NFC S4 Mini : Enthousiast version (Core i7 6700K + R9 Nano)

[Josh | NFC]

What I meant specifically is that it might be putting more stress on the PSU than it needs to.

 

[MarcParis]

I've just tried successfully to impose power limit of -25% on R9 290X while playing Armored warfare. I was forced to play in 1080p (high details) and everything was stable.
I'll test more challenging setting to see if it's hurting stability.

At the end, I guess that power issue is on power tune on R9 290X, especially on higher resolution.

 

[MarcParis]

At last, I've taken the time (small hour) to replace my psu atx cooler mast v650s, by my good old seasonic s12ii 620w.

First good point : inside phenom it was easy to manage extra cable coming from non modular psu
Second good point : r9 290x is now stable on armored warfare, with no power limit, and even overclocking/increased power limit.

I need to pursue the testing, but, clearly v650s was faulty from start, not allowing me to oc my r9 290x.

Ps: during this small maintenance, I've put some fractal design venturi hf-14 and dual hp-12 pwm...first results are interesting vs my good old gentle typhoon ap-15..

 

[MarcParis]

This week I've decided to promote this NFC S4 mini to my main gaming computer (less buggy as my R9 290X..).

Here is the the result, alone on my desktop, a lot of space for cats!.....and of course my little SFX Corsair SF600 is no where to be seen..

 

[Josh | NFC]

More space for cats...hmmm maybe I should put that on my website.

 

[MarcParis]

Ahah, do you want a photo with cats included?..

 

[MarcParis]

I've checked temperature of my SSD M.2 950 pro in my NFC S4 mini, in vertical stand.
After OS boot : 48°C (room @20°C)
After checking Evil with in (60Go) + Pillars of eternity (19go) folder in steam : 59°C
After benchmark in magician : 62°C
After 1 hour gaming session (Armored warfare, default R9 Nano) : 64°C
After 5 min cooling down : 57°C

We are still far away from throttling limit of 70°C.

So, in vertical stand, NFC S4 mini is M.2 SSD friendly, in vertical stand..

It's worth to highlight that as others SFF could struggle on cooling M.2 SSD

 

[flacman]

I've checked temperature of my SSD M.2 950 pro in my NFC S4 mini, in vertical stand.
After OS boot : 48°C (room @20°C)
After checking Evil with in (60Go) + Pillars of eternity (19go) folder in steam : 59°C
After benchmark in magician : 62°C
After 5 min cooling down : 57°C

We are still far away from throttling limit of 70°C.

So, in vertical stand, NFC S4 mini is M.2 SSD friendly, in vertical stand..

It's worth to highlight that as others SFF could struggle on cooling M.2 SSD

Thanks for these tests, you've made me slightly more confident M.2 only storage is feasible.
What do you mean by "checking" the games? Copying to the disk or just running the games for a bit?

 

[MarcParis]

In steam you have option to check local file..that "checking game".

I'll add one case : during gaming session : 64°C R9 Nano is heating all chassis metal, that's why..but it's still ok..

 

[Xyit]

In steam you have option to check local file..that "checking game".

I'll add one case : during gaming session : 64°C R9 Nano is heating all chassis metal, that's why..but it's still ok..

Hello Marc! I had a question about the cpu cooler. Did you compare the original idcooling fan to the noctua? And how much room is to spare currently between the case and the cooler.

 

[flacman]

The VC45 is 45mm tall including the original ID-cooling fan.

Marc uses the A9x14 which brings the total height down to 44mm.

The Noctua L9i is 37mm tall.

So 1mm between the chassis and cooler?

 

[MarcParis]

In fact i never tested id cooling fan on cpu cooler...too loud at max rpm for my taste ( it's more powerful than noçtua but louder also). I just tried fans alone.
You can use id cooling fan on id vc 45 in s4 mini anyway but it will be the maximum useable..

 

[MarcParis]

Bad news of my former gaming computer..it seems that both hdmi port and displayport of my R9 290X are down.. (this was due to work last year where hdmi port was bent accidentally)

The good news is NFC S4 mini will become my main gaming computer for a couple of months.
The bad news is that vega 10 is still far fro here..

 

[MarcParis]

I would like to share my gaming experience on my NFC S4 mini as I'm using it as my main gaming PC for a couple of months now.
Finally, gaming experience depends on screen resolution

Please note NFC S4 mini is connected to an 4K screen, with Freesync enable (40-60fps synchro).
Please note that V-sync is activated

@1080p gaming :

• Overdrive/wattman has power limit set to -25%
• R9 Nano frequency : 1000Mhz with all games I launched (no thermal throttle)
• R9 Nano Coil whine : depends on game, but globally very, very low due to -25% on power limit
• R9 Nano Fan noise : 40-45% maximum...so noise level is perfectly acceptable
• GamingExperience @1080p : Really good! Max details in optimal conditions!

@1440p gaming :

• Overdrive/wattman has power limit set to -0%
• R9 Nano frequency : around 900Mhz with all games I launched (no thermal throttle, but power throttle)
• R9 Nano Coil whine : depends on game, but as we are @1440p (load is real), it's largely acceptable. (example : armored warfare is the loudest, whereas Doom has none..)
• R9 Nano Fan noise : 55-65% maximum...so noise level is high and too high on several games
• GamingExperience @1440p : All games I've launched (from the witcher 3, doom vulkan, armored warfare) provide really smooth experience, even @max settings. I've experienced a framerate from 45-90 depending on game (Doom vulkan is incredibly smooth!!). Freesync is a life sayer speaking of smoothness. The only drawback @1440p is fan noise

@2160p gaming :

• Overdrive/wattman has power limit set to -0%
• R9 Nano frequency : around 800Mhz with all games I launched (no thermal throttle, but power throttle)
• R9 Nano Coil whine : depends on game, but as we are @2160p (load is real), it's completely OK
  
• R9 Nano Fan noise : 50-55% maximum...so noise level is high but still acceptable (fan noise is lower than @1440p because I'm testing less demanding games)
  
• GamingExperience @2160p : Well, well, except for several less demanding games (world of warships, pillars of eternity), gaming experience @2160p is not satisfying. I don't want to reduce details, so I prefer playing @1440p on most demanding games.

To sum up, this NFC S4 mini with R9 Nano is a damn good PC while playing @1080p and truly capable (but a bit too noisy) @1440p. 4K gaming is only achievable on less demanding games.

What is the future of this setup?
@short terms : I want to experience a more quiet @1440p gaming experience. Thus, I'll transfer my setup into my Bitfenix Phenom (watercooling the CPU, and provide really good airflow globally). Comparison with NFC S4 mini will be very instructive...comparing a 4L case vs 28L..
In NFC S4 mini, I'll put my former gaming setup (4770K with 2x2.5" SSDs, no discrete GPU). And NFC S4 mini will come back to living room.

@mid terms : In Phenom, I'm planning to build a true 4K gaming machine, based on AMD vega. Final setup will depend on videocard (watercooling?aircooling, all options are possible)
In NFC S4 mini, I'll put again R9 Nano. But, I'll need to remove one SSD, and put some carton shield/backplate to optimize heat dissipation

 

[Josh | NFC]

Thanks for the updates! I love smashing as much hardware into a teeny space, but I also like elegant "just enough" setups too. So I think this is a good compromise for you.

Peace

 

[MarcParis]

I love smashing as much hardware into a teeny space

You have managed it so far!
Why? well S4 mini is able to cool, one core i7 6700K + R9 nano in 4L. This remains unmatched yet in terms of thermal efficiency.. (I almost forgot M.2 SSD 950 pro very well cooled)
I truly like your NFC S4 mini, and I'm planning to use it for long..

 

[flacman]

MarcParis, have you used thermal pads with your M.2 950 at all?

 

[MarcParis]

MarcParis, have you used thermal pads with your M.2 950 at all?

No, just vertical orientation of the case. I would say that m.2 ssd is almost at fresh air directly

 

[MarcParis]

Transfer complete in my bitfenix phenom...however not all happened as forecasted :

• My combo waterblock/pump (Swiftech Apogee Drive 2), during the transfer process, with no significant reasons has lost its ability to use PWM to drive the pump..thus this one is working at full speed all time...effective but far too loud. As a temporary solution I've put Intel stock cooler, working very well. (ok don't laugh..)
• Second mystery : my M.2 samsung 950 pro 512Gb, while visible on bios was completely unable to boot windows 10 (Motherboard was waiting for its boot indefinietely)...really strange, especially I didn't change any hardware or touch it directly. I thought SSD was broken...but SSD was visible on bios...then I tried to install windows 7 on it...successfully... More strange windows 7 seems faster than windows 10 to load...anyway thanks to optical fiber, system was ready to play in less than one hour (only all windows 7 patches were a bit longer, time for me to install manually some win 7 patches)
• After all this long day work, I tried my setup on Armored warfare @1440p, 0% power limit...and results were there :
  • Fan : was 65% in S4 mini, becomes 48%
  • GPU temperature : was 83°C, becomes : 76°C
  • Coil whine : still here (hehe, but mainly during menu, so it's ok..)
• My only regret on R9 nano : passive cooling @idle is crucially missing..
• I nearly forgot again : M.2 SSD temperature : 52°C (like S4 mini). M.2 on Gigabyte Z170n gaming 5 is located near pci express slot. So it's enjoying its massive intake vents.

i'll post my setup when I'll decide what CPU cooler to use (I'm debting alone between watercooling, tower air cooling, etc...)

If you have any advice on cpu cooler on intel, please let me know..

 

[Smallform Gaming]

So, in vertical stand, NFC S4 mini is M.2 SSD friendly, in vertical stand..

It's worth to highlight that as others SFF could struggle on cooling M.2 SSD

I'm hoping there won't be issues with mounting my non-mobo integrated M.2 into an S4.
To-date there aren't any FM2+ ITX boards with integrated M.2 slots.
Is there room enough on the front plate (lengthwise) to mount the 16mm button, HDPLEX, and a M.2 stick.

*Also, I see you play Armored Warfare, do you ever play WOT?