Haha, thanks! Took a long time to figure out the process to make it because it involved 3 separate applications and lots of copying/pasting.
Completed S401: Salvo Studios <8L mITX Steel Unibody Chassis w/ GPU & CPU fans in same direction
- Thread starter grsychckn
- Start date
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- Tags
- mitx s400 s401 s700 salvo studios steel case
Updated previous post as the Stacker.pdf was mis-linked. Fixed now.
Alternative download locations:
S401 Quick Start Guide (Download)
S401 Stacker Quick Start Guide (Download)
Alternative download locations:
S401 Quick Start Guide (Download)
S401 Stacker Quick Start Guide (Download)
I'm glad you put the note in to ensure that the handle is installed on the opposite side of the vertical stands. If you hadn't included it, I might've tried putting them on the same side.
Also, I see you've also included PSU electrical shock insulation pad. Ever since I saw the Verge say I needed one, I've been worried about touching my computer but with the S401, I don't need to worry </sarcasm>
Seriously, nice guides. I'm a little sad that my existing graphics card doesn't make enough room for a 2.5" stacker. I'm just not sure if putting money into a smaller side-grade would be worth my while. Well, no sense worrying about it before the case gets here.
Also, I see you've also included PSU electrical shock insulation pad. Ever since I saw the Verge say I needed one, I've been worried about touching my computer but with the S401, I don't need to worry </sarcasm>
Seriously, nice guides. I'm a little sad that my existing graphics card doesn't make enough room for a 2.5" stacker. I'm just not sure if putting money into a smaller side-grade would be worth my while. Well, no sense worrying about it before the case gets here.
The one included with the salvo is "anti-vibration" only from my reading.... Are you sure this will prevent electrical shock?!? ;P
Yes, the pad is for anti-vibration as it ensures a "snug" fit of the PSU. I can't claim any anti-electric shock device has been installed. That would be a legal nightmare.
<refreshes tracking page> Rats, it's still on the east coast and the expected delivery date has slipped by one day. <puts down screwdriver>
Speaking of legal nightmares, I've been entertaining myself over at the clone discussion thread. That got me thinking: I truly, honestly can't think of any mainstream case that offers the same feature set as the S401, primarily being the video card orientation with respect to the motherboard (and SFX PSU support I suppose). Is it primarily because of the PCIe extender cable required?
Speaking of legal nightmares, I've been entertaining myself over at the clone discussion thread. That got me thinking: I truly, honestly can't think of any mainstream case that offers the same feature set as the S401, primarily being the video card orientation with respect to the motherboard (and SFX PSU support I suppose). Is it primarily because of the PCIe extender cable required?
Yes, the PCIe extender cable allows for the GPU to be oriented in any way. You just have to find the right one that works with your orientation. The Li-Heat guys have been great to work with and offer at least 3 different orientations of their extenders. Plus, they were about 30% less expensive than the alternative I had used with the S400.
I see that the tracking shows at least 4 packages held up in Roanoke. Great town, I used to live there. I don't know why the dates have slipped but I'm really glad I was able to get the packages out Friday or you'd be waiting until next week. At least two orders were delivered today - maybe we'll start seeing some builds.
I hope so! Anticipation is a dangerous drug and I'm aching for a fix.
My other comment was moreso about contemplating why this particular layout isn't more widespread. Or, perhaps it is and I've not run into it. A bit hard for me to say. Visually (to me) it knocks it out of the park and superior to the dual-chamber console style I'm familiar with. It's almost like having an open, wall-mounted chassis. That's also why I'm so conflicted on the dust filter because it takes away from that showcase effect.
You know it's interesting. If there had been an offering with the GPU orientation that was similar to the S400, I probably wouldn't have made that chassis. Same thing with the S401. If it becomes a mainstream option, there's no point in me making one because I couldn't even begin to compete with Fractal/Silverstone/etc. Just guessing here but I could see where there is added complexity to supporting a cable because the solution is more elegant than a PCB. Also, my experience has been that the gap between low and high quality PCBs is much less than those of the extender cables. Finally, I think one could maximize the volume of a case with a PCB the tiniest bit more than with an extender because there is some slight overlapping of the GPU and mainboard since the PCIe interface is directly over the mainboard's interface. Regardless, if one of the big names started making a similar design (in orientation), I would immediately consider halting any future manufacturing of the S4XX series.
A bit long of a response I know, but this is why I'm actually more interested in the S700 right now. Even though my responsibilities lie with releasing the S401 and the commitment to sell the units I've purchased, it's more unique in design than anything I've seen available. Which reminds me, I've got to submit it for prototyping as soon as I can.
My case just got delivered today, and I have to say the build quality and packaging are both absolutely top notch. The case itself has a terrific weight to it and feels and looks great. All the assorted parts fit very neatly inside the case and there is very little movement to anything inside. I'm really looking forward to building in it - still a bit to go before I get around to it since i was waiting to get my hands on it to take final measurements etc for parts. Thanks for putting this together!
No problem for long post; I'm just hoping to fill some time while I sit by my front door looking for the delivery man <casual whistling>.
I'm not too sure I'm envisioning your comment about the PCB properly. Are you talking about a PCB extender that follows the same physical path as the extender cable? If that's so, I would think that such a device would take up more space than a cable. I may need to adjust my mental model here.
My subscription to the S700 thread is awaiting a notification for that proto! I've been investigating the possibility of a more server-ish type of build for file storage and access. I'm most keen on finding out how PCIe devices are handled and how the extensions look in the S700. This sort of build is far removed from my normal level of experience so it'd be a challenge. Not even sure I'd use all of that power. What was it that gentleman said about Mount Everest though...
Back to S401 and possible mainstream cases moving into the space, I would think there might still be a place for your series. I look at the popularity of the M1 and A4 and the subsequent mass-produced cases coming out recently that are modeled after them. The mass-produced models end up being different enough and not offering just quite the same experience. They always seem to be larger and less fleshed out such that the marketshare of the original small-batch cases never really goes to them. The folks that buy them are the ones on a tighter budget who wouldn't have bought the originals anyway while the enthusiasts', er, enthusiasm for the originals never dies. That's my $0.02 observation. I still see more new NCase M1 builds than Cougar QBX or Inwin A1 builds (cases I consider similar).
Aha! Your post appeared while I was typing this one. Congrats on being the first confirmed recipient on the thread! I'm assuming this is going to be a from-scratch build for you (vs. a system migration)?
Yup, my current system is ~5 years old and is really showing its age (I'm down to one working eSATA port on the motherboard for example...) so the only thing I'm migrating is some SSDs. This is my first SFF build as well, so it'll definitely be a learning experience but with how well thought out the case is, I think all will go well. I moved from Texas to a NYC apartment so moving from a mid-size tower to this is going to free up a lot of room for me.
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Oooh, NYC huh? No wonder it got to you so quickly! It should look right at home. The hardest part is minding your cables. With the cable ties on the S401, I think it should be a little easier.
I forget the exact search terms, but I think @grsychckn has an old S400 build video on YouTube somewhere. It might give you some idea of a possible build process in conjunction with the newly christened build guide. I think there are one or two S400 build logs on the forum here and I know @papayo has a PCPartPicker completed build over there. That, and the official photos of the S401 on the website. Happy building!
Thanks for the tips! I'll look for those to help out with the build process. Cables are always the most troublesome part, but as you said the cable tie mounts should make life a good bit easier.
Video can be found in the s400 thread.
The sentry did it first, but they did opposite side cooling(cpu&gpu) because the pcie riser was cheaper. And for potential fresh cooler air from pulling it on one side. This and the Modivio xCase were the 1st on this orientation. It crazy to think that the 3d printed xCase is the same price and the s401 steel case (but the s401 comes with pcie extender cable and vandal switch included).
This is literally the best price for form factor in the biz.
Video can be found in the s400 thread.
The sentry did it first, but they did opposite side cooling(cpu&gpu) because the pcie riser was cheaper. And for potential fresh cooler air from pulling it on one side. This and the Modivio xCase were the 1st on this orientation. It crazy to think that the 3d printed xCase is the same price and the s401 steel case (but the s401 comes with pcie extender cable and vandal switch included).
This is literally the best price for form factor in the biz.
I've got to go look back at that thread. I can't remember much of it now. I did think that there was another case with a similar layout on the forum somewhere and now that you mention the xCase, I think that's the one I was remembering. The version of the Modivio that has the same component support is somewhat larger, if I remember correctly (not a knock against it; more space means different sorts of options are available). I certainly hope that enough profit flows in Salvo's direction to keep things moving forward.
I had to make a joke about it because it reminded me of a time recently where my computer was processing something. I watched it go from ~80% progress, to ~90% progress, 100% progress, pause, 113% progress, 126% progress, 131% progress, then back to 100% and finished. Computer model estimates are a funny thing, especially me living the middle of the ocean.
But really, I do need to put my screwdriver set away before I start losing pieces. I was doing something on Saturday then never really cleaned up from that.
Yeah mine was one of the ones slipped to Friday. Hopefully UPS delivers by early afternoon. Buddy and I will have a build party either late Friday or Saturday. Sold my GTX 1080 to him for his build so that should be a somewhat beefy one. Gonna kill me throwing in this old GTX 680 spare that I have, but hey I wanna see this built while waiting for the other video card. Ha! I'll post pictures of both once completed at the end of the week!
There are only three cards that are an upgrade* to a 1080 <Ray-traced question marks appear>
Please do! I'll be sitting here hitting the refresh button incessantly on Saturday morning.
*Vega 64 not included in my count for pointed effect. Anyone hear anything about when die-shrunk Vega is supposed to come out? I have a G-Sync monitor but I can be convinced...
Website updated to include fans, demciflex filters, and 2.5/3.5" stackers. S401 is now available again for a short time.
Once I feel there are no obvious problems with the S401, I'll give the green light to my fabricator who will move forward making the remaining cases I ordered. It will probably be two weeks before he'll be finished with those so it's possible I'll run out of stock before then.
Also, I was only able to order a portion of the PCIe extenders I need in order to have one for each case and now they are telling me it's going to take 4 weeks to get the rest manufactured. I should have enough to handle orders until I can get more, but there's yet another supply issue I could have to deal with. Of course, these would be good problems to have as it would suggest sales are great. My past experience has been orders tend to trickle in, sometimes in bursts.
Once I feel there are no obvious problems with the S401, I'll give the green light to my fabricator who will move forward making the remaining cases I ordered. It will probably be two weeks before he'll be finished with those so it's possible I'll run out of stock before then.
Also, I was only able to order a portion of the PCIe extenders I need in order to have one for each case and now they are telling me it's going to take 4 weeks to get the rest manufactured. I should have enough to handle orders until I can get more, but there's yet another supply issue I could have to deal with. Of course, these would be good problems to have as it would suggest sales are great. My past experience has been orders tend to trickle in, sometimes in bursts.
