And to be honest, I was asking my better half about a horizontal S4 Mini in the living room and her reaction to the feet was "not on my furniture" and to the wood bezel with aluminum was "that belongs in the 70's".
There is really no substitute for doing your own research, but in all fairness I don't think I've read this entire thread yet myself.without going through 163 pages. is there a list where i can see which cpu coolers are heightwise
(45mm from cpu heatspreader to ceiling of the case) compatible with the S4 mini case ?
I want to buy sme and compare but woud like to avoid buying coolers that dont fit.
also are 90', 120' or 140' fans applicable onto the cpu?
Take a look at this:without going through 163 pages. is there a list where i can see which cpu coolers are heightwise
(45mm from cpu heatspreader to ceiling of the case) compatible with the S4 mini case ?
I want to buy sme and compare but woud like to avoid buying coolers that dont fit.
also are 90', 120' or 140' fans applicable onto the cpu?
wanted to try these:
Samuel 17
arctic freezer 11 LP
cryorig c7
titan ttc-nc25/hs
cooltek LP53
cooltek ITX30
Inter-Tech 88885216 T-318
Zalman cnps2
any other that werent tested yet and fit into the s4 ?
There is really no substitute for doing your own research, but in all fairness I don't think I've read this entire thread yet myself.
Pretty sure PCPartPicker would let you do a quick search with that height requirement though
Take a look at this:
I mean I'm here to tinker also but doing your own reading/research ensures that nothing you might care about is missed and personally I've only just recently had an actual consumer-minded interest in the S4 Mini so I've not done all my reading yet.Why not? im here to tinker. Thats the fun of building the S4 (SFF in general)
Very nice tests, thanks.NHL9i vs NHL9i* vs LP53* vs LP53 w/i7-7700k Delidded* - RESULTS! (+bonus alternate "mini" VRM heatsinks installed!)
PICS of the Delid process adventure, skip these and look at the results below if you like (theres a bonus video in there showing the ACTUAL delid moment, too!)
... Well, wonder NO MORE!
PRE/POST DELID TEMP RESULTS DISCLAIMERS:
1) AMBIENT TEMP was 74F/23C at all times
2) * means my Z270i's VRM heatsinks were removed
3) Results were taken with the S4 Mini Side Panels On, in a vertical position (power button near the bottom)
4) Synthetic Benchmark temps taken after 10 minutes, or until i hit 99C (with timestamps included)
5) Gaming all done at 1080p in most CPU intensive area I could find, or using the game's built-in benchmark
Here's how I gathered my temps: My temp numbers were taken from the hottest core (core0) noting the highest temp that core had hit during the 10 minutes of continuous load from said benchmark/game. If the benchmark/game was showing erratic spiking of temps up/down within a range, I would take the average hottest temp of that range (ex: if spiking from 75-80c I'd average that to 77c).
- averaged temps marked with a "~" RealBench, AIDA64,and Watch_Dogs 2 fluctuated within a Temp Range, and the temp noted is an average.
- the orange temp delta shows the difference between the LP53 and the LP53 with the delid
- the GREEN temp delta is used to show the difference between my "stock NHL9i" temps and my new "LP53 w/Delid" temps
Synthetic Benchmarks:
Prime95_v26.6____IDLE__________LOAD
NHL9i Stock_______39c_________99c@5min (FAIL) on core0, cores1-3 averaged 93c
NHL9i *___________39c_________97c on core0, cores1-3 averaged 91c
LP53 *____________36c_________92c on core0, cores1-3 averaged 86cc
LP53 & Delid*______35c_________79 on core0 , cores 1-3 were ALL at 77c (13c from pre-delid LP53) (-20c from "NHL9i Stock")
Realbench Stress___LOAD
NHL9i Stock_______~99c@2min (FAIL)
NHL9i *___________~94c@
LP53 *____________~90c@
LP53 & Delid*______~76c@ (-14c from pre-delid LP53) (-23c from "NHL9i Stock")
x264 Custom Load___LOAD
NHL9i Stock______99c@2min (FAIL)
NHL9i *__________97c@10min
LP53 *___________ 95c@10min
LP53 & Delid*_____ 78c@10min (-15c from pre-delid LP53) (-21c from "NHL9i Stock")
Intel Burn Test (Standard) Hottest Core after 10 runs
LP53 *___________99c@1min (FAIL)
LP53 & Delid *____75c (-24c from pre-delid LP53)
AIDA64 System Stress Test (15 minutes)
LP53 *___________~92c
LP53 & Delid *____~78c (-14c from pre-delid LP53)
Thats an average 14c temp drop (on the hottest core) from from pre-delid LP53 to Delidding, ALONE.
But let's look at where I started with the NHL9i w/VRM heatsinks on... then this becomes a total average of 20C temp drop (on the hottest core) on these synthetic benchmarks, going from an NHL9i, to an LP53 without VRM heatsinks, and then a CPU delid!
Gaming Benchmarks
Watch Dogs 2:
LP53 *___________~83c
LP53 & Delid *____~69c
Mirror's Edge Catalyst:
LP53 *___________77c
LP53 & Delid *____63c
Batman Arkham Knight:
LP53 *___________70c
LP53 & Delid *____57c
Gears of War 4 Benchmark:
LP53 *___________61c
LP53 & Delid *____55c
Rise of the Tomb Raider Benchmark:
LP53 *___________64c
LP53 & Delid *____59c
That's an average 13c temp drop (on the hottest core) in these Real-world PC-game tests!
BONUS Pics of adjustments to the Motherboard VRMs (which were bare after removing the stock VRM heatsink towers). You can buy them here
BONUS pics of adjusting my rear M.2 mounting with the proper spacer:
So... the delid was sucessful. I'm going to attempt to go for 5GHz now and see if I'm stable at a low enough vcore and temps. If not I'm fine with thie 7700k at stock turboboost clocks (4.5GHz @ 1.2vcore)
Thanks to all of you who helped me with this build in this SFF community of ours. This brings the main phase of this build's progress to an end... FOR NOW!
Things that might make me update this thread in the future:
This post took me WAY TOO LONG to do, so glad my long-format updates are over for this build...
- A new 1080ti Mini from ZOTAC that fits in the S4 mini ...? (praying for one at least, if not for me but so Josh can get more customers! and more can join the SFF or S4 Mini community!)
- The release of PC 4K/UHD Bluray PC Players, so I can drag all my 4K blurays that havent been ripped yet along with me when i take it with me for movie nights.
... and now that the latest version of CEMU is relased, I'm off to play Zelda Breath of the Wild in Glorius 4K! and then take the S4 to a friends house for some Mario Kart 8 4-player couch-multiplayer in Glorious 4K on his projector!
*I removed the ASUS Z270i STRIX's stock VRM heatsinks because the stock VRM heatsinks were blocking airflow around the CPU heatsink/fan, so I had increased airflow which helped with temps, also this gave me extra room to fit and install the LP53.Very nice tests, thanks.
I have a few questions:
*Why have you removed the stock VRM heatsinks?
*so the LP53 is way better than the noctua that everybody prises as the best one?
Did you manage to get any tests with the L9i and the idcooling fan from the vc45?*I removed the ASUS Z270i STRIX's stock VRM heatsinks because the stock VRM heatsinks were blocking airflow around the CPU heatsink/fan, so I had increased airflow which helped with temps, also this gave me extra room to fit and install the LP53.
*Yes, the LP53 was slightly better than the NHL9i, by about 2-4 degrees, depending on the situation. The REAL drop in temps came after I delidded the CPU, I recommend that if you plan to have any i7 inside an S4 Mini. Just remember that I had to custom mount the NF-A9x14 fan onto the LP53 with Zip-ties, which made the installation a little bit more time consuming, but for me and the lower CPU temps, it was totally worth it.
Not a problem, i allready delidded and fluidmetalled all my cpu's at home and got roughly 20*C better temps*I removed the ASUS Z270i STRIX's stock VRM heatsinks because the stock VRM heatsinks were blocking airflow around the CPU heatsink/fan, so I had increased airflow which helped with temps, also this gave me extra room to fit and install the LP53.
*Yes, the LP53 was slightly better than the NHL9i, by about 2-4 degrees, depending on the situation. The REAL drop in temps came after I delidded the CPU, I recommend that if you plan to have any i7 inside an S4 Mini. Just remember that I had to custom mount the NF-A9x14 fan onto the LP53 with Zip-ties, which made the installation a little bit more time consuming, but for me and the lower CPU temps, it was totally worth it.
Sorry I dont own the VC45, thats the vapor chamber cooler that I remember Josh did a review of on youtube, and it didnt perform as well as it should've. The NF-A9-x14 PWM fan from the NHL9i is the best fan you can put on your CPU right now if you have an S4 Mini. I havent tried the new slim 120 Noctua fan, because I'm satisfied with my current temps and setup.Did you manage to get any tests with the L9i and the idcooling fan from the vc45?
Did you manage to get any tests with the L9i and the idcooling fan from the vc45?
Thanks for making this point, I agree that for most users just looking for the best temps with the easiest setup: I'd also recommend the NHL9i with it's stock A9x14 PWM fan, just like Josh says. As long as you've delidded your i7, and removed the big VRM heat spreaders on the ASUS z270i mobo, your CPU will be cooled just fine by the NHL9i and it's stock fan, with minimal to zero modding required.I've posted a couple times all the reasons I consider the NHl9i to be the best of the lot out of the box. The LP53 as Cuban has shown in his detailed post (link to it on index) is the king if you want to mod it and your motherboard a bit...but not really by much. You can get superb results from just taking off the stupid heat spreaders that block the NHl9i.
All these (specific) cooler permutation questions have been answered several times in this thread--I know it is frustrating to hear--I am not trying to be annoying, but just to let you know that the info is here and it has been tested. I haven't seen a new cooler combo in a while that hasn't been tested and I try to follow the thread. Going through all the pages sucks--don't do that. Use the search feature. You can try putting my name in there with the cooler name, or Cuban's or someone else who likes to talk about coolers. Again, ONLY saying this to be helpful--not annoying. <3 <3 <3
I've posted a couple times all the reasons I consider the NHl9i to be the best of the lot out of the box. The LP53 as Cuban has shown in his detailed post (link to it on index) is the king if you want to mod it and your motherboard a bit...but not really by much. You can get superb results from just taking off the stupid heat spreaders that block the NHl9i.
Another note @Kmpkt is working on a cooler right now to take the best of all worlds and we are all wishing him luck.
Peace
ok, allow me to ask, i am going through the thread right now, until now i did not see this:
how would the Cryorig XT140 x 13 would be as a 140mm whole system cooler ?
if im not mistaken it also would fit over the GPU wouldnt it ?
anybody tried this one ?
P.s. i also thought you would recommend the Zalman over the noctua because of omnidirectional airflow ?