S4 MINI Classic (S4M-C)

[Sean Crees]

@Josh | NFC From looking at the pictures, it looks like you left the stock cooler on the zotac 1080 but just trimmed the stock shroud back. Did you have to do anything to the fan blades? Is the acrylic required as a spacer to give the fan blades room to fit?

Also, you should totally put some RGB LED's on the backside of that front acrylic plate so that the entire front lights up. Maybe put them around the edge of the logo and front gpu vent, right behind them. So that the light is uniform around the edges but you don't see them shining straight through.

A couple other things i noticed. Is that black gaffers tape on an HDPLEX riser so you don't see the orange stock color? You left one of the RAM slots empty, was this just because it's what the customer wanted, or was there a fitting complication with putting a stick in the other ram slot? Also, you left the SSD bracket in the case but the system is using an m.2 drive. Did you leave it in for structural reasons since your not using the 5mm wrap around aluminum part?

What are the odds zotac used a backplate with the exact same type of venting hole pattern you use on the S4 mini? You should send them a thank you card. That card looks like its specifically made for your case.

 

[CC Ricers]

So this must be the first ever S4 mini build with a 1080. Looks very top notch with a very good motherboard to match. Even the backplate matches well with the S4 exterior!

 

[Ceros_X]

Possible GPU Overheating solution.
9.5mm internal DVD bay laptop blower with M.2 slot mounted above the GPU with fan blasting air out the back.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/your-acco...5580243&returnSummaryId=&shipmentId=Dq8WnNVLH

Bad link

 

[|||]

@Josh | NFC From looking at the pictures, it looks like you left the stock cooler on the zotac 1080 but just trimmed the stock shroud back. Did you have to do anything to the fan blades?

If you zoom in, you can see the fan blades are still entirely intact (near side has to be the same as far side as the fan spins); so it looks like he didn't have to cut the blades at all.

@Josh | NFC - very impressive! Has the volume shrunken without the bezel sticking out over the GPU now?

 

[Smallform Gaming]

Bad link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EXWOAOW/?tag=theminutiae-20

Fixed.

 

[Smallform Gaming]

1080 IN AN S4 MINI: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

 

[LodisKnight]

As an alternative to what you're doing with a that Pelican Case, 20.7" 1080P monitors fit PERFECTLY in the lid of the Nanuk 1535 Carry-on. If you're looking to do a portable build, it's a much better monitor choice than the GeChic.

I get what you're saying, but my mail goal was one power outlet. Also, the native touch screen drivers in Windows 10 work so well and are so intuitive that I could have gone without the keyboard altogether. 1080P, touchscreen, USB Powered, Speakers, HDMI output. There is literally no other monitor on the planet that does what this one does without using DisplayLink and fits in the pouch in Pelican 1510LOC. Loving it. Once you use it for a couple of minutes, you forget it's not a tablet.

 

[LodisKnight]

Ah I see, could you do me a huge favor and mockup what theyre look like if they were to go on the 4 corners of one of the sidepanels? curious how big they are and if they dont cover any vents.

I'm on the road right now, but I can say, without a doubt, that they will stick perfectly on to the side panel and BARELY miss the vents. I stuck them on and goo-goned them off and it looked great.

 

[hat1324]

I'm on the road right now, but I can say, without a doubt, that they will stick perfectly on to the side panel and BARELY miss the vents. I stuck them on and goo-goned them off and it looked great.

I think I ought to mention that the 1503i just came out a couple of months ago.

 

[LodisKnight]

I think I ought to mention that the 1503i just came out a couple of months ago.

Won't fit in the pouch, sadly.

 

[Curiosity]

I get what you're saying, but my mail goal was one power outlet. Also, the native touch screen drivers in Windows 10 work so well and are so intuitive that I could have gone without the keyboard altogether. 1080P, touchscreen, USB Powered, Speakers, HDMI output. There is literally no other monitor on the planet that does what this one does without using DisplayLink and fits in the pouch in Pelican 1510LOC. Loving it. Once you use it for a couple of minutes, you forget it's not a tablet.

I was going to ask how display port caused issues with the oculus, but realized you meant the display link drivers for USB monitors.
Correct?

 

[CubanLegend]

Yeah, I originally bought the 4266 kit without RGB, then it popped up like two days after I received it. Preorder price, at the time, was $240.

DANG BRO. I've bought them up instead of my Cosairs if I had known beforehand that they were ASUS AURA compatible... oh well, maybe later down the line.

Possible GPU Overheating solution.
9.5mm internal DVD bay laptop blower with M.2 slot mounted above the GPU with fan blasting air out the back.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EXWOAOW/?tag=theminutiae-20

Interesting, I didnt know slim/slot-loading drives were used for stuff, let alone for cooling. I already asked Josh about adding a slot loading drive to the S4 and there's really not much room for it without redesigning and cutting/milling a custom bracket. :/

@Josh | NFC From looking at the pictures, it looks like you left the stock cooler on the zotac 1080 but just trimmed the stock shroud back. Did you have to do anything to the fan blades? Is the acrylic required as a spacer to give the fan blades room to fit?

Also, you should totally put some RGB LED's on the backside of that front acrylic plate so that the entire front lights up. Maybe put them around the edge of the logo and front gpu vent, right behind them. So that the light is uniform around the edges but you don't see them shining straight through.

A couple other things i noticed. Is that black gaffers tape on an HDPLEX riser so you don't see the orange stock color? You left one of the RAM slots empty, was this just because it's what the customer wanted, or was there a fitting complication with putting a stick in the other ram slot? Also, you left the SSD bracket in the case but the system is using an m.2 drive. Did you leave it in for structural reasons since your not using the 5mm wrap around aluminum part?

What are the odds zotac used a backplate with the exact same type of venting hole pattern you use on the S4 mini? You should send them a thank you card. That card looks like its specifically made for your case.

Wow I did not notice that, I'll be sure to send them a thank you tweet! But @Josh | NFC can probably take a better picture of it for ZOTAC to see.

I don't think Josh had to cut the fan blades, it would probably unbalance the fans and the card runs very cool as per it's reviews, so you would want to avoid cutting the fan blades at all cost as it could hurt the cooling ability of the fans.

I agree about adding LEDs somewhere if they should show though the acrylic, but that would require removing the acrylic and probably cutting a hole in the inner case front panel for the LED RGB strip to show through. (if it can even be seen through the hazy acrylic).

So this must be the first ever S4 mini build with a 1808. Looks very top notch with a very good motherboard to match. Even the backplate matches well with the S4 exterior!

I think there's another user here who recieved the 1080 before I sent mine to Josh (sorry I'm bad with names) but he has had to remove the front wrap-around and I think that user is using the Caselabs 5-1/2 in drive bay cover to cover the part of the GPU that sticks out past the inner S4 mini case.

If you zoom in, you can see the fan blades are still entirely intact (near side has to be the same as far side as the fan spins); so it looks like he didn't have to cut the blades at all.

@Josh | NFC - very impressive! Has the volume shrunken without the bezel sticking out over the GPU now?

IIRC Josh mentioned that the acrylic helped with card fitment, as keeping the original wrap around would require cutting the wrap around or maybe shaving some off the inside of it? (i think, @Josh | NFC can correct me on that). But I will probably still consider having the wrap around modded and installed to fit later, if I dont fall in love with the acrylic (which I'm starting to).

I'm on the road right now, but I can say, without a doubt, that they will stick perfectly on to the side panel and BARELY miss the vents. I stuck them on and goo-goned them off and it looked great.

Awesome, thanks! I'll be buying those to use on my S4 mini.

 

[|||]

I already asked Josh about adding a slot loading drive to the S4 and there's really not much room for it without redesigning and cutting/milling a custom bracket. :/

You can fit one in where the SSD drives are and mount it facing the rear of the case. You'll need to make a slight modification around the GPU bracket tab, and obviously cut out a slot from the disc to go through.

 

[CubanLegend]

Dang, so I'm looking for the most affordable Gskill TridentZ RGB kits and they are all super expensive and only available in the US from Newegg and NCIXUS, the entire RGB range on the G.skill storefront on Amazon is UK shipping and NO US SHIPPING. WHyyyy... @LodisKnight you hit the jackpot with that kit bro.

Either way, I can't return my Corsair LPX Vengeance DDR4-4000 kit anyway... its past the 30-days on Newegg. I'd put it up for sale but... I plastidipped them in black and people probably don't want ram thats been modded even though the XMP of 4000MHz runs perfectly stable at 1.35v. I'll just find and run a mini RGB strip that is the same size and looks like the G.Skill kits, and run it across the top of the two ram slots and hook it into the mobo' RGB header and sync it! Ghetto-rigged red Corsair ram plastidipped black, disguised as TridentZ RGB! how meta

 

[LodisKnight]

I was going to ask how display port caused issues with the oculus, but realized you meant the display link drivers for USB monitors.
Correct?

Yes. DisplayLink. I never said display port, did I? :-P

 

[Smallform Gaming]

You can fit one in where the SSD drives are and mount it facing the rear of the case. You'll need to make a slight modification around the GPU bracket tab, and obviously cut out a slot from the disc to go through.

Or you can put a blower there, use tape, and not have to cut anything. I would have done this myself but it turns out you need a slim SATA connection and I didn't have an adapter.

 

[CubanLegend]

So, in case anyone hasnt seen Josh's twitter yet: I'm so hyped to see your fitment/impressions of the card both outside of and inside of the S4 on video!

Thanks for the shout-out!

 

[CubanLegend]

Also, Just so you all can see how crazy I am, I've been testing the OC on my 7700K ever since Wednesday when my ASUS STRIX z270i arrived (without my 1080mini and S4 mini), I needed a PSU (since Josh has my HDPLEX)... I propped up my motherboard on some cardboard above my old current build's Full ATX tower (in my sig), and I borrowed the 24-pin and 8-pin CPU from my EVGA-G2-750Watt.

Then I got brave and after knowing my 4.8OC was stable @ 1.24v I installed my old ASUS GTX770 and it was supported firmly by the reinforced PCI-E bracket, Josh ain't kidding, that thing is STRONG and STIFF.





I encountered my fair share of BSODs while finding my stable OC volts...


But I eventually got WATCH_DOGS 1, 2 and Batman Arkham Knight running at 60FPS at 1080p with some tweaked settings (i'm VRAM limited to 2GB on my 770).

This CPU is a BEAST! It's solid at 4.8GHz 1.24v, 4.9@ 1.32v w/-1AVX offset, and 5.0 @ 1.35v with -2 AVX. I just learned about LLC, so I'll be testing again with that to see if I can get stability at 5GHZ before delidding, without an AVX offset, all OCs are with XMP on my RAM at 4000MHz. And I'm already amazed with my performance even without the 1080mini (my old Phenom2 940BE was way CPU limited), once i get the 1080mini back along with the case and get this thing built, I'm not sure if I will be able to handle all my old games at perfect framerates I never experienced before, for years to come, at 1080p and beyond to the future of 4K gaming!

My next task between now and the case/card arriving is properly migrating my Savefiles, custom driver profiles, and any important programs over from my old PC to the new PC's SSD. And migrating all my games properly without having to redownload them (origin/steam/uplay all do this but differently UGH) I still cant get used to how I get go from boot to my desktop in 16 seconds. Oh and I'll be testing the difference between my NH-l9i's stock fan and the scythe 100x12mm one.

 

[Sean Crees]

So, in case anyone hasnt seen Josh's twitter yet:

So twitter is the new youtube?

 

[Josh | NFC]

So twitter is the new youtube?

Nope, not for me anyways.

Youtube is for my longer projects. Twitter is for the content I don't have time to include or distracts from that. My goal is to have different content for Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, but right now there is some crossover. I do have lots of Twitter only vids up though.