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

Linero

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 9, 2017
103
95
For me personally, going bigger is moving towards a case I don’t really want.

As I look at my s401, I don’t find it to be that small to begin with honestly.

Are we positive over two slot width is really gonna become the norm or is that just a possible tendency breaker by NVIDIA?

Just seems a shame in the SFF space to be going bigger from where the 401 already was.
I agree with you. As I mentioned before. The whole point of our interest in this niche form factor is "the smaller the better". However, we might be a few steps away from one of the smallest 3 slot GPU SFF case around. If we could trim away all the excess corners and condense it as much as possible. Then it would deserve its increased size. If that fails, then we will provide the appropriate feedback and let the man decide.
 

annasoh323

Master of Cramming
Apr 4, 2018
424
314
Was browsing and I discovered @grsychckn got around to making a proper S402 thread! I will be transferring my consciousness over there (for S402 stuff at least) but first, I will leave an old picture of my S401 build.


 

Piewalker

Trash Compacter
Jul 3, 2018
47
76
ZOTAC SINGLE-SLOT 2080 Ti at Computex 2019



One slot, people! One! Sure, providing compatibility for 3 slots is nice and courteous and all, but come on, it's ONE SLOT. Ideally, this should be all we need.

Screenshot from Bitwit's recent video from Computex (see 2:40).

 
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annasoh323

Master of Cramming
Apr 4, 2018
424
314
ZOTAC SINGLE-SLOT 2080 Ti at Computex 2019



One slot, people! One! Sure, providing compatibility for 3 slots is nice and courteous and all, but come on, it's ONE SLOT. Ideally, this should be all we need.

Screenshot from Bitwit's recent video from Computex (see 2:40).

Mr. @Piewalker, I'm going to need you to step away from your wallet, sir. Put down the tube bender and put your hands on your head. This is for your own good. (Actually, it's for my good. I can't look at your build without having to put my credit card in protective custody.)
 
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vanbeveren

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Mar 21, 2019
142
95
ZOTAC SINGLE-SLOT 2080 Ti at Computex 2019



One slot, people! One! Sure, providing compatibility for 3 slots is nice and courteous and all, but come on, it's ONE SLOT. Ideally, this should be all we need.

Screenshot from Bitwit's recent video from Computex (see 2:40).


Very cool to see and honestly I think it’s just more supporting evidence that dual slot is just fine.
It just seems to me like more than double slot should get you into a different category of case anyways.

I know many people probably disagree. I guess I should just be happy I already have a 401
 

Linero

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 9, 2017
103
95
Very cool to see and honestly I think it’s just more supporting evidence that dual slot is just fine.
It just seems to me like more than double slot should get you into a different category of case anyways.

I know many people probably disagree. I guess I should just be happy I already have a 401
Not at all. I absolutely agree with you and I share the same vision too. Dual slot GPUs will not die or go extinct anytime soon. I just want to wait and see what the end result will be like then we can all compare and start providing feedback from there. You can do that now on the new topic too! (Salvo Studios S402: ~9L Steel Console Style Case)
 
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grsychckn

SFF Guru
Original poster
Salvo Studios
Oct 11, 2017
1,093
1,845
Lots of good good discussion here. I just created my Discord server and will be fairly active this coming week as I'll be on travel and I'll be working on the S402 design in my spare time.

As for the GPU slot topic: I think there's sufficient evidence to suggest that 2.5+ slot cards are becoming more "mainstream". Look at EVGA's website and you'll see that for every 20-series Turing card there's only 1 or 2 options for a 2-slot form factor card. AMD is fairly irrelevant here because my experience is that the people wanting to spend ~$200 on a case will also be looking for the highest performing card that their case (and budget) will afford. Every EVGA 2060 card they offer in the "half length" format is a 3-slot card. Gigabyte offers some interesting choices for "half length", 2-slot cards (to include a 2070 model) so I guess there are some 2-slot options out there.

What really confuses me is that the 20-series is supposed to be so much more power efficient than 10-series but the coolers on the custom models are so much larger. The conclusion I have reached is that the size increase is for reducing noise. Other options would be that while more efficient, the power envelope has increased. If you look at the different models and their cooling options, there seems to be a much wider range of stock base/boost speeds than I've noticed in the past. Keep in mind though that I'm an AMD fanboi so in general I haven't paid much attention to all the Nvidia options over the years.

I do plan on moving forward though with the 2.5+ design and when I get close to having a prototype made, I'll generate a render of the S401 and S402 side-by-side for a visual comparison. The difference will be negligible visually IMO. What I will be working on is maximizing the space required to get all these pieces to fit together well. One of the main challenges I need to solve is that of supporting up to a 120x240mm radiator underneath a 1-slot GPU. I think this is possible but I do wonder about the effectiveness. That said, I don't believe this would be a feature that would sell a lot of people on. For those that use air travel a lot, liquid cooling should not be an option at all - which is why expanding my air cooler support is important. Most units will be air-cooled only, but having the option of a 120 or 240 loop would be a "nice-to-have". It is possible that I drop the 120/240 radiator support, with the 240 being the most likely dropped as the 120 support is nowhere near as difficult to implement and support. With the thickness of the S402 increasing by 7mm over the S401, it also will lend itself to perhaps supporting 120mm radiator thicknesses up to 45mm when paired with 25mm thick fans. This all assumes the GPU will provide the necessary clearance. For 240mm radiators, the GPU would have to be a single-slot and then there *should* be a gap underneath the GPU of around 50mm for the radiator/fan combo.

So I need to wrap up this wall of text and get back to work. I wanted to let everyone know that I'm reading their comments and trying to think critically regarding the current S402 design and how it changes moving forward. Please keep the ideas coming.
 
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Windfall

Shrink Ray Wielder
SFFn Staff
Nov 14, 2017
2,117
1,582
Lots of good good discussion here. I just created my Discord server and will be fairly active this coming week as I'll be on travel and I'll be working on the S402 design in my spare time.

As for the GPU slot topic: I think there's sufficient evidence to suggest that 2.5+ slot cards are becoming more "mainstream". Look at EVGA's website and you'll see that for every 20-series Turing card there's only 1 or 2 options for a 2-slot form factor card. AMD is fairly irrelevant here because my experience is that the people wanting to spend ~$200 on a case will also be looking for the highest performing card that their case (and budget) will afford. Every EVGA 2060 card they offer in the "half length" format is a 3-slot card. Gigabyte offers some interesting choices for "half length", 2-slot cards (to include a 2070 model) so I guess there are some 2-slot options out there.

What really confuses me is that the 20-series is supposed to be so much more power efficient than 10-series but the coolers on the custom models are so much larger. The conclusion I have reached is that the size increase is for reducing noise. Other options would be that while more efficient, the power envelope has increased. If you look at the different models and their cooling options, there seems to be a much wider range of stock base/boost speeds than I've noticed in the past. Keep in mind though that I'm an AMD fanboi so in general I haven't paid much attention to all the Nvidia options over the years.

I do plan on moving forward though with the 2.5+ design and when I get close to having a prototype made, I'll generate a render of the S401 and S402 side-by-side for a visual comparison. The difference will be negligible visually IMO. What I will be working on is maximizing the space required to get all these pieces to fit together well. One of the main challenges I need to solve is that of supporting up to a 120x240mm radiator underneath a 1-slot GPU. I think this is possible but I do wonder about the effectiveness. That said, I don't believe this would be a feature that would sell a lot of people on. For those that use air travel a lot, liquid cooling should not be an option at all - which is why expanding my air cooler support is important. Most units will be air-cooled only, but having the option of a 120 or 240 loop would be a "nice-to-have". It is possible that I drop the 120/240 radiator support, with the 240 being the most likely dropped as the 120 support is nowhere near as difficult to implement and support. With the thickness of the S402 increasing by 7mm over the S401, it also will lend itself to perhaps supporting 120mm radiator thicknesses up to 45mm when paired with 25mm thick fans. This all assumes the GPU will provide the necessary clearance. For 240mm radiators, the GPU would have to be a single-slot and then there *should* be a gap underneath the GPU of around 50mm for the radiator/fan combo.

So I need to wrap up this wall of text and get back to work. I wanted to let everyone know that I'm reading their comments and trying to think critically regarding the current S402 design and how it changes moving forward. Please keep the ideas coming.
Discord server link is dead.
 

grsychckn

SFF Guru
Original poster
Salvo Studios
Oct 11, 2017
1,093
1,845
I have one stock S401 left that needs a home. I've been holding onto it just for spare parts in case some parts were needed. With the S402 design coming along, I want to give this unit away but I'm not sure just yet how I'm going to do this. I have a couple ideas but would really prefer someone that follows me on discord or here be the recipient as a way of saying thank you. If you have an idea on a fair way to do this let me know. I'll make the official announcement for this giveaway in my next newsletter (planning on that going out Friday). I'll also announce here and on Discord.
 

Poblopuablo

King of Cable Management
Jan 14, 2018
816
465
I have one stock S401 left that needs a home. I've been holding onto it just for spare parts in case some parts were needed. With the S402 design coming along, I want to give this unit away but I'm not sure just yet how I'm going to do this. I have a couple ideas but would really prefer someone that follows me on discord or here be the recipient as a way of saying thank you. If you have an idea on a fair way to do this let me know. I'll make the official announcement for this giveaway in my next newsletter (planning on that going out Friday). I'll also announce here and on Discord.
I'll take it.... I mean why not right! ? Jk I won't even enter to win, because I want it to go to someone who needs it! Hope it finds a special home!!!

Edit... Unless I mis-understood and the giveaway is for a 402 prototype.... Then in that case, I'll totally enter!!! If it is for a 401(like I initially thought, then I'll gladly let someone else have better odds at getting it!!)
 

annasoh323

Master of Cramming
Apr 4, 2018
424
314
Wish me luck everyone: I'm planning on bringing my S401 with me on a long trip (~3 weeks). I have work I need to take with me. I'm going to put the steel panels back on (vs acrylic) since it's stronger and smaller that way. Should I consider bracing the video card with packing material? I'll pack the handle and feet separately along with my peripherals (mouse and keyboard mostly). I never did get around to installing the battery to my Bluetooth capable keyboard so I sure hope there is a desk near the TV in the hotel (I guess I need a long HDMI cable and hope for the best).

I'm also hoping I might find a decent deal on a Ryzen 3000 processor. I decided to sidestep possible X570 ITX board issues with I/O panel clearance by getting the MSI B450 board which seems to still have a removable (and flexible) I/O shield. Once I steal/upgrade my sister's R3 1200 build, I'll have a cheap CPU I can use for BIOS updates (will need to use a discrete GPU but oh well).

I'm nervous about traveling for this long but especially with my promises I can be productive on the road. Wish me luck, folks! (well, with the travel, but also potentially finding upgrade parts).