This is wonderful news as I have been less than impressed with the L9a-AM4 that I used on my previous build.
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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
It woul be nice to see the lp53 am4 brackets. Or Big shrunken 2 rev b am4 brackets .
I went carpe diem & installed the 8700+B360-I setup onto the chassis. Of course, by following Grsy's tip to remove the top I/O cover, it can be installed. However...
The mainboard's I/O rear panel became a problem in that said panel did not stick to the rear I/O area and it did not allow the mainboard to align with the ITX's screw installations. Currently, the mainboard is officially installed "Without" the I/O panel. Quotations because with I added the panel after installing the board then used the I/O's clamps to hold it in.
I'm not going anywhere with this computer at the moment.
Yeah, the cooler is the Scythe Jitte+. As is, it may not be ideal to install the chassis panel due to potential conflict with the panel & fan (measured at 49mm height). I'm holding off on reinstalling the chassis panel until I get the appropriate nails for the spacers I ordered recently. Take your time, Grsy.
I'll spend the next few moments to finalize this build by data migrating my 850 EVO SSD data to a 960 EVO 500GB M.2 and a 860 EVO 2TB M.2.
Carpe Diem, S401!
The mainboard's I/O rear panel became a problem in that said panel did not stick to the rear I/O area and it did not allow the mainboard to align with the ITX's screw installations. Currently, the mainboard is officially installed "Without" the I/O panel. Quotations because with I added the panel after installing the board then used the I/O's clamps to hold it in.
I'm not going anywhere with this computer at the moment.
Yeah, the cooler is the Scythe Jitte+. As is, it may not be ideal to install the chassis panel due to potential conflict with the panel & fan (measured at 49mm height). I'm holding off on reinstalling the chassis panel until I get the appropriate nails for the spacers I ordered recently. Take your time, Grsy.
I'll spend the next few moments to finalize this build by data migrating my 850 EVO SSD data to a 960 EVO 500GB M.2 and a 860 EVO 2TB M.2.
Carpe Diem, S401!
Hello, long time lurker, 1st time poster...recent purchaser, am receiving my S401 white on Monday.
I was wondering if anyone has any insight on my last major hardware decision. Everything else is already purchased, although if there's any major mistakes, please don't hold back, I find your opinions valuable as I have read all the thoughtful contributions here.
About my system: I found BethovenNinja's build so well thought out i essentially copied the hardware, including all the fans and cable extenders. (except I changed the bottom fan to a 15mm from a 25 after watching the challenge of mounting drives there with a 35 per an s401 build video I watched, and am also installing a de-lidded 8700k just cuz)
PS, I'm obvi not going to copy that amazing design, I am still contemplating themes and design, just focused on getting the guts correct atm.
So here's my build, just the broad strokes...here are the GPU's I'm thinking about, I especially like the look of the founder's cards listed as i would hand paint them (carefully) to go with whatever theme I settled on. My main question is that I've been out of the hardware game for so long, I don't have any great knowledge about why one card is a demonstrably better or worse deal than they appear, any help would be rad.
-Bill
Build:
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/raudy5/saved/#view=krr299
GPU thoughts:
PASSMARK PRICE (cheapest/one u like) GPU/revision
15680 $799 rtx2080 Founders
14498 $489/$600 rtx2070 Founders
14235 (ebay for $450-500) 1080ti -whatever makes sense
13211 $349 (out of stock) rtx2060 Founders
11416 $279 1660ti Maybe white or mini atx
I was wondering if anyone has any insight on my last major hardware decision. Everything else is already purchased, although if there's any major mistakes, please don't hold back, I find your opinions valuable as I have read all the thoughtful contributions here.
About my system: I found BethovenNinja's build so well thought out i essentially copied the hardware, including all the fans and cable extenders. (except I changed the bottom fan to a 15mm from a 25 after watching the challenge of mounting drives there with a 35 per an s401 build video I watched, and am also installing a de-lidded 8700k just cuz)
PS, I'm obvi not going to copy that amazing design, I am still contemplating themes and design, just focused on getting the guts correct atm.
So here's my build, just the broad strokes...here are the GPU's I'm thinking about, I especially like the look of the founder's cards listed as i would hand paint them (carefully) to go with whatever theme I settled on. My main question is that I've been out of the hardware game for so long, I don't have any great knowledge about why one card is a demonstrably better or worse deal than they appear, any help would be rad.
-Bill
Build:
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/raudy5/saved/#view=krr299
GPU thoughts:
PASSMARK PRICE (cheapest/one u like) GPU/revision
15680 $799 rtx2080 Founders
14498 $489/$600 rtx2070 Founders
14235 (ebay for $450-500) 1080ti -whatever makes sense
13211 $349 (out of stock) rtx2060 Founders
11416 $279 1660ti Maybe white or mini atx
Personally I would go for a GTX 1080 Ti, performace vs price it is very hard to beat. The RTX are truly way overpriced for the performance increase they offer. Ray Tracing looks interesting but atm support for it is very low and will probably be several years before the gaming industry fully incorporates it. There is also the increased power usage and cooling challenges with the RTX series.
I would agree with @rfarmer, I think the 1080ti offers a lot of bang for the buck. Also, there are a lot of different options out there that work well with the S401. Before you purchase one though, send me either an e-mail or a message here to be sure there won't be any compatibility problems.
Unfortunately because of the nature of ebay, I may need to clear a few cards by you so I can be competitive to snag one. Here are 2 strong competitors for both card quality and well within the dimensions of the case as i understand them. I've also ruled out a few I didn't bother to post here as they were clearly to big (and not coincidentally also heinously asymmetrical and ugly haha.) There's a third that
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition GAMING, 11G-P4-6393-KR, 11GB GDDR5X
- Height: 4.66in - 118.48mm
- Length: 10.6in - 269.2mm
10.5 x 1.5 x 4.38 in
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 Ti AMP Edition 11GB GDDR5X 352-bit Gaming Graphics Card VR Ready 16+2 Power Phase Freeze Fan Stop IceStorm Cooling Spectra Lighting ZT-P10810D-10P
I think this one may be borderline
211mm x 125mm x 41mm (8.31in x 4.92in x 1.61in)
All 3 of those will fit in the S401 no problem. I assume the AIB versions will be higher performing but the FE edition will exhaust heat from the chassis better than the others. Good news is that the S401 is pretty open as far as airflow so you really shouldn't concern yourself with either - just buy what you want. Lastly, if you have plans on customizing your GPU by painting it, search around and see how difficult each one would be to disassemble as some are much more complicated than others. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
I actually purchased a 2080 ti founders with intention to paint it but chickened out and sent it back haha. I couldn't find someone who was able to separate the shroud from the rest of the cooler and still can't. In fact I can't find a single picture of someone who has painted one. It is certainly a very tempting project to undertake, and it could be just about the coolest thing around. If I were going to make a recommendation on a gpu it would be the GeForce RTX 2080 WINDFORCE OC 8G. It would certainly make for an easier painting experience. I'm super impressed with the quietness of my 1080 ti windforce and it performs splendidly. I didn't know the Gigabyte Windforce RTX were out until after I had already opened and painted my 1080 ti and I'm quite jealous when I see someone with one in their build lol. There's also a 2070 and 2080 ti windforce. The 2070 would certainly be more heat conscious
It looks like the Z370 Fatal1ty mobo has the same connection sites as the z390 so the PSU cable lengths are without doubt correct. The 24-pin main power could use a few more cm for wiggle room, but it's doable. If you want the same/similar psu cable management it is important you get cables stiff cables that hold their shape. I purchased a much cheaper set of psu cables initially and they were very flimsy, unruly, and altogether untidy if you choose to do the cable comb thing.
I would highly recommend you get a 35cm usb 20-pin cable. It was almost a miracle mine made it and it took an hour of fiddling before I got it right, and it disconnected a multitude of times bumping into it during the build process.
If you are doing rgb light strips, you should be aware there are a lot of cables that must run underneath the GPU. I don't know how many ssds you plan on installing but it could get really messy under there but I think it's doable. The rgb extender cables are a joke when it comes to staying connected. I would shop for some really thin ones. I definitely recommend taping the connection sites together once it is confirmed they work or they will no doubt get disconnected when managing cables. Also the adhesive is a joke on the back of the strips themselves and should be taped/glued to the spacers or they will fall off, especially the top one if you are orienting the case vertically.
BTW you chose an awesome case haha. Thanks for liking my build. If you have any questions feel free.
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Great insight, and thanks for putting together such an inspirational machine together in the 1st place...
OK, I'll be all over the place but here goes....
I'm still considering the 2080 ti and although i think i see something in this tear-down that would make it easier to dissemble without damage so I could spray, but clearly a risk and something that would require a very careful and slow approach. All that aside, I may be able to save myself the trouble by hand painting as it may even be preferential for my concept.
My concept is a washed out blade-runner tokyo aesthetic using a combo of low wattage uv light with muted uv neon cable sleeves ( along with actual neon tubes 1 blue, 1 red, 1 pink) to create the a variable and busy lighting environment like the nightime lights of nighttime Tokyo, but with more color saturation. Like i said, your build was super inspiring, especially how you used color.
Back to the build...I think the prudent thing is for me to get a better sense of the rest of the build and lighting before moving ahead on gpu. The case arrives tomorrow and I have just about everything else, so I'm sure I'll know what to do when I put some of the pieces in place as far as the GPU and the last few decisions regarding cable color and effects.
as per usb 35mm 3.0...unfortunately I already ordered the 30cm, not the 35 from modDIY. Here's what I got, I'm sure it'll be fine, I'm in no rush anyway.
USB 3.0 20-Pin Internal Extension Cable (Low Profile Connector) 30cm (white)
(Type: HD Sleeved)
CAB028
----Oh, point well taken about rgb cable rat's nest potential. I'm anticipating wiring my own solution if I need to preserve aesthetics.
Not sure what you're referencing. The AM4 bracket I'm working on will rotate the C7 fins 90 degrees so that they are parallel to the RAM slots and thus won't be stuck trying to blow hot air right up against the RAM. If you mean something else, let me know.
He may be referring to 12:20 https://youtubedownload.pro/video/bzl4V3Urd0pQY1FFVC9uZTJ0Tkc3QT09.html
Ahh, gotcha. The "top" fans (nearest the mainboard) can only be 15mm deep while the "bottom" (nearest the GPU) can be 25mm deep. If you use the 25mm deep fan near the GPU however, it will interfere with both the 2.5" mounts on you won't be able to use those mounts. That would be on the short list of must be changed when/if I pursue making an S402.
Also, I just delidded an i9-9900k, cleaned it up (dremel is a useful tool for polishing), applied liquid metal, and reinstalled a new copper IHS. I ran tests with the C7, LP53, and the NH-L9i before and I intend on running them again after the IHS silicone has set. I will try to update this thread when I get those numbers.
Haha. Well I got to hand it to Gamers Nexus. I was just aware of the first tear down video in which he fiddled with the thing forever. It takes guts taking a heat gun to a 2080 ti. I got nervous doing it to a Noctua Fan lol.
FYI I gained knowledge from the current feature build on pcpartpicker.com that there are machines that cut vinyl with precision. The Cricut Maker Precision Cutting Machine or something like it could open up a world of artistic options for you, and you could simply make an awesome skin for a 2080 ti founders and not have to worry about damaging it at all. You could print intricate designs onto the vinyl before cutting it and it could be the absolute coolest. I will certainly utilize this in my future builds, which however will be some years down the road. You could literally have some fascinating print that covers anything.
Actual neon tubing is something I haven't seen in a PC. That is certainly having an upper hand on cool factor. Cyberpunk/Blade-runner is one of my favorite artistic niches. I'm undoubtedly intrigued, and I would be delighted if you shared some pics when it's all done. Seems like you have some serious artistic integrity and it goes to show those who choose Salvo are no slouches lol.
You got a good head on your shoulders. I like your cat. Best of luck!
Finally got a minute to put the basics in the case and get it setup. Nothing special, but it's ALIVE!
Next stop:
Next stop:
- proper sleeved PSU cables and cable combs
- a custom sleeved 20-pin front header cable
- sleeving the power button cable wires
- doing something with the C7 stock fan shroud (not sure if I'm gonna keep it or go with a different fan)
- throwing a tiny RAID setup in there
- zip-tying everything down neatly
- experimenting with the colored panel spacers and getting them to glow, because the in-case RGB stuff is a bit over the top for me (so likely turning off the RGB ram, or at least making it not so in your face)
