S4 MINI Classic (S4M-C)

[michaelmitchell]

Ah Michael, thanks for the tip..
I was considering using this Z4-ATX-200W pico ATX :
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...supply-board-with-12V/211500_32651583399.html
Apparently we can use 12-24V power brick..but can I use standard Dell brick as plug? dimensions of plugin connector are not mentionned.

Z4 would be my pick as well but it comes with 5.5mm*2.5mm by default like the Z3, I am going to use this adaptor right now and probably shrink wrap it on semi permanently but you could easily replace the actual connector on the Z4 if you are mod savvy... otherwise if you message Pico Box they will probably do this for you if you before sending it no problem.

I might suggest they offer a 7.4*5.0 option since a good number of the bricks over 180W have 7.4*5.0 connectors. I have a Dell 180W with a 5.5*2.5 connector but its almost as big as the 330W one so I would much rather use the slimmer 240W with an adaptor regardless. I am going to get a Z4 to test/review when the new X3 prototype is ready for me and I will ask them to put a 7.4*5.0 connector on as an example.

Other important point : R9 Nano just received a new firmware directly from AMD...apparently it's easier to OC...so I guess voltage control have been tweaked:
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/gpu-firmware-download#

Very interesting, would love to see QinX redo the power tests he did previously and see how it compares with the new firmware.

 

[MarcParis]

Ok thanks for advice.
I've just register on alibaba an wrote to Pico box (I put you as reference..)

Waiting for their answer..

 

[michaelmitchell]

Ok thanks for advice.
I've just register on alibaba an wrote to Pico box (I put you as reference..)

Waiting for their answer..

Better to email Frank directly, I will PM you his email address.

 

[MarcParis]

thanks michael, email sent!

 

[MarcParis]

Well I've just noticed a new constraint using r9 nano on s4 mini...I cannot put ssd above r9 nano backplate, because they will fry...look athese temperatures in load :

That implies clearly that r9 nano backplate has to be positioned face up...but I have to rely only on m.2 ssd as storage.

Don't misunderstand me, even if I can't transfer my current enthousiast gaming computer directly in s4 mini, well I will create an entite new enthousiast setup dedicated to s4 mini, thinking of all constraint I can forecast.

 

[flacman]

While this is probably not the most ideal solution, but seeing 2016 heralds mainstream adoption of more external GPUs (eGPU) -- depending on the openness and availability of the solutions, it might be viable to just use the S4 mini for pure compute, then connect an eGPU (e.g. GTX 1080) for all the cool 4K games.

I'm aware the Thunderbolt 3 connection is limited to PCI-e x8...but not sure it'll be too much of an issue for 1080p and midrange cards.

This is probably in-line with how Intel is promoting it's Skull Canyon NUC (which I must say is an exciting alternative to SFF PC).

 

[MarcParis]

Well as far as I know thunderbolt 3.0 is equal to pci express 3.0 x4 (or pcie 2.0 x8). Clearly it's a bottleneck.
With eGpu you will also have 2 power supplies. I've studied this solution, and it's more suited to people who will travel'all day long with their laptop, coming home they can plug it to eGpu and play a little bit. It's kind of hybrid solution.

 

[iFreilicht]

I'm aware the Thunderbolt 3 connection is limited to PCI-e x8

Really? I thought it was just x4 or x2? How the hell are they getting an x8 connection through that wimpy cable?

Well as far as I know thunderbolt 3.0 is equal to pci express 3.0 x4 (or pcie 2.0 x8). Clearly it's a bottleneck.

I see. It's not really that much of a problem, though.

 

[MarcParis]

Really? I thought it was just x4 or x2? How the hell are they getting an x8 connection through that wimpy cable?



I see. It's not really that much of a problem, though.

Well you cannot compare directly between physical PCIe 3.0 4x and thunderbolt 3.0...bandwith is one stuff, then you have latency, dedicated drivers. For eGpu, it's cristal clear that we need to wait for real first feedback and test..

 

[flacman]

Well as far as I know thunderbolt 3.0 is equal to pci express 3.0 x4 (or pcie 2.0 x8). Clearly it's a bottleneck.
With eGpu you will also have 2 power supplies. I've studied this solution, and it's more suited to people who will travel'all day long with their laptop, coming home they can plug it to eGpu and play a little bit. It's kind of hybrid solution.

Yeah, I get that -- but for me, it would allow an S4 build using a PicoPSU with plenty of power to spare coupled with a graphics card I would prefer to use (I have a 980 Ti in my ATX box currently).

Really? I thought it was just x4 or x2? How the hell are they getting an x8 connection through that wimpy cable?

Sorry, my mistake. x4 -- as per the anandtech article.

 

[Josh | NFC]

While this is probably not the most ideal solution, but seeing 2016 heralds mainstream adoption of more external GPUs (eGPU) -- depending on the openness and availability of the solutions, it might be viable to just use the S4 mini for pure compute, then connect an eGPU (e.g. GTX 1080) for all the cool 4K games.

I'm aware the Thunderbolt 3 connection is limited to PCI-e x8...but not sure it'll be too much of an issue for 1080p and midrange cards.

This is probably in-line with how Intel is promoting it's Skull Canyon NUC (which I must say is an exciting alternative to SFF PC).

Yes, I am excited about this too! You can use the expansion slots for a liquid cooler for the CPU or put a really nice soundcard or PCIE storage for the expansion slots.

 

[MarcParis]

Just received my voodoo 350w this morning.
I've tried it with my hdpex 250W with a single fan connected..it works perfectly. Only noticeable point was small coil whining coming from hdplex..
Next items to receive :

• Id cooling IS-VC45
• Z4-ATX-200 with dell/hp converter
• NFC S4 mini

As expected, Polaris GPU that will be announced by computex are not oriented to enthousiast market..R9 Nano will still shine a couple of month. For me, only HBM2 will propose R9 Nano renewal...that means end of 2017-2018 as HBM2 for standard consumers are late.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Guys, Sapphire is doing a Year of the Nitro giveaway this month for a S4 Mini and a R9 380 4GB Nitro.

There aren't alot of hoops to jump through, so might as well take advantage of it if either of these prizes interests you

Year of the Nitro - April Giveaway

 

[MarcParis]

Nice promotion indeed

 

[QinX]

Very interesting, would love to see QinX redo the power tests he did previously and see how it compares with the new firmware.

Didn't do any real testing, but did a quick trail run of Unigine Valley and had another crash. So, not "solved" yet, but haven't done more in-depth testing either. I might redo some of the known crash tests to see if there is any change with the power management, but I don't expect anything is changed.

 

[MarcParis]

thanks for feedback Qinx.

 

[MarcParis]

Here are news from Polaris :
http://wccftech.com/amd-polaris-10-desktop-polaris-11-notebook-gpu/

at the bottom, you can find a very useful table :
WCCF Fury X Successor R9 480X R9 480 R9 470X R9 470
GPU Vega 10 / Polaris 10 / Ellesmere XT Polaris 10 / Ellesmere Pro Polaris 11 / Baffin XT Polaris 11 / Baffin Pro
Fabrication Process 14nm FinFET
Compute Units 64 / 40 / 36 / 20 / 16
GCN Generation GCN 4.0
Stream Processors 4096 SPs / 2560 SPs / 2304 SPs / 1280 SPs / 1024 SPs
TMUs 256 TBA TBA TBA TBA
ROPs 64 TBA TBA TBA TBA
Memory Bus 4096-bit / 256-bit / 256-bit / 128-bit / 128-bit
Memory 16GB HBM2 / 8GB GDDR5/X 8GB GDDR5/X 4GB GDDR5/X 4GB GDDR5/X
TDP TBA ~110-150W ~110-150W <50W <50W

I would like to comment this sentence :
"AMD demoed a Polaris 10 based graphics card at Capsaicin 2016 in Hitman running in DirectX 12 at 1440P resolution and delivering a steady 60 FPS. Polaris 10 sounds like a replacement to the Fury X but in fact, it is replacing the mainstream lineup."
I guess this benchmark is heavily not representative as hitman, even on directx 11, is AMD friendly. On directx 12 + 1440p is even more AMD friendly. It's just as if Nvidia was using rise of the tomb raider, in 1080p, as neutral benchmark.. (i need to precise that I'm supporting AMD...but not an absolute fanboy..)

Personnally I expect that polaris 10 & 11 has same range of performance as current AMD R9 380 til R9 390X, with far better power consumption optimization. Enthousiast version will be Vega 10, only available by 2017 (and I bet late 2017.)

To conclude, I still have the feeling R9 Nano will stay the most powerful gpu for S4 mini for 2016. If i can wait for computex, I will...but I'm not sure I'll be able to do so...I'm so eager to have my S4 mini in place..

 

[ignsvn]

...I'm so eager to have my S4 mini in place..

Patience, young grasshopper.

 

[MarcParis]

Well, at least I've found my motherboard. Initially I've wanted to go on z170n wifi, however, it reveals to throttle with core i7 6700k...thus after additionnal checks, considering I'll take a id-vc45 cooler, I'll go for z170n gaming 5.
Both asus z170i pro gaming or asrock fatality seems too tight for cpu cooler (backplate mainly)

 

[Ceros_X]

From my research if the MB doesn't have 2x 4 pin power connectors then there are a bunch of complaints about the MB throttling the CPU. I've got a GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 and no complaints so far with regard to OCing...