S4M Black Side Panels

brt02

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 3, 2018
224
234
Nice! didn't think they would reappear. I already have a set and they look great.

 

Elerek

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jul 17, 2017
228
165
Josh said that they were unlikely to come back. Looks like he's changed his mind.
I thought Josh was still looking for a new manufacturer and we were still working under the assumption that the S4m could sell out and be gone unless he finds one he likes? Maybe these are reserve stock for warranties etc?
 

brt02

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 3, 2018
224
234
EDIT: Got it very wrong. Sorry

///There's a new batch of cases coming in march 2019. SFFLab has pre-orders open.
 
Last edited:

Josh | NFC

Not From Concentrate
NFC Systems
Jun 12, 2015
1,869
4,466
www.nfc-systems.com
Josh said that they were unlikely to come back. Looks like he's changed his mind.

It is just a "wires crossed" issue with SFFLAB and inventory. Only ONE batch of black panels was ever produced. SFFLAB put them up and then took them down and I don't know how many are left. There are supposed to be none left and you shouldn't be able to order them, but being that I don't manage the website or inventory levels for SFFLAB I am not the person to ask.

I don't intend to make more of these, I have no plans to make more of these, and I certainly haven't bought more of them. Things could change, but that is all I know. So basically I know less than you guys haha XD

I thought Josh was still looking for a new manufacturer and we were still working under the assumption that the S4m could sell out and be gone unless he finds one he likes? Maybe these are reserve stock for warranties etc?

Mostly true, but again I don't know what the deal is with the panels listed for sale with SFFLAB. I think you should contact SFFLAB and ask what is up. I don't want them to be listed on there because I think it causes confusion. Alot of people waited for a black MINI because SFFLAB had a greyed out option for one, then listed them as sold out, then had them for pre-order soon. There NEVER was going to be a black MINI for this run and I have asked over and over again for all black options to be dropped. This has left alot of people waiting for a black MINI without the option to get any MINI. I never would want to discuss problems publicly but at this point it is warranted. I said in emails and in videos there never would be a black MINI this run but SFFLAB made it appear otherwise and I am sorry and frustrated by it.

There's a new batch of cases coming in march 2019. SFFLab has pre-orders open.

That is definitely not true and bad information and you should not be able to pre-order a MINI at this time.

I would love to make more but I don't know if that is a possibility at this time. I don't know if there is the market for another high quality MINI run. When I started the MINI project it was laughed at because it required riser ribbons and special power supplies (among other reasons). Now those things are common place and more than that special form factors and versions of these products have been developed specifically with the MINI in mind. With the mentality changed and the obstacles cleared and the market all gathered neatly via the channels NFC has cultivated it means alot of 3rd party indie case makers are making MINI layout PCs. It also means the big boys are seeing that this is a product they want to mass produce.

I think there are positives and negatives to this. The positive is that ideas that makeup the MINI are now "mainstream" and consumers are going to have affordable options for buying a MINI-like case that functionally meets their needs. The negative is I don't think anyone cares about making a super high quality MINI (and all the drama and expenses it requires to make it REAL) and unless many stars align that option might be off the table for those customers who want that option.

$200 sounds like alot...but it was a miracle to get a chassis as nice as the S4M for that price at that quantity. Re-ordering that miracle isn't even possible right now, and I wish it was. I only want to make something I can be proud of. I can make something cheaper and budget and still be proud, it doesn't have to be luxury, but making a luxury PC case in 2019 means it is going to be much more expensive and probably not possible. Maybe we will get lucky and things will change...

Thank you for your support.

*edited some of my dumb grammar mistakes*
 

nyxtom

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Nov 5, 2018
57
64
It is just a "wires crossed" issue with SFFLAB and inventory. Only ONE batch of black panels was ever produced. SFFLAB put them up and then took them down and I don't know how many are left. There are supposed to be none left and you shouldn't be able to order them, but being that I don't manage the website or inventory levels for SFFLAB I am not the person to ask.

I don't intend to make more of these, I have no plans to make more of these, and I certainly haven't bought more of them. Things could change, but that is all I know. So basically I know less than you guys haha XD



Mostly true, but again I don't know what the deal is with the panels listed for sale with SFFLAB. I think you should contact SFFLAB and ask what is up. I don't want them to be listed on there because I think it causes confusion. Alot of people waited for a black MINI because SFFLAB had a greyed out option for one, then listed them as sold out, then had them for pre-order soon. There NEVER was going to be a black MINI for this run and I have asked over and over again for all black options to be dropped. This has left alot of people waiting for a black MINI without the option to get any MINI. I never would want to discuss problems publicly but at this point it is warranted. I said in emails and in videos there never would be a black MINI this run but SFFLAB made it appear otherwise and I am sorry and frustrated by it.



That is definitely not true and bad information and you should not be able to pre-order a MINI at this time.

I would love to make more but I don't know if that is a possibility at this time. I don't know if there is the market for another high quality MINI run. When I started the MINI project it was laughed at because it required riser ribbons and special power supplies (among other reasons). Now those things are common place and more than that special form factors and versions of these products have been developed specifically with the MINI in mind. With the mentality changed and the obstacles cleared and the market all gathered neatly via the channels NFC has cultivated it means alot of 3rd party indie case makers are making MINI layout PCs. It also means the big boys are seeing that this is a product they want to mass produce.

I think there are positives and negatives to this. The positive is that ideas that makeup the MINI are now "mainstream" and consumers are going to have affordable options for buying a MINI-like case that functionally meets their needs. The negative is I don't think anyone cares about making a super high quality MINI (and all the drama and expenses it requires to make it REAL) and unless many stars align that option might be off the table for those customers who want that option.

$200 sounds like alot...but it was a miracle to get a chassis as nice as the S4M for that price at that quantity. Re-ordering that miracle isn't even possible right now, and I wish it was. I only want to make something I can be proud of. I can make something cheaper and budget and still be proud, it doesn't have to be luxury, but making a luxury PC case in 2019 means it is going to be much more expensive and probably not possible. Maybe we will get lucky and things will change...

Thank you for your support.

*edited some of my dumb grammar mistakes*

Thanks for the reply @Josh | NFC. I figured there might be a mistake on the SFFLab so I ended up just following up with them about my original order and canceled it. For anyone that is interested, I'm looking into some local services that will do some powder coating for the side panels. I believe it should work fine? I'm ordering swatches soon to test things out. Most services can easily do this sort of thing much cheaper and it ends up being easier to select a specific coat that you want. I have zero experience with this so we'll see how it turns out.
 
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Josh | NFC

Not From Concentrate
NFC Systems
Jun 12, 2015
1,869
4,466
www.nfc-systems.com
Thanks for the reply @Josh | NFC. I figured there might be a mistake on the SFFLab so I ended up just following up with them about my original order and canceled it. For anyone that is interested, I'm looking into some local services that will do some powder coating for the side panels. I believe it should work fine? I'm ordering swatches soon to test things out. Most services can easily do this sort of thing much cheaper and it ends up being easier to select a specific coat that you want. I have zero experience with this so we'll see how it turns out.

Yeah totally!

I would definitely recommend taking your panels to a body shop or a powdercoating shop and getting them done. The panels will accept all paint very nicely and because they use premium aluminum can be baked for the powdercoating with minimum outgassing meaning they can get it right the first time with most powders.

Peace
 

Elerek

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jul 17, 2017
228
165
@Josh | NFC Thanks for clarifying, I'm really happy with my mini and I hope the stars realign for another run eventually. But I'm looking forward to what you and Lazer3d come up with :)
 
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nyxtom

Average Stuffer
Original poster
Nov 5, 2018
57
64
It is just a "wires crossed" issue with SFFLAB and inventory. Only ONE batch of black panels was ever produced. SFFLAB put them up and then took them down and I don't know how many are left. There are supposed to be none left and you shouldn't be able to order them, but being that I don't manage the website or inventory levels for SFFLAB I am not the person to ask.

I don't intend to make more of these, I have no plans to make more of these, and I certainly haven't bought more of them. Things could change, but that is all I know. So basically I know less than you guys haha XD



Mostly true, but again I don't know what the deal is with the panels listed for sale with SFFLAB. I think you should contact SFFLAB and ask what is up. I don't want them to be listed on there because I think it causes confusion. Alot of people waited for a black MINI because SFFLAB had a greyed out option for one, then listed them as sold out, then had them for pre-order soon. There NEVER was going to be a black MINI for this run and I have asked over and over again for all black options to be dropped. This has left alot of people waiting for a black MINI without the option to get any MINI. I never would want to discuss problems publicly but at this point it is warranted. I said in emails and in videos there never would be a black MINI this run but SFFLAB made it appear otherwise and I am sorry and frustrated by it.



That is definitely not true and bad information and you should not be able to pre-order a MINI at this time.

I would love to make more but I don't know if that is a possibility at this time. I don't know if there is the market for another high quality MINI run. When I started the MINI project it was laughed at because it required riser ribbons and special power supplies (among other reasons). Now those things are common place and more than that special form factors and versions of these products have been developed specifically with the MINI in mind. With the mentality changed and the obstacles cleared and the market all gathered neatly via the channels NFC has cultivated it means alot of 3rd party indie case makers are making MINI layout PCs. It also means the big boys are seeing that this is a product they want to mass produce.

I think there are positives and negatives to this. The positive is that ideas that makeup the MINI are now "mainstream" and consumers are going to have affordable options for buying a MINI-like case that functionally meets their needs. The negative is I don't think anyone cares about making a super high quality MINI (and all the drama and expenses it requires to make it REAL) and unless many stars align that option might be off the table for those customers who want that option.

$200 sounds like alot...but it was a miracle to get a chassis as nice as the S4M for that price at that quantity. Re-ordering that miracle isn't even possible right now, and I wish it was. I only want to make something I can be proud of. I can make something cheaper and budget and still be proud, it doesn't have to be luxury, but making a luxury PC case in 2019 means it is going to be much more expensive and probably not possible. Maybe we will get lucky and things will change...

Thank you for your support.

*edited some of my dumb grammar mistakes*

Rounded corners and high quality material make everything more difficult :( ...but it looks so beautiful!
 
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Reactions: Josh | NFC

souleex

Case Bender
New User
Dec 10, 2018
2
2
I would love to make more but I don't know if that is a possibility at this time. I don't know if there is the market for another high quality MINI run. When I started the MINI project it was laughed at because it required riser ribbons and special power supplies (among other reasons). Now those things are common place and more than that special form factors and versions of these products have been developed specifically with the MINI in mind. With the mentality changed and the obstacles cleared and the market all gathered neatly via the channels NFC has cultivated it means alot of 3rd party indie case makers are making MINI layout PCs. It also means the big boys are seeing that this is a product they want to mass produce.

I think there are positives and negatives to this. The positive is that ideas that makeup the MINI are now "mainstream" and consumers are going to have affordable options for buying a MINI-like case that functionally meets their needs. The negative is I don't think anyone cares about making a super high quality MINI (and all the drama and expenses it requires to make it REAL) and unless many stars align that option might be off the table for those customers who want that option.

$200 sounds like alot...but it was a miracle to get a chassis as nice as the S4M for that price at that quantity. Re-ordering that miracle isn't even possible right now, and I wish it was. I only want to make something I can be proud of. I can make something cheaper and budget and still be proud, it doesn't have to be luxury, but making a luxury PC case in 2019 means it is going to be much more expensive and probably not possible. Maybe we will get lucky and things will change...

Thank you for your support.

*edited some of my dumb grammar mistakes*

I guess its a good thing I was able to get a S4M third handed for a decent price then :(. I also recently ordered some S4M accessories through your website. Does this also mean S4M accessories on your website will soon be gone until further notice too? Thanks @Josh | NFC for all you have done so far