understated, that and the power button and port location are terrible. Hopefully they do have more in plans for normal sized cases though, I'm not interested in huge monstrosity of a case.

They're not in the business of making normal sized cases for normal builds. The X2M and S3 are both positively cavernous for what they are - they fit only ITX boards and both are like 38L. The X2M needs to fit those 3.5" cages as a NAS case, although when not configured as one it's still very much a traditional Caselabs case.

An NR200 or NCASE will fit dual rads at less than half the size, more like 1/3 for the NCASE (13L and 18L).

They do make the Bullet line which was their newest and much more normal in terms of size, and basically an enclosed testbench in terms of layout. A BH2 still has a competitive amount of watercooling utility (2 x 240) compared to an S3 or X2M, S3 can't fit more rads without a pedestal. M-oll says that he's still waiting on receipt of the blueprints but I'd be surprised if he isn't able to bring back most of the original lineups including the Bullet.

 

[Operandi]

They're not in the business of making normal sized cases for normal builds.

Which says something about their business model I think. I mean they should keep making those but they are not what most people need or even want.

Ford and Audi don't make much if any money selling GTs and R8s but they help the brand sell plenty of Focus RSs and Audi S4s.

 

[tabascosauz]

Which says something about their business model I think. I mean they should keep making those but they are not what most people need or even want.

Ford and Audi don't make much if any money selling GTs and R8s but they help the brand sell plenty of Focus RSs and Audi S4s.

I don't think original Caselabs even relied on consumer sales for revenue. Didn't they go under because they lost a big contract? I have a feeling Sliger was the same at least at the beginning. M-oll seems adamant about maintaining the caselabs philosophy going forward, which doesn't seem to be compatible with "diversifying" by making normie cases that cheap out on materials and build quality.

All caselabs cases are basically made to the same standard. A case with a normal layout and size wouldn't save them any money in production if it's made to that same standard. iirc their cases always had like a 4-8 week lead time back in the day, they aren't about that high volume sales

Anywho, if it's not up your alley, it's not up your alley and that's fine. It's always been an extremely niche part of the market. It's just easy to forget that now, since cases like the NCASE and NR200 DAN-A4 helped make watercooling in general a lot more accessible.

 

[Operandi]

I don't think original Caselabs even relied on consumer sales for revenue. Didn't they go under because they lost a big contract? I have a feeling Sliger was the same at least at the beginning. M-oll seems adamant about maintaining the caselabs philosophy going forward, which doesn't seem to be compatible with "diversifying" by making normie cases that cheap out on materials and build quality.

All caselabs cases are basically made to the same standard. A case with a normal layout and size wouldn't save them any money in production if it's made to that same standard. iirc their cases always had like a 4-8 week lead time back in the day, they aren't about that high volume sales

I didn't really know much about their history, I only found out about them in 2016 or so and then they were gone. Apparently they started in 1971 though and I would imagine most of that was industrial contracts but idk what percent of their business was consumer enthusiast stuff vs contract work when they closed up. I imagine the new incarnation is going to focus more on the consumer space and what I would want to see is normal sized cases. I have no problem paying a premium for high quality materials and build quality I just don't have a need for huge behemoths.

 

[Toothless]

I don't think original Caselabs even relied on consumer sales for revenue. Didn't they go under because they lost a big contract? I have a feeling Sliger was the same at least at the beginning. M-oll seems adamant about maintaining the caselabs philosophy going forward, which doesn't seem to be compatible with "diversifying" by making normie cases that cheap out on materials and build quality.

All caselabs cases are basically made to the same standard. A case with a normal layout and size wouldn't save them any money in production if it's made to that same standard. iirc their cases always had like a 4-8 week lead time back in the day, they aren't about that high volume sales

Anywho, if it's not up your alley, it's not up your alley and that's fine. It's always been an extremely niche part of the market. It's just easy to forget that now, since cases like the NCASE and NR200 DAN-A4 helped make watercooling in general a lot more accessible.

They went under thanks to Thermaltake copying their cases and blaming them. Caselabs wasn't big enough to fight off being sued and rip.

 

[sneekypeet]

They went under thanks to Thermaltake copying their cases and blaming them. Caselabs wasn't big enough to fight off being sued and rip.

They failed the main company and Caselabs went with it, had nothing to do with Thermaltake

As a guy who had one, the cases were garbage.

 

[tabascosauz]

They failed the main company and Caselabs went with it, had nothing to do with Thermaltake

As a guy who had one, the cases were garbage.

You had a TT Core X5? Or are you referring to CL?

I have a personal rule to judge companies by individual products' merit and not reputation, but TT's past gives me a hard time.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Thought cost of materials eat up case labs.

 

[sneekypeet]

You had a TT Core X5? Or are you referring to CL?

I have a personal rule to judge companies by individual products' merit and not reputation, but TT's past gives me a hard time.

I had a huge CL. Thin aluminum without support. I would open the door and it flexed enough the hinge pin came out of its hole. Panels felt like something used to make thunder noises in movies.

Remember, CL was an off shoot of an aluminum manufacturing company. Whether cost or not making product, one fell, the other went with it.

 

[tabascosauz]

I had a huge CL. Thin aluminum without support. I would open the door and it flexed enough the hinge pin came out of its hole. Panels felt like something used to make thunder noises in movies.

Remember, CL was an off shoot of an aluminum manufacturing company. Whether cost or not making product, one fell, the other went with it.

Huge, like STH10/SMA8? Interesting feedback. On a case like that I can definitely see it happening though, Al isn't the stiffest and 2.5mm isn't the thickest available in a case anymore. Actually, I can't imagine Al of any thickness not feeling/sounding like that on a humongous case with a swing-open door did they ever make it right for you on the door issue?

 

[sneekypeet]

Huge, like STH10/SMA8? Interesting feedback. On a case like that I can definitely see it happening though, Al isn't the stiffest and 2.5mm isn't the thickest available in a case anymore. Actually, I can't imagine Al of any thickness not feeling/sounding like that on a humongous case with a swing-open door did they ever make it right for you on the door issue?

The real issues stem from the design. Panels were not reinforced, just sheets of aluminum. Where if you look at the likes of Lian Li, they may have been behind the curve on feature set, but their cases were on an entirely different level with rigidity and overall feel of getting something that wasn't an afterthought.

As to a fix, I never asked, as when I inverted the layout, a bunch of screws stripped holes in the case, and I ended up giving it to a guy here.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

They went under due to a few factors, tarrif's eating profit, loss of a large client and being sued by thermal take for copying their own designs.

As far as build quality I can't see why anyone would not be impressed some panels weren't able exactly rigid but compared to 90% of the market they were like comparing a tank to a Barbie car, personally I'm the type of person that if I'm not happy with a product I simply fix it I know that's not a usual thing to do but it's what I and I'm sure others would do. Their designs were industrial so adding some extruded angle and tapping a few holes never seemed like an issue to me but then I'm the type of person to cut huge holes out of cases for better airflow.