SKYREACH 4 MINI (S4M)

kulbida

Average Stuffer
Jan 8, 2018
63
50
Has anyone played with the idea of ryzen and a 1070ti in this case? I want a r7 2700 but i can settle with a r5 2600 if temps/power is of concern. I already own the 1070ti and I dont mind under clocking it significantly.
That combo will be completely fine in a S4M. I’m running an i7-8700 and a GTX 1080 with the HDPLEX 400w and a Dell 330w brick no problem.
 
  • Like
Reactions: brt02

NightBladeDK

Case Bender
Mar 2, 2016
2
1
That combo will be completely fine in a S4M. I’m running an i7-8700 and a GTX 1080 with the HDPLEX 400w and a Dell 330w brick no problem.
Word, I was always skeptical because pcpartpicker says my build was in the high 300s. I guess it would be fine after a 1070ti underlock, I dont even need all of its power, running its core around 1200 and a mild undervolt should be okay.
 

kulbida

Average Stuffer
Jan 8, 2018
63
50
Word, I was always skeptical because pcpartpicker says my build was in the high 300s. I guess it would be fine after a 1070ti underlock, I dont even need all of its power, running its core around 1200 and a mild undervolt should be okay.
That’s odd. My system shows 334w at full load on OuterVision PSU calculator. I haven’t run any real-world power draw testing.
 

Tanax

Average Stuffer
Jul 7, 2016
88
58
I just started building in my S4M, despite getting the case many months ago.

I have two questions;
1. One of the motherboard screws (the one closest to the backplate on the PCIe side) will just not latch on. I can keep screwing it and it feels like the screw or joint is broken somehow. I have tried with several screws, even screws that work in the other 3 screw holes, to no avail - which leads me to believe that this shouldn't be an issue with the screw itself. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas what could be the issue?

2. How are people mounting the Dynamo 360/HDPLEX 400 to the case to hold it in place? Without anything to hold it in place, will it be secure for flipping the case upside down, etc.?

Other than that, the case is surprisingly easy to build in! I am however running with an APU and no GPU yet due to the jacked up prices so maybe the difficult part is yet to come when I get the GPU further down the line...? :D
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
May 23, 2016
805
793
What is the most powerful, regular height (height of expansion slot), 215mm gpu a available in US? I found the Galax / KFA2 1070 mini to meet the above specifications, but I can’t seem to find them for sale here.
 

blubblob

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jul 26, 2016
104
127
You guys are on crack. The most powerful SFF card is the zotac 1080TI mini.
While that is indeed the most powerful sff card, it's also 10mm higher than reference / over expansion slot height.
If Nanook needs the card to be reference height the Zotac 1080ti just won't fit. (though he should consider if it might be possible using a low profile pcie power plug?)
 
  • Like
Reactions: kulbida

Nanook

King of Cable Management
May 23, 2016
805
793
You guys are on crack. The most powerful SFF card is the zotac 1080TI mini.
While that is indeed the most powerful sff card, it's also 10mm higher than reference / over expansion slot height.
If Nanook needs the card to be reference height the Zotac 1080ti just won't fit. (though he should consider if it might be possible using a low profile pcie power plug?)
Thanks all. Little bit of context: I'm still planning my S4M build, and am not sure if I want to go brickless. I have components to build a variety of configurations. My CPU is an i7-8700K, and motherboard is Strix Z370i. I have a 300W AC-DC adapter which I can mod to fit into the S4M. I would prefer to have a 111m tall graphics card so that the AC-DC can fit along the side. The challenge is finding a graphics that is more powerful than a 1060 that fits within 215mm length / 111mm height.
 

Sean Crees

Airflow Optimizer
Jan 1, 2017
352
316
I don't suppose you can add links to these products or at least links to their main page. My google-fu is failing me right now trying to find G-Unique products. I know I've seen them around on the forum, just can't find them right now.

Hello, Isometricy! I just finished this post in the S4M-C thread, and I think it belongs here too.


---------1080ti-------

FIRST CHOICE:
HDPLEX 400 + Eurocom 780

PROS:
  • Safe, certified, highly tested, rock solid stable.
  • This setup runs very cool with even an i9 and has plenty of overhead for safe overclocking
  • Least amount of coil whine
CONS:
  • Very expensive
  • Difficult to mod connectors for Eurocom
  • Noisy before replacing Eurcom's fans
  • Bulky wires (better with Skywire cables) and install, takes up lots of room in MINI
  • 2nd most bulky hookup
SECOND CHOICE:
G-UNQIUE 450 Kit (Arkangel + Modded Brick)

PROS:
  • EASY to install!
  • No fan noise
  • Tons of room inside case!
  • Could be perfectly neat if output cables reversed (Please, Gary?)
  • Reasonably priced
CONS:
  • Not certified, use at own risk and be thankful to Gary for being an awesome modder!
  • Power brick runs STUPID hot
  • Minor coil whine (in brick and plug in unit)
  • Very hard to get one made (long waiting list)
  • 1st most bulky hookup
-----1070 and 1080 systems----
HDPLEX 400 + Genuine Dell LA330PM160
  • Dell 330 is readily available and works well.
  • Buy the 60ish dollar grey market DA330 bricks at own risk for 1080. These can work OK for 1070 systems.
G-UNQIUE Kit
  • Sames cons as above, but can be a good choice based on the pros
  • Make sure to tell Gary you are ordering for a MINI!
-----1060 systems----
Dynamo Mini + Dell LA330PM160
  • Super neat install; even better than the G-unique due to modularity and sensible cable orientation
  • You can use the 60ish dollar grey market DA330 fairly stably. I still recommend the genuine article.
-----1050ti systems----
FIRST CHOICE:

Dynamo Mini + Dell LA330PM160
  • This is my first choice because it is prime for an upgrade down the road
SECOND CHOICE:
Pico 160XT KIT (with 192w Adaptec Brick)
  • Second choice only because it is not easy to upgrade/hookup for bigger GPUs
  • Inexpensive! (under 70 bucks for the kit!)
  • Pico 160XT can easily power a 1070 system, but requires dainty soldering.

---------------------But what about the Dynamo Duo?-------------------
The Dynamo Duo (Dynamo Mini + Dynamo 360 + AC/DC Power Brick) offers some really interesting possibilities. This combo should not be written off for advanced and creative builders. It is not on my list for a few reasons:
  • Complex solution for advanced builders (many configurations and possibilities)
  • I need to do much more testing. I never recommend power solutions until I have thoroughly tested and purchased many copies.
  • Currently is the most bulky NFC MINI power solution.
There are plenty of pros, and this is a PSU combo I am quite interested in. I'm not going to list them here now, but I can say that this is a solution I am considering for larger builds for my customers instead of SFX-L PSUs. The idea of powering my mods with a modular system where I can spread out the components intrigues me greatly. This is also the most small form factor power solution once you want to really start pushing the wattage. When I first started using this combo I thought it was a little silly, but that is because I was seeing it as a MINI product. Once I started applying it to larger SFF builds and even ATX builds, I fell in love with it, and I have some interesting projects planned with it. KMPKT is also fixing to do something pretty epic in a MINI with this combo, and if he can pull it off I will be even more impressed.

Hope this helps some of my new customers
 

Josh | NFC

Not From Concentrate
Original poster
NFC Systems
Jun 12, 2015
1,869
4,468
www.nfc-systems.com
I don't suppose you can add links to these products or at least links to their main page. My google-fu is failing me right now trying to find G-Unique products. I know I've seen them around on the forum, just can't find them right now.

G-Unique products are hand made, built custom. You need to contact Gary privately (via a popular Chinese messaging app) and arrange for it to happen. So don't feel bad; google-fu was not the right martial art for this journey. :D
 

Pestilaence

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 10, 2018
123
74
Sup guys!

I've been stalking this forum, and thread for a little bit now, but had never posted. I ordered a Skyreach S4 last week, and got it yesturday. The case is awesome, but there are a few things that I wish were different.

1) I wish the cutouts on the side panels were aligned diagonally, such that if someone wanted to make a cutout on the panel, going with the diagonal lines, everything would line up nicely. Also, I wish the cutouts were mirrored from one panel to the other. As they are now, each side panel is the same, which means the cutouts don't align, when looking through the case. I realize this was done to save money and time during the manufacturing/ assembly process, but I think the aesthetic would have been a bit nicer.

2) I wish that the cutout for the GPU tab to stick out had been taller. There are three rows of small holes above this cutout, and some of those could have been removed. I plan on cutting them out myself, as I plan on eventually water cooling my S4,using an external 540mm rad, and I will run the coolant lines right out of the GPU tab cutout.

3) I wish the GPU was inverted, so that the fans are facing the same side direction as the CPU. Also, you could mount the hard drives behind it (similar to how it's done now), and clean things up a bit more, such as the SATA and power cables that currently have to go over top of the motherboard.

I've skimmed the thread, but with it sitting at 79 pages now, I'm sure I've missed some info. I could use some help figuring out what the specific name is, for the required power connector that I would need to install in the case, if I use the recommended Dell power brick. It's the standard laptop style receptacle, but can't think of the name.

I also purchased the following power button, but am not sure how to wire it since there weren't any instructions;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0736J4MSQ/?tag=theminutiae-20
Would anyone be able to lend me some information? It has the obvious 12V, and GRD prongs, but then it has two more that are supposedly for a resistor...?

Anyway, thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.
 
Last edited:

Pestilaence

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 10, 2018
123
74
If you ever make a future revision of the Mini, I would love an invertable GPU mount, so we can make the GPU face the same way as the motherboard if we so desired.

I would absolutely agree with this... Since I plan on water cooling my new setup, it would be nice to be able to see the water block. Also, I think it may help keep temps in the case a bit more uniform, since you could have one side of it completely against a well, without worrying about suffocating either the CPU or GPU.
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
May 23, 2016
805
793
I would absolutely agree with this... Since I plan on water cooling my new setup, it would be nice to be able to see the water block. Also, I think it may help keep temps in the case a bit more uniform, since you could have one side of it completely against a well, without worrying about suffocating either the CPU or GPU.
It would be nice, wouldn’t it? I believe doing so will require a longer (~150mm?) riser cable. The case will likely have to get bigger to accommodate the riser going behind the GPU. All feasible, but may be out of scope...
 

Pestilaence

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 10, 2018
123
74
It would be nice, wouldn’t it? I believe doing so will require a longer (~150mm?) riser cable. The case will likely have to get bigger to accommodate the riser going behind the GPU. All feasible, but may be out of scope...

I don't think there would be a need to increase the height of the case hardly at all. As the case currently sits, spec wise, Josh could have used a riser similar to something that Silverstone uses for their slim cases, and dropped the GPU mounting down a few millimeters, but yes, he would have to use a longer riser cable, if the GPU was inverted.



Also, by inverting the GPU, it could help clean up water coolant lines by quite a bit, since they wouldn't need to be anywhere near as long.

You could also keep the hard drives mounted behind the GPU, just like they are now, and have them hidden from sight. This would also allow for a cleaner SATA cable run, since they wouldn't have to go over top of the motherboard like they currently do. I really don't like the fact that they are on "top" of the GPU. I always try to keep my builds as clean as possible, and hide as much stuff as I can.
 

Choidebu

"Banned"
Aug 16, 2017
1,199
1,205
He's done that before. Check out S3 mini.

It's bigger, and I believe josh said himself there are problems with it involving harder user installation.

If you notice how other cases with similar layout like the sentry, node 202, rvz03 also does the same, you'd think there's a common engineering problem here.

IANAD (D=designer) so I don't really know why...
 

jØrd

S̳C̳S̳I̳ ̳f̳o̳r̳ ̳l̳i̳f̳e̳
sudocide.dev
SFFn Staff
Gold Supporter
LOSIAS
Jul 19, 2015
818
1,359
  • Like
Reactions: Biowarejak

Tanax

Average Stuffer
Jul 7, 2016
88
58
Alright, so I just plugged everything in and powered up the system and... nothing.
When I plug in the power brick to the case the Aura lighting on the motherboard starts so the motherboard is receiving power, which leads me to believe that the Dynamo 360 is routing power to the Dynamo Mini correctly.

So I'm thinking that either the power button isn't triggered correctly (however when I press it the first time, the lighting on motherboard does react so something does happen), or the CPU isn't receiving power correctly to power up? Or could it be the sync cable that isn't properly installed? Since I don't have a GPU installed currently the sync cable shouldn't matter, should it?

Here's the system in pictures, let me know if you need better pictures @Kmpkt @Josh | NFC !