Hi guys, i just got my Custom_MOD FLEX mini and i wanted to share my experience with this cute case and SFF building. (And sorry for my poor English, i am French 
)
It's a long time now, i m looking for a realy small case that i can use as main PC and travel with.
So, I want something :
- As small as possible that i can put it in a backpack.
- Using only standard pieces (no custom PSU, no mxm GPU...) except case
- Without compromise on gaming experience and compute power (powerfull GPU and good CPU)
- Quiet and not too hot (as much as possible)
PAST:
5 years ago i made my first SFF build
I used a silverstone sugo SG05 with those specs:
- CPU : Intel i7 3770k oc to 4Ghz
- GPU : PNY GeForce Gtx 680 (Very tight fit !)
- MotherBoard : Asus P8z77-i Deluxe (Dead now, replaced with an Asus P8h77-I)
- Ram : 2x8 Gb G.Skill Trident z 2400 Mhz DDR3
- Cooler : Corsair H80 with two Noctua NF-F12 (Another Very tight fit!)
- Psu : Silverstone SFX 450-G (Quiet but Dead now, replaced with a Silverstone SFX 600-G not quiet and that died too, now i have a Corsair RM550x that is very quiet)
- SSD : OCZ vertex 4 256Gb (Dead now, replaced with samsung 850 evo 1Tb)
Power Draw (Max load/Gaming) : 320w / 260w
Cpu temp were Awesome (less than 50° under heavy load) and stay realy quiet, GPU temp were not that good and it was not quiet at all (so i had to tuned the power Threshold down to 87%). The case was heavy (when filled) and too big (10.8 liters) to travel with. It was a very tight fit so it was painfull to add/remove component.
So i decided to replace my case with a Silverstone Milo ML07. It's a bit bigger (14 liters) but anyway i can't travel with sugo, and this little more room was welcome
I replaced the CPU cooler with a Noctua NH-L12 and a Gelid slim 12 uv. CPU temp went up but still good (less than 70° under load) and it's still quiet. GPU temp were good and it was not too noisy with power threshold set to 100%.
But i didn't noticed that SSD temps were High and my SSD died (SSD is right behind the GPU). Same thing happen to my motherboard. P8z77-I has a small riser card for VRM but in this case they can't stay cool.
PRESENT:
Then i dediced to move this build into another case, the Lian Li Q25 and use it as a Multimedia/NAS/Casual Gaming PC connected to my TV. Build quality is far better than the silverstone. The case is a lot a bigger (20.4 liters) but i can fill it with 5 HDD and full gaming rig.
I replaced the CPU cooler with a Noctua NH-L9i. CPU temp are not that good (85° under load without oc) but it's quiet. GPU temp weren't good so i set again the power threshold to 87% to minimize noise. But HDD temp are realy good with a 140mm fan blowing directly on them.
FUTURE:
Now i need a new gaming rig. So i start searching for a new case. I m realy impressed how thing change in so little time. First i found DAN A4-SFX, small but still too big for me (7 liters). Then the S4 mini, realy small (4.3 liters) but i don't want an external PSU. Then i found the Hutzy XS, realy small, internal standard PSU but the project died.
Finally i found the Custom_MOD Flex mini (mine is rev1 so 3.99 liters) and it seems to fit all my requirement.
Before i go further with this case, here the specs of the build i m planning to put in this little boy :
- CPU : Intel i7 8700k Delided and Silver IHS from der8auer team / Owned a bit pricey but it deserve it https://www.caseking.de/en/detail/index/sArticle/47565
- GPU : Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Mini ITX / Owned Maybe i will replace it with Volta when it comes out
- MotherBoard : Asus ROG STRIX Z370-I GAMING / Owned No riser that can block heat, M2 slot in front of the motherboard and S/PDIF is all i want
- Ram : 32Gb (2x16Gb) Corsair LPX 4000 Mhz DDR4 / Owned @ 3466 15-15-15-35 1T BIOS 404 (I achieved 3800 18-19-19-39 2T With BIOS 426 but i prefer better latency)
- Cooler : Noctua NH-L9i / Owned
- Psu : FSP 500W Platinum Flex ATX / Owned, First i was waiting for the seasonic but it's coming in january and i don't want to wait that long
- SSD : Samsung 980 1Tb M2 / Not yet announced but samsung seems to follow a one year refresh rate and 960 evo is almost one year https://www.techpowerup.com/236003/samsung-readies-970-and-980-series-nvme-ssds
And here some accessories i want to add for travel :
- Screen : Gechic 1101p / Owned https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018587MI6/?tag=theminutiae-20
- Keyboard : Obins anne pro / Owned currently in ANSI layout but cannot wait for ISO https://www.banggood.com/fr/APP-Control-Anne-PRO-Blue-Red-Switch-RGB-Bluetooth-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard-p-1064055.html
- Custom Keycap : Keycap white translucent in ANSI azerty (french) layout / Owned http://www.maxkeyboard.com/ansi-custom-white-translucent-top-backlight-keycap-set-side-print.html
- Mouse : Logitech G603 / Owned
- Tavel organizer : Inwagui travel luggage organizer / Owned https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inwagui-Luggage-Organiser-Toiletry-Suitcase/dp/B06WWQFG71/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1505576997&sr=8-5&keywords=Inwagui+luggage&th=1
- BackPack : Osprey Farpoint 55 / Owned I love this modularity so i can put my travel organizer in the daypack or in the biggest backpack depending on my need
Some other accessories at home :
- Screen : Asus Rog swift PG35VQ / Not yet released https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/ROG-SWIFT-PG35VQ/
- Mouse : Logitech G403 / Released
- Mouse bungee : BenQ Zowie Camade / Owned
- Mouse pad : Steelseries QcK XXL / Owned
- Speaker : Mission LX-2 / Owned
- FDA : smsl ad18 / Owned
REVIEW and BUILD of FLEX mini rev1:
Specs :
Motherboard : Mini-ITX
PSU : FLEX ATX
Material : Full Aluminium
SSD/HDD : One 2.5" and M.2
Cooling system : No Fan but oversized vents on side and top panel
Expansion slot : One with two slot
Max Length GPU : 175mm (official, i measured a bit more so i think 175mm GPU will be easy fit)
Max Height CPU : 37mm with 3mm clearance (official, not yet tested)
Max Height RAM : 40mm (official, not yet tested)
Front I/O port : None (but you can ask for USB3.1 type C or USB 3.0)
Logo : None (But you got one in default)
Power Button : 12mm in front (rear default)
Filter : DustEND G1 removable (None default)
Accesories included : PCIe LiHeat 300mm D.type
Dimensions (official) : 100mm (W) x 220mm (H) x 181.5 (D) mm (3.99 liters)
Dimensions (measured) : 100mm (W) x 220mm (H) x 185 (D) mm (4.07 liters)
Weight : 771g
Color : Matte Black
Price : $174 (with option i choose)
Case i get don't have the dimensions it was supposed to have. I got no notification about it. But... I guess i prefer those dimensions, when i see that first batch of Custom_Mod MINI ITX can't fit GPU they are supposed to support.
Seller :
Contact with Sergiiua is realy good. He responds fast to any question and send advancement on production for each step. I asked him some modification from his default design and he did them exactly the way i wanted.
He is ukrainian, he use a translator so you should be realy specific if you want mod.
I sent my order on 8th june and paid the same day. First expected delivery date was 20th july if i remember well. Finaly my case was sent on 1st september and i get it on 9th september (From Ukraine to France).
So it took 3 mounths, i think it's quite good for something that is almost a prototype with modification to default design. And it seems the factory get some trouble with a bend machine so it took a bit more time.
Unpacking :
Case was sent in a tiny box, it travel by plane. Sticker says it's a gift, a commercial sample. I can't read the value. Anyway it passes through border without any trouble.
Case is well packed with some little polystyrene tiles on his side. I guess adding some more polystyrere couldn't hurt.
Outside :
First impression is awesome. This thing is tiny, cute and clean.
Front panel is very clean, only one power button and two little screw, some vent at the bottom.
But i see some improvoment that could be made :
- Hidding the two screw and put them near the vent.
- Adding some vent on the top for heat dissipation.
- Vent could have a nicer design, removing this large hole
Top panel is ok, i guess a little more vent could help.
Side panel are clean with tone of vents. The fit is good but not perfect. However one side panel is bent, as you can see from bottom.
Bottom panel is ok. You can see those tiny feet and four screw holes, two for PSU and two for SSD.
Rear panel is a bit disapointing. PSU screw holes and rivet have been made more than once. There is a second holes for a power button i guess. I think something is missing between Motherboard and PSU for a cleanier design.
And the most disapointing there is no custom number plate :'(
One word on painting, it seems good, i didn't see any scratch. I love this matte color, there is no fingerprint.
Inside :
First thing i noticed when taking side panel off is the screw seems not similar. The two on side are shorter.
On GPU side, you can see rear element are bended. GPU panel is bend too, no doubt. I think power button won't block PSU and 175mm GPU will be easy fit.
On Motherboard side, i think Pci-E riser is a bit too long. Power button wire is long enough to be plug anywhere.
Now from inside i understand why there is no more vent on top panel. I guess it's maximum you can have with current design.
Dust filter are all well applied except one on front panel.
Then i put all thing together again. The bended side panel was a bit harder to put on but it's ok. I was very cautious but some scratch appear near screw :/ I will see over time if other scratch appear when traveling with this case.
Bundle :
Bundle is minimal but it was expected :
- One Pci-e riser
- Some screw (PSU, motherboard and replacement)
- Zip ties for cable management
- One business card
I exepected at least some customization on this card like a "thx for support" but no
Assembly :
First element i get is my PSU. I try to put it in, maybe i will have to remove it later when i get other part.
Finally i get the 500w flex platinum PSU from FSP, i didn't wait for the seasonic (someone from overtek says it's incoming in january).
This thing is so tiny ! And heavy compared to it's size !
This PSU doesn't have 8 pin Pci-E but two 8 pin 12v EPS so i ordered one adapter from EPS to Pci-E.
As expected it was an easy fit. Front power button wasn't a problem at all. But rear panel was a bit more disapointing. Only one screw fits ! I had to bend the panel to fit a second one and there is no hole for the third one obviously. However two screw seems enough, the PSU in not moving at all.
Cable management will be a hard time I think i will have to remove some of these useless hard drive power cable
First thing i get after PSU, is my 8700k ultra edition. So i did some test outside of the case and some tuning for best compromise performance/Heat/Noise. I will talk about it a bit later.
Finally my gigabyte 1080 mini arrived. Let's put everything together !
When i was thinking graphics card will be easy fit i was wrong. It didn't fit at all at first attempt. I had to take off the rear PCi bracket. I installed the bracket first then i was able to put the graphics card in the case by bending a little bit the case. And finally it fits ! But i think something a little bit bigger won't, like an MSI 1070 GTx Aero. So 185mm long is realy the minimum you can use for and 170mm long card.
Ok so then i was able to mount everything without too much trouble. Here is the result :
However I had to do three modification from stock element.
First, my PSU got too much wire, so i removed every useless Sata wire. It fits without any modifcation if you don't want to remove them.
Second modification : when i plug the power cable in my PSU, i noticed that the PSU is moving, two screw are not enough. So i added a small piece of steel in front of my PSU and screw it from behind.
Third modification : Do you remember my crappy rear panel ? A friend of me 3D printed a little piece of plastic and finally this rear panel is acceptable now :
)It's a long time now, i m looking for a realy small case that i can use as main PC and travel with.
So, I want something :
- As small as possible that i can put it in a backpack.
- Using only standard pieces (no custom PSU, no mxm GPU...) except case
- Without compromise on gaming experience and compute power (powerfull GPU and good CPU)
- Quiet and not too hot (as much as possible)
PAST:
5 years ago i made my first SFF build
I used a silverstone sugo SG05 with those specs:
- CPU : Intel i7 3770k oc to 4Ghz
- GPU : PNY GeForce Gtx 680 (Very tight fit !)
- MotherBoard : Asus P8z77-i Deluxe (Dead now, replaced with an Asus P8h77-I)
- Ram : 2x8 Gb G.Skill Trident z 2400 Mhz DDR3
- Cooler : Corsair H80 with two Noctua NF-F12 (Another Very tight fit!)
- Psu : Silverstone SFX 450-G (Quiet but Dead now, replaced with a Silverstone SFX 600-G not quiet and that died too, now i have a Corsair RM550x that is very quiet)
- SSD : OCZ vertex 4 256Gb (Dead now, replaced with samsung 850 evo 1Tb)
Power Draw (Max load/Gaming) : 320w / 260w
Cpu temp were Awesome (less than 50° under heavy load) and stay realy quiet, GPU temp were not that good and it was not quiet at all (so i had to tuned the power Threshold down to 87%). The case was heavy (when filled) and too big (10.8 liters) to travel with. It was a very tight fit so it was painfull to add/remove component.
So i decided to replace my case with a Silverstone Milo ML07. It's a bit bigger (14 liters) but anyway i can't travel with sugo, and this little more room was welcome
I replaced the CPU cooler with a Noctua NH-L12 and a Gelid slim 12 uv. CPU temp went up but still good (less than 70° under load) and it's still quiet. GPU temp were good and it was not too noisy with power threshold set to 100%.
But i didn't noticed that SSD temps were High and my SSD died (SSD is right behind the GPU). Same thing happen to my motherboard. P8z77-I has a small riser card for VRM but in this case they can't stay cool.
PRESENT:
Then i dediced to move this build into another case, the Lian Li Q25 and use it as a Multimedia/NAS/Casual Gaming PC connected to my TV. Build quality is far better than the silverstone. The case is a lot a bigger (20.4 liters) but i can fill it with 5 HDD and full gaming rig.
I replaced the CPU cooler with a Noctua NH-L9i. CPU temp are not that good (85° under load without oc) but it's quiet. GPU temp weren't good so i set again the power threshold to 87% to minimize noise. But HDD temp are realy good with a 140mm fan blowing directly on them.
FUTURE:
Now i need a new gaming rig. So i start searching for a new case. I m realy impressed how thing change in so little time. First i found DAN A4-SFX, small but still too big for me (7 liters). Then the S4 mini, realy small (4.3 liters) but i don't want an external PSU. Then i found the Hutzy XS, realy small, internal standard PSU but the project died.
Finally i found the Custom_MOD Flex mini (mine is rev1 so 3.99 liters) and it seems to fit all my requirement.
Before i go further with this case, here the specs of the build i m planning to put in this little boy :
- CPU : Intel i7 8700k Delided and Silver IHS from der8auer team / Owned a bit pricey but it deserve it
https://www.caseking.de/en/detail/index/sArticle/47565- GPU : Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Mini ITX / Owned Maybe i will replace it with Volta when it comes out
- MotherBoard : Asus ROG STRIX Z370-I GAMING / Owned No riser that can block heat, M2 slot in front of the motherboard and S/PDIF is all i want
- Ram : 32Gb (2x16Gb) Corsair LPX 4000 Mhz DDR4 / Owned @ 3466 15-15-15-35 1T BIOS 404 (I achieved 3800 18-19-19-39 2T With BIOS 426 but i prefer better latency)
- Cooler : Noctua NH-L9i / Owned
- Psu : FSP 500W Platinum Flex ATX / Owned, First i was waiting for the seasonic but it's coming in january and i don't want to wait that long
- SSD : Samsung 980 1Tb M2 / Not yet announced but samsung seems to follow a one year refresh rate and 960 evo is almost one year https://www.techpowerup.com/236003/samsung-readies-970-and-980-series-nvme-ssds
And here some accessories i want to add for travel :
- Screen : Gechic 1101p / Owned https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018587MI6/?tag=theminutiae-20
- Keyboard : Obins anne pro / Owned currently in ANSI layout but cannot wait for ISO https://www.banggood.com/fr/APP-Control-Anne-PRO-Blue-Red-Switch-RGB-Bluetooth-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard-p-1064055.html
- Custom Keycap : Keycap white translucent in ANSI azerty (french) layout / Owned http://www.maxkeyboard.com/ansi-custom-white-translucent-top-backlight-keycap-set-side-print.html
- Mouse : Logitech G603 / Owned
- Tavel organizer : Inwagui travel luggage organizer / Owned https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inwagui-Luggage-Organiser-Toiletry-Suitcase/dp/B06WWQFG71/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1505576997&sr=8-5&keywords=Inwagui+luggage&th=1
- BackPack : Osprey Farpoint 55 / Owned I love this modularity so i can put my travel organizer in the daypack or in the biggest backpack depending on my need
Some other accessories at home :
- Screen : Asus Rog swift PG35VQ / Not yet released https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/ROG-SWIFT-PG35VQ/
- Mouse : Logitech G403 / Released
- Mouse bungee : BenQ Zowie Camade / Owned
- Mouse pad : Steelseries QcK XXL / Owned
- Speaker : Mission LX-2 / Owned
- FDA : smsl ad18 / Owned
REVIEW and BUILD of FLEX mini rev1:
Specs :
Motherboard : Mini-ITX
PSU : FLEX ATX
Material : Full Aluminium
SSD/HDD : One 2.5" and M.2
Cooling system : No Fan but oversized vents on side and top panel
Expansion slot : One with two slot
Max Length GPU : 175mm (official, i measured a bit more so i think 175mm GPU will be easy fit)
Max Height CPU : 37mm with 3mm clearance (official, not yet tested)
Max Height RAM : 40mm (official, not yet tested)
Front I/O port : None (but you can ask for USB3.1 type C or USB 3.0)
Logo : None (But you got one in default)
Power Button : 12mm in front (rear default)
Filter : DustEND G1 removable (None default)
Accesories included : PCIe LiHeat 300mm D.type
Dimensions (official) : 100mm (W) x 220mm (H) x 181.5 (D) mm (3.99 liters)
Dimensions (measured) : 100mm (W) x 220mm (H) x 185 (D) mm (4.07 liters)
Weight : 771g
Color : Matte Black
Price : $174 (with option i choose)
Case i get don't have the dimensions it was supposed to have. I got no notification about it. But... I guess i prefer those dimensions, when i see that first batch of Custom_Mod MINI ITX can't fit GPU they are supposed to support.
Seller :
Contact with Sergiiua is realy good. He responds fast to any question and send advancement on production for each step. I asked him some modification from his default design and he did them exactly the way i wanted.
He is ukrainian, he use a translator so you should be realy specific if you want mod.
I sent my order on 8th june and paid the same day. First expected delivery date was 20th july if i remember well. Finaly my case was sent on 1st september and i get it on 9th september (From Ukraine to France).
So it took 3 mounths, i think it's quite good for something that is almost a prototype with modification to default design. And it seems the factory get some trouble with a bend machine so it took a bit more time.
Unpacking :
Case was sent in a tiny box, it travel by plane. Sticker says it's a gift, a commercial sample. I can't read the value. Anyway it passes through border without any trouble.
Case is well packed with some little polystyrene tiles on his side. I guess adding some more polystyrere couldn't hurt.
Outside :
First impression is awesome. This thing is tiny, cute and clean.
Front panel is very clean, only one power button and two little screw, some vent at the bottom.
But i see some improvoment that could be made :
- Hidding the two screw and put them near the vent.
- Adding some vent on the top for heat dissipation.
- Vent could have a nicer design, removing this large hole
Top panel is ok, i guess a little more vent could help.
Side panel are clean with tone of vents. The fit is good but not perfect. However one side panel is bent, as you can see from bottom.
Bottom panel is ok. You can see those tiny feet and four screw holes, two for PSU and two for SSD.
Rear panel is a bit disapointing. PSU screw holes and rivet have been made more than once. There is a second holes for a power button i guess. I think something is missing between Motherboard and PSU for a cleanier design.
And the most disapointing there is no custom number plate :'(
One word on painting, it seems good, i didn't see any scratch. I love this matte color, there is no fingerprint.
Inside :
First thing i noticed when taking side panel off is the screw seems not similar. The two on side are shorter.
On GPU side, you can see rear element are bended. GPU panel is bend too, no doubt. I think power button won't block PSU and 175mm GPU will be easy fit.
On Motherboard side, i think Pci-E riser is a bit too long. Power button wire is long enough to be plug anywhere.
Now from inside i understand why there is no more vent on top panel. I guess it's maximum you can have with current design.
Dust filter are all well applied except one on front panel.
Then i put all thing together again. The bended side panel was a bit harder to put on but it's ok. I was very cautious but some scratch appear near screw :/ I will see over time if other scratch appear when traveling with this case.
Bundle :
Bundle is minimal but it was expected :
- One Pci-e riser
- Some screw (PSU, motherboard and replacement)
- Zip ties for cable management
- One business card
I exepected at least some customization on this card like a "thx for support" but no
Assembly :
First element i get is my PSU. I try to put it in, maybe i will have to remove it later when i get other part.
Finally i get the 500w flex platinum PSU from FSP, i didn't wait for the seasonic (someone from overtek says it's incoming in january).
This thing is so tiny ! And heavy compared to it's size !
This PSU doesn't have 8 pin Pci-E but two 8 pin 12v EPS so i ordered one adapter from EPS to Pci-E.
As expected it was an easy fit. Front power button wasn't a problem at all. But rear panel was a bit more disapointing. Only one screw fits ! I had to bend the panel to fit a second one and there is no hole for the third one obviously. However two screw seems enough, the PSU in not moving at all.
Cable management will be a hard time
I think i will have to remove some of these useless hard drive power cable First thing i get after PSU, is my 8700k ultra edition. So i did some test outside of the case and some tuning for best compromise performance/Heat/Noise. I will talk about it a bit later.
Finally my gigabyte 1080 mini arrived. Let's put everything together !
When i was thinking graphics card will be easy fit i was wrong. It didn't fit at all at first attempt. I had to take off the rear PCi bracket. I installed the bracket first then i was able to put the graphics card in the case by bending a little bit the case. And finally it fits ! But i think something a little bit bigger won't, like an MSI 1070 GTx Aero. So 185mm long is realy the minimum you can use for and 170mm long card.
Ok so then i was able to mount everything without too much trouble. Here is the result :
However I had to do three modification from stock element.
First, my PSU got too much wire, so i removed every useless Sata wire. It fits without any modifcation if you don't want to remove them.
Second modification : when i plug the power cable in my PSU, i noticed that the PSU is moving, two screw are not enough. So i added a small piece of steel in front of my PSU and screw it from behind.
Third modification : Do you remember my crappy rear panel ? A friend of me 3D printed a little piece of plastic and finally this rear panel is acceptable now :
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