NFC Mini S4 - Pacific Northwest Edition

[fjbruening]

Build #158

I've been wanting a windows box for a long time - I've been using macs at home for the last 10 years or so, and while I really like OS X, and Apple's macbooks, they've been getting more retarded, and given the latest rev of the macbook pro, I decided to use those funds to build myself a small PC (I know the two use cases are completely different, but I wanted something to play and learn on).

So I've been hanging out on the forums here for a while, and everyone has been super helpful. I'm not a HW engineer (I'm a DB developer actually) but I used to build my own boxes back in the 486 thru Pentium II era. I didn't want a space heater under my desk, and I liked the idea of a powerful machine in a small package - enter the S4.

My build

- Mini S4 w/ bulgin switch and riser from Josh
- ASUS Z170i PRO GAMING
- i5 6600 (nonK, but I wanted the Z MB for possible future OC'ing)
- EVGA 1060 Mini SC
- Pico 160w with the 192W? brick (the kit)
- Noctua L9i cooler
- Intel 600p 512G NvME M.2
- ancient Dell monitor for the time

My thinking was to start with a solid windows install (on the M.2), and then dink around with the hackintosh stuff and see how well I could get OSX to run. But I'm not there yet.

Initial Thoughts

1. What a beautiful case! Super build quality and lots of attention to detail
2. The ASUS Z170I fit easily, the EVGA 1060 mini fit easy.
3. The bulgin switch is tight aginst the Pico PSU - I don't like all the pressure they have against each other
4. The cables from the Pico to the power plug is too short, I need to make this longer (see pics)
5. The Pico peripheral cord to the EVGA 6Pin needs a custom cable (see pic).

Getting it Running

I lost several hours because I couldn't get the ASUS Z170 to recognize the Intel 600P M.2. It still doesn't show up in the BIOS, but Windows install found it. I had to first disable CSM, boot into Win10 USB, Install, enable CSM.

I'll keep updating this log as I get the cable routing improved, and the SW buttoned up.

Over all, I'm delighted with this project! We'll see how difficult it is to install a few more SSDs down the road.

Wish List

The case is beautiful, and surprisingly roomy. Having said this, I think it's designed to sit on the desk next to your monitor (maybe not like my WIP). I wonder if there is room for a a headphone jack/mic and 2 USB's on the front? Maybe that's the S5... :-)

The build, note the Bulgin switch isn't in the case yet, how tight the Pico PS to plug cord is, and the way too long 6Pin to the 1060. But look at how much room is in the case, and how cleanly everything fits in there...

At my desk, still need to cable clean up effort, but for now I'm busy installing windows.

 

[ImperialAlex]

Quick note: You need to either link the images directly (with the *.jpg) at the end of url or remove the image tag (and then the forum will automagically insert an imgur thing).

The build looks nice, the "molex" (4pin) connectors are a bit of a shame, visually, but that's all hidden nside the case after all. A much more noticeable visual improvement might be a new (wireless) mouse&keyboard set

 

[fjbruening]

Thanks @ImperialAlex ! Adding the .jpg works...

As for the wireless input, yes, I'm planning on that, I just grabbed what I had laying around to get the system configured... Looks messy for now.

I need to find a place to get a cleaner Mollex connector, and a longer PSU cord.

Thanks,
Francis

 

[fjbruening]

Testing Update

Finally got all my cables cleaned up, and a new monitor (Asus MQ278Q). I know, I told everyone I would be satisfied with 1080p gaming, but...

when I realized how little real estate a 1080p has I decided on this (2560x1440). The monitor is really nice, I haven't done any color adjustments but I'm quite pleased with this.. It seems to work well with my EVGA 1060 Mini...

However, I've noticed when I try to play Witcher 3 at full rez, it plays OK for about 10-15 mins, and then the video card seems to crap out (I still hear the sound, but no signal to the monitor). I power down the box, and reboot, and it seems fine. The max temp was around 65-70 degrees...

When I play the game lower res ~(1600x1100) it seems to play fine no matter how long I play.

My question

1) I'm rocking a Pico 160 - is this a power issue, or a thermal issue?

TIA,
Francis

 

[lordzahl]

First: A like for your old school mouse

This could easily be a power issue. My i5 6500 + RX470 (at Stock, so TDP 120) tops out at 200W with a Gold rated PSU, but with the RX470 + i5 6500 undervolted!
For the i5 i didn't search for the lowest possible value, but just tried -0.1V, which has been running stable ever since. I bet you can do the same, which might help a little bit with power issues (even if that might only help with 10W or so)

 

[EdZ]

1) I'm rocking a Pico 160 - is this a power issue, or a thermal issue?

According to Tom's, the 1060 at maximum peak load will pull ~140W momentarily. For a normal PSU this is not a problem, they can handle high peak loads just fine. But power bricks for laptops are not designed to do that, so if the peak draw is above its rated power you can run into issues. The 6600 doesn't get much testing, but the 6600k runs ~50W at normal gaming loads and peaks to ~70W. That means you can start to hit the 190W the AC-DC PSU is rated at, even though the 160W Pico should be able to handle that OK. In fact, with a 12V brick and the CPU and GPU drawing load almsot purely at 12V, the Pico isn;t really doing that much, and the work is done almost entirely by the brick.

Being a 12V brick, you can use an regular ATX PSU if you have one lying around to power the Pico (using the old trick of a paperclip between pin 16 & 17 to power on the PSU independently), and test to confirm whether it is indeed the brick that is the issue.

 

[Kmpkt]

We need someone to design a special in-line cap or battery or something that would handle these spikes. Is this possible?

 

[EdZ]

We need someone to design a special in-line cap or battery or something that would handle these spikes. Is this possible?

I can't think of a technical reason it wouldn't work. Handling momentary loads of a few tens/hundreds of watts in a capacitor bank is something that you probably shouldn't half-ass due to safety concerns, however.

 

[zhl146]

The default 192W brick is not sufficient for a 1060 unless you underclock it. You will need to either get a different brick or underclock the 1060.

To be clear - the 160xt is fine, but the brick is the bottleneck.