Log Portable M350 / Ryzen 4750G build

[Landswellsong]

Hello,

Planning my first ever SFFPC build as the Lenovo M715q didn't really live up with upgrade-ability expectations for the similar role. Thought that I might as well create a thread here ahead of time while I'm slowly ordering components to get some early comments (asked in the reddit component thread, but as I understand those are recycled). Goals for the build:

• Must fit in the backpack with ease as traveling on the go very often. Reasonable weight as well.
• All around functionality to exclude the need for other devices, mostly compiles, math CPU loads (R), light gaming once in a blue moon (think Xonotic, WC3, etc).
• APU to cut on the GPU power, space and weight requirements, no need for AAA+ gaming or something.
• Still some gaming or otherwise GPU work in mind, therefore AMD all the way due to performance and driver reasons (Linux).
• Ability to power up from the car cigarette lighter socket is a huge "nice to have" (EV driver here, you don't always get a café to sit, also CANbus development is much easier if you can actually sit in the car).
• Another "nice to have" is some sort of UPS, not meant to allow full power for hours like laptop, but rather survive an accidental power cord disconnect, switch sockets to another table, save all stuff and power off correctly in actual outage and so on.

Components in mind so far (will update with prices and links as time goes):

Part	Choice	Price, $	Comments
APU	Ryzen 7 4750G	$ 345.75 (9700 ₴)	Seems to be crème de la crème at the moment, 65 W TDP, somehow available for retail in Ukraine I probably don't want to know
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX	$ 197.11 (5530 ₴)	No-BS rear ports selection, apparently one of the best of B550I bunch when it comes to thermals, the chipset allows PCIe 4 on the main M.2 slot and the PCIe port and seems to give an upgrade path to a future Zen 3 APU before AM4 / DDR4 are outdated.
RAM	16Gb x 2 (32Gb Kit) DDR4, 3200 MHz, G.Skill Aegis, 16-18-18-38, 1.35V	$ 117.41 (3294 ₴)
Storage	Samsung PM981 NVMe M.2	$ 69.44 (76.56 €)	Recycled from the Lenovo, bought at compuram.de, no longer available there.
Case	M350 in silver	$ 35	Good reviews, no extras I won't use, front USB "pouch" usable for a 4G modem that won't stick out.
CPU cooling	Noctua NH-L9A-AM4	$ 39.73 (£ 29.92)	No real competition due to 37 mm height, everyone uses them as far as I see.
System fan 1	Noctua NF-A4x10 PWM 12V	$ 15.50 (£ 11.67)	Not sure if 20 mm will fit for the front panel mounting place.
System fan 2			Still deciding how to mount and whether I need it
	Anti-Vibration Silicone Washers	$ 1.22 (£ 0.92)
Power supply	picoPSU-160-XT + 192W mini-box's AC/DC	$ 89	12 V allows to cut redundant DC-DC conversions, including car power (15A fuse, 180W). 160W/200W peak must be enough without a discrete GPU to my amateurish mind and it's the highest power picoPSU anyway.
UPS	OpenUPS2		Fits the top bracket so can stay inside at all times, support for native battery monitoring code in Linux.
Display/Periphery for travel mode	Nexdock Touch	$ 269	Cuts the periphery clutter a lot (currently using a Kenowa 13" HDMI/USB powered display + Logitech K400+) allowing more laptop-like experience. Will also double as a terminal for RPI/SoC development and maybe for the phone as well. Also works as a power bank and a USB extender.

Current open questions:

• Can I mount a 20 mm fan for the front panel and should I?
• M.2 heatsink seems to be connected with the VRM one and that's directly above the UPS with the battery (LiFePO₄ but still), how can I utilize the second system fan connector to evacuate some heat from that part as there are no immediate mounting place?
• OpenUPS2 is rated at 5 A output which is puny 60 W @ 12 V. Going up for 24 V PSU raises it to 120 W on paper, but requires a lot of redundancy in the DCDC conversions as well as a new DCDC point in the car charger cable. MiniBox states this is because of the batteries being rated for 5A which probably rules out 120 W idea overall. There are however more discharge friendly batteries from A123 going up to 30 A, need to know if the 5 A limit is only due to the batteries and how far I can push it. Asked Mini Box about this in an email, waiting for their reply.

 

[Landswellsong]

Huh apparently I need to post more to unlock editing capabilities so I'll just keep replying and edit later when I get a chance.

1. I initially wanted to go pre-built route with Jupiter A320, but A320 can't even support Zen2 Renoir APU not to mention the upcoming Zen3 Cezanne(?) ones. Waiting for an unannounced product like maybe Jupiter B550 isn't the best idea I suppose. However as they target 65 W TDP APUs, their power adapter can gives a rough idea of the power I'll be facing in a similar device and it's rated 90 W. Means I'm probably safe with a 160 W picoPSU with a big headroom. Sure the AC/DC is both more expensive and heavier when you go up, but a 90 W picoPSU seems to be a bit risky while 120+ W ones are only marginally cheaper and lighter. Will resell locally at worst and downgrade if weight becomes too much of an issue.
2. Mini-Box replied that indeed 60 W is the ceiling for the OpenPSU2 in sustained mode with 100 W peak. Probably I'll have to set everything up without an UPS to check the actual power and determine if that's a feasible idea at all.
3. Ordering the fans along with a pack of silicon washers (£ 29.92 + £ 11.67 + £ 0.92, all +20% VAT).
4. Also ordering the case in silver and 160 W picoPSU kit ($ 35 + $ 89).

 

[smitty2k1]

I don't have any answers to your questions but it sounds like a cool project. You could also look at the J Hack Pure case if you want to do an internal AC/DC PSU instead of external brick.

CAN bus development eh? Do you work for a specific automaker? I'm at DOT/NHTSA and doing a project on EV battery safety at the moment. We record battery cell temperatures through the CAN, sometimes with automaker input, sometimes with commercially available 3rd party tools.

 

[Landswellsong]

I don't have any answers to your questions but it sounds like a cool project. You could also look at the J Hack Pure case if you want to do an internal AC/DC PSU instead of external brick.

I considered that one, but I don't really want to get rid of the brick. Since I cut the GPU it's not like I need crazy amount of power and having DC in allows to seamlessly plug into the car's 12 V subsystem.

CAN bus development eh? Do you work for a specific automaker? I'm at DOT/NHTSA and doing a project on EV battery safety at the moment. We record battery cell temperatures through the CAN, sometimes with automaker input, sometimes with commercially available 3rd party tools.

My friend runs a garage for the repair/upgrade of EVs, mostly Renaults. There are custom BMSs for those cars (since the originals either had no battery because of the lease program or were too outdated) for aftermarket batteries in works by him colleagues, sometimes I get to debug a thing or two, write quality of life stuff like bootloaders, currently shifting towards an aftermarket ChaDeMo controller for older cars and a revamp of the navigation unit using modern hardware and Android Automotive.

 

[Landswellsong]

Got the APU (9700 ₴ == $ 345.75, listed price on the site for the showroom one without warranty, the seller advised to get a proper one with 36 month for some $ 25 more), the motherboard (5530 ₴ == $ 197.11) and the memory (3294 ₴ == $ 117.41). Best local prices, slightly more expensive that in the West, but importing would add duties which would kill the benefit.

Apparently HP is releasing a similar pre-built setup, but apparently without type C video still, weird 7 display output (seriously what use case is that) and the price point for the top spec APU is apparently way above $ 1000. D'oh, my build will be cheaper and more fun anyway.

 

[smitty2k1]

I considered that one, but I don't really want to get rid of the brick. Since I cut the GPU it's not like I need crazy amount of power and having DC in allows to seamlessly plug into the car's 12 V subsystem.



My friend runs a garage for the repair/upgrade of EVs, mostly Renaults. There are custom BMSs for those cars (since the originals either had no battery because of the lease program or were too outdated) for aftermarket batteries in works by him colleagues, sometimes I get to debug a thing or two, write quality of life stuff like bootloaders, currently shifting towards an aftermarket ChaDeMo controller for older cars and a revamp of the navigation unit using modern hardware and Android Automotive.

Oh right didn't consider you need the 12v DC straight into the box!

And you're in europe, so DOT/NHTSA probably doesn't mean much there

Cheers!

 

[PVC]

I am building a similar (APU/no-discrete-GPU-card mini-ITX) currently in a waiting for parts mode. My APU build will use the same motherboard as yours. I changed my mind a few times along the way. ? But with the current plan my build has these differences from yours;

• Ryzen 5 4650G PRO (6-core, 12-Thread) instead of 4750G PRO (8-core, 16-Thread)
• VLP-memory (Very Low Profile) plus remove the motherboard chipset's metal block/heatsink in order to accommodate the Black Ridge cooler with a 120mm fan mounted on the underside of the Black Ridge. My understanding about the effects of removing the chipset block is that it increases chipset temps a couple of degrees but actually reduces M2-NVMe temps.
• Brickless using a 350W recycled Server PSU instead of pico-PSU

btw> You can forget about using NVMe PCIe 4.0/Gen4 . These GPUs don't support it, period.

 

[Landswellsong]

And you're in europe, so DOT/NHTSA probably doesn't mean much there

No it really doesn't. Must admit my automotive exposure is mostly DIY/FOSS so I'm clueless about the industry things as well as yeah, on the other side of the Atlantic.

I am building a similar (APU/no-discrete-GPU-card mini-ITX) currently in a waiting for parts mode. My APU build will use the same motherboard as yours. I changed my mind a few times along the way. ? But with the current plan my build has these differences from yours;

• Ryzen 5 4650G PRO (6-core, 12-Thread) instead of 4750G PRO (8-core, 16-Thread)
• VLP-memory (Very Low Profile) plus remove the motherboard chipset's metal block/heatsink in order to accommodate the Black Ridge cooler with a 120mm fan mounted on the underside of the Black Ridge. My understanding about the effects of removing the chipset block is that it increases chipset temps a couple of degrees but actually reduces M2-NVMe temps.
• Brickless using a 350W recycled Server PSU instead of pico-PSU

btw> You can forget about using NVMe PCIe 4.0/Gen4 . These GPUs don't support it, period.

Nice, going to check out your thread. As to PCIe 4.0 that was mostly future-proofing for the next gen Ryzen if I upgrade afterwards. I have no need of PCIe 4.0 really and my NVMe won't support it either.

 

[Stevo_]

My 2400G sig rig uses a fanless flex ATX 150W(120W 12v rail) no issues in any benchmarks for power or heat(though TDP capped at 65W in MSI-450I BIOS), you should be OK. I've run an i3770K off the same power combo as you but my case(morex 557) did force me to turn turbo off to keep CPU heat manageable.

 

[DwarfLord]

Mini-Box replied that indeed 60 W is the ceiling for the OpenPSU2 in sustained mode with 100 W peak. Probably I'll have to set everything up without an UPS to check the actual power and determine if that's a feasible idea at all.

Just so you know, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to fit the OpenPSU2 in the case. There is only 9mm between the top of the fan of the L9a and the top panel.

 

[Landswellsong]

Just so you know, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to fit the OpenPSU2 in the case. There is only 9mm between the top of the fan of the L9a and the top panel.

Hmm, guess I will have to get creative then. But at this point I'm not totally sure OpenUPS2 will even handle the packup power so it's the bottom of my list. I kind of assumed that the fan would chiefly be taking the space towards one side of the board.

Back of the envelope calculation gives that I have about 65 mm at max from the edge of mini ITX to the fan. The mounting rack is 74 mm wide but the OpenUPS2 is asymmetric so might get away with just picking the side which doesn't have a battery. Or not, will try anyway

 

[Landswellsong]

Got the motherboard, memory and the APU delivered, will try to benchmark the power consumption. The stock cooler comes with thermal paste preinstalled, I heard it's of dubious quality but I'll be ditching this cooler in a matter of days so I guess it works. The design of the stock cooler is terrible. I tried two orientations and it either interferes with the VRM heatsink or one of the memory slots, so running half memory for now. Worst of all it's not even the fan casing itself but the AMD logo protrusion, purely decorative. The bottom of the radiator also seems dangerously close to the VRM chokes to my taste but there is still a small gap.

Apparently I can't upload images yet so here it goes

 

[Landswellsong]

The case and the fans have arrived so it's time to put it all together. I will be benching the power consumption, but that got delayed because of corona reasons.

Pics: unboxing (kind of) and size comparison with Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny M715q

The build quality is solid, although after I've assembled everything the bottom of the case doesn't want to push back neatly leaving a small gap, but I'll debug it later.

Noctua is wonderful, there is still space to the case and it doesn't obscure the RAM anymore, so I'm finally on 32 Gb. The CPU fan is absolutely silent, it starts being audible under load, but otherwise I don't hear it. Same cannot be said for the 40 mm one. I mounted it within the front panel and it is kind of louder than I would have expected, also the motherboard seem to be spinning it back and forth, not sure what's up with that. Edit: nope, that's the CPU fan. compiling a few packages There were no space constraints in the front pouch, in fact I could have gone with 40x20 mm instead and probably will as it actually is blowing right on the picoPSU so a bit of static pressure resistance might help.

I mounted the 40x10 on the silicon mount thingies, anyone knows if they are reusable (I didn't cut them yet)?

Overall it was pretty straightforward although one issue I ran into was that there was a bi of plastic decoration thing on the motherboard that obscured the mounting hole for the power plug connector. As the motherboard is of higher resale value of course I ended up cutting 1-2 mm of the connector's plastic with hot scissors it order for it to fit there.

Pics: Motherboard and fans mounted, problem with the connector

Final thoughts:

• Fits in the backpack cleanly, although the paint seems to be a bit scratchy.
• The 192W power brick is absolutely monstrous, it feels like it weights about the same as the final assembly. Which I know is untrue but still.
• The top mount can be installed, but OpenUPS2 will indeed compete with the fan for space as it was pointed out to me in this thread. Guess I'll have to improvise and make my own with a low profile portion near the edge.

 

[Landswellsong]

Made a couple of thermal images after not so stress testing for 40 mins in Team Fortress 2

 

[Bubba]

The design of the stock cooler is terrible. I tried two orientations and it either interferes with the VRM heatsink or one of the memory slots, so running half memory for now. Worst of all it's not even the fan casing itself but the AMD logo protrusion, purely decorative. The bottom of the radiator also seems dangerously close to the VRM chokes to my taste but there is still a small gap.

Try this:
youtu.be/WlbHS0n2yRM?t=458

 

[Landswellsong]

Try this:
youtu.be/WlbHS0n2yRM?t=458

Thanks! That's kind of cool. I replaced with a Noctua as soon as it got delivered though, the stock one is a no go because of height.