CustomMod Mini build

[TheHig]

Hello everyone,

I received my Custom Mod Mini today and set right to building. Overall I am very happy with how it turned out. Here are some sweet cell phone pics.


System specs:

Intel XEON E3-1275L v3
Asus z97i Plus
16g GSkill ddr3 2133
Zotac Gtx 1050ti
Samsung Evo 250gb 2.5 in ssd.
Noctua L9i cpu cooler
Minibox pico 160xt DC DP power supply with 192w brick.

So far so good with the system and I had a great time putting it together. Feel free to ask questions and thanks for looking.

 

[TinyAudio]

Can't wait to get mine from batch 2... I went for the same colour and vent pattern.

Nice build!

 

[VisualStim]

want is high? any reason you went with the setup you have?

 

[TheHig]

Can't wait to get mine from batch 2... I went for the same colour and vent pattern.

Nice build!

Thanks! I will definitely be looking for your build post when you get yours. Its like a battleship gray color in person and I think has a nice industrial look to it.

I think the Rev 2 and beyond cases will keep getting better since they are being fully built at the fab as I understand it. Mine certainly has a production prototype feel with it being hand bent. Super happy with it though.

 

[TheHig]

want is high? any reason you went with the setup you have?

I went with this set up for a few reasons. I already had the motherboard, ram, and ssd from my 4770k build. I also had the pico 160xt psu from an i3, 750ti project.

So, I sold the 4770k and purchased the Xeon which loses only a touch of perf but comes in at 45w tdp. Also it runs a bit cooler than the i7 so bonus there.

I sold the 750ti and upgraded to the 1050ti to max out the perf for a bus powered GPU. Very nice card BTW.

At the end of the day it is a used/new parts build to get into a very small form factor and keep costs in check.

 

[alexep7]

Clever thinking with the 2.5" SSD, although not very travel friendly. Do you think it could be mounted in any of the side panels (on the inside) with double sided tape, even if blocking a little of the venting holes?

 

[bledha]

@TheHig, great stuff! What a nice little build - thank you for sharing!

Just the annoying obligatory questions about the riser. How long? What brand? Is it successfully supplying the 75w to the 1050ti itself without power from the Pico? Looking for a reliable one that is about as long as that to supply a 1050ti myself.

Again, thanks - really cool stuff!

 

[TheHig]

Clever thinking with the 2.5" SSD, although not very travel friendly. Do you think it could be mounted in any of the side panels (on the inside) with double sided tape, even if blocking a little of the venting holes?

There is not enough clearance to mount the ssd on the inner side panel. My gpu shroud touches the panel n that side and you have just a few mm on the cpu side with the noctua l9i installed.

I plan on installing 10mm high case feet to make the slung ssd a permanent option. Traveling would still require some care in handling.

 

[TheHig]

@TheHig, great stuff! What a nice little build - thank you for sharing!

Just the annoying obligatory questions about the riser. How long? What brand? Is it successfully supplying the 75w to the 1050ti itself without power from the Pico? Looking for a reliable one that is about as long as that to supply a 1050ti myself.

Again, thanks - really cool stuff!

Thanks! I believe the included riser is from Li Heat. Hit up the creator @sergiiua to confirm. He did a good job answering my questions. I'm at work so I can't measure it presently.

My 1050ti is only getting power from the pcie bus through the riser and seems to be performing normally. It benches the same etc. I have no way to measure its power draw officially. It is the Zotac 1050ti and does not have an additional power connection required.

I had the mini box pico 160xt on hand so I wanted to see if it was enough. So far so good with a 45w xeon , 1050ti, mobo, 2x8gb ddr3, ssd. All at stock voltages. Mobo has wifi/ Bluetooth so a nice all around box.

 

[bledha]

Thanks! I believe the included riser is from Li Heat. Hit up the creator @sergiiua to confirm. He did a good job answering my questions. I'm at work so I can't measure it presently.

My 1050ti is only getting power from the pcie bus through the riser and seems to be performing normally. It benches the same etc. I have no way to measure its power draw officially. It is the Zotac 1050ti and does not have an additional power connection required.

I had the mini box pico 160xt on hand so I wanted to see if it was enough. So far so good with a 45w xeon , 1050ti, mobo, 2x8gb ddr3, ssd. All at stock voltages. Mobo has wifi/ Bluetooth so a nice all around box.

Awesome, I asked him and all good. He recommended another but he definitely has the experience to back it up! Thanks so much, and great build!

 

[Curiosity]

Glad to see one built!

I'm sad I missed batch 1 because I'm impatient, but honestly I'm glad I'm in batch 2 for the improvements and because he went back to the angular panels!

 

[flacman]

Very nice, my mate's 7 year old machine finally gave up, might do him a build with one of these.

 

[TheHig]

Glad to see one built!

I'm sad I missed batch 1 because I'm impatient, but honestly I'm glad I'm in batch 2 for the improvements and because he went back to the angular panels!

The angled panels do look really good. I'm looking forward to seeing the build!

 

[TheHig]

Very nice, my mate's 7 year old machine finally gave up, might do him a build with one of these.

Thanks!

You can really pack a punchy machine into this chassis and make it your daily driver. Your mate would surely appreciate such a unique build.

 

[W1NN1NG]

so quick question the mini, have you tried stuffing it in a backpack yet? and i know its small but Im just curious as Im trying to build something I know will go into a backpack easily. Also vent holes you chose how much do the panels flex when you press on them if at all? Im pretty positive this will be the case I end up going with but I just want to be 100% before I order Im also trying to get an idea of what color I'm going to go for although I may take it to a custom shop here in town to have a particular color but on it

 

[Kmpkt]

Panels are pretty robust and I've travelled with it enough to tell you it's going to hold up pretty well. I would suggest putting some sort of sleeve on it so you don't scratch the finish/paint you've chosen.

 

[W1NN1NG]

Panels are pretty robust and I've travelled with it enough to tell you it's going to hold up pretty well. I would suggest putting some sort of sleeve on it so you don't scratch the finish/paint you've chosen.

Microfiber towels from work ftw! rofl my buddies have been hosting small lans at their houses here recently and carrying the x1.0 parvum around has just been a hassle I dont like the idea of taking two trip to carry in my pc and my monitor so I've been eye balling cases I can stuff in a bag so I can do everything in one trip into the house losing watercooling is sad but some sacrifices have to be made so it doesn't bother me too much I really want the hexagonal cutouts but I just wanted to be sure they wouldnt flex/bend too much if put into a bagsince there isn't much structure to those particular cutouts from what it seems at least but glad to here theyre robust! helps a lot, also which color did you end up going with? hard to tell from pictures

 

[CubanLegend]

Wow... amazing! I'm so jealous! So whats the highest power PSU you can fit inside this custom-mod mini? I know @guryhwa has some 300 and i think even a 400W direct-plug DC unit he can make, but will it fit? And then... what's the biggest GPU you can fit inside this thing?
I REALLY like the fact that you can manage to jerry-rig a 2.5inch SSD to the bottom. I'm going to have to follow this case's development to see if I can build myself a 2nd system thats smaller than my S4 mini rig, with as much power cramped into it as possible.

There is not enough clearance to mount the ssd on the inner side panel. My gpu shroud touches the panel n that side and you have just a few mm on the cpu side with the noctua l9i installed.

I plan on installing 10mm high case feet to make the slung ssd a permanent option. Traveling would still require some care in handling.

Hey, where did you get those rubber feet? How many mm high are they? and where will you find 10mm high case feet? I've been looking for some as well for my S4 build.

 

[TheHig]

Thanks for checking out my build!
The case feet shown shipped with the case and are 5mm I believe. I added some self adhesive felt pads I had lying around to test the concept. Still looking for a cleaner permanent solution.

With a 300-400w direct plug and brick from g-unique I believe you could drive a 7700 and gtx 1070. MSI Aero mini 1070 fits according to the case creator. There are a few others listed to fit as well.

I want to see what Ryzen itx boards come out this summer an am hoping to get my r7 1700 in the custom mod mini. Really hoping for a Vega Nano that fits physically and meets the power envelope but all speculation there.

So looking to get that g unique order in the next few weeks for sure. Would love to make this my primary system.

 

[Parge]

Can I ask, what colour did you go for? Looks kinda grey!