SKYREACH 4 MINI (S4M)

[JermMX5]

I'm sticking with my first answer on the power brick--it will be close, but I think it will be fine. It's easy to tune those parts and the Ryzen chips seem to do a good job keeping inside their TDP and drawing under it.
Peace

Hey Josh, I saw in your video you said the 300W AC-DC hdplex wouldn't fit, but would it fit with a "Hot Rod" window like you did for Linus's RAM height issue? It looks to be only about 10mm taller than the 160 so if it fits in the other directions I think it'd be worth it

 

[Josh | NFC]

Hey Josh, I saw in your video you said the 300W AC-DC hdplex wouldn't fit, but would it fit with a "Hot Rod" window like you did for Linus's RAM height issue? It looks to be only about 10mm taller than the 160 so if it fits in the other directions I think it'd be worth it

I'll let you be the judge! I have a 3D model in the resources section you can play with.

Question for all of you. I am adding more info to the Skyreach MINI page on my website. What information would you like to see? What draws you to the S4M? Thanks guys.

 

[Tanax]

I'll let you be the judge! I have a 3D model in the resources section you can play with.

Question for all of you. I am adding more info to the Skyreach MINI page on my website. What information would you like to see? What draws you to the S4M? Thanks guys.

The only thing I can think of right now is to include a list of everything that will come in the box when purchasing it

 

[AleksandarK]

I'll let you be the judge! I have a 3D model in the resources section you can play with.

Question for all of you. I am adding more info to the Skyreach MINI page on my website. What information would you like to see? What draws you to the S4M? Thanks guys.

I would like to see more pictures of the case and to have some pictures with components installed. That way people will be more "atreacted" to it.

I know that this is your colaboration with SFFlab, but you would need to add more specs to YOUR website. Believe me, i am talking from experience. People 70% of the time WONT click the link. They just ignore it. Adding more details would defently help out and raiss interest.
It would also be good if you had one or two to be bought from your web-shop, as rearly anyone believes in 3rd party shops. You could say something like "if no minis are available, purchase them from SFFlab". Just to say, i not telling you to do so, i am just suggestin. You will decide of course.

 

[Parge]

I'll let you be the judge! I have a 3D model in the resources section you can play with.

Question for all of you. I am adding more info to the Skyreach MINI page on my website. What information would you like to see? What draws you to the S4M? Thanks guys.

• Pics of the case with a system in (ideally a pretty one!)
• A 'blown out' pic of all the parts
• Comparison pics with other common 'mainstream' ITX cases from the big manufacturers)
• One of the big questions is always around thermals, so approximate data around this. (so, for example - 21C room, 65W chip with NH9i = 70C, 45W chip = 65C, 91W chip = 81C etc etc.
• Same for GPU
• GPU compatibility list + recommended PSU size
• Info about which size vandal switch to buy if you are not purchasing with the case (16mm?)

 

[JoeyAzul]

I'll let you be the judge! I have a 3D model in the resources section you can play with.

Question for all of you. I am adding more info to the Skyreach MINI page on my website. What information would you like to see? What draws you to the S4M? Thanks guys.

Might be redundant but would love to see a new install guide for the new S4M

 

[garou81]

I'll let you be the judge! I have a 3D model in the resources section you can play with.

Question for all of you. I am adding more info to the Skyreach MINI page on my website. What information would you like to see? What draws you to the S4M? Thanks guys.

Pretty much what parge said. But i want to see pics of ALL the different color combinations before the preorder deadline passes.

• Can the front plate on the chassis be flipped to place fans in front of the gpu?
• what difference do the fans make temp wise
• what does the case look like with usb & skyslots
• would love to see the case next to a node 202, xbox, ncase M1
• pics of the brickless 1050ti build
• pics of an hdplex 400 build with all the custom skywire cables

 

[Biowarejak]

pics of the brickless 1050ti build

Thread for Brickless Classic.
Article for Brickless Classic.

 

[Craxas]

Essential: pictures of the case with banana for scale

 

[Andrew.J.Vigil]

T'is perfection Craxas

Essential: pictures of the case with banana for scale

 

[nitestryker]

looking forward to getting my S4M next month!

@Josh | NFC with the power button and the skywire, are they made in taiwan as well and can they be bundled with the S4M shipment?

 

[Josh | NFC]

looking forward to getting my S4M next month!

@Josh | NFC with the power button and the skywire, are they made in taiwan as well and can they be bundled with the S4M shipment?

No they leave my hands in Mississippi, so unfortunately they can't be.

 

[slimjim]

why dont you have a southern accent josh?

 

[Josh | NFC]

why dont you have a southern accent josh?

I can if I want to. But I'm a pretty cosmopolitan redneck and have traveled and lived in all the USA.

 

[Nightblade]

So, I can't think of really where else to post this, but I've been working on my build for the S4M, and have been discussing parts with a friend of mine who is as knowledgeable about computers as I am. He however, is sees things differently than I do and thinks I'm crazy for spending $400 on just the case and power supply. He also is quick to jump on my plan being a waste of time and money, but I still value his opinion as he is a good friend and has been building computers about as long as I have.

So, on to what I was really trying to get to. Through discussions, I have produced 3 types of builds, an i5 7th gen build, an i5 8th gen build, and a Ryzen 5 build. My main conditions are simply that the main drive and the "gaming" drive must be m.2 as I am trying to reduce weight as much as possible(that, and its faster with no wires).

Spoiler: i5 7th Gen Build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($184.79 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.15 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX H270I GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (Purchased For $149.99)
Storage: Western Digital - Black PCIe 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (Purchased For $270.99)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Mini Video Card ($449.99 @ Amazon)
Other: Pioneer USB 3.0 BD/DVD/CD Portable Burner Model BDR-05B ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Other: Skyreach 4 Mini (Purchased For $199.99)
Other: HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX ($95.00)
Other: (Purchased For $99.00)
Total: $1794.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-08 19:23 EST-0500

Spoiler: i5 8th gen build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.15 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370N WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($160.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (Purchased For $149.99)
Storage: Western Digital - Black PCIe 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (Purchased For $270.99)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Mini Video Card ($449.99 @ Amazon)
Other: Pioneer USB 3.0 BD/DVD/CD Portable Burner Model BDR-05B ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Other: NFC Skyreach 4 Mini (Purchased For $199.99)
Other: HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX ($95.00)
Other: Dell Alienware M18x 330W AC Adapter XM3C3 (Purchased For $99.00)
Total: $1850.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-08 19:25 EST-0500

Spoiler: Ryzen 5 Build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.15 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX B350-I GAMING Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($199.99)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (Purchased For $149.99)
Storage: Western Digital - Black PCIe 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (Purchased For $270.99)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Mini Video Card ($449.99 @ Amazon)
Other: Pioneer USB 3.0 BD/DVD/CD Portable Burner Model BDR-05B ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Other: NFC Skyreach 4 Mini (Purchased For $199.99)
Other: HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX ($95.00)
Other: Dell Alienware M18x 330W AC Adapter XM3C3 (Purchased For $99.00)
Total: $1909.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-08 19:26 EST-0500

The problem I run into, is that boards with two m.2 are not inexpensive as most of them(at least from what I've gathered from right now) are designed with overclocking in mind, which I currently have no interest in(probably can't anyway, my current TDP is about 315w, 240w if you count just the CPU and GPU). The other problem is most boards only have 1 m.2 slot. You would think that a Ryzen 5 build would be cheaper than an intel 8th gen build, but the facts speak otherwise. I have already ordered and received the 1.1 TB M.2 drive since I got a pretty good deal on it. I'm tempted to go with the i5 7th gen build as it is 50$ cheaper than the 8th gen build. However, the 8th gen would be slightly faster, so is spending the extra 50$ worth it? Also, are there any budget friendly motherboards that have 2 m.2 slots? My budget, in-case anyone was wondering is $2,000. However, if I can get more bang for buck by going a little cheaper, I'd go that route.

Edit: I also forgot to mention that currently(at least in the US) there are no m-ITX AMD motherboards that are ryzen boards that support 2 m.2 slots(there are ones with 1 slot) The board I have in the Ryzen 5 build is a motherboard that isn't out yet(it supposedly comes out this month).

 

[Choidebu]

I5-8400 is directly aimed to R5-1600, intel slashed their margin for that one. It also obliterates 7700K's worth.

So at this point ryzen is not cheaper, yes, except if you go 1700. Plus, if you really wants to get big bang for your buck DDR4-2400 is not going to cut it. Get at least DDR4-3000. Memory and ssd prices is insane these past months and will continue to be so until end of 2018.

I also agree that building a portable desktop like your plan, is, well, why not buy a laptop like normal people?

Then there's this SFF premium - going small have their price... your friend doesn't understand that - just like I can't comprehend paying 400$ to get a seat at any concert.

Where I'm from you can get atx tower case for 25-40$ and 30$ for psu. But it would just be another box I'd have to hide.

Regarding your build, I myself leans towards amd but if you game more than productivity then 8th gen intel is better. You also won't need better ram.

 

[McTeags]

@Nightblade SFF is niche for a reason. I think both you and your friend are right. People can have differences in values. You just have to decide what's most important to you.

Wall of text:

In my opinion, the case is important because it's the only part you really have to look at and it usually lasts the longest out of any of the other parts in your system. That being said, unless you're putting your components in an oven you don't gain any performance from buying a more expensive case like you would by investing in a more expensive CPU or GPU. If you buy a cheaper case and power supply then you can afford a nicer GPU or CPU (GTX 1080 or i7-8700). The size of the case is also important to me because I travel with my PC a lot. Buying a laptop could make sense in the short term but the price to performance I get out of a desktop computer outweighs the laptop in the long run.

I personally think the S4M is worth more than $199. The form factor and pure craftsmanship of the case are great. On top of that, as I've said before, Josh is a great guy. It's comforting knowing my purchase is helping to support someone doing something they love for people that share my interests. My situation was different though. I already had an ITX system. I just needed to swap out the PSU and the case. For me this was more of an upgrade. I didn't have a system build budget to deal with.

For components, it depends on what you plan on doing with your computer. If you plan on gaming, I would recommend the i5-8400. If you plan on streaming or editing video or doing other similar productivity work I would recommend going with the r5 1600. i5-8400 > i5-7500. I think the two extra physical cores will be more than worth the extra $50 in the long run.

One other option is to go with the i5-8400 build and just wait for the H370I boards to come out to save a bit of money. This will make the price more in line with the i5-7500 build.

 

[Josh | NFC]

Not everyone gets it. It's one of the reasons I don't wear a salesmen cap. I want people to come to the MINI who get it...I never want to convince people it's right for them. I spend most of my time doing the opposite...explaining to people the MINI probably isn't for them.

This creates this AWESOME group of dedicated customers and a pretty neat club.

Personally I spent well over 400 bucks every time I bought a case after 2006. Then when I started making them whooooboy...even more. The case is a large part of what makes me happy. The components just need to do their job. In my opinion it is insane that people spend $3000 on a system to run three settings on PUBG higher than a $1700 system. I don't judge them for it, that's what they want to do and that's great.

To each their own.

At any rate, we all can agree that the Saudi prince dumping half a BILLION dollars into a "might be Davinci" is insane. You can buy alot of SFF computers for that.

Peace

 

[mgilang]

Hi Josh,
nice improvement!
it may not related, but what about the noise that it will have? let say the fan is on cpu and gpu. do you have any video about the noise?

Thanks

 

[Nightblade]

I5-8400 is directly aimed to R5-1600, intel slashed their margin for that one. It also obliterates 7700K's worth.

So at this point ryzen is not cheaper, yes, except if you go 1700. Plus, if you really wants to get big bang for your buck DDR4-2400 is not going to cut it. Get at least DDR4-3000. Memory and ssd prices is insane these past months and will continue to be so until end of 2018.

I also agree that building a portable desktop like your plan, is, well, why not buy a laptop like normal people?

Then there's this SFF premium - going small have their price... your friend doesn't understand that - just like I can't comprehend paying 400$ to get a seat at any concert.

Where I'm from you can get atx tower case for 25-40$ and 30$ for psu. But it would just be another box I'd have to hide.

Regarding your build, I myself leans towards amd but if you game more than productivity then 8th gen intel is better. You also won't need better ram.

@Choidebu The thing is, I'm split 50/50 on productivity and gaming. I also stream as well(not near as much as the other two though). Hell, I even mod the games and create content for them.

Also, you probably already know the answer to this, but I'll ask it anyway. Why would I not buy a laptop like normal people? That's because I don't want to trade portability with the ability to upgrade. I value the ability to upgrade over a less "modular" setup. Surprisingly, even though I'm paying more than a regular desktop user, I am still paying cheaper than a user who bought a gaming laptop with similar specs.

Also, most regular users like laptops because they are easier to transport and are "one" unit. But most users don't take into account that they have peripherals too, and that gets thrown in the laptop case as well. In my case, it just means I have 2 extra "peripherals" that they don't. It also means setup takes a little longer, but I'm okay with that. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have gotten myself into this.

One other "strike" I consider against getting a "gaming" laptop is anytime I'm actually going to game on a laptop, I'd rather just have the laptop plugged in, because it draws too much power from that little battery. Also, I won't be taking this to coffee shops or quick stops as that would just be a waste of time for me. Not only for the time it takes to setup, but I want to be able to get into a game for hours and not be worried about what time it is.

@Nightblade SFF is niche for a reason. I think both you and your friend are right. People can have differences in values. You just have to decide what's most important to you.

Wall of text:

In my opinion, the case is important because it's the only part you really have to look at and it usually lasts the longest out of any of the other parts in your system. That being said, unless you're putting your components in an oven you don't gain any performance from buying a more expensive case like you would by investing in a more expensive CPU or GPU. If you buy a cheaper case and power supply then you can afford a nicer GPU or CPU (GTX 1080 or i7-8700). The size of the case is also important to me because I travel with my PC a lot. Buying a laptop could make sense in the short term but the price to performance I get out of a desktop computer outweighs the laptop in the long run.

I personally think the S4M is worth more than $199. The form factor and pure craftsmanship of the case are great. On top of that, as I've said before, Josh is a great guy. It's comforting knowing my purchase is helping to support someone doing something they love for people that share my interests. My situation was different though. I already had an ITX system. I just needed to swap out the PSU and the case. For me this was more of an upgrade. I didn't have a system build budget to deal with.

For components, it depends on what you plan on doing with your computer. If you plan on gaming, I would recommend the i5-8400. If you plan on streaming or editing video or doing other similar productivity work I would recommend going with the r5 1600. i5-8400 > i5-7500. I think the two extra physical cores will be more than worth the extra $50 in the long run.

One other option is to go with the i5-8400 build and just wait for the H370I boards to come out to save a bit of money. This will make the price more in line with the i5-7500 build.

@McTeags I'm thinking I should wait as well, those boards are supposed to be released by the end of December. There will probably be another sale at New Years. I will just pick up the rest of the parts then. I'm waiting for my S4M in January anyway.

Not everyone gets it. It's one of the reasons I don't wear a salesmen cap. I want people to come to the MINI who get it...I never want to convince people it's right for them. I spend most of my time doing the opposite...explaining to people the MINI probably isn't for them.

This creates this AWESOME group of dedicated customers and a pretty neat club.

Personally I spent well over 400 bucks every time I bought a case after 2006. Then when I started making them whooooboy...even more. The case is a large part of what makes me happy. The components just need to do their job. In my opinion it is insane that people spend $3000 on a system to run three settings on PUBG higher than a $1700 system. I don't judge them for it, that's what they want to do and that's great.

To each their own.

At any rate, we all can agree that the Saudi prince dumping half a BILLION dollars into a "might be Davinci" is insane. You can buy alot of SFF computers for that.

Peace

@Josh | NFC I'm glad you don't have to act the salesman. Makes dealing with business a lot more comfortable. Though I do wish the S4M already came with a power switch...but I don't regret being able to customize that as well.