Project 012 – BLOCK
BLOCK is built around the legendary XIKII INDUSTRY FF08 case – a chassis that fascinated me from the very beginning. With a price tag of over $400, it’s certainly not cheap, but it is worth every cent. The case is CNC-milled from solid aluminum, incredibly compact, and designed so that no screws are visible from the outside. The result is a sleek, monolithic look – truly a piece of design art.
When the massive wooden crate containing the case arrived, I immediately started assembly. There was no manual included, but as a mechanic, I enjoyed figuring it out. Everything fit together with millimeter precision – the GPU clearance to the side panel was less than a millimeter!
The biggest challenge was the power supply. Finding a silent, modular unit in this form factor wasn’t easy. I first tried a longer PSU and even swapped in a Noctua 40 mm fan to improve airflow, but heat quickly became an issue. So, once again, CAD and my 3D printer came into play:
I designed a custom airflow deflector for the CPU cooler, redirecting hot air away from the intake.
I replaced the stock SSD tray with a custom 3D-printed tray that holds a 70 mm fan, exhausting hot air from the top of the case.
With a little undervolting, the system now runs perfectly – cool, quiet, and powerful. The combination of a 16 GB GPU in such a tiny, premium chassis makes BLOCK an absolute fashion statement for enthusiasts. I considered keeping it myself, but it’s also available for sale for anyone who wants a truly unique showcase PC.
Specifications
Case: XIKII INDUSTRY FF08 – CNC-milled solid aluminum, ultra-compact
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X (AM5, 8-Core, 3.8 GHz)
CPU Cooling:
Noctua NH-L9a-AM5 chromax.black low-profile cooler
Noctua NA-FD1 air duct kit (black)
Thermal Grizzly Contact Sealing Frame
GPU: Powercolor Reaper Radeon RX 9060 XT (16 GB)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-I GAMING WIFI (Mini-ITX, AM5, DDR5, WiFi 6E)
RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2×32 GB, DDR5-6000 MHz)
Storage: Seagate FireCuda 530R 2TB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen4, M.2 2280)
PSU:
Enhance ENP-7660L-OVT – 600W Modular Flex ATX Platinum
Silverstone SST-FX500-G – 500W Flex-ATX, quiet 40 mm fan
Cooling Mods & Fans:
Noctua NF-A4x20 FLX (40 mm)
Delock Axiallüfter 70×70×10 mm (custom SSD tray mount)
Custom 3D-printed airflow deflector for CPU cooler
Accessories:
SilentiumPC Aurora Stripes RGB
Custom connector covers & misc. small parts
Software: Windows 11 Pro
