S4 MINI Classic (S4M-C)

[Ceros_X]

1080 chop job!

Main thing I'd be worried about was that heat pipe, looks really close to the heat sink from many angles

 

[iFreilicht]

To get one of these Galax in Europe will be very difficult :-(

In europe they have a different label, called KFA². There are already quite a few 1070s from them available here: http://geizhals.eu?fs=KFA² 1070

 

[NotungX]

In europe they have a different label, called KFA². There are already quite a few 1070s from them available here: http://geizhals.eu?fs=KFA² 1070

Thanks for the info!

I found the equivalent 1070 mini in their website:

http://www.kfa2.com/kfa2/graphics-card/10-series/kfa2-geforcer-gtx-1070-oc-mini.html

I hope it doesn't take too long to launch.

 

[CubanLegend]

Main thing I'd be worried about was that heat pipe, looks really close to the heat sink from many angles

yeah... I see what you mean and I noticed it too, from some angles that heat [pipe does seem mighty close to that aluminum block at the end of the heatsink. Thankfully it seems that it's separated by enough space of Aluminum fins that I should have plenty of clearance to dremel the block at the end right off without touching the heatpipe, If I'm careful.

I've never cut a heatsink on a GPU before, so if Josh or anyone else has any advice, I'll all ears and am at the mercy of your modding wisdom.

 

[jeshikat]

I never understood why they weren't more popular (vs those overwidth Gigabyte/Asus cards)

Availability. Currently the only way to buy Galax cards here is direct from their website, they don't have any distribution network setup here anymore.

 

[Josh | NFC]

yeah... I see what you mean and I noticed it too, from some angles that heat [pipe does seem mighty close to that aluminum block at the end of the heatsink. Thankfully it seems that it's separated by enough space of Aluminum fins that I should have plenty of clearance to dremel the block at the end right off without touching the heatpipe, If I'm careful.

I've never cut a heatsink on a GPU before, so if Josh or anyone else has any advice, I'll all ears and am at the mercy of your modding wisdom.

A dremel is not going to give you clean lines and will take forever. Best thing to do is to make friends with someone with a chop saw, and buy them a metal cutting wheel for it (cheap) or if they have one even better. You won't even know its been modded with one of those. You go slow at high RPM.

If you can't do that and don't want to invest in one, then I highly recommend an angle grinder. I've owned literally three DREMEL brand rotary tools, and each one more expensive than the last, on top of one Craftsmen rotary tool and a ROTOZIP. I spent years with them in my early modding stages trying to make sense of them, and every now and then I pull out the big one to see if it will make a small job easier, but it never does. Just get a cheap angle grinder (they are FAR less expensive than a DREMEL) with a 4.5+ inch wheel and you will have more accurate and easy cuts and it will all cut like butter. I now own three--one for each blade type that makes working much faster for me and don't regret even the $14 one which got me through my custom CJ7 frame. I really like the design of this one and I use it for precision grinding--if you want to spend a little more that is what I would get. Ironically, the name brand one I purchased for much more $$ isn't as nice, but still is good.

I'm not hating on DREMEL, but I just don't think its the right tool for cutting.

Now ROTOZIP is a ripoff. Sorry, ROTOZIP. You are selling a baby angle grinder/sawzaw for semi-pro level angle grinder prices, and you fooled me!

 

[Curiosity]

Lookie what I found...
I have no idea how credible this pccanada place is, but according tho them the Strix Z270I is supposed to come out on the 29th and cost $232. I'm also not sure if that's canadabux or not.

 

[SumGhai]

Lookie what I found...
I have no idea how credible this pccanada place is, but according tho them the Strix Z270I is supposed to come out on the 29th and cost $232. I'm also not sure if that's canadabux or not.

If it is Canadabux, at $173-174 it's still a bit on the pricey side. But oh man those features.

 

[CubanLegend]

A dremel is not going to give you clean lines and will take forever. Best thing to do is to make friends with someone with a chop saw, and buy them a metal cutting wheel for it (cheap) or if they have one even better. You won't even know its been modded with one of those. You go slow at high RPM.

If you can't do that and don't want to invest in one, then I highly recommend an angle grinder. I've owned literally three DREMEL brand rotary tools, and each one more expensive than the last, on top of one Craftsmen rotary tool and a ROTOZIP. I spent years with them in my early modding stages trying to make sense of them, and every now and then I pull out the big one to see if it will make a small job easier, but it never does. Just get a cheap angle grinder (they are FAR less expensive than a DREMEL) with a 4.5+ inch wheel and you will have more accurate and easy cuts and it will all cut like butter. I now own three--one for each blade type that makes working much faster for me and don't regret even the $14 one which got me through my custom CJ7 frame. I really like the design of this one and I use it for precision grinding--if you want to spend a little more that is what I would get. Ironically, the name brand one I purchased for much more $$ isn't as nice, but still is good.

I'm not hating on DREMEL, but I just don't think its the right tool for cutting.

Now ROTOZIP is a ripoff. Sorry, ROTOZIP. You are selling a baby angle grinder/sawzaw for semi-pro level angle grinder prices, and you fooled me!

Duuuude... Thanks so much for you reply Josh! I'm a complete noob at cutting aluminum so your advice is totally appreciated.

So what kind of blade should I buy for the Angle Grinder in order for it to "all cut like butter" through the heatsink's fins? do you recommend completely removing the heatsink and clamping it down on a surface beforehand or is cutting it with the GPU attached a huge no-no?

 

[LodisKnight]

Man seeing everyone's MINIs come in is making me so antsy since I still haven't gotten my shipped email. No rush Josh but... Pls rush Haha jk.
It's just awesome that after all this time waiting for this batch of MINIs they're finally in our hands. It'll be fun to see what everyone does with theirs.

It'd be so much easier to handle if I knew what number I personally was. I mean, I know #140 is out, but am I #148 or #350?

So excited, but it'll most likely come before the ASUS Strix z270i arrives anyways, so eh.

 

[NotungX]

Lookie what I found...
I have no idea how credible this pccanada place is, but according tho them the Strix Z270I is supposed to come out on the 29th and cost $232. I'm also not sure if that's canadabux or not.

That price for the ASUS seems legit. I also saw this a few days ago:

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/asu...3-m2-(pcie-sata)-intel-gbe-acwifi-usb-30-aplu

I do not think it will be much less than 200GBP. I would expect 230EUR and in USD might be cheaper as it usually is... maybe 200USD.

 

[Curiosity]

If it is Canadabux, at $173-174 it's still a bit on the pricey side. But oh man those features.

The dual m.2 alone makes it worth it for me.
dual m.2, g-unique psu, 1060, 6700t, and the S4 sounds pretty cozy. C:

 

[Josh | NFC]

So what kind of blade should I buy for the Angle Grinder in order for it to "all cut like butter" through the heatsink's fins?

The thin ones, like this!

do you recommend completely removing the heatsink and clamping it down on a surface beforehand or is cutting it with the GPU attached a huge no-no?

You can do it with the GPU attached, but honestly I wouldn't for reasons:

1. You are modding the card anyways, might as well put some premium heat goop on.
2. This is your first time using a new tool (which you should practice with a teensy bit first)
3. Minimize the risk of metal shavings and ESD damaging your card.

Either way you need to solidly secure your heatsink. Use some 2x1s or something to avoid damaging the card. The grinder will pull in one direction, and you want it to pull into your part so set it up that way.

I think using a chop saw would be better as you will be garanteed a clean cut and you don't need to have experience under your belt. But if you were going to use a DREMEL anyways, then yeah, the angle grinder will be better by 100x. The biggest reason is with the bigger blade you get straighter lines and it cuts more stably. Secondly it will have less vibration than a dremel, and vibration is bad when cutting anything.

It'd be so much easier to handle if I knew what number I personally was. I mean, I know #140 is out, but am I #148 or #350?

So excited, but it'll most likely come before the ASUS Strix z270i arrives anyways, so eh.

I wish I could help you, but if you have already paid for your MINI, it will be shipping very soon. I need to take a break before sending out ORDER FORMS again though, so if you are on the waiting list I need probably most of February to catch up and figure out how I am going to pay for all the MINIs and finish videos, and do work to pay my bills.

 

[Kmpkt]

The dual m.2 alone makes it worth it for me.
dual m.2, g-unique psu, 1060, 6700t, and the S4 sounds pretty cozy. C:

This is the exact build I'm planning. Already have my 6700T, Engine 27 and eVGA 1060 and am planning on 2 960 Pro 512GB and a set of black and silver TridentX RAM. Hopefully have the Black and Silver combo S4 coming soon!

 

[Curiosity]

This is the exact build I'm planning. Already have my 6700T, Engine 27 and eVGA 1060 and am planning on 2 960 Pro 512GB and a set of black and silver TridentX RAM. Hopefully have the Black and Silver combo S4 coming soon!

are you using the 6700t note, out just waiting for the Z270i?
I'm kinda curious what sort of performance change I should expect coming from a 3570k@ stock.
from the research I've done it doesn't seem like ill lose any power or gain anything in single core, but might get q small boost in multithreaded stuff.

 

[CubanLegend]

The thin ones, like this!



You can do it with the GPU attached, but honestly I wouldn't for reasons:

1. You are modding the card anyways, might as well put some premium heat goop on.
2. This is your first time using a new tool (which you should practice with a teensy bit first)
3. Minimize the risk of metal shavings and ESD damaging your card.

Either way you need to solidly secure your heatsink. Use some 2x1s or something to avoid damaging the card. The grinder will pull in one direction, and you want it to pull into your part so set it up that way.

I think using a chop saw would be better as you will be garanteed a clean cut and you don't need to have experience under your belt. But if you were going to use a DREMEL anyways, then yeah, the angle grinder will be better by 100x. The biggest reason is with the bigger blade you get straighter lines and it cuts more stably. Secondly it will have less vibration than a dremel, and vibration is bad when cutting anything.




I wish I could help you, but if you have already paid for your MINI, it will be shipping very soon. I need to take a break before sending out ORDER FORMS again though, so if you are on the waiting list I need probably most of February to catch up and figure out how I am going to pay for all the MINIs and finish videos, and do work to pay my bills.

Oooh, So I can try to put some better Thermal Interface Material on there instead! Great point, so I'll be taking the heatsink off for sure.

I have 2 friends with chop saws that have metal cutting wheels, one is always used for aluminum so I know it's good. I'll be sure to use something to make sure the heatsink is stable, like 2x1s like you said. Go slow, High RPM! Got it! I'll be sure to post about this when I do it, I'll take pictures and video if I can.

Thanks again Josh, for your sage advice!

 

[Kmpkt]

are you using the 6700t note, out just waiting for the Z270i?
I'm kinda curious what sort of performance change I should expect coming from a 3570k@ stock.
from the research I've done it doesn't seem like ill lose any power or gain anything in single core, but might get q small boost in multithreaded stuff.

Not sure what you meant by 6700T note? Anyhow the chip is brand new and I'd originally bought it for a build I was planning using the original Deskmini and an x4 PCIe adapter (basically the same build Aibo is doing in his STX 160.0). As far as performance loss, from what I've read the only place you should notice it is in CPU bound games which I believe are in the minority. Even then, I can't imagine the difference in performance is that huge. Three chip generations, two architecture refinements and five or so years is a long time between processors. If there is much of a difference either way, I'm thinking it's small.

 

[Curiosity]

Not sure what you meant by 6700T note? Anyhow the chip is brand new and I'd originally bought it for a build I was planning using the original Deskmini and an x4 PCIe adapter (basically the same build Aibo is doing in his STX 160.0). As far as performance loss, from what I've read the only place you should notice it is in CPU bound games which I believe are in the minority. Even then, I can't imagine the difference in performance is that huge. Three chip generations, two architecture refinements and five or so years is a long time between processors. If there is much of a difference either way, I'm thinking it's small.

Sorry, that was a typo from typing fast without proofreading at the tail end of my lunch break
Meant to ask if you were using it now, or just have it on hand waiting to be put into the build when you get the rest of the parts.
That's what I've found so far too, and I'm set on the 6700t unless I can get a 7700t for the same price (maybe) so I'm ready to take a small hit if I have to.

 

[Chongker]

The new Galax/KFA2 1070 Mini looks perfect for the S4 Mini, though I do have to ask, why 2 DVI ports? I can understand having one for legacy support, but I really don't understand OEM design decisions sometimes. In any case, I already have a Zotac 1070 mini here ready for when my S4 arrives, so I'll likely just end up trying to make it work.

 

[nfilipac]

It'd be so much easier to handle if I knew what number I personally was. I mean, I know #140 is out, but am I #148 or #350?

So excited, but it'll most likely come before the ASUS Strix z270i arrives anyways, so eh.

If it makes you feel better, I just got mine shipped! And I believe I was towards the end of the list. So not much waiting left