(COMPLETE) SFF Inception: NFC Skyreach 4 MINI Brickless Build Log

[seven7thirty30]

United at last! The Skyreach 4 Mini arrived and it really is impressive. The build quality is worth the wait. You don't realize how small it really is unitl you see it in person.

Initial fitting and placement reveals that the Black Ridge CPU cooler will require 4mm of additional clearance. Unfortunately, cutting the panel to expose the top of the cooler isn't going to be an option since the vent slots don't line up well enough to make it look as clean as I want it to. The motherboard stand offs are 6mm, and cutting them down 4mm wouldn't leave enough threading for the screws to be secure enough during transport (which is what I plan to do), and it would cause the rear motherboard pins and components to come in metal to metal contact with the case. The option that I'm left with is drilling and tapping new holes for the side panels to be lifted 2mm on each side in combination with cutting the motherboard stand offs by 2mm. I like the idea of the case appearing to be slightly open since it fits the Dues Ex theme and the lighting that I have planned will look great when viewed from the front.

The Zotac GTX 1080Ti fits perfectly even with the stock heat sink and shroud. I wanted to make sure that it would before I painted it.

More to come...

 

[Metblack328i]

Wow!!!!! Very nice build. You are an artist.

Does the ac hdflex unit sit next to the graphics card without any mod?

 

[seven7thirty30]

Wow!!!!! Very nice build. You are an artist.

Does the ac hdflex unit sit next to the graphics card without any mod?

Thank you! The HDPlex power supply barely fits. The GPU power cables will need to be low profile and the power supply does need to be modified. I'll post that mod soon.

 

[seven7thirty30]

This morning I completed the modifications needed to raise the case side panels by drilling and tapping new mounting holes. I decided not to cut down the motherboard mounts since it will cause clearance issues with the M.2 heatsink and another modification that I have planned. I raised the case side panels by 5mm. 4mm was sufficient, but the Black Ridge CPU cooler fins are not perfectly level. I went 1mm more to give it a little more room.

The case side panels sag in the middle, so the picture you see does show them making contact with the cooler fins. I will remedy this by adding spacers mounted with M3 screws to add rigidity to the overall structure. Pics to follow soon.

 

[Lallo]

Wow this build is amazing! I love all the work you've out in!
I just recently got interested in this case but the thing holding me back is only having a mini graphics card. As far as I know there are no new rtx graphics card in "mini" edition right? I'm not even sure if it is possible to get a mini 1080 Ti in used condition where I live.

 

[Instran0]

Wow this build is amazing! I love all the work you've out in!
I just recently got interested in this case but the thing holding me back is only having a mini graphics card. As far as I know there are no new rtx graphics card in "mini" edition right? I'm not even sure if it is possible to get a mini 1080 Ti in used condition where I live.

this is not correct.

there are mini RTX 2070 cards available.

and a RTX 2070 = GTX 1080 ,in terms of power.

 

[seven7thirty30]

Wow this build is amazing! I love all the work you've out in!
I just recently got interested in this case but the thing holding me back is only having a mini graphics card. As far as I know there are no new rtx graphics card in "mini" edition right? I'm not even sure if it is possible to get a mini 1080 Ti in used condition where I live.

Thank you! There are a few other RTX mini cards. The options are indeed limited, but I'm optimistic that there will be more ITX cards in the future. You should check out NFC's Discord and Youtube channels. There is a lot of material on the S4M. I see GTX 1080Ti Mini cards on eBay often.

 

[seven7thirty30]

Slow progress today. Still waiting on some parts and supplies to be delivered.

The GPU fan shroud and power button swag has been painted. May or may not use the power button accent. I'm also considering painting the fans gold.

I made use of the down time by installing the aviation connector to the rear case panel and sleeving half of the cables to the power supply. I'll work on the other half next.

Power supply case has been primed and ready for paint. As soon as it has been painted I will reassemble it and start making custom length GPU power cables.

 

[seven7thirty30]

Finished sleeving the HDPlex power supply cables. Turned out pretty well. I also modified the 40mm Noctua fan for a slimmer profile and made shorter cables that will hide inside the unit.

I also decided to try to dye the power switch LED ring. White isn't going to work for this build and I'm hoping to get good results with Rit dye. I'll post the aftermath of that soon. I also decided, against my better judgement, to paint the Noctua fans on the GPU. Paint is curing now, and hopefully I'll post some pics tomorrow before I fly back to Atlanta for a week.

 

[slimjim]

Liquid Rit dye is not as good as the powdered stuff for dyeing plastics, hasn't been for a decade now. Also check out idye poly and jacquard. I used to do a TON of plastics dyeing

 

[seven7thirty30]

Today I had some time before leaving for the airport to reassemble the GPU. There's a special place in Noctua Hell for me. The contrast between the gold and black will make the fans pop when viewed from the side of the case. The reduction in noise vs the stock fans is well worth it.

I also did a pre-fitting for the side panel stand offs to counter the sag that was making contact with the Black Ridge CPU cooler. M3 x 5mm aluminum with black finish.

 

[slimjim]

Are you gonna have a new front panel made to fill in the gaps from the modification?

 

[seven7thirty30]

Are you gonna have a new front panel made to fill in the gaps from the modification?

Yes, I also need to move the power button to the center.

 

[seven7thirty30]

Back to work! The custom Zotac 1080Ti MINI PCIE bracket is a reality. This was made in collaboration with Tancients on NFC's Discord. We made this bracket to allow for a 14mm offset to make a brick less build in the S4M when using the Zotac 1080Ti MINI GPU.

I modified the HDPlex 400W AC-DC power supply with a large aluminum heat sink to improve case thermals and to allow additional room for the GPU power cables. The dimensions of the heat sink are very close to the length and width of the S4M. This should help with case thermals since the heat sink should pull most of the heat from the HDPlex 400W AC-DC out of the case. Serious case modification had to be made, since the heat sink will be flush and mounted on the top panel (when the case is standing vertically). This modification along with the 14mm offset GPU bracket provides an additional 10mm of space between the top of the GPU and the HDPlex 400W AC-DC unit.

Thermal past applied between new heat sink and HDPlex 400W AC-DC frame.

The mounting of the HDPlex 400W AC-DC mod required new holes to be drilled and tapped into the case frame. A new challenge was apparent when connecting the Aviation Power Cable. Quick disconnects are needed, so I re-soldered and re-sleeved the cables.

The outer case panels have been prepped for powder coating. I'm going to drop them off at the shop tomorrow.

 

[seven7thirty30]

Teaser...this is definitely happening.

 

[Curiosity]

iPad display, YES!

also that custom bracket looks great!

 

[seven7thirty30]

Test assembly. Still waiting on a few components to arrive by mail. I also have designed a custom iPad display bezel that will go on the side panel to clean up the edges. Case panels are ready for powder coating.

Side panels off:

Side panels on (unmounted):

 

[Curiosity]

Is that cutout for the ipad display?

 

[slimjim]

I don't understand what the custom 1080ti bracket did? Can someone explain/draw me a picture or something?

 

[Curiosity]

I don't understand what the custom 1080ti bracket did? Can someone explain/draw me a picture or something?

It shifted the GPU closer to the motherboard to give the hdplex brick more space so that it actually fits.