Completed S401: Salvo Studios <8L mITX Steel Unibody Chassis w/ GPU & CPU fans in same direction

[grsychckn]

doesn't have any of his own branding seemingly

Indeed. I am the sole proprietor and only employee for Salvo Studios. I make no money on the cases - I sell very much near production cost (this discounts the thousands spent on R&D/prototyping). I currently only make a few dollars on the custom panels, fans, and stackers. I knew this wasn't a way to get rich: I use it as a way to keep a hobby. There's actually a deeper and more meaningful reason that ties into the model names, but I'm not ready to share that publicly.

Regardless, I have pictures! First is the picture of the 120mm fan mount. What I've done is install a R9 Nano (152mm in length) into one of the last prototypes I had made (dimensions didn't change). I then installed a Corsair 120mm AIO and measured the gap between the Nano and the radiator. It seems with that specific radiator, there would be room for a dGPU with a length up to 192mm. For reference, the corsair radiator in the given orientation has a measured distance of 7mm from the edge to the center of the radiator mounting hole (nearest the GPU). I will restate that these holes are provided but not supported by me as I've been unable to properly test their functionality to my satisfaction.

Next we have a picture of the PCIe cable folded to prevent it from both interfering with the vented panel and any CPU cooler that would be big enough to get close to the PCIe slot.

Note that I made the 180 degree bends away from where it goes directly into the PCIe slot. This is going to be the safest way to bend the cable without risking damage to the PCB. I even tried tucking it underneath the mainboard and while it "worked", I would not recommend or support this as the PCIe soldering joints on the back of the mainboard came in contact directly with the PCIe cable and on top of that proved to interfere with the m.2 interface on the back of the pictured Gigabyte mainboard.

 

[grsychckn]

Forgot to mention the users that asked the questions I answered above.

@octiny @ExplodingWaffle101

 

[annasoh323]

Indeed. I am the sole proprietor and only employee for Salvo Studios. I make no money on the cases - I sell very much near production cost (this discounts the thousands spent on R&D/prototyping). I currently only make a few dollars on the custom panels, fans, and stackers. I knew this wasn't a way to get rich: I use it as a way to keep a hobby. There's actually a deeper and more meaningful reason that ties into the model names, but I'm not ready to share that publicly.

Regardless, I have pictures! First is the picture of the 120mm fan mount. What I've done is install a R9 Nano (152mm in length) into one of the last prototypes I had made (dimensions didn't change). I then installed a Corsair 120mm AIO and measured the gap between the Nano and the radiator. It seems with that specific radiator, there would be room for a dGPU with a length up to 192mm. For reference, the corsair radiator in the given orientation has a measured distance of 7mm from the edge to the center of the radiator mounting hole (nearest the GPU). I will restate that these holes are provided but not supported by me as I've been unable to properly test their functionality to my satisfaction.

Next we have a picture of the PCIe cable folded to prevent it from both interfering with the vented panel and any CPU cooler that would be big enough to get close to the PCIe slot.

Note that I made the 180 degree bends away from where it goes directly into the PCIe slot. This is going to be the safest way to bend the cable without risking damage to the PCB. I even tried tucking it underneath the mainboard and while it "worked", I would not recommend or support this as the PCIe soldering joints on the back of the mainboard came in contact directly with the PCIe cable and on top of that proved to interfere with the m.2 interface on the back of the pictured Gigabyte mainboard.

I was mainly referring to the fact that your SFFF profile is fairly incognito with respect to your brand. If you weren't tagged as the thread starter, it wouldn't be obvious that you were the man behind the mask so to speak. Personally, I'm very grateful that you have gone this far for what you consider a hobby. Meanwhile, here I am, struggling with putting the magnetic-backing sticker for the dust filter on straight. I hope that despite the setbacks etc that you still get everything out of the experience that you were looking for and more!

Nano looks pretty slick in there! It's too bad I've already taken a swig of the G-Sync Kool-Aid. Besides, if I had the space there, I'd probably try to make use of the drive stacker vs. a rad. Still, it might be an interesting project. I think I'm out of thermal paste though.

I don't see it performing any worse than what's already out there under 52mm, air cooler wise. I'm simply getting it for the athstetics and since I already have 32GB LPX that wouldn't much of a problem on my end, plus $62 after shipping isn't too shabby. But I understand where you're coming from. I'll be moving my 2080 Ti/8086k delidded w/ copper ihs (using 545LC in it, 1.22v 5ghz) from the Dan A4 into the S401. Looking forward to it! It shall be pretty and functional

Amazing. That's a stupid powerful Monster Mash of a system. How much does a 2x16 GB LP set of RAM go for these days? And good heavens, 2080Ti and an 8086K with all the mods applied... <sigh> I'm faint either from thinking about that or all the standing around cooking I did today.

 

[DSmithBYU]

Next we have a picture of the PCIe cable folded to prevent it from both interfering with the vented panel and any CPU cooler that would be big enough to get close to the PCIe slot.

Note that I made the 180 degree bends away from where it goes directly into the PCIe slot. This is going to be the safest way to bend the cable without risking damage to the PCB. I even tried tucking it underneath the mainboard and while it "worked", I would not recommend or support this as the PCIe soldering joints on the back of the mainboard came in contact directly with the PCIe cable and on top of that proved to interfere with the m.2 interface on the back of the pictured Gigabyte mainboard.

Neat!! I'll do this once I make the purchase for the custom PSU cables!

 

[Windfall]

No, sir, just someone who's been along for the ride for a while now and a happy customer. If I hadn't found an S400 build on PCPP, I wouldn't be here on SFFF. @grsychckn himself doesn't have any of his own branding seemingly. He's the sole and true master of Salvo Studios.


The Alpenfon (sorry, don't know how to do the special characters in the name) cooler looks pretty neat. The way RAM prices are, I can't justify the low profile needed for that cooler. Plus, the value to performance aspect is tough to swallow. Any reviews on that, though? If CPU performance can be vastly improved then maybe there's something to it.

You seem like an employee, with all the help you've offered!

 

[annasoh323]

You seem like an employee, with all the help you've offered!

Not an employee but I have benefitted from @grsychckn's benevolence. Plus, I honestly want more people to know about the S401. It's pretty unique amongst console-style cases that fit standard components (granted, a bit of a specific niche already).

Anyway, time to go see if anyone on craigslist or something is looking for a used, slightly dusty RVZ02...

 

[annasoh323]

Finally, build video. I understand it's not great quality (especially the audio). I'm not a videographer so I don't have all the tools and experience to make something great, but at least this will help anyone that is looking for some basic information on how the S401 is built. The video is just over 30 minutes long and I build it with only the fans pre-installed.

I finally got around to watching the build video... I blocked off my cubicle at lunch time and put it on fast speed to make sure I had enough time to watch the whole thing. Question I have (not having the case in front of me): Are the tie down points for the zip ties accessible from the rear? I ended up only sticking one token tie strap down in the middle somewhere to have a little bit of cable management but that was me coming from the vented side and trying to maneuver the tiny little thing down there and retrieving it with tweezers. Is there a better way?

Those modDIY cables look pretty fine. I think that the number one most useful cable for me would be a short PCIe 8-pin. I'm strongly considering it since it would help so much (the power jack is right there) and because it should be fairly easy to get. 24-pin would be next most useful but it'd also be the most expensive... I'll probably hold off on buying anything until we hear from @DSmithBYU and how his back and forth with @pslate goes.

In other news, I just saw a Gigabyte mITX 1080 pop up in my local area on CL. The seller is asking $400... my wallet is getting nervous as I look at the card, then the hard drive stackers, then back to the wallet in a loop.

 

[octiny]

Amazing. That's a stupid powerful Monster Mash of a system. How much does a 2x16 GB LP set of RAM go for these days? And good heavens, 2080Ti and an 8086K with all the mods applied... <sigh> I'm faint either from thinking about that or all the standing around cooking I did today.

Lol. I bought one of the Samsung b-die LPX kits @ 3200C16 which got me to 3733CL16 after some OCing. Still have some room to push on the timings. Ram prices are going down in general, it's now $70 cheaper than when I initially bought it 3 months ago.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016ORTNI2/?tag=theminutiae-20

 

[grsychckn]

You seem like an employee, with all the help you've offered!

I agree. @annasoh323 : you've been a great help and quick to answer questions (sometimes faster than I can). Thank you! As for your question on the zip tie points: They are only accessible from inside the case. After your cables are all installed they are probably going to be a little tricky to get to. I will recommend to anyone with a new build that you thread the zip tie through the mount after you install the mainboard. At least then you'll have an easier time fastening them down if you have a large bundle of cables you're locking down.

 

[annasoh323]

I agree. @annasoh323 : you've been a great help and quick to answer questions (sometimes faster than I can). Thank you! As for your question on the zip tie points: They are only accessible from inside the case. After your cables are all installed they are probably going to be a little tricky to get to. I will recommend to anyone with a new build that you thread the zip tie through the mount after you install the mainboard. At least then you'll have an easier time fastening them down if you have a large bundle of cables you're locking down.

I attribute it to time zone differences. Hopefully I've been accurate; no sense being fast and wrong.

I had a feeling that they were only internally accessible. That's no problem; that's generally the part of the case I can't see anyway. If I could do anything for cable management, it'd be to clean up the bit that's visible through the front vent. I think that the PCIe power is the main offender there, though the 24-pin is likely also in the mix. The power connector for the RGB strip is up there too but there's only so much I could do to hide the SATA to Molex adapter (which is basically nothing at all). The dust filter is blocking most of the internal viewing of the main compartment so I'm mainly good there. No visible dust yet but it's not been in service that long either.

 

[grsychckn]

If you weren't tagged as the thread starter, it wouldn't be obvious that you were the man behind the mask so to speak.

Very good point. I need to work on my signature/flair so I have information on each post of mine. This is why I'm not exactly a good businessman.

Different note, check out the latest custom panels I did today.

 

[Ichiban]

I'm interested in picking up one of these 401 cases but the shipping, can we not have it shipped by any other method because UPS charges an arm and a leg for duties and handling fees in Canada.

 

[confusis]

@grsychckn Vendor tag added. No idea how I hadn't done it up until now!

 

[grsychckn]

I'm interested in picking up one of these 401 cases but the shipping, can we not have it shipped by any other method because UPS charges an arm and a leg for duties and handling fees in Canada.

I'm going to reach out to my ups representative about this. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner. If they charge duties and fees I'd be surprised other carriers don't do the same. I'll be in touch over email on this.

 

[Sparkles]

Very good point. I need to work on my signature/flair so I have information on each post of mine. This is why I'm not exactly a good businessman.

Different note, check out the latest custom panels I did today.

Oh my buddy's panels made it on here! Haha, we've added more and more LEDs to his case, so should be awesome when put on! I'll add some pics once he gets them in and lit up to give Christmas trees a run for their money. Funny contrast from my anti-led one. Such awesome work on the etching!

 

[annasoh323]

Oh my buddy's panels made it on here! Haha, we've added more and more LEDs to his case, so should be awesome when put on! I'll add some pics once he gets them in and lit up to give Christmas trees a run for their money. Funny contrast from my anti-led one. Such awesome work on the etching!

It seems like certain acrylic types diffuse the light more. The way I have my lights positioned, they shine more or less directly at me through the acrylic, which is fine. I may experiment with different placements as right now, it's sort of lazily stuck in there without any mounting. I hope you'll share your friend's Christmas tree!

Can you also clue us into the character that was etched? I'm wracking my brain but I'm just short of the proper nerd cred.

 

[annasoh323]

Got a reply back from PCPP about their process for adding parts. Turns out that in order to list a part, it needs to be supported on an affiliated vendor site. Trying to find out if there's a way to associate my custom part with at least some filter functions like "Mini-ITX".

 

[grsychckn]

Got a reply back from PCPP about their process for adding parts. Turns out that in order to list a part, it needs to be supported on an affiliated vendor site. Trying to find out if there's a way to associate my custom part with at least some filter functions like "Mini-ITX".

I've been out of pocket as I've been sick and trying to work with the fabricator to get the rest of the units made. I plan on contacting PCPP to see what can be done from my end but I'm not too hopeful they will help me. Maybe I'll be surprised, but that's better than being disappointed.

So the fabricator has not been able to get the final 100 units completed this week. However, he did finish 50 which is more than I need to fulfill outstanding orders. I am driving tomorrow to pick these up so I can pack and ship all orders Friday. If you're following this thread and have made an order, it will ship out by Friday morning.

 

[annasoh323]

I've been out of pocket as I've been sick and trying to work with the fabricator to get the rest of the units made. I plan on contacting PCPP to see what can be done from my end but I'm not too hopeful they will help me. Maybe I'll be surprised, but that's better than being disappointed.

So the fabricator has not been able to get the final 100 units completed this week. However, he did finish 50 which is more than I need to fulfill outstanding orders. I am driving tomorrow to pick these up so I can pack and ship all orders Friday. If you're following this thread and have made an order, it will ship out by Friday morning.

It probably has to do with whether they can become an affiliate for a cutback in exchange for visibility on their platform. I imagine that it might necessitate a price increase on your end if that were true. However, I would expect traffic to increase, assuming there are creeps like me that will occasionally filter by "Mini ITX" cases just to see what sort of builds are out there (lots of Thermaltake Core V1, Phanteks Evolv Shift, and Fractal Design Define Nano S builds - technically mini-ITX builds but somewhat stretching the "Mini"). Yesterday, I decided to do a word search instead of a case type filter and, lo and behold, a Case by Case MI-6 build popped up.

I'm pretty sure that I've seen builds with Dan Case A4's and NCase M1's as "official" parts so, evidently, they were able to get added. They must be able to sold on other platforms or I misread it.

Checked my page and these are the vendors that I have listed that will pop up. This is for me in the US. The percentage marks are from my copy and pasting from the page:

Adorama % NZXT % Amazon % Newegg % B&H % Newegg Business % Belkin % Newegg Marketplace % Corsair % Other World Computing % Dell % OutletPC % Dell Small Business % PCM % Harman Kardon % Samsung % In Win % SteelSeries % Mnpctech % SuperBiiz % ModMyMods % Target % Monoprice % Trusted Tech Team % My Choice Software % Walmart %

Might take some time, and I'm not sure if it'd be worth it for you. PCPP was a big part of my finding out about the S400 in the first place, so I have a desire to help out others that may be in the same position I was to get connected. I'm not a huge social media person, so I'm not very comfortable with the popular platforms for spreading info.

Fun S401 story (well, fun for me): My family has started hosting a group for dinner. I was set up at my brother's desk (I annexed it when he went to college) to show things on our TV. When I say my parents weren't setting the food up on our dining table, I realized that we were hosting in our extension apartment! (long story; it was built for my grandmother after my dad fully took over the main house). I wasn't quite prepared for this but I dug out the handle from under a nest of wiring and ripped out all of the wiring save a single power cable from my desktop to the UPS. Then, when I was set up, I pulled the UPS, tucked it under my arm, grabbed the S401 by the handle, and, with the whole thing running, walked it over to the dinner hosting side, plugged into the TV there, and was good to go. I did have to steal my sister's wireless keyboard (I'm just looking like the best brother/son right now, aren't I?) and mouse (yup, good brother, that's me) since my wired ones are tethered to the desk. I was tempted to use the opportunity to snap some pictures of the S401 in the ebbing twilight but I think it started to rain... There was just something about carrying my fully armed and operational battle station from one living room to another and picking up right where I left off. Seeing as that TV is our only 4K panel, I did try out ACIV: Black Flag and did okay with it. A bit of stuttering but it might be something else going on than just GPU power. The Jackdaw looked great!

 

[disastorm]

I was considering getting this but I don't have much of a reason to, just thought having a mini pc that is portable and looks cool would be cool.
How does the stock of these indie cases usually work? After friday is it going to be gone forever (and only preorders get the product), or is there going to be some limited stock, etc ? Basically just trying to figure out if its something that I'd need to order soon if I want it, or I can just wait until the future when I might have a use for a mini pc?
I will say that out of all the sff cases I've seen, this is one of the most appealing and useful looking ones, especially with the detachable handle, and various choices for custom stuff, although I guess some people didn't like the shape of the holes.