NFC Skyreach 4 Mini - Vanilla Ice (plus delidding stuff)

[br3nd0]

First build log here, time to share my build, hope y'all like.

Currently waiting on custom PSU from Gury, and will be ordering Thermalright 100mm slim fan from @Thehack over the next few days, hopefully there's still some left. I did manage to buy a G-Unique ArchDaemon 400 from here via the Buy/Sell/Trade section which is currently in the rig for testing.

The idea behind this build had been in the back of my mind since joining SFF forums and seeing the original S4M-C case, and before the MSI Trident 3 Arctic was released (which I love). Because I had wanted to build from the ground up, especially after the new Skyreach case was release, it was time to dive in and start collecting bits for the build.

Main Specs
Case: NFC Skyreach 4 Mini, custom white semi-gloss powder coated
CPU: i7 8700 non-k / 65w (RockitCool delidded, Liquid Ultra, relidded with RockitCool copper IHS)
Motherboard: Asus Z370-I Strix
GPU: MSI GTX1070 Aero ITX OC
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2 x 8GB 3000/CL15 DDR4
PSU: G-Unique 450w ArchDaemon L/E with SSD/HDD upgrade kit & PCB motherboard tray + 450w "ultimate" brick
Button: Black / green LED ring sleeved, from @Matt3D / Modivio
Heatsink: Thermolabs LP53
Heatsink Fan: Currently the 2500rpm fan from Noctua NH-L9i with @Thehack's fan bracket, but going to swap this out for the Thermalright 100mm slim fan from what looks to be their AXP-100 (the black & white colour suits the build scheme).
Boot drive: Samsung 960EVO 250gb
Gaming drive: Micron 2TB SSD (MTFDDAK2T0TBN-1AR1ZABYY)
Other/Media drive: 7mm 1tb WD black 7200rpm paired with an existing Samsung Evo 850 500gb with Intel RST.

Secondary Specs
Keyboard: Cougar Puri TKL w/ cherry red switches
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 300 White
Headphones: SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless - white (GameDAC is now available separately so might order one of them also)

Special mentions
All from which I drew a lot of useful info and inspiration to help with my build and decision-making (not to mention the entire SFF community in general):
@Josh | NFC for the awesome case
@guryhwa for the awesome PSU
@Thehack for the fan bracket + OEM thermalright fan
@Matt3D for the button
@CubanLegend for the Acrylic Ant Man S4M-C build thread


More updates & pics will be provided throughout thread, 2nd post reserved for images thus far.

Thanks & enjoy!

 

[br3nd0]

Will play around more with Imgur later soz. For now, here's a random pic, somewhat related.

 

[Choidebu]

What a timely build @br3nd0 !
That build is so sick it needs to be quarantined!

 

[br3nd0]

What a timely build @br3nd0 !
That build is so sick it needs to be quarantined!

Haha thanks!!

Will it ever stop? Yo, I don't know...

 

[chingi5]

Dat paintjob tho... oomph!

 

[br3nd0]

Dat paintjob tho... oomph!

There was the tiniest bit of paint sag on the left side of the bezel from when the coat was being set/baked, and I'm talking the tiniest bit, but just enough to throw out the snugness of the bezel fit, but 10-12 light scrapes with some fine sandpaper got it sorted.

Two of my work buddies have seen this and are blown away... now they want one in custom coated orange and the other in green lol more orders coming for Josh 8)

For anyone doing a custom powder coat over their minis, just a heads up as the coat does add the tiniest bit of thickness to the exterior/perimeter, making the fit and screwing a lot tighter, but as you can see neither impossible nor difficult to work with.

 

[rfarmer]

Build looks great. I used the same delid kit on my 8700k and it made it pretty painless, wish those copper IHS had been available when I did mine because that looks cool as hell. Have you done any stress testing to test load temps?

 

[Glint]

Cool build!

However, I'm curious about your reasons for using a copper IHS despite the known issues between liquid metal and copper surfaces. Was it a purely aesthetic decision?

Before purchasing the 8086k I was initially considering the 8700k and copper IHS + delid/liq. metal, but after asking Silicon Lottery what their take on it was I gathered from their statement that it wasn't worth it from a thermals standpoint in addition to the galvanic corrosion that would occur. IIRC the main contents of thermal grizzly conductonaut (the product mainly used by Silicon Lottery) is gallium, which also appears to be the case for coollaboratory liquid ultra https://www.coollaboratory.com/pdf/safetydatasheet_liquid_ultra_englisch.pdf

It is a small issue/pita but it may require more frequent application of the liquid metal because of the way liquid metal often seems to be "soaked up" by copper surfaces: https://linustechtips.com/main/topi...laptop-issue/?do=findComment&comment=11301092 http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3635435/liquid-metal-aio-ihs-risky.html

The advantage with the stock IHS is the nickel plating which mitigates this (from my understanding).
I am in no way trying to discourage you but simply hoping to bring it to your attention in the case that you may not have already been aware. If you were, then carry on!

 

[br3nd0]

Build looks great. I used the same delid kit on my 8700k and it made it pretty painless, wish those copper IHS had been available when I did mine because that looks cool as hell. Have you done any stress testing to test load temps?

Cheers, yeah I can't believe how easy the delid kit makes it. No stress tests yet but that's next, if I can find my damn windows 10 bootable USB

 

[br3nd0]

Cool build!

However, I'm curious about your reasons for using a copper IHS despite the known issues between liquid metal and copper surfaces. Was it a purely aesthetic decision?

Before purchasing the 8086k I was initially considering the 8700k and copper IHS + delid/liq. metal, but after asking Silicon Lottery what their take on it was I gathered from their statement that it wasn't worth it from a thermals standpoint in addition to the galvanic corrosion that would occur. IIRC the main contents of thermal grizzly conductonaut (the product mainly used by Silicon Lottery) is gallium, which also appears to be the case for coollaboratory liquid ultra https://www.coollaboratory.com/pdf/safetydatasheet_liquid_ultra_englisch.pdf

It is a small issue/pita but it may require more frequent application of the liquid metal because of the way liquid metal often seems to be "soaked up" by copper surfaces: https://linustechtips.com/main/topi...laptop-issue/?do=findComment&comment=11301092 http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3635435/liquid-metal-aio-ihs-risky.html

The advantage with the stock IHS is the nickel plating which mitigates this (from my understanding).

I am in no way trying to discourage you but simply hoping to bring it to your attention in the case that you may not have already been aware. If you were, then carry on!

To be honest it was mainly to see how the process worked and how straight-forward it was. Point taken though about the copper and yes, well aware of the requirement to apply the liquid metal more frequently, I got this idea after seeing the GamerNexus review. And, yes it does look a bit cooler The Nexus review did add that there was a small decrease in thermals if I'm not mistaken. His thoughts were, the gains weren't huge but for the ultra-enthusiast who likes to squeeze every last drop of performance, the extra bit of cash on the copper lid was worth it for the slightest temp reduction.

I actually would have preferred a silver lid, like the ones der8auer uses from their silicon lottery picked chips at caseking. I did send them a message through their facebook page to ask if the product was available for purchase separately but naturally, no reply. I might keep hassling them though. Once the hype is over and after all my testing I'll be throwing the stock lid back on.

But yes thanks for the info & well aware of this - much appreciated!

This does get me thinking - what then would the process be to nickel-plate one of these little aftermarket copper lids, is it actually part of the manufacturing process as a copper / nickel mix, or is electroplated once it has been milled? I might throw this question at the RockitCool guys who supply the kit, for their thoughts.

 

[Thehack]

An excellent build! The white looks very nice.

 

[br3nd0]

An excellent build! The white looks very nice.

Thank you sir!

(Hey - if you can hold one of those Thermalright fans for me for a couple of days that would be awesome, do you have many left?)

 

[br3nd0]

@Glint,

surely it's not this easy?

 

[CubanLegend]

Awesome build, very fine paint and interior is top-notch parts! thank you so much for the special mention, I'm honored!

 

[br3nd0]

Awesome build, very fine paint and interior is top-notch parts! thank you so much for the special mention, I'm honored!

Thanks bro, you're more than welcome!

 

[Glint]

Color me impressed! Do I sense a DIY nickel plated IHS thread in the making ? Seems like you can do something similar with silver too...Go for it!

 

[br3nd0]

Color me impressed! Do I sense a DIY nickel plated IHS thread in the making ? Seems like you can do something similar with silver too...Go for it!

You got me! Ordering another 2 lids next week, looking around eBay right now for some pure nickel!

How well would silver work in comparison to nickel I wonder?

 

[Glint]

You got me! Ordering another 2 lids next week, looking around eBay right now for some pure nickel!

How well would silver work in comparison to nickel I wonder?

Well...in making that decision I think it's worth considering the following:

https://******/images/XiwAua
https://******/images/6E3U9T

I'm having some difficulties finding anything substantial regarding where gallium stands in relation to the second chart... But if Der8auer seemingly isn't worried about how gallium and silver will get along, then I suspect it will be okay.

 

[br3nd0]

Well...in making that decision I think it's worth considering the following:

https://******/images/XiwAua
https://******/images/6E3U9T

I'm having some difficulties finding anything substantial regarding where gallium stands in relation to the second chart... But if Der8auer seemingly isn't worried about how gallium and silver will get along, then I suspect it will be okay.

Interesting - thanks for the links. I love that term "noble" lol

Maybe I'll do one coat silver / one coat nickel, see how they compare... I wonder how intel prep their stock lids prior to nickel plating, whether the surface is left smooth or 'distressed' to help stick better...

 

[Glint]

Interesting - thanks for the links. I love that term "noble" lol

Maybe I'll do one coat silver / one coat nickel, see how they compare... I wonder how intel prep their stock lids prior to nickel plating, whether the surface is left smooth or 'distressed' to help stick better...

DO IT!

I was wondering the same thing actually... But if this source https://www.goldn.co.uk/how-to/preparing-surface-electroplating/ is anything to go by, then polishing seems to be the way forward especially since copper can form an oxidized layer as well.

Definitely keep us updated with this one! Looking forward to the pictures and results