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SKYREACH 4 MINI (S4M)

threestripevida

Airflow Optimizer
Mar 28, 2017
277
466
I'm trying to decide between the Ryzen 2700 and 2700x. They are on sale right now, but I'm curious what kind of temps people are seeing in their S4M. I'd be using the l9a and not the l9i for my cooler.
 

Thehack

Spatial Philosopher
Creator
Mar 6, 2016
2,813
3,670
J-hackcompany.com
If you don't need the extra core and performance, the 2600 at $165 on Amazon is stupid good value right now.

Don't know about the 2700/X but my 2600X maxes around 70C on gaming loops. 2700X will likely be the same during gaming since gaming doesn't fully load all the cores.
 
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Khan_81

Efficiency Noob
Sep 29, 2018
5
2
I haven't noticed any thermal throttling with my nvme and the HDplex just kinda sits in it's spot. With everything cramed in there it keeps it in place

NFC Bat Signal!





You don't need to be worried about thermals with the i7 8700. In addition, I find that the i7s run a teeeeeeeny bit cooler than the i5s. Go figure that out. Either way, a 65w CPU will be perfect for you--even the i3 8100 should do you fine, it is an excellent chip. You don't need to worry about hyperthreading for games, in fact, some games do better with it disabled!



No. I would just buy a motherboard based on I/O and if you need dual M.2 or not...which IMO I think is a really important consideration.



I or any of my full system build customers have never had an issue with thermal throttling of NVME M.2 drives. There have been good, logical, and insightful posts showing that it can happen, but there have also been good, logical, and insightful posts on why running a heatsink is a BAD idea on a NVME drive. Until I see it happen first hand to me I am not going to worry about it, and I buy more than the average person :)



Throw it in there and wire it up. I only use a smidgeon of double sided tape for when I am shipping the system. For end user builds I would not bother.

Peace!

I ran a RAID0 array for a while and I only got throttling on the rear m.2 drive when running benchmarks to test the array, not in normal day to day use. The one on the front was fine at all times. So don't worry about it.

For cooling, you want to cool the controller not the NAND flash. NAND longevity actually benefits from higher temperatures, whereas the controller will throttle. So cool the controller chip and try not to cool the NAND itself. This can be as easy as cutting the included thermal pad to the required size.

EDIT: Found my link https://www.anandtech.com/show/9248/the-truth-about-ssd-data-retention

Neat! Thanks for your input and for proving wrong some of my preconceptions ;)

Finally, I´ll get a i5 8600 ( 8400 mostly sold out where I live or too close to the 8600´s price tag) and now I´m debating whether to pick an Asrock H370m-itx ac or ASUS Strix H370i Motherboard.

Not a fan of overpriced high-end mobos with all their bells and whistles like the Asus one but certain future proof features like the lastest Wifi/BT module are tempting. Decisions, decisions..... :\
 

Nightblade

Airflow Optimizer
Nov 29, 2017
294
243
So I was at work today with my S4M, and it suddenly would start shutting off(like someone had unplugged it from the wall while it was on). It was usually in the first minute or two after logging in to windows. I open up the case to see what was wrong and noticed the main 24 pin power connection had slightly unseated itself. Note to those with S4M that are mobile/carrying it around: would be a good idea to mount the dc/dc in place, as even though the case holds the dc/dc in place, it can still slide back and forth along the inside of the case, in my experience, relying on a thick 24 pin cable to hold it in place is not good enough. I will be fixing this soon.
 
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AMv8-1day

Cable-Tie Ninja
Feb 13, 2017
228
193
Not a fan of overpriced high-end mobos with all their bells and whistles like the Asus one but certain future proof features like the lastest Wifi/BT module are tempting. Decisions, decisions..... :\

I wouldn't sweat the latest intel wifi module. Even the latest, most powerful M.2 NIC modules are pretty readily available for around $25-30 and trivial to swap. The Asus documentation isn't even accurate, they refer to the included module as an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 9650. There's no such NIC. They likely mean the 9560, but either way, Intel is readying there big 802.11ax launch for 2019 with the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AX 22260 and 22560. So even if you pull the trigger on the Asus board, you'll be running "last-gen Wifi" in about a month.
Might as well get the board you want with the features you want and swap the NIC for the latest when you get around to upgrading your wifi router. ASRock doesn't seem to identify what exact Intel NIC they're using, but it's probably one of Intel's 7000 or 8000 802.11ac series. Other than BT 5.0, you aren't really missing anything.
You're call, but a quick price check puts the ASRock board pretty reliably at sub $100 while the Asus board hovers around $135-150. More than enough savings to cover a NIC swap for a real 802.11ax upgrade.

Edit:
The max speed (433Mbps) ASRock's claiming didn't sound right so I looked a bit closer. That max speed would only be for a single antenna, base model NIC like Intel's 9462, 9461, 3168, and 3165. Despite all of the product images clearly showing dual antennas.
So apparently Asus isn't alone in not caring enough about their Wifi to give accurate details about their NICs.
You'd think they'd at least want to give the higher wifi speeds, even if they don't want to bother mentioning the NIC model.
 
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Zero

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jan 27, 2017
120
262
Hey Josh, my S4M-C has been chugging along for years, but I've been coveting the S3 Mini's "flipped GPU" style, where the GPU fans are on the same side as the CPU fan. This is handy if you want to lay the PC flat on a desk, or if you want to strap it to your back (like those $3000 backpack formfactor VR PCs that HP, MSI, and Zotac produce as a niche product), without worrying about half the airflow being blocked in either instance.

I'm assuming the usual barrier to flipping the GPU around is that it required expensive "twinaxial" PCI ribbon cables to avoid cross-talk interference (too much interference and the display would blank out, and you'd have to lower the PCI speed in the BIOS to get around this, if even that worked). I believe a 3M twinaxial cable made up a good part of the Dan A4 case's cost at launch. They've become much cheaper though, Thermaltake makes one for $54 and LinusTechTips daisy-chained a ton of them with no signal loss: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812183022

Anyway, I noticed that the back IO/GPU plate of the Skyreach screws on (I'm not at home but I think if I recall the S4M-C is riveted). Do you think it'd be worth considering a run of an optional "reverse GPU backplate" that can swap in for the normal plate on the Skyreach? Or maybe a combo of reverse plate plus an OEM twinaxial riser made to the correct length? If no one else has interest then no point I guess, but if others here would be into it then I'd love to see it.
 

Choidebu

"Banned"
Aug 16, 2017
1,199
1,205
Do you think it'd be worth considering a run of an optional "reverse GPU backplate" that can swap in for the normal plate on the Skyreach? Or maybe a combo of reverse plate plus an OEM twinaxial riser made to the correct length? If no one else has interest then no point I guess, but if others here would be into it then I'd love to see it.
Check out josh's youtube streams. In the 'when I explain the evolution of MINI' he mentioned that he has something in the works for flippable gpu mount. But he also did mentioned it is technically difficult. I'd hope we'll hear about it once he patented it.
 

ngriesdo

Cable-Tie Ninja
Feb 15, 2017
193
163
Has anyone here had any problems with the HDPlex 400w? If so what are the problems? Do you have any coil whine, random shutdowns? I’m curious as I may buy one.
 

brt02

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 3, 2018
224
234
Has anyone here had any problems with the HDPlex 400w? If so what are the problems? Do you have any coil whine, random shutdowns? I’m curious as I may buy one.

No problems here. Had mine since February, version 1.4. No coil whine either. v1.6 has come out in the last few weeks which fixed issues with some v1.4 units. I'd recommend it.
 

SumGhai

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jun 14, 2016
147
175
Has anyone here had any problems with the HDPlex 400w? If so what are the problems? Do you have any coil whine, random shutdowns? I’m curious as I may buy one.
I had a Rev 1.4 400W DC-ATX second-hand, which seems to have come from a batch within the last three months, that had consistent shut-downs under a gaming load. In one of Josh's livestreams, he detailed the problem but said that Larry has found and fixed the issue in the newest Rev 1.6. I haven't seen anyone on the forums that's had issues with Rev 1.6 so far.

The issue seemed to plague 5% of the recent batches of Rev 1.4, so older batches of Rev 1.4 are still good. A friend of mine has a Rev 1.4 from last summer that's still running just fine.
 

Zero

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jan 27, 2017
120
262
Check out josh's youtube streams. In the 'when I explain the evolution of MINI' he mentioned that he has something in the works for flippable gpu mount. But he also did mentioned it is technically difficult. I'd hope we'll hear about it once he patented it.

Oh, sweet. Love his foresight. I don't see how it would be too challenging as far as design, the only difference I can see if the GPU is flipped is that the riser won't bear any load (the current design has the PCI bracket bearing probably 99% of the load, but the siliflex riser does at least stabilize the card slightly). Unless by difficult he means that it would be too limited a quantity to have Lian Li do it, and he'd have to machine them himself, in which case yes, the rear IO/GPU plate is hard to machine, especially because the part the GPU bracket screws into, and the hooks that catch the bracket on the other side, bring some three-dimensionality into it, so that it's not just a flat plate that one can CNC. Those little GPU hooks would be difficult to even do with carbon-reinforced 3D printing, I'd imagine.

edit: Just watched the stream you mentioned, that's wild that Josh talked about it several times in a stream from a week ago and I went to ask it now. Cool to see there's so much interest. Wishing him luck with the reversible plate patent!
 
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kevlar

Average Stuffer
Jun 4, 2017
63
36
  • HDPlex 400W DC-ATX - My estimate calculator gave me around 340W, so the 400W should be plenty. And the AC-DC will hopefully be out by January, so I can go brickless.
Will the 400W AC-DC fit in the S4M with a full height GPU without needing to sand anything down?
 

Choidebu

"Banned"
Aug 16, 2017
1,199
1,205
Will the 400W AC-DC fit in the S4M with a full height GPU without needing to sand anything down?
Will it fit? Yes - at least it is marketed as such. Take a look at the product page it specifically state compatibility with S4M.

Will it fit with full height gpu? Now that we don't know. Depends on the height of the gpu I guess.
 

Penguin

Trash Compacter
Jul 25, 2018
40
18
Has anyone here had any problems with the HDPlex 400w? If so what are the problems? Do you have any coil whine, random shutdowns? I’m curious as I may buy one.

I had some coilwhine in mine and am waiting for a 1.6 unit to be shipped as a replacement. If you order one now you will get the 1.6 version.
 
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br3nd0

Airflow Optimizer
Sep 29, 2016
307
297
I have my S4M sitting flat, would a usb powered laptop cooler help with temps? Or would the space provided by the machined case feet underneath suffice for airflow and cooling if sitting the case flat?
 

brt02

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 3, 2018
224
234
I have my S4M sitting flat, would a usb powered laptop cooler help with temps? Or would the space provided by the machined case feet underneath suffice for airflow and cooling if sitting the case flat?

the mini feet raise the mini ~17mm from the desk.

Made a difference to GPU temps for me. I have a Zotac 1080 mini

(Temperatures dT over ambient)

vertical mini = 45C
horizontal mini (no feet) = 54C (fans ran at 100% speed)
horizontal mini (feet) = 48C

CPU temps remained roughly the same. 3DMark Time Spy benchmark scores stayed at about 8100

Safe to assume a laptop cooler would also help with temperatures and would be cheaper. But the mini feet look really nice....

 

Khan_81

Efficiency Noob
Sep 29, 2018
5
2
Hi again! I finally got the system up and running after a thrilling proccess of constricted cable management and now expecting a MSI Geforce AERO ITX 1070 to go full circle.

Are there any size limitations with the new case? (I remember a thread about S4M-C and the need of some modding for certain graphic cards in order to fit. Otherwise, it gets in the way of DC input)

Any silent 120 mm fan recommended for additional cooling?
 

threestripevida

Airflow Optimizer
Mar 28, 2017
277
466
Hi again! I finally got the system up and running after a thrilling proccess of constricted cable management and now expecting a MSI Geforce AERO ITX 1070 to go full circle.

Are there any size limitations with the new case? (I remember a thread about S4M-C and the need of some modding for certain graphic cards in order to fit. Otherwise, it gets in the way of DC input)

Any silent 120 mm fan recommended for additional cooling?

You won't need to mod anything to get a graphics card to fit in the new case. Josh's video announcing the new case explains all the changes really well.
 
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kevlar

Average Stuffer
Jun 4, 2017
63
36
Will it fit? Yes - at least it is marketed as such. Take a look at the product page it specifically state compatibility with S4M.

Will it fit with full height gpu? Now that we don't know. Depends on the height of the gpu I guess.


Ah, I see the product page specs now. If its depth will stay the same, then I assume it won't impact any max height cards since the 160W one fits just fine. I've been out of the loop for some time; have they mentioned when this will come out?