S4Mini with optional optical slot

[SiG]

Seeing how the S4 would make for a perfect home-theater 4k playback device, would there be any opportunity to be able to fit a slim optical drive in the chasie, or is it just too cramped to fit anything else without the system overheating?

 

[Choidebu]

Mounting problems and difficult modding aside, the only place possible for it is where drive bracket goes, at the back of the gpu. The gpu thickness needs to be 1.5 slot or thinner.

On top of the mobo area, it'll hit cpu cooler and possibly tall ram. Picos - yeah... probably will hit most of them too..

 

[robbee]

Another idea might be to use higher motherboard offsets so you can put it beneath the motherboard. There are really slim ODD drives with a height of only 9.5mm that you could use. You won't have a lot of space left for the cpu cooler but there should be some options.

 

[boingk]

I just posted a thread on the Inwin BQ656. Check that out and see if it fits your needs, it has an integrated optical drive bay.

 

[SiG]

I just posted a thread on the Inwin BQ656. Check that out and see if it fits your needs, it has an integrated optical drive bay.

Oh, that looks nice. I wish there were more height comparison shots to give me a better idea. But the lack of GPU means it might not be a good option for what I'm after.

 

[Windfall]

Seeing how the S4 would make for a perfect home-theater 4k playback device, would there be any opportunity to be able to fit a slim optical drive in the chasie, or is it just too cramped to fit anything else without the system overheating?

I do believe the first minis did have a slim optical slot, but it was removed. I would sort of like to get my mitts on one.

Maybe @Josh | NFC can confirm that the Minis used to?

 

[boingk]

Oh, that looks nice. I wish there were more height comparison shots to give me a better idea. But the lack of GPU means it might not be a good option for what I'm after.

Yeah unless you're running a Ryzen 2200g or 2400G CPU it's pretty limited graphics wise.

 

[Josh | NFC]

I do believe the first minis did have a slim optical slot, but it was removed. I would sort of like to get my mitts on one.

Maybe @Josh | NFC can confirm that the Minis used to?

The S3 Elite did:

 

[SiG]

The S3 Elite did:

Oh man, I haven't seen this version yet. That is one sexy faceplate! If only it were still in production...it would be the perfect home-theater/media PC set top box. (Imagine if it had a 2080 mini...Imagine if there was such a thing as a 2080 mini!)

Anyways, thanks Josh! I might have to look around to see if anybody has this case second hand.

 

[baetisjoe]

The S3 Elite did:

That is beautiful. I expect there are none of these left for sale? I'm looking for something small in size, ultra quiet, that can accommodate a slim optical drive, although. Ideally tray loading, but slot-loading is ok too. No need for a video card, but if a 1660 mini or 2060 mini could fit too, that'd work. For the right case, I would buy 10-20. Your S4M story, product, dedication to your art - all have blown me away.

 

[baetisjoe]

Oh man, I haven't seen this version yet. That is one sexy faceplate! If only it were still in production...it would be the perfect home-theater/media PC set top box.

Exactly the application I would want this for. The demand for SFF goes beyond gaming.

 

[SiG]

Exactly the application I would want this for. The demand for SFF goes beyond gaming.

Even for gaming scenarios, having an optical drive for backwards compatibility is still kinda crucial. (After all, you need to rip the image off the disk first before you can play it.) I'm pretty sure there are us out there who still play MechWarrior 2.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

Plus an optical drive is useful for those of us who still collect physical music CD's. I know downloads are a thing, but I like collecting rarities and at least you have a physical backup.