S4 MINI Classic (S4M-C)

Tek Everything

Cable-Tie Ninja
Dec 25, 2015
199
237
tekeverything.com
This is just my opinion, but I don't think the SC version is necessary. They both benchmark pretty close, and the cooler is ALOT beefier on the SC version, but the heat output is really similar. I would definitely consider the SC version if the heatsink made contact with VRM and Memory, but it only covers the GPU die so all that is air cooled anyway...

If you have the extra money, don't care about weight, and your case vents bi-directionally well, then go for it. I go with the normal version unless customers specifically ask for it now.

Peace!

Thanks for the input, there is a ton of seemingly conflicting temperature data on both of these cards. Maybe there is something wrong with the one I got. What temps have you typically seen in the mini?
 
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flacman

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 23, 2016
128
61
This is just my opinion, but I don't think the SC version is necessary. They both benchmark pretty close, and the cooler is ALOT beefier on the SC version, but the heat output is really similar. I would definitely consider the SC version if the heatsink made contact with VRM and Memory, but it only covers the GPU die so all that is air cooled anyway...

If you have the extra money, don't care about weight, and your case vents bi-directionally well, then go for it. I go with the normal version unless customers specifically ask for it now.

Peace!

I second Josh on this point. The SC costs more, has higher boost clocks (bad if you're trying to use a PicoPSU like me).

Then again, once I receive my 330W brick and HDplex 160W, I'll see what happens....
 
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GreatestUnKnown

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Dec 30, 2016
108
154
This is just my opinion, but I don't think the SC version is necessary. They both benchmark pretty close, and the cooler is ALOT beefier on the SC version, but the heat output is really similar. I would definitely consider the SC version if the heatsink made contact with VRM and Memory, but it only covers the GPU die so all that is air cooled anyway...

I am sure this is another reason why you feel the EVGA 1060 is a good S4 pairing since you could remove the shroud and fan and use a preferred alternative if so desired.

I have had several of the two 6GB 1060 MINIs from EVGA and all of them have fairly cool backsides...

...I am NOT a PCB guy

I guffawed...
 

Sean Crees

Airflow Optimizer
Jan 1, 2017
352
316
This is just my opinion, but I don't think the SC version is necessary. They both benchmark pretty close, and the cooler is ALOT beefier on the SC version, but the heat output is really similar. I would definitely consider the SC version if the heatsink made contact with VRM and Memory, but it only covers the GPU die so all that is air cooled anyway...

If you have the extra money, don't care about weight, and your case vents bi-directionally well, then go for it. I go with the normal version unless customers specifically ask for it now.

Peace!

One is a block of aluminum, the other is a heatpipe cooler. It may not directly contact other parts of the cards, but if the GPU is cooler, then it won't be heating up the rest of the card as much, so it will have an indirect effect on the temps of the card as a whole. I mean its only $10 extra for a much improved cooling solution over the stock version.

I don't think it's necessary, but i think it would help keep the card cooler at reduced noise levels.
 

BrainTaste

Average Stuffer
Jan 3, 2017
66
93
steamcommunity.com
Hey guys,
I was looking for other powerbricks that I could use with the HDPLEX 300; the ones I found were around $105-$120. I found this one on Newegg for a much more reasonable price, won't this work just the same as the one that Josh recommends on the NFC page?
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...re=330W_AC_Adapter-_-9SIA3AN3PC2432-_-Product

Edit: It's got the same product code, so isn't it the same one?
 

CubanLegend

Steely-Eyed NVFlash Man
Dec 23, 2016
832
1,011
smallformfactor.net
Hey guys,
I was looking for other powerbricks that I could use with the HDPLEX 300; the ones I found were around $105-$120. I found this one on Newegg for a much more reasonable price, won't this work just the same as the one that Josh recommends on the NFC page?
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...re=330W_AC_Adapter-_-9SIA3AN3PC2432-_-Product

Edit: It's got the same product code, so isn't it the same one?
Dude holy crap, thats the Dell 330W that everyones been buying off Amazon for 105$ USD... on Newegg for $80 USD! XD Yo @Tek Everything here you go bro, snatch it! :)
 

Sean Crees

Airflow Optimizer
Jan 1, 2017
352
316
It looks like Ryzen is going to be a combo of 95w and 65w TDP parts. Though they are all unlocked, so i'm sure you could take a 65w TDP CPU and undervolt/underclock it to fit a lower thermal envelope.

Now we just need to see some more ITX AM4 boards.

http://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-lineup-pricing-confirmed-8-cores-low-320/

The leak is from a retailer that apparently has a long history of getting AMD CPU product information up before official launches with accurate information.

Prices are up too. Most expensive part is $500, with the 65w 8c/16t r7 coming in at $320. That's the same price i was going to pay for an i7-7700t from newegg.
 

Stumbler

Caliper Novice
Oct 16, 2016
23
35


Heard yall like teasers.
 

NotungX

Caliper Novice
Nov 3, 2016
24
25
Yesterday I got the KFA2 GTX 1070 mini. I cannot compare with the ones from other vendors as I never saw one (beside in pictures) but this one is a perfect fit for the S4 mini:


There is plenty of room for cable management, fans, etc. It can get very hot as Josh says (especially if you do not want to have the fans at 100%). At the moment I have set the OC tool to target 71 - 73 ºC. With this setting it is very quiet and I was able to max out all the games I have. I will continue testing though I agree with Josh that the 1070 back gets very hot and I am considering adding a 120mm Scythe in the back, probably one with low-intermediate rpm for the noise.
 

NotungX

Caliper Novice
Nov 3, 2016
24
25
@Zerofool I did not manage to get the fans off, so I am not sure it is possible. The tool that KFA has for OC (http://www.kfa2.com/kfa2/xtreme-tuner-plus) does not display the RPMs but the silent mode is configured to 30% which is the minimum you can set.

In the settings panel there is a custom setting where it seems you can set the fan speed to as low as 15% under certain temps. However it always stays at least on 30%.


It is still very silent though and in my case I will only use this mini for gaming. If you want a completely silent PC maybe this is not the best option. I can make some tests recordings if you want, just let me know an android app I can use or something else for reference.
 

Zerofool

Caliper Novice
Nov 23, 2015
26
26
@NotungX thanks for checking. You can see the actual rpm of the fan with other tools like GPU-Z, MSI Afterburner (yes, it works with boards from any brand and you can create a custom fan curve) and the likes of AIDA64, HWiNFO, etc.
Thank you for offering to make a sound recording, but this won't be necessary (for me at least), I'll trust your judgement.
 

CubanLegend

Steely-Eyed NVFlash Man
Dec 23, 2016
832
1,011
smallformfactor.net
So I got my Z270i in yesterday... I couldn't help myself so here's an album of pics showing what I did below:
  • To avoid posting a ton of photos... It's beautiful! The RGB LEDs on the side are truly a sight to behold. Once I installed ASUS AURA, the HUGE number of RGB effects was overwhelming and awesome, I stuck with the default Rainbow effect though).
  • I installed the Intel 600p 250GB into the top M.2 (this M.2 is TINY even though it's full size, I compared it next to the 7700K)
  • I carefully used blue painters tape to cover my LPX Vengeance DDR4-4000 PCBs
  • then I plastidipped the red heatspreaders to black 4 coats, with surprising results
  • I installed the i7-7700K, used Noctua's thermal grease that came with the NH-l9i
  • Installed the NH-L9i with the default fan (didnt power it on to test temps, but the heatsink/fan fit perfectly.)
  • Swapped out the default Noctua Fan with the Scythe 100x12mm slim fan (it doesn't really fit inside the z270i STRIX and pushes at the RAM stick closest to the CPU socket)
  • I sprayed the scythe's wires with black vinyl dye and it looked amazing. once installed, alongside the black Scythe and the black DDR Heatspreaders
  • Installed windows, any necessary drivers from the ASUS site for the mobo, and ran some benchmarks, holy crap it flies but the CPU get HOT FAST! Will definitely delid after running it in my S4mini after it's here and the PC is all built. :)


Here's the fun part: I have no GPU or chassis yet, but I REALLY wanted to test out the amazing M.2 boot times and run some benchmakrs on my 7700K, pre-delid. So I unplugged the 24-pin and 8-pin CPU power from my current Full Tower PC and propped up the STRIX with cardboard, plugged in a mouse/keyboard/LAN/USB boot drive with W10 and installed W10! Boy does it boot fast! I can get from the power button to my desktop in 22 seconds with autologin enabled! I can probably speed it up with a few tweaks to BIOS options but I've yet to try them.


COOL DISCOVERY: In the BIOS, I discovered that the Negative AVX offset option was in fact in the BIOS, whoever reported that it was missing seemed to be wrong. This will allow for a higher final Overclock by applying a 1 or 2 negative AVX offset.


Neat Performance discovery: My Corsair DDR4-4000 is stable at 4000MHz XMP. And my 7700K is stable at 4.8/4.9 and 5GHz with no AVX offset, but gets to 90c VERY FAST if over 1.30volts when stress testing it with a custom x264 16T Loop, ROG Realbench, and Prime94 v27.9, Linpack (a custom XTU load) & other stability testing programs and setup from this Kaby Lake Overclock.net thread, I'm going to do some more temperature testing today, reapply my thermal paste and see if it was that, swap back to the stock NH-L9i fan and see if it helps... so I can get some stable stock and OC temperature readings, before I delid, cuz I can't go back from a delild to compare temps. I suspect that the small cooler and limited space is to blame for the high temperatures, even with the scythe at 100% 2000RPMs. So I might absolutely have to delid if I'm going to run this thing at 5GHz below 90c with such a small cooler and once it's in the S4, too.
 
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