NFC S4 Mini #315 - MULT1700L (aka multitool)

[rokabeka]

Hello,

this is my second S4 Mini build and I just can not get bored of it
I named this build as mult1700l to refer to the Ryzen 1700 in it and also the fact that this will be my everyday work computer at developing software, running virtual machines, debugging and also generating pretty significant amount of network traffic.
There is nothing fancy in this build, every technique is already tested and proven on sff.net here, that is why there are no details.

Components:
- Asrock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac
- AMD Ryzen 1700
- Noctua NH-L9a with a slightly larger Scythe fan
- 2x8G HyperX DDR4-2133
- 2x800G Intel DC S3700
- HDPlex 250W DC/DC
- HP 230W brick
- Ameri-rack ARC1-PERLY423-C3V3 splitter
- NV GT710 videocard (temporarily)
- Intel X540 2x10G NIC (temporarily)

Spoiler: I can't stop loving it

Spoiler: Final build. First final build :)

I will add sporadically info about temperatures at load, will try different fans and maybe swap heatsink.
Most importantly I am already using it and there are plans to replace the GPU with a second NIC.
The 250W version of HDPlex is there because for some experiments I will insert a 1060 (or 1070) there.

EDIT:
new setup in #9.
the original plan was to install a 1060 or 1070 but I had a chance to buy and install a 1080 instead.

 

[Biowarejak]

I really love this!

 

[cmyk78]

If you replace the GPU with another NIC, how are you going to get video output?

 

[Biowarejak]

That would require an APU

 

[rokabeka]

If you replace the GPU with another NIC, how are you going to get video output?

I usually do not need it. as this is being used quasi as a server on the corporate network, it is only the install time when GPU is required. so I usually have another machine (notebook or sff desktop) to login from.
the previous machine had an onboard vga, so this problem did not even exist there

 

[rokabeka]

I am going to try to use a Phanteks PH-TC12LS cooler in the S4 Mini (-classic ).
the idea is that with the top 25mm thick fan removed it just fits into the case and I can squeeze a 12mm thin fan (e.g. a Scythe Kaze Jyu slim 100mm) under the fins. theoretically the phanteks is compatible with the mobo, the question is how to rotate it to make it fit.
hopefully blowing the hot air outside the Mini will help to reduce the temperature inside. we'll see...
I am not sure gaining anything but really curious. would be nice to beat the noctua cooler

 

[rokabeka]

Success does not come for free
the scythe 100x100x12 will be a perfect fit.

Spoiler: pic

 

[rokabeka]

engineer at work

Spoiler: perfect fit

let's do the temperature tests!

EDIT: using this Phanteks in my S4M is a complete failure
I have not calculated with the height of the CPU socket. alltogether the heatsink is ~1.5mm higher than required. it simply won't fit. I should have created a custom mounting kit anyway, because the original one reduces further the amount of space could be used for the fan.

I planned to bend the heatpipes to reduce the height but there are a few problems with that:
- only one direction remains how the heatsink can be installed and that is where it hangs above the memory modules. that means using some low profile modules and in worst case for installing/removing the modules the heatsink needs to be removed, too.
- with the height reduced there is no slim fan fits below. in that case the air could be moved with e.g. 2 40mm fans attached but that is far from being efficient and/or silent.

As a recompensation I have compared the original noctua fan with the scythe slim on the noctua nh-l9a heatsink.
the result is pretty much as expected: the original fan kept the CPU 3 degrees cooler (62C vs 65C) but the noise level was noticeably higher. the motherboard ran both fans around 2300rpm. so, if you have the Mini right next to you on the desk then the Scythe fan works a bit more silently. or if you simply does not like the noctua-brown and need a black fan.

 

[rokabeka]

multitool just deserves its name.
the new config inside is a gigabyte 1080 from an Aorus Gaming Box.
still with the HDPlex250 and the HP 230W brick.
and they run wonderfully! please find openbenchmark results here.
I have decided to make my own custom cables because I thought royalba94 is temporarily out of business and I also wanted to play around cabling just for experimenting.
I still might order the same cable set from him just to be sure I have quality cables took my whole day to create those three cables.
it is not the nicest ever but as a first one it satisfies me.

Spoiler: custom cabling pic

there is only a teeny-tiny problem: coile whine
that is horrible. depending on the type and amount of load it starts to be annoying around 150W.

the maximum load I could see with the kill-a-watt P3 on the wall is 244W. and the HP230W brick kept up well, remained just warm during the whole tests. I do not know anything about long term behaviour but on short term this is a valid solution for sure. I have attached initially a 30mm fan to the short side of the HDPlex just to move some air along its heatsink, but I forgot how loud is my fan, even at 7V, so I rather removed it. now there is a scythe 40mm x 10mm on top of the heatsink and it is quiet and moves some air, too. I do not yet have temperature results, will buy a thermometer soon.

because the backplate of the GPU becomes pretty hot, (and to save the internal SATA power cable) I decided not to install ssd inside, but will try to use an eSATA external raid box instead. hopefully with two 1G wd black hdd's in raid it will be fast enough for e.g. video editing.

more tests to come...

 

[mgilang]

nice build.
are you devops?

 

[rokabeka]

nice build.
are you devops?

thank you.

I am a simple software engineer but interested in hardware. many times finding the official environment too convoluted and slow, so instead we create our own.

 

[BrotherStein]

I have decided to make my own custom cables because I thought royalba94 is temporarily out of business and I also wanted to play around cabling just for experimenting.
I still might order the same cable set from him just to be sure I have quality cables took my whole day to create those three cables.
it is not the nicest ever but as a first one it satisfies me.

Spoiler: custom cabling pic

LOVE the cabling on this! I assume it was easier than individual cables? I might have to do this for my SF600.

 

[rokabeka]

LOVE the cabling on this! I assume it was easier than individual cables? I might have to do this for my SF600.

thank you.

I did not trust myself to do individual sleeving and this I chose is anyway too hard, so maybe while 6 of them is still flexible, 24 (23) would not be. I went with pretty cheap materials because this is my first trial.
I think sleeving 4 wires together makes them still pretty manageable. also, right at the connector I wanted to have the cables flexible (especially the PCIe at the GPU end and ATX24 at the motherboard end) and I think individually sleeved cables look really cool if the shrink goes right into the connector but it reduces flexibility there. so in my case I left a few millimeters bare.

 

[BrotherStein]

thank you.

I did not trust myself to do individual sleeving and this I chose is anyway too hard, so maybe while 6 of them is still flexible, 24 (23) would not be. I went with pretty cheap materials because this is my first trial.
I think sleeving 4 wires together makes them still pretty manageable. also, right at the connector I wanted to have the cables flexible (especially the PCIe at the GPU end and ATX24 at the motherboard end) and I think individually sleeved cables look really cool if the shrink goes right into the connector but it reduces flexibility there. so in my case I left a few millimeters bare.

Looks great! Where did you get the sleeves?

 

[rokabeka]

Looks great! Where did you get the sleeves?

amazon: Flexo PET 1/4"
but if you need flexibility I would not suggest using this one. they say paracord is much better for that.

 

[BrotherStein]

amazon: Flexo PET 1/4"
but if you need flexibility I would not suggest using this one. they say paracord is much better for that.

Awesome, thanks! I recall reading that paracord was more flexible as well.

 

[Kmpkt]

Hey @rokabeka and chance you can give dimensions on the card or at the very least confirm it is exactly the length of an ITX board or less? Cheers!

 

[rokabeka]

Hey @rokabeka and chance you can give dimensions on the card or at the very least confirm it is exactly the length of an ITX board or less? Cheers!

hehe, designing a tiniest possible cube?
EDIT: oh, a brickless s4mini instead
please let me measure it tonight.
I wanted to suggest pinging BryceK but you have already found him and he returned the card.

 

[BryceK]

Tomorrow, I will receive a new card. Bought it from another vendor.

https://egpu.io/gigabyte-aorus-gtx-1080-gaming-box-review-pocket-rocket/

Here you can find some comparison in the meanwhile, it should be exactly the same size of the normal Gigabyte GTX 1080 Mini.

Note: The fan of the GPU is overreaching, meaning it can't fit in a normal PCIE slot, only with a riser or a hightend PCIE slot.

 

[rokabeka]

so my card is ~171mm long (from the rear end to the inside of front bracket)
that is theoritically longer than the 170mm of the ITX boards but because the motherboard itself is not at the very edge of the chassis both behind the motherboard and the gpu there is ~32mm free space in the S4 Mini.
the gpu is tall, the free space above it is just ~5mm.

EDIT: oh, do not forget the screws inside the Mini if you keep the bezel. when it is about millimeters, they eat up significant amount of space.