LOUQE Raw S1 Mk I (Rhodium Grey) Mini-ITX Computer Case

Product Information

GIGABYTE B550I AORUS PRO AX gave me a bit of headache. CPU cooler clearance is perfect, plenty of room at all sides, however I struggled with CPU-less bios flash. I had to flash the bios to get support for Ryzen 5000 and I couldn't make the flash work. Eventually I googled out that it only works with USB 2.0 thumb drives. Granted I was using USB 3 thumb drive. So I replaced it with older USB 2.0 thumb drive and then the flash went through properly. Another problem with the board is that PWM fan speed regulation sometimes does not work. I have created separate post about it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/gigabyte/comments/r79tra/pwm_sometimes_failing_on_b550i_aorus_pro_ax/ . Not sure if it's issue with my concrete piece or if it's general problem with all these boards. This was resolved by removing Gigabyte software (SIV and EasyTune Engine). For most getting into the mini-ITX cases, you can't go wrong (and may not go any further) going with the NR200. It's much smaller than the big cases you may have been using, and it's easy to build in. You don't necessarily have to get the Max version if you weren't planning on going with an AIO build. However, if you were, then it doesn't get much easier than the Max with the large 850W PSU and AIO already installed. As for looks, the Ghost S1 is most similar. In fact, it looks quite a bit like the same case stood vertically if a few inches were added all around. This is not an issue; the design of the Ghost S1 is a major selling point for many buyers. However, people who were not fans of LOUQE’s last offering are unlikely to change their minds here. I started with some tests of the CPU and GPU without the shell on. This allows us to get a sense for how the coolers perform in the best case scenario (open air) and serves as a sort of thermal performance target. For all the various configurations, mods, etc., I used Cinebench for CPU testing, Furmark for GPU testing, and Unigine Heaven for mixed/gaming.

Because of this, I would actually say the Raw S1 is perfect – because it does a 100% job at achieving what the designers set out to achieve: a simple, easy-to-work-on minimalist system that looks the part and cools well.So if you're going into the small cases, enjoy your journey down the rabbit hole! You'll wonder why you ever put up with large towers! What sets the Louqe Raw S1 apart from the crowded world of PC cases is that it isn’t afraid to go in a totally different direction and limit your options. There is no tempered glass, no watercooling support, no RGB, nothing that falls into the typical trends of today’s day PC case design. And that, I applaud. It takes courage as designers to swim against the current and try something like this. The disappointing part is that with ~5mm extra height on the shell and some clever rearranging of the internals, Louqe could have fit a 140x15mm fan on top. I suspect, though, that they wanted a solid top plate for aesthetic reasons. They're clearly good designers, though, so I'm sure they could come up with something. It goes without saying that this is a unique and visually striking case, whether you're a fan of the particular aesthetic or not. I'm going to skip commenting on the looks and artistic merit to focus on the practical aspects instead.

Now is a good time to mention my goal: maximum performance with silent fans. That means running all fans at around 50%. Eventually I'll set up a proper fan curve, but for now, and most of the rest of the tests, the fans are all just pegged at 50%. There's only a slight performance reduction here, again indicating sufficient airflow, and this is our CPU thermal performance target. This does make me wonder a little about Louqe's quality control, and what kind of awful drill press their manufacturer is using. I have noticed a pattern of occasional QC issues like this popping up on Discord, but to Louqe's credit, their support does a great job of taking care of any issues. Air Temp is measured by the mobo, and it's obviously high. This is because the cooler is blowing hot CPU air right on the mobo sensors, but it's still useful for relative measurements. The PSU will be mounted with the input AC connector pointing up, as close to the front side of the shell as possible. This serves two purposes: it moves the cable routing out of the airflow path, and it points the PSU exhaust up instead of forward, which should help a tiny bit.The spine-and-shell design make the RAW S1 extremely easy to build in. With the shell off, you have plenty of room to install components, route cables, etc. I definitely recommend following the instructions since there are a few things to remove before the shell can be taken off. All of the included cables (PSU input, power switch, USB-C, PCI-E 4.0) were easy to install and route. There's some community unhappiness with the fact that the USB-C cable uses the mobo I/O instead of the internal connector. It's certainly easier, but there's no reason Louqe couldn't have added a hole in the case bottom with a proper USB-C internal cable. Is it perfect? From one point of view, no. It doesn’t have air filtration. There’s no real front IO, and no room for expansion. But none of that is what the Louqe Raw S1 is about. Extra fans, filtration, and expansion space would make the chassis bigger and more complex, entirely defeating the point.

We can actually quantify the effect of these poor design choices and how much improvement the gasket offers by measuring the airflow. Despite the added pain, the extra fan definitely improves things. The CPU is nearing maximum performance. When I tested the extra fan in open air, though, the difference was minimal. This tells us that the real benefit to having the extra fan is not improving static pressure through the heatsink, but rather cool intake air! With such a tight fit, the extra fan basically acts as a gasket for the CPU cooler. The only real catch to this chassis is that it relies entirely on the AIO for airflow. But in testing, we found that this setup is perfectly adequate, even when we threw our high-TDP i5-11600K and RTX 3080 Ti graphics card at it. These tests are not completely scientifically rigorous; I didn't do repeat testings, and I don't expect that other owners will see the exact same numbers. Again, the point is to share the experience I've had. That being said, my testing did give some really important insights into what the thermal design problems with this case are.

The Louqe Raw S1 is more than just a case – it’s arguably a functional work of art.

tl;dr: Louqe's RAW S1 is a beautiful, high quality case with awful thermal design that can be somewhat mitigated with mods Internally, the Revolt 3 can also house almost any Mini-ITX system you throw at it, with room for large GPUs, up to a 280mm AIO, two 2.5-inch SSDs and one 3.5-inch drive. Better yet, its layout meanst it doesn't need a PCI-e riser cable, so you won’t have to worry about reduced bandwidth on an RTX 3000 or RX 6000 series graphics card. And when all said and done, the Louqe Raw S1 is hands-down the nicest ITX chassis I’ve ever had the honor of working with. From its stunning, elegant single-piece external shell to the simplicity with which a system inside it pieces together, the Raw S1 is a chassis that I’m going to remember.

Once that's all done, I'm going to test the other two coolers I mentioned above, and add an intake duct for the GPU. That, plus the money you spend on the case is money you’ll save on cutting the RGB and not caring about what your motherboard or GPU look like – not only do you not see the internals – you simply can’t fit much in here. I'm fairly sure that the same issue affecting the CPU performance is affecting the GPU. It's just not able to pull in cool air from outside. People using triple slot GPUs seem to have fewer issues, presumably because the fans are closer to the shell. A duct would probably help this, but it would have to be custom-designed for every model. At 50% with no gasket, the air speed was below the resolution of the anemometer (0.1 m/s), so I had to bound the calculation. We see a 2X improvement at max fan speed and a >4X improvement at silent fan speeds. This increase in size can be found across all specs comparing the two cases. CPU Heatsink height support also increases from 66 mm in the Ghost S1 to 75mm in the Raw S1. This is, of course, largely thanks to the extra 4 liters of volume that the Raw S1 comes equipped with. It is important to note, however, that it is still an extremely small case.An anemometer is a device that measures air speed. I measured air speed at 9 points around the exhaust vent and multiplied the average by the approximate area of the vent openings to get an airflow number in CFM. It's not perfect, but it will get us some ballpark numbers. My guess is that the GPU cooler moves enough air that some of it happens to escape through the top. I don't have a great explanation for the CPU; I suspect the vent changes some internal turbulent flow pattern that keeps hot air closer to the CPU/mobo. The next significant drop in size that I'd recommend is the Ncase M1. It does cost a bit more, but it's an excellent performer that's proven over the test of time. Some of these small sandwich builds can really build the heat on either the GPU or CPU, and some you are forced to use liquid cool. But the Ncase M1 let's you decide how you want to cool it - air or liquid. Great flexiblity, and you even have a Type C port available on the front. Just try to buy a GPU < 300mm in length to install into it. I've even seen 3090 builds in it, so it can definitely be a ton of power in such a small case. Aesthetically, the Raw S1 has a unique look that blends a modern style with aggressive, “gamer”-esque patterns and details. Red details on the interior, sand-blasted aluminum, and interesting cooling lines accentuate the look. However, most of the build is a simple sheet of aluminum. LOUQE has masterfully balanced these aesthetic choices with performance thanks to small features like a floating top plate and uni-body construction. It is extremely similar to the Corsair One in size, while their designs differ dramatically. Both are slim, vertical cases that are 12 liters in volume that can fit almost anywhere. An important note: the Corsair One case is only available in prebuilt configurations, severely limiting GPU and CPU options. Meanwhile, the Raw S1 will support most graphics cards and CPUs on the market thanks to its construction. The Raw S1 is a more subtle design than the Corsair One, opting for simple sides and vents instead of the Corsair One’s LEDs and large vents. Instead, the Raw S1 looks much closer to its smaller brother, the Ghost S1. There are almost no markings or features on the outside of the case. In fact, the front only features one small button for power, and I/O options are limited to a single Type-C placed on an angled panel.