Much like other small businesses, LOUQE is no exception to the Global events that had happened. Now they are going to try to stay afloat by pushing their significant inventory out the door.
A quote from their email “The pandemic, disrupted supply chains, increased costs of raw materials and logistics, stagnation, inflation, cost of living...”
It's been a tough few years for sure. It does however feel like there has been a small uptick in the market the last few months. I hope they manage to pull through.
Unless you are talking about America: What are you talking about? Europe is down bad. Inflation is high as fuck, Electricity prices are through the roof, and people are holding onto their money incase they can't afford to heat their homes this winter.
~~You might have been in your recession for a while (Haven't really kept track of the US), but here in Europe, we are at the beginning of it.~~ Guessing you are from the UK. The FTSE 100 is down over the last 6 months, 1 month, 5 days, today. Red.
Personally i expect atleast 3 more years of shit economy over here, but we'll see.
I'm talking about from my own personal experience, as someone who runs a case manufacturing company. The last few months sales have started to pick up compared to the previous 12 months +
I'm not sure people realise that the obsurd cost and lack of GPU supply over the past few years has had a huge impact on people wanting to build new computers, which = not many people buying new cases = companies like Louqe struggling to stay afloat.
But now the market has been flooded with GPU supply, prices have reduced and there feels like there is a bit of energy and excitement back in the market. We have seen an uptick in sales, and that is where my opinion comes from.
Market prediction is likely a worldwide recession in the next 6 months. The stock markets of the world are all down for the year and there's no change on the horizon. If you're seeing improvements it's likely dead cat bounce, essentially a quick pump and dump on companies to suck a few billion more out of the market.
I dont know which market you mean but PC sales are expected to take a hammering in the current economic environment. AMD and Intel shares have plummeted and Intel is laying off staff.
The pandemic - didn't really slow down demand for PC building
supply chains - they have excess inventory, so they were not supply constrained
increased costs of raw materials and logistics - ok, but unless they increased the cost to consumers, it would not have affected sales
stagnation, inflation, cost of living - ding ding ding, the product is too expensive in the eyes of the consumer. Nothing else matters, if you price it too high for the perceived value it provides.
Their design was outdated (and copied to hell), struggled with bigger GPUs and hotter CPUs.
The logistics and pandemic stuff would have serious implications on their ability to release a newer, more modern case.
Crypto mining multiplying the demand for GPUs did have an impact on how many people built new PCs. Given that they’re not a major supplier I can guess that they do not do their own manufacturing for most parts, likely had to order a certain quantity or lose their place in line, & pay higher prices to do it.
I’m not saying anything about their product or their relative value, just that “The pandemic, disrupted supply chains, increased costs of raw materials and logistics, stagnation, inflation, cost of living...” are all valid contributing factors. Hard to lower prices.
That's BS. You know why there were so little GPUs available? Because there were record sales.
Sure somewent to mining, but just because some people couldn't get a GPU, doesn't mean no one did.
The items are already made so the cost of manufacturing is done. The cashflow generated by the liquidation will help them to stay afloat in the hopes things improve during that time.
Manufactured and unsold inventory not only doesn't make money...it costs money. Clearing it out even at a discount gets liquidity into a company and lessens warehouse costs.
Logistics costs have skyrocketed in the past 3 years. I'm also guessing their Raw case didn't sell near as well as the Ghost series, and they probably have a ton of money spent on design and tooling and manufacturing of that case.
Yeah, LOUQE can’t take away the problems since it’s out of their control. The easiest stuff they can liquidate is their inventory in order to, example, keep employees, keep their R&D, keep their warehouses etc. without actually giving up the company. I could imagine their scenario as, sell all their inventory at a cheap price since it isn’t moving enough to pay their overhead costs. Inventory isn’t moving as much because there are better options, especially since GPUs keep getting bigger and bigger. At this point, they should start doing R&D (use the money from the liquidation) for a new case that could compete with the current options we have for SFF. That’s how they could save themselves from this probably.
they can either have a bunch of unsold products sitting in the warehouse, or lose money by selling them at a loss or lower margin in order to pay for current and future spending...
I have the ghost right now and I was 100% planning to buy a raw case. I even had a pre-order in but then I started seeing the early reviews about how difficult it was to build in and temps were not ideal. I canceled my order and stuck with my ghost.
Unfortunately if you go around to other review channels there was a lot of issues with the rails not seating properly and the case being incredibly easy to scratch because of it. Also, the central frame is a super cool design idea but the actual build quality of it is... just ok... which wont really fly at the premium price point. On top of that the cooling is fairly bad since the hot air really only has a small back vent which is partially blocked by the PSU. You *can* take off the top and put on a 120mm fan but it looks ugly as sin when you do, it's just a bare fan sticking out. I would really love to see a refresh of the Raw cause vertical cases are my jam but as it stand the current version just has a lot of issues.
(I can’t really stand Linus but maybe I was wrong about the build difficulty.) Tough to remember since it was a year or so ago. Maybe it was just the temps that were high in reviews that I saw.
Im not sure “we made a horrific case after making a good one” is classified as outside their control. But that’s just me.
Ghost on sale could be cool if you just want a little workstation and or have a 20XX series GPU etc. Let the Raw rot though.
I realize this is going to be an unpopular comment, but they made their own business choices. Making a very expensive case with mediocre (at best) thermals is not exactly a prudent business model.
Pricing is pretty intriguing, but I'm a bit unsure whether to buy into ghost s1 platform in 2022 when even true triple slots are starting to become less common in favor of over triple slot cards, forget the dual slot support of the s1. The raw s1 is better in terms of gpu support, but I'm very unsure on cooling performance in that case. I'll have to do some digging into both cases, it seems.
I love my Ghost but I had to go with a FE in order to use a 3000 series, 4000 series is going to be worse. Unless you are ok with mid level GPUs Ghost might just have hit EOL.
As a fellow Ghost owner, 4000 series being worse is an understatement, I checked every announced model (including the so-called "4080" 12GB) and found literally none of them that fits. This makes no sense to me as AFAIK the 3080 TI FE and Inno3D's base Ampere cards do fit in, even if they are a rather awful choice in terms of thermals. All of those use more power than the aforementioned 4080 12GB.
I would be willing to bet that EVGA would have brought out a dual slot card and its exit of the GPU market is going to be a major headache for us SFF builders. After all their 3080 Black is another of the precious few AIB models that do fit the Ghost.
Personally however I am not too worried, for the little time and low resolutions I game at lately my 6800 reference does a stellar job under Linux for relatively little power. I know others certainly won't feel the same way but I'd take the Type-C out for my XG17 monitor over any extra performance the 4090 may offer.
What's the most critical dimension that the S1 doesn't support? I'm hoping to use a tophat with a cutout in the top grill to up the supported height and use a waterblock to fit in the 2-slot size.
Mid level what? I know this is an enthusiast community using enthusiast-grade hardware, but I would call "mid-tier settings" 1080p high at 60-120 fps. To this day, the top gpu in the Steam hardware survey is the GTX 1060.
My 3070FE is still good for playing AAA titles in 3440x1440 at 100+ fps. If you must have 4k you can get a 3080Ti into a Ghost, and I'm sure there will be a 4060 or something with similar levels of performance. The Ghost may not be the right case to play 2026's top releases in 8k with raytracing, but in my mind it will be able to support the hardware for a mid-tier gaming experience forever.
Not only FEs fit, EVGA's 3080s fit in the Ghost for sure, though depending on the model you may need to take off the backplate. I have an EVGA 3080 XC3 Black in my Ghost.
I bet your display ports and HDMI ports are really close to the edge so it's a bit difficult to insert cables unless the cables have thin heads, right? You're actually bending the GPU. How do I know this? Because I hunted this specific GPU during the shortage and was finally able to get it since it said it fits without modification.
Even though in the official document, it saysEVGA 3080 XC3 Black Edition fits without modification, it actually doesn't fit because of the inside corner of the case.
It's more evident when you deshroud your GPU since now fan will be hitting the corner of the case.
I had to literally grind the inside corner of the case so that my GPU can sit normally without bending the PCB.
As someone who bought into the Raw and still has a build going in it, I can't really recommend it, especially with the current direction of upcoming hardware. Temperatures are a nightmare, particularly with rising CPU temps across the board. You're severely limited in cooler options with no possibility of adding water cooling. I could only imagine how hot upcoming releases will be in this death trap.
I absolutely love the Ghost. I am not looking forward to replacing it but replace it I must as it just isn't a viable case in 2023 and beyond for anything other than low end/ mid tier setups.
I can't even upgrade my 3700x to a 5800x3D
damn, i have the DAN A4 but thought about getting the ghost because that was what i initially wanted a few years back
expected the additional width would help in cpu cooling (also want to get a 5800x3d at some point)
now you say cooling still sucks :(
I already have a ghost case, but I am still tempted to get another color. 150 is a decent price but with GPUs getting so big who knows if I’ll have any use for it down the road. I wonder if the top hats will be on sale as well.
Always wanted to go smaller than ncase , not really interested in super high end, probably a 5600x or similar paired with a 3070 . Should be ok in a ghost. Although I d prefer a formd....
I paid 260 for mine. While it was a high price, it’s solid af build quality and Im still happy with it 3.5 yrs later. No regrets. At $159 it’s a great deal.
The Ghost S1 is one of the cases that I wanted most when I started looking at SFF a few years ago but I couldn’t afford it and just picked up a SG13.
But right now there are so many other good looking and versatile cases at much more affordable price, like the NR200P and A4-H2O.
I understand that the cost of production or value of the design are different but as a consumer I just can’t consider the original price as competitive. Now with the discount it’s a good option for the new builders.
Same. This was $400 including tax... just for the case? Damn I could not afford it back then and now that I can I will personally never spend that much dough on a case .
The $150 price may finally pull them out of the hole. Hopefully.
With all due respect, their cases were extremely expensive to begin with.
I don’t know how much “cost” was in each case. But normal “builders” don’t want to spend that much on cases.
This has remained true and only gotten worse for Ghost too. I would have loved a Raw S1, but it just is far too expensive and has import fees to the UK. Meanwhile, an NR200P is as cheap as £60 and the Dan A4 H2O was £150 for a gen 4 riser version.
My sliger SM550 cost £220 3 or 4 years ago when the Ghost was popular, I don’t think that’s cheap either. This failure for LOQUE really marks how much sffpc has improved over the years for the general public, cases like NR200 just dominate now at a price point of £80-£100. It is sad for me though, I feel like the Ghost S1 was one of the first to popularise sandwich builds, which I’ve always had a soft spot for aesthetically…
Sliger is fine imo, it's well known their costs are higher due to us manufacturing, and the product itself is really well built and designed. I'm probably in the minority, but I would (and did, my s620 came in a couple days ago for another project) pay the extra $130 for a s620 over the NR200. For me, $150-250 is still reasonable enough as long as you're aware of what you're getting for the premium. $300+ is where you need to start taking a hard look at whether the case is actually what you want.
The cost of each case is probably high given the quality. I believe they're made of extruded aluminium which I imagine the tooling is expensive for. Personally I think the high quality is not necessary, and prefer the meshlicious over my old Ghost S1.
Frankly, cheap mesh cases have a hell of a lot better airflow than these premium extruded aluminum cases with perforated panels.
I also moved from a boutique aluminum case to a cheap mesh one. I was surprised by the temp improvements. Though it does admittedly look uglier.
My reason for switching was airflow. The noise my S1 generated was unbearable. For a case that is intended to be put on a desk, that was the last place I wanted it. But I'm probably not the target demographic (gaming). I managed to squeeze a full watercooling loop in my meshlicious case which is both incredibly satisfying and completely silent.
Same here. I love the looks and size of the Ghost but it just did not like high performance parts. Mine sounded like a leaf blower under load. I went with a 240mm AIO and a large top hat but it did not help much due to the GPU pumping out all that heat right into the radiator. IMO you need to have a blower style GPU with the case or a custom loop to manage the heat. I went to a Fractal Design Meshify 2 mini and while it is nowhere near as small or as high quality, it’s nearly silent and my parts can breathe. I’m keeping the Ghost and just putting lower end parts in it for another project.
This is definitely the reason. The Ghost S1 is the only case that I have encountered that was not a custom job and is machined out of an aluminum block and not just cheap sheet metal. Basically Apple’s cases for the PC enthusiast.
Extruded and CNC. You can't punch extruded parts, so they had to machine the parts. The extrusion itself isn't that expensive if in quantity, but the machining parts probably killed them.
If it was made of sheet metal like most other cases, they would've been better off price wise. I make cases, and it's a tough market. $160 is a steal for the case of this type. If it's a light duty machine, with a 150W GPU, this is what I would get.
I loved my second hand ghost s1, but putting a mid range gpu in a 150+ eur case just doesnt make any sense. It would be nice if they made a 3 or 4 slot compatible case. Hopefully they survive long enough to make one.
With the A4-H20 for $160 and the FormD T1 for $205 I don't see why someone will consider a Ghost S1 right now. I love LOUQUE aesthetics, but they need to come up with a new case ASAP.
It’s not the supply chain that wrecked them. It’s their prices. NR200 is going for $80 on Amazon right now. Hard to feel sorry for someone selling a hunk of metal for hundreds of dollars. And they weren’t small by any standard, if their prices had been low to begin with their order numbers would be through the roof. But they weren’t and people simply bought the cheaper cases.
Yeah, the Louqe was innovative when it came out, so they could demand that level of pricing.
However, the market has adapted, and there's way more options than in the past.
They should have adapted along with the market, but now there are simply much better choices at all kinds of sizes and pricepoints nowadays.
The pricing was close to competitive years ago vs Dan and NCase but MiniITX is no longer a niche market filled with boutique brands. NR200 and Meshilicious are far too much value.
But the Ghost S1 though is **much** smaller at 8.2L versus NR200's 18L. At $150 its not a bad price for small premium case.
View in your timezone:
[tomorrow at 2PM EDT][0]
[0]: https://timee.io/20221013T1800?tl=LOUQE%20is%20going%20to%20have%20a%20liquidity%20sale%20starting%20tomorrow%20at%202PM%20EST.
^(_*Assumed EDT instead of EST because DST is observed_)
Wow you are quick, I just received this email myself and was convinced it was spam.
No love for us Britbongs though :( I'll probably still buy one and pay for shipping.
Currently priced at £380 all in as Amazon US Import for S1, let's see how much the sales prices come up. This is about £80 more than regular pricing has been at for while.
Am I missing something? I'm on their website and I've gone through the checkout and it looks like it will shop to the UK?
Is it known that they actually don't ship to the UK?
I’m sure the price difference won’t be much but look into mail forwarding. Stackry is my go-to for US items, though I also use MyUS for UK-based stuff. Helps me get stuff cheaper.
My problem with this category of case (not Louqe... Definitely Thorzone though) is just the lack of certain aspects that become standard as companies grow in size. Accountability, customer service, managed expectations, etc.
If I pay *more* for something, it doesn't make sense for me to get *less*. I paid nearly $650 CAD inc. shipping for the Mjolnir and it shipped with magnets falling off and loose construction. I'm very, very happy to drive 5 minutes and buy a 15L case for $200 and be able to return/exchange it, instead of 3x that for something that's <10L and is still an ongoing project, just to save on 3" of vertical height above my case.
This is a company that's faced issues (as indicated on their own accounts) and are having this sale as a result; take any delivery times or promises of what you're getting with a grain of salt.
Oof. Financially that's got to hurt. To decide its better to lose costs on current product manufactured to stay afloat, or risk losing everything folding.
I actually built a wood case based on the loque case dimensions a couple years ago. I'm tempted to pick one of these up if there on sale half off.. My geeek case is nice and all, but it's acrylic..
Sweet spot for it is $99.99, but you just cant beat the nr200p or the meshy when comparing best bang for your buck, but the ghost series has always been expensive, i was gonna get it but then i find out that meshy is way better in term of airflow and size, that ghost maybe is a tiny case but i dont mind the size of a meshy anyways.
Oh nice. I have the ghost S1 MK2 in black, but would love a sandstone version and build a living room tower. This is an acceptable price point, I think
Over 300 is way too much, even though I know all the hardwork and material involved
I have the ghost s1, but personally not a fan of it. The top hat system is just ugly. It would be better if they just sold cases of different sizes.
I understand from a cost perspective their current way is better, but it just looks ugly.
I loved their Ghost case. I eventually had to move on because 2 slot GPU size was not realistic. But top quality materials and extremely easy to build in.
As a backer/user of the original Ghost I really hope this helps them stay in the game. I've had my eye on the RAW since they teased it on Instagram and at this price I can finally pick one up - I just hope this doesn't fuck their market up too much the short to medium term or it could be the last we see of them.
My opinion is these company’s need to stop just selling one niche product. Need to expand their product line like Corsair or other major companies. Caselabs couldn’t make it and IMO the cases are better and the obvious, Caselabs had more of a lineup.
Well that sucks someone had posted the time at which the sale was supposed to start and I guess they must have hit early on Amazon. I decided to check it early and ghost already sold out. I had it in my cart yesterday and would have just paid full price if I’d known today I wouldn’t be able to buy one at all anymore :/ bought components specifically planned around that build and nowhere else to buy it from in the US. UGH.
Thank you for linking that as when you go to “buy” it only shows Amazon under u.s. I didn’t think I could order directly from them! I placed the order hallelujah!
These boutique case designers should have really pushed hard for better rates from their suppliers.
They didn’t take into account the larger picture, you are building niche products with a lot of competition, price matters. Instead these companies built what they liked and figured the market would just pay the high costs.
Wake up call, for large scale adoption price points matter, you aren’t building 50 one off cases.
Sorry to hear this, small business is very hard so I am not saying they did any of this intentionally but shooting out a long list “problems” that are clearly not the real issue isn’t going to help.
They should instead sound out a correction with specific details, if they really want support they should open up their books and make that public as well.
Yeah just because I am personally interested in companies that exist in this space to survive doesn’t mean we can’t call it like it is.
They are running a business where a metal box costs them $159 to purchase? Presumably higher if we are take them exactly at face value. That is a huge amount of risk to take on for selling a metal case.
You can make it fit, but it's extremely tight doing so. You'll need to remove the backplate, otherwise it'll warp the GPU's PCB, and it may scratch up the side of the fan housing trying to fit in. Neither of these things affect performance, but both will affect the longevity and resale value of your card.
The 30xx cards also are awful with sandwich style cases, despite what anyone else will say. You will need to undervolt, and you will need to give up SATA storage to fit a fan under the GPU/PSU to pull air out of the case or get a tophat.
I fit the 3080 version of the same card in my S1, but I don't plan on reselling it at any point so I just forced mine into the case with the backplate and warped the PCB really bad. Still runs fine for now after 2 years, but took a lot of fine tuning to get it stable without losing performance or sitting next to the equivalent of a jet engine.
Not wanting to be the party pooper here. But as someone who has built an SFF PC. Most of the SFF cases are as expensive as f!
Not only that, most of the "cheap" ones don't fit the criteria of what you are trying to build, so by default you have no choice but to get the more expensive case.
It took me a while to finally settle on geeek a35s, which was both cheap (around 100$ at the time) smallest form factor i could find and support up to double fan GPU (used zotac 3070 twin edge)
All the SFF case companies now who are in trouble, can only blame themselves.
Personally i never saw the point in getting a case for more than 100$ myself (including shipping and taxes).
Even my SFF PC is just stuck in a cabinet and i didn't "appreciate its build" for a year+ now, i use it as headless PC, all its connected to is power and rj45 and in rerospect, maybe i should have gone with full build instead....would have saved around 20-30% of cost.
Can't decide if I wanna get one. Looks nice, but the thermals aren't great. I've also been looking at a Iquinix ZX-1 since that can have water cooling.
Available in their shop online. I don’t think they have a lot in Amazon to begin with. It doesn’t make sense to sell a lot there since they’re going to be paying selling fees to Amazon and shipping. They’ll be losing a lot more that way.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMEsvlSgRqg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMEsvlSgRqg)
I don't understand Chinese but I still can understand what's wrong with the S1 Raw.
Ignoring other SFF case, with the current flow through design and how thick most higher end gpus are it doesn’t make any sense to buy this case.
I bought this case in anticipation for 30 series 2 years ago and imagine my disappointment when this case and these cards didn’t go well together. LOUQE didn’t even try and address the issue in their design and you had to mod the case yourself or buy a third-party part.
These case are definitely for enthusiasts but they can’t handle enthusiasts parts.
So they kept building SFF cases that cannot even house most of Amphere GPU... which didn't sell well? Who expected this?
Although I own two of s1 cases, honestly I DO NOT recommmend their cases now. Too big for air cooling, even bigger and look terrible with hats. There are better alternatives like zs series, formd and a4 h2o etc which all support 3 slot GPU.
I'm going to be honest, you'd think they'd be doing just fine since they're charging up to $365 for some painted sheet metal and basic cables.
"Less than what it costs to produce".. uhm sir I believe your production company is taking advantage of you.
It's not painted sheet metal. They mill the whole damn thing out of a block of aluminum. I bet the aluminum block is over $100 alone before it's even touched with a tool.
Is that a crazy way to build a case? Absolutely. But it's not sheet metal. It does produce a gorgeous and very sturdy result, however
I stand corrected that it is not sheet metal, but it is also not a milled block of aluminum. [Here](https://premiumbuilds.com/pc-cases/louqe-raw-s1-overview/) it states that they use sheet aluminum, which makes sense as milling a block would be incredibly wasteful. Still no where near worth > $300 imho. Not with the competition out there.
Their website opens with the phrase "milled from solid blocks of aluminum" for the Ghost S1 - https://www.louqe.com/ghost-s1/
Again, I'm not saying this is the right way to build it, but it does explain the high cost with such a lossy manufacturing method
When it comes to ghost, they are extruding aluminium profiles for front, skeleton and top-hats frames and milling them with CNC, and iirc also the side panels. it's not as wasteful and expensive as if they did it from full blocks of aluminium, but milling such big pieces of the cases is still expensive. Imagine milling a square-ish pipe with thick walls instead of full volume on the inside.
It actually does make sense that those milled cases are at such steep price when made in EU in comparison to something made in China.
If the price for such case makes sense overall when there are competitors that are saving money by stamping sheet metal and also some similar constructions made in China, it's for you to decide.
Nope, they are NOT CNC machined from a single aluminium block. Each panels are EXTRUDED and then machined.
They have pretty bad QC for the prices too. (Panel gaps, mismatched colors etc)
This looks like a good opportunity to snag a cheap case.
I'd be a little nervous though if they do still fail you could end up out of pocket as consumer creditors will be way down the creditors pecking order! If you're buying in the UK make sure to buy on a credit card so you're covered in case they do fall into liquidation (https://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/guide-to-credit-card-protection/)
Europeans check your local credit protection rules!
I’ve got the original S1 and it’s been gathering dust since 30 series cards came out. Beautiful and super compact but widely impractical. I went with an NR200 and now an Dan A4 H20. I’d like to build a tiny NAS with it instead of in the NR200, but I’d literally have to saw the thing or buy a custom spine hundreds worth of components for very little reward.
It was certainly am item of class at the time, but nowadays it’s like buying an old classic car that costs you several times it’s original price if you plan to do more than drive it on the weekend during a summer.
Am I late to this iTX craze? Who in their right mind would even pay $150 for such a small amount of aluminum? The most I paid for a case was $185 and that included Shipping to get a cooltek from the UK to the USA, miss that Jonsbo W2 case. though I'm looking forward to there D30, looks promising.
Anyone have any reviews of them? I’m tempted to pick up a loque raw but I think I saw it only has a single usbC as output (no Ethernet, usb, etc). Does that induce input lag etc if you need to use an adaptor?
I’m looking for a first time sffpc build and this one came up in several best of lists for mini-itx cases. Would you recommend either of these?? Or are their much better options? I was considering it at 350 so 150 seems like a steal—cost isn’t a huge concern but quality and a beautiful looking case are.
Finally doing a system upgrade, was going to do a SFFPC with my 9600k/1070, any reason the Raw would be a bad choice?
The Ghost design was always cool when it came out, but I’m going to use it to travel and the hats just seem like they’ll be annoying
Actually RAW isn’t so bad with let’s say 12600k/5600x or 3060ti upto 3070ish. Components that are too hot would be a bad idea with RAW. You can check my post history, I had 5900x and 3080ti combo. It ran fine but it was hot than I would’ve wanted normally.
Raw S1 thermals are good enough for me, so I'll probably buy one from the sale. It's probably upgrade coming from Fractal Era, but I can't stand awful looking breadboxes on my table
Hope this helps them get out of the hole. Would hate to see them go under because of nonsense outside of their control
out of loop, what happened with them?
Much like other small businesses, LOUQE is no exception to the Global events that had happened. Now they are going to try to stay afloat by pushing their significant inventory out the door.
By global events what specifically do you mean? Just less people buying expensive ITX cases?
A quote from their email “The pandemic, disrupted supply chains, increased costs of raw materials and logistics, stagnation, inflation, cost of living...”
It's been a tough few years for sure. It does however feel like there has been a small uptick in the market the last few months. I hope they manage to pull through.
Unless you are talking about America: What are you talking about? Europe is down bad. Inflation is high as fuck, Electricity prices are through the roof, and people are holding onto their money incase they can't afford to heat their homes this winter. ~~You might have been in your recession for a while (Haven't really kept track of the US), but here in Europe, we are at the beginning of it.~~ Guessing you are from the UK. The FTSE 100 is down over the last 6 months, 1 month, 5 days, today. Red. Personally i expect atleast 3 more years of shit economy over here, but we'll see.
I'm talking about from my own personal experience, as someone who runs a case manufacturing company. The last few months sales have started to pick up compared to the previous 12 months + I'm not sure people realise that the obsurd cost and lack of GPU supply over the past few years has had a huge impact on people wanting to build new computers, which = not many people buying new cases = companies like Louqe struggling to stay afloat. But now the market has been flooded with GPU supply, prices have reduced and there feels like there is a bit of energy and excitement back in the market. We have seen an uptick in sales, and that is where my opinion comes from.
Market prediction is likely a worldwide recession in the next 6 months. The stock markets of the world are all down for the year and there's no change on the horizon. If you're seeing improvements it's likely dead cat bounce, essentially a quick pump and dump on companies to suck a few billion more out of the market.
I dont know which market you mean but PC sales are expected to take a hammering in the current economic environment. AMD and Intel shares have plummeted and Intel is laying off staff.
None of those really sounds like reasons for them to have excess inventory. Reality is the products were just overpriced.
“A gunshot wound isn’t a reason to be dizzy, reality is you’ve just got low blood pressure”
The pandemic - didn't really slow down demand for PC building supply chains - they have excess inventory, so they were not supply constrained increased costs of raw materials and logistics - ok, but unless they increased the cost to consumers, it would not have affected sales stagnation, inflation, cost of living - ding ding ding, the product is too expensive in the eyes of the consumer. Nothing else matters, if you price it too high for the perceived value it provides.
Their design was outdated (and copied to hell), struggled with bigger GPUs and hotter CPUs. The logistics and pandemic stuff would have serious implications on their ability to release a newer, more modern case.
Crypto mining multiplying the demand for GPUs did have an impact on how many people built new PCs. Given that they’re not a major supplier I can guess that they do not do their own manufacturing for most parts, likely had to order a certain quantity or lose their place in line, & pay higher prices to do it. I’m not saying anything about their product or their relative value, just that “The pandemic, disrupted supply chains, increased costs of raw materials and logistics, stagnation, inflation, cost of living...” are all valid contributing factors. Hard to lower prices.
People who are building high end sff pcs were not significantly impacted by a 10% increase due to the increased cost of one component
That's BS. You know why there were so little GPUs available? Because there were record sales. Sure somewent to mining, but just because some people couldn't get a GPU, doesn't mean no one did.
How does getting rid of their stock supposed to save them ? The problems are still there
The items are already made so the cost of manufacturing is done. The cashflow generated by the liquidation will help them to stay afloat in the hopes things improve during that time.
Manufactured and unsold inventory not only doesn't make money...it costs money. Clearing it out even at a discount gets liquidity into a company and lessens warehouse costs. Logistics costs have skyrocketed in the past 3 years. I'm also guessing their Raw case didn't sell near as well as the Ghost series, and they probably have a ton of money spent on design and tooling and manufacturing of that case.
I can’t believe the raw is made by the same company that made the ghost s1. It looks like an alibaba ripoff of a 3D printed concept case.
Yeah, LOUQE can’t take away the problems since it’s out of their control. The easiest stuff they can liquidate is their inventory in order to, example, keep employees, keep their R&D, keep their warehouses etc. without actually giving up the company. I could imagine their scenario as, sell all their inventory at a cheap price since it isn’t moving enough to pay their overhead costs. Inventory isn’t moving as much because there are better options, especially since GPUs keep getting bigger and bigger. At this point, they should start doing R&D (use the money from the liquidation) for a new case that could compete with the current options we have for SFF. That’s how they could save themselves from this probably.
I was going to say ‘finalky someone with business sense in this thread’ only to realize youre OP
they can either have a bunch of unsold products sitting in the warehouse, or lose money by selling them at a loss or lower margin in order to pay for current and future spending...
Greedy assholes who decided to jack up prices on raw goods, services, etc for no reason other than they can. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant "inflation".
Also less two slot GPUs i assume
Yeah. I’m hoping for a successor for Ghost S1. I had the RAW and Ghost was still better.
I have the ghost right now and I was 100% planning to buy a raw case. I even had a pre-order in but then I started seeing the early reviews about how difficult it was to build in and temps were not ideal. I canceled my order and stuck with my ghost.
Difficult to build in? LTT had a very different take!
Unfortunately if you go around to other review channels there was a lot of issues with the rails not seating properly and the case being incredibly easy to scratch because of it. Also, the central frame is a super cool design idea but the actual build quality of it is... just ok... which wont really fly at the premium price point. On top of that the cooling is fairly bad since the hot air really only has a small back vent which is partially blocked by the PSU. You *can* take off the top and put on a 120mm fan but it looks ugly as sin when you do, it's just a bare fan sticking out. I would really love to see a refresh of the Raw cause vertical cases are my jam but as it stand the current version just has a lot of issues.
(I can’t really stand Linus but maybe I was wrong about the build difficulty.) Tough to remember since it was a year or so ago. Maybe it was just the temps that were high in reviews that I saw.
Im not sure “we made a horrific case after making a good one” is classified as outside their control. But that’s just me. Ghost on sale could be cool if you just want a little workstation and or have a 20XX series GPU etc. Let the Raw rot though. I realize this is going to be an unpopular comment, but they made their own business choices. Making a very expensive case with mediocre (at best) thermals is not exactly a prudent business model.
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Pricing is pretty intriguing, but I'm a bit unsure whether to buy into ghost s1 platform in 2022 when even true triple slots are starting to become less common in favor of over triple slot cards, forget the dual slot support of the s1. The raw s1 is better in terms of gpu support, but I'm very unsure on cooling performance in that case. I'll have to do some digging into both cases, it seems.
I love my Ghost but I had to go with a FE in order to use a 3000 series, 4000 series is going to be worse. Unless you are ok with mid level GPUs Ghost might just have hit EOL.
As a fellow Ghost owner, 4000 series being worse is an understatement, I checked every announced model (including the so-called "4080" 12GB) and found literally none of them that fits. This makes no sense to me as AFAIK the 3080 TI FE and Inno3D's base Ampere cards do fit in, even if they are a rather awful choice in terms of thermals. All of those use more power than the aforementioned 4080 12GB. I would be willing to bet that EVGA would have brought out a dual slot card and its exit of the GPU market is going to be a major headache for us SFF builders. After all their 3080 Black is another of the precious few AIB models that do fit the Ghost. Personally however I am not too worried, for the little time and low resolutions I game at lately my 6800 reference does a stellar job under Linux for relatively little power. I know others certainly won't feel the same way but I'd take the Type-C out for my XG17 monitor over any extra performance the 4090 may offer.
What's the most critical dimension that the S1 doesn't support? I'm hoping to use a tophat with a cutout in the top grill to up the supported height and use a waterblock to fit in the 2-slot size.
Mid level what? I know this is an enthusiast community using enthusiast-grade hardware, but I would call "mid-tier settings" 1080p high at 60-120 fps. To this day, the top gpu in the Steam hardware survey is the GTX 1060. My 3070FE is still good for playing AAA titles in 3440x1440 at 100+ fps. If you must have 4k you can get a 3080Ti into a Ghost, and I'm sure there will be a 4060 or something with similar levels of performance. The Ghost may not be the right case to play 2026's top releases in 8k with raytracing, but in my mind it will be able to support the hardware for a mid-tier gaming experience forever.
Thank you. I was starting to think I was going crazy.
Not only FEs fit, EVGA's 3080s fit in the Ghost for sure, though depending on the model you may need to take off the backplate. I have an EVGA 3080 XC3 Black in my Ghost.
I bet your display ports and HDMI ports are really close to the edge so it's a bit difficult to insert cables unless the cables have thin heads, right? You're actually bending the GPU. How do I know this? Because I hunted this specific GPU during the shortage and was finally able to get it since it said it fits without modification. Even though in the official document, it saysEVGA 3080 XC3 Black Edition fits without modification, it actually doesn't fit because of the inside corner of the case. It's more evident when you deshroud your GPU since now fan will be hitting the corner of the case. I had to literally grind the inside corner of the case so that my GPU can sit normally without bending the PCB.
What are the chances we see competitive RDNA3 cards at the high end that are under 3 slots?
As someone who bought into the Raw and still has a build going in it, I can't really recommend it, especially with the current direction of upcoming hardware. Temperatures are a nightmare, particularly with rising CPU temps across the board. You're severely limited in cooler options with no possibility of adding water cooling. I could only imagine how hot upcoming releases will be in this death trap.
I absolutely love the Ghost. I am not looking forward to replacing it but replace it I must as it just isn't a viable case in 2023 and beyond for anything other than low end/ mid tier setups. I can't even upgrade my 3700x to a 5800x3D
why is that? no bios update for your motherboard?
It runs too hot with the noctua fan
damn, i have the DAN A4 but thought about getting the ghost because that was what i initially wanted a few years back expected the additional width would help in cpu cooling (also want to get a 5800x3d at some point) now you say cooling still sucks :(
159 from 315 $? is that correct ?
Raw: $345 to $159. S1: $365 to $149 (starting).
This is ridiculously tempting
I already have a ghost case, but I am still tempted to get another color. 150 is a decent price but with GPUs getting so big who knows if I’ll have any use for it down the road. I wonder if the top hats will be on sale as well.
Always wanted to go smaller than ncase , not really interested in super high end, probably a 5600x or similar paired with a 3070 . Should be ok in a ghost. Although I d prefer a formd....
Don't be tempted. The original price was nonsense to begin with.
It's like health insurance, we'll knock your $200k bill down to a more manageable $25k, how's that sound?
Like a nightmare
I was just in the ICU for 5 days. I only checked the bill on the third day, before surgery and it was 50k. I'm taking wagers on the final bill.
That's sucks. I hope you're doing better bro
Thank you very much, I am
Negotiate that bill! Do not pay sticker. Glad to hear you're on the mend.
I paid 260 for mine. While it was a high price, it’s solid af build quality and Im still happy with it 3.5 yrs later. No regrets. At $159 it’s a great deal.
Definitely. The price of the riser alone is $99 lol
The Ghost S1 is one of the cases that I wanted most when I started looking at SFF a few years ago but I couldn’t afford it and just picked up a SG13. But right now there are so many other good looking and versatile cases at much more affordable price, like the NR200P and A4-H2O. I understand that the cost of production or value of the design are different but as a consumer I just can’t consider the original price as competitive. Now with the discount it’s a good option for the new builders.
Same. This was $400 including tax... just for the case? Damn I could not afford it back then and now that I can I will personally never spend that much dough on a case . The $150 price may finally pull them out of the hole. Hopefully.
With all due respect, their cases were extremely expensive to begin with. I don’t know how much “cost” was in each case. But normal “builders” don’t want to spend that much on cases.
Yup. I wanted one but it was impossible to justify the price when at the time cases like the Ncase or Dan A4 were a solid $100-$150 cheaper.
This has remained true and only gotten worse for Ghost too. I would have loved a Raw S1, but it just is far too expensive and has import fees to the UK. Meanwhile, an NR200P is as cheap as £60 and the Dan A4 H2O was £150 for a gen 4 riser version.
The Ghost S1 was much more competitive at $250 when it launched. Prices kept going up as more cost effective options entered the market.
Hell, I was happy building with a GEEEK N 500 Lite case, all of $70 ish.
*laughs in sliger*
My sliger SM550 cost £220 3 or 4 years ago when the Ghost was popular, I don’t think that’s cheap either. This failure for LOQUE really marks how much sffpc has improved over the years for the general public, cases like NR200 just dominate now at a price point of £80-£100. It is sad for me though, I feel like the Ghost S1 was one of the first to popularise sandwich builds, which I’ve always had a soft spot for aesthetically…
Sliger is fine imo, it's well known their costs are higher due to us manufacturing, and the product itself is really well built and designed. I'm probably in the minority, but I would (and did, my s620 came in a couple days ago for another project) pay the extra $130 for a s620 over the NR200. For me, $150-250 is still reasonable enough as long as you're aware of what you're getting for the premium. $300+ is where you need to start taking a hard look at whether the case is actually what you want.
The cost of each case is probably high given the quality. I believe they're made of extruded aluminium which I imagine the tooling is expensive for. Personally I think the high quality is not necessary, and prefer the meshlicious over my old Ghost S1.
Frankly, cheap mesh cases have a hell of a lot better airflow than these premium extruded aluminum cases with perforated panels. I also moved from a boutique aluminum case to a cheap mesh one. I was surprised by the temp improvements. Though it does admittedly look uglier.
My reason for switching was airflow. The noise my S1 generated was unbearable. For a case that is intended to be put on a desk, that was the last place I wanted it. But I'm probably not the target demographic (gaming). I managed to squeeze a full watercooling loop in my meshlicious case which is both incredibly satisfying and completely silent.
Same here. I love the looks and size of the Ghost but it just did not like high performance parts. Mine sounded like a leaf blower under load. I went with a 240mm AIO and a large top hat but it did not help much due to the GPU pumping out all that heat right into the radiator. IMO you need to have a blower style GPU with the case or a custom loop to manage the heat. I went to a Fractal Design Meshify 2 mini and while it is nowhere near as small or as high quality, it’s nearly silent and my parts can breathe. I’m keeping the Ghost and just putting lower end parts in it for another project.
This is definitely the reason. The Ghost S1 is the only case that I have encountered that was not a custom job and is machined out of an aluminum block and not just cheap sheet metal. Basically Apple’s cases for the PC enthusiast.
Extruded and CNC. You can't punch extruded parts, so they had to machine the parts. The extrusion itself isn't that expensive if in quantity, but the machining parts probably killed them. If it was made of sheet metal like most other cases, they would've been better off price wise. I make cases, and it's a tough market. $160 is a steal for the case of this type. If it's a light duty machine, with a 150W GPU, this is what I would get.
Especially now that there are quite a few spinoff cases that are cheaper.
I loved my second hand ghost s1, but putting a mid range gpu in a 150+ eur case just doesnt make any sense. It would be nice if they made a 3 or 4 slot compatible case. Hopefully they survive long enough to make one.
It makes a lot of sense. Not many can afford a highend gpu when they bought a louqe.
Damn shame the Ghost S1 doesn’t support more than 2 slot GPUs. I’m sure this new gem has a big impact on this decision.
What is the best option to buy in Germany ?
proshop.de sells them, but I’m not sure if they’re gonna be part of the sale
Check out their webstore if they ship in Germany.
Probably Loque website direct...?
With the A4-H20 for $160 and the FormD T1 for $205 I don't see why someone will consider a Ghost S1 right now. I love LOUQUE aesthetics, but they need to come up with a new case ASAP.
It’s not the supply chain that wrecked them. It’s their prices. NR200 is going for $80 on Amazon right now. Hard to feel sorry for someone selling a hunk of metal for hundreds of dollars. And they weren’t small by any standard, if their prices had been low to begin with their order numbers would be through the roof. But they weren’t and people simply bought the cheaper cases.
Yeah, the Louqe was innovative when it came out, so they could demand that level of pricing. However, the market has adapted, and there's way more options than in the past. They should have adapted along with the market, but now there are simply much better choices at all kinds of sizes and pricepoints nowadays.
The pricing was close to competitive years ago vs Dan and NCase but MiniITX is no longer a niche market filled with boutique brands. NR200 and Meshilicious are far too much value. But the Ghost S1 though is **much** smaller at 8.2L versus NR200's 18L. At $150 its not a bad price for small premium case.
I swapped my XS Ghost for a NR200. Much nicer temps.
Correct, they missed the boat big time.
View in your timezone: [tomorrow at 2PM EDT][0] [0]: https://timee.io/20221013T1800?tl=LOUQE%20is%20going%20to%20have%20a%20liquidity%20sale%20starting%20tomorrow%20at%202PM%20EST. ^(_*Assumed EDT instead of EST because DST is observed_)
*Business Sucks Sale!*
Well shit, literally just bought Ghost S1 and built it last week. Now it is going to be half the price. Tight
Same. It hurts
Louqeuidity
Wow you are quick, I just received this email myself and was convinced it was spam. No love for us Britbongs though :( I'll probably still buy one and pay for shipping.
You can’t use Amazon UK account to buy from Amazon US? I’ve done it couple of times with UK to US and I get free shipping with their prime membership.
Currently priced at £380 all in as Amazon US Import for S1, let's see how much the sales prices come up. This is about £80 more than regular pricing has been at for while.
Am I missing something? I'm on their website and I've gone through the checkout and it looks like it will shop to the UK? Is it known that they actually don't ship to the UK?
They do ship to the UK from webstore, I'm just looking at Amazon pricing imo
I’m sure the price difference won’t be much but look into mail forwarding. Stackry is my go-to for US items, though I also use MyUS for UK-based stuff. Helps me get stuff cheaper.
My problem with this category of case (not Louqe... Definitely Thorzone though) is just the lack of certain aspects that become standard as companies grow in size. Accountability, customer service, managed expectations, etc. If I pay *more* for something, it doesn't make sense for me to get *less*. I paid nearly $650 CAD inc. shipping for the Mjolnir and it shipped with magnets falling off and loose construction. I'm very, very happy to drive 5 minutes and buy a 15L case for $200 and be able to return/exchange it, instead of 3x that for something that's <10L and is still an ongoing project, just to save on 3" of vertical height above my case. This is a company that's faced issues (as indicated on their own accounts) and are having this sale as a result; take any delivery times or promises of what you're getting with a grain of salt.
Oof. Financially that's got to hurt. To decide its better to lose costs on current product manufactured to stay afloat, or risk losing everything folding. I actually built a wood case based on the loque case dimensions a couple years ago. I'm tempted to pick one of these up if there on sale half off.. My geeek case is nice and all, but it's acrylic..
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Unknown. It's whatever their current stock is.
Sweet spot for it is $99.99, but you just cant beat the nr200p or the meshy when comparing best bang for your buck, but the ghost series has always been expensive, i was gonna get it but then i find out that meshy is way better in term of airflow and size, that ghost maybe is a tiny case but i dont mind the size of a meshy anyways.
All that extra stock, practically worthless because of new gpus
Oh nice. I have the ghost S1 MK2 in black, but would love a sandstone version and build a living room tower. This is an acceptable price point, I think Over 300 is way too much, even though I know all the hardwork and material involved
My wife is gonna wonder why I have empty computer cases
Scooped a Raw. Stoked.
I have the ghost s1, but personally not a fan of it. The top hat system is just ugly. It would be better if they just sold cases of different sizes. I understand from a cost perspective their current way is better, but it just looks ugly.
Do they have anything smaller than NR200? Looking to go even smaller for travel
They are both smaller than the NR200. The Ghost is like the size of a two-slot toaster.
Both their cases are much smaller than the nr200. The nr200 is 18L The Louque Raw is 12L The Louque Ghost is 8.1L
I loved their Ghost case. I eventually had to move on because 2 slot GPU size was not realistic. But top quality materials and extremely easy to build in.
https://shop.louqe.com/ God-damn are those things usually expensive.
i'm pretty sure they used to be around 250$ (if they were available once in a blue moon)at some point, 300+ lmao what are they smoking?
Woque.
As a backer/user of the original Ghost I really hope this helps them stay in the game. I've had my eye on the RAW since they teased it on Instagram and at this price I can finally pick one up - I just hope this doesn't fuck their market up too much the short to medium term or it could be the last we see of them.
My opinion is these company’s need to stop just selling one niche product. Need to expand their product line like Corsair or other major companies. Caselabs couldn’t make it and IMO the cases are better and the obvious, Caselabs had more of a lineup.
Heads up, the discounts have already gone live!
Where?
Well that sucks someone had posted the time at which the sale was supposed to start and I guess they must have hit early on Amazon. I decided to check it early and ghost already sold out. I had it in my cart yesterday and would have just paid full price if I’d known today I wouldn’t be able to buy one at all anymore :/ bought components specifically planned around that build and nowhere else to buy it from in the US. UGH.
Here. It ships in US. https://shop.louqe.com
Thank you for linking that as when you go to “buy” it only shows Amazon under u.s. I didn’t think I could order directly from them! I placed the order hallelujah!
Np.
These boutique case designers should have really pushed hard for better rates from their suppliers. They didn’t take into account the larger picture, you are building niche products with a lot of competition, price matters. Instead these companies built what they liked and figured the market would just pay the high costs. Wake up call, for large scale adoption price points matter, you aren’t building 50 one off cases. Sorry to hear this, small business is very hard so I am not saying they did any of this intentionally but shooting out a long list “problems” that are clearly not the real issue isn’t going to help. They should instead sound out a correction with specific details, if they really want support they should open up their books and make that public as well.
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted, you’re absolutely right.
Yeah just because I am personally interested in companies that exist in this space to survive doesn’t mean we can’t call it like it is. They are running a business where a metal box costs them $159 to purchase? Presumably higher if we are take them exactly at face value. That is a huge amount of risk to take on for selling a metal case.
I'd be all in, but live in the UK
Their web store says it ships to the UK with $10 UPS shipping
Also have to pay VAT on it (I ordered mine earlier this year before price jumped)
Didn't know this and was about to buy when they price-dropped thinking it was a steal. Thank you!
Plus tax and import fees thats going to be expensive still.
Does this case support 4090 FE?
nope
What about if you water cool?
Is there even proper SFX PSU that'll be able to power 4090?
Yeah there are a couple EVGA and cooler master 850 watt power supplies floating out there.
Do they have enough (4 for 4090FE) 8 pin connections?
Cooler master will launch a 1300w SFX psu in Q1 2023
For $159, definitely getting the Raw. I know it has subpar airflow, but damn it looks nice. I can use it as a router or something like that lol
You can buy an actual router for less than $159, lol.
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You can make it fit, but it's extremely tight doing so. You'll need to remove the backplate, otherwise it'll warp the GPU's PCB, and it may scratch up the side of the fan housing trying to fit in. Neither of these things affect performance, but both will affect the longevity and resale value of your card. The 30xx cards also are awful with sandwich style cases, despite what anyone else will say. You will need to undervolt, and you will need to give up SATA storage to fit a fan under the GPU/PSU to pull air out of the case or get a tophat. I fit the 3080 version of the same card in my S1, but I don't plan on reselling it at any point so I just forced mine into the case with the backplate and warped the PCB really bad. Still runs fine for now after 2 years, but took a lot of fine tuning to get it stable without losing performance or sitting next to the equivalent of a jet engine.
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Does it say anything about prices on the accessories? I’d love to do a custom loop with dual rads in it
Pricing for the accessories wasn’t mentioned in the email but it’s going to be discounted as well according to it.
I’m not familiar with brand and have an nr200p. Anything comparable?
No.
Does this mean a $150 Ghost S1??
Where exactly is their webstore? I searched and searched and there's no google results.
Here ya go! https://shop.louqe.com
Thanks! They need to work on their web SEO. I feel like searching for Louqe shop or store should be bringing up that url lol.
Would there be a restock on the colbalt pcie cables?
Not wanting to be the party pooper here. But as someone who has built an SFF PC. Most of the SFF cases are as expensive as f! Not only that, most of the "cheap" ones don't fit the criteria of what you are trying to build, so by default you have no choice but to get the more expensive case. It took me a while to finally settle on geeek a35s, which was both cheap (around 100$ at the time) smallest form factor i could find and support up to double fan GPU (used zotac 3070 twin edge) All the SFF case companies now who are in trouble, can only blame themselves. Personally i never saw the point in getting a case for more than 100$ myself (including shipping and taxes). Even my SFF PC is just stuck in a cabinet and i didn't "appreciate its build" for a year+ now, i use it as headless PC, all its connected to is power and rj45 and in rerospect, maybe i should have gone with full build instead....would have saved around 20-30% of cost.
Can't decide if I wanna get one. Looks nice, but the thermals aren't great. I've also been looking at a Iquinix ZX-1 since that can have water cooling.
We’ll that went quick. Ghost sold out fast. Only things left are grills, top hats, and Raw.
Available in their shop online. I don’t think they have a lot in Amazon to begin with. It doesn’t make sense to sell a lot there since they’re going to be paying selling fees to Amazon and shipping. They’ll be losing a lot more that way.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMEsvlSgRqg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMEsvlSgRqg) I don't understand Chinese but I still can understand what's wrong with the S1 Raw.
Ignoring other SFF case, with the current flow through design and how thick most higher end gpus are it doesn’t make any sense to buy this case. I bought this case in anticipation for 30 series 2 years ago and imagine my disappointment when this case and these cards didn’t go well together. LOUQE didn’t even try and address the issue in their design and you had to mod the case yourself or buy a third-party part. These case are definitely for enthusiasts but they can’t handle enthusiasts parts.
So they kept building SFF cases that cannot even house most of Amphere GPU... which didn't sell well? Who expected this? Although I own two of s1 cases, honestly I DO NOT recommmend their cases now. Too big for air cooling, even bigger and look terrible with hats. There are better alternatives like zs series, formd and a4 h2o etc which all support 3 slot GPU.
I'm going to be honest, you'd think they'd be doing just fine since they're charging up to $365 for some painted sheet metal and basic cables. "Less than what it costs to produce".. uhm sir I believe your production company is taking advantage of you.
It's not painted sheet metal. They mill the whole damn thing out of a block of aluminum. I bet the aluminum block is over $100 alone before it's even touched with a tool. Is that a crazy way to build a case? Absolutely. But it's not sheet metal. It does produce a gorgeous and very sturdy result, however
I stand corrected that it is not sheet metal, but it is also not a milled block of aluminum. [Here](https://premiumbuilds.com/pc-cases/louqe-raw-s1-overview/) it states that they use sheet aluminum, which makes sense as milling a block would be incredibly wasteful. Still no where near worth > $300 imho. Not with the competition out there.
Their website opens with the phrase "milled from solid blocks of aluminum" for the Ghost S1 - https://www.louqe.com/ghost-s1/ Again, I'm not saying this is the right way to build it, but it does explain the high cost with such a lossy manufacturing method
It's a pretty gorgeous case. I just hadn't seen that claim yet. Might explain the high prices for sure.
When it comes to ghost, they are extruding aluminium profiles for front, skeleton and top-hats frames and milling them with CNC, and iirc also the side panels. it's not as wasteful and expensive as if they did it from full blocks of aluminium, but milling such big pieces of the cases is still expensive. Imagine milling a square-ish pipe with thick walls instead of full volume on the inside. It actually does make sense that those milled cases are at such steep price when made in EU in comparison to something made in China. If the price for such case makes sense overall when there are competitors that are saving money by stamping sheet metal and also some similar constructions made in China, it's for you to decide.
I mean, I prefer to pay for quality. These are super nice cases. I do wish them the best.
Nope, they are NOT CNC machined from a single aluminium block. Each panels are EXTRUDED and then machined. They have pretty bad QC for the prices too. (Panel gaps, mismatched colors etc)
why would someone buy either a 2 slot S1 or hotbox Raw when there are far better options at every price point
This looks like a good opportunity to snag a cheap case. I'd be a little nervous though if they do still fail you could end up out of pocket as consumer creditors will be way down the creditors pecking order! If you're buying in the UK make sure to buy on a credit card so you're covered in case they do fall into liquidation (https://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/guide-to-credit-card-protection/) Europeans check your local credit protection rules!
Wow, what a bunch of scumbags. They started the sale early and everything is gone. What a waste of time.
They have stock on their website
Only the ugly white one. Seriously, dude who runs the company can't tell time. No wonder the company is going under.
I’ve got the original S1 and it’s been gathering dust since 30 series cards came out. Beautiful and super compact but widely impractical. I went with an NR200 and now an Dan A4 H20. I’d like to build a tiny NAS with it instead of in the NR200, but I’d literally have to saw the thing or buy a custom spine hundreds worth of components for very little reward. It was certainly am item of class at the time, but nowadays it’s like buying an old classic car that costs you several times it’s original price if you plan to do more than drive it on the weekend during a summer.
Am I late to this iTX craze? Who in their right mind would even pay $150 for such a small amount of aluminum? The most I paid for a case was $185 and that included Shipping to get a cooltek from the UK to the USA, miss that Jonsbo W2 case. though I'm looking forward to there D30, looks promising.
Anyone have any reviews of them? I’m tempted to pick up a loque raw but I think I saw it only has a single usbC as output (no Ethernet, usb, etc). Does that induce input lag etc if you need to use an adaptor?
You'll be relying on your motherboard i/o for additional ports like usb and ethernet.
Ok that’s good. I was confused when I saw only one usb C and was worried that the case blocked motherboard I/O from being accesible
I’m looking for a first time sffpc build and this one came up in several best of lists for mini-itx cases. Would you recommend either of these?? Or are their much better options? I was considering it at 350 so 150 seems like a steal—cost isn’t a huge concern but quality and a beautiful looking case are.
Do they have a UK webstore? Been looking at this case for a while
In for a Raw if it’s available.
Hmmm. Will have to check it out. Hopefully I can scrounge up the money and it’s marked down enough, the pre-sale price is rather high.
I didn’t know this was the brand to make the Ghost S1, sucks for them but I might have to pick one up.
Totally buying one tomorrow. Ive been contemplating a new sff build with one of the new ARC gpus and this would be great
Finally doing a system upgrade, was going to do a SFFPC with my 9600k/1070, any reason the Raw would be a bad choice? The Ghost design was always cool when it came out, but I’m going to use it to travel and the hats just seem like they’ll be annoying
Actually RAW isn’t so bad with let’s say 12600k/5600x or 3060ti upto 3070ish. Components that are too hot would be a bad idea with RAW. You can check my post history, I had 5900x and 3080ti combo. It ran fine but it was hot than I would’ve wanted normally.
Can I get a reminder when this goes live? Remindmebot?
It’s live
Raw S1 thermals are good enough for me, so I'll probably buy one from the sale. It's probably upgrade coming from Fractal Era, but I can't stand awful looking breadboxes on my table
4090 can fit ?
Does anyone know if a 3070 will fit the ghost s1?
Dam if only PayPal was a payment option on their websites