Traveling Retro Gamer - Brickless S4M w/ 7600K, 1070

[SilverJS]

That's a great idea, Aquelito! I hope you can get it working! =)

First post updated (I think that's what I'll do from now on) with the outlines of the plan as it currently stands. But, in short :

- Zotac RTX2060 AMP ordered. They were actually available! Whodda thunk...;
- RPS-200-24-C ordered;
- Second Dynamo Mini ordered. Wish I could take credit for this, but it all goes to @aquelito - he's the one who suggested I use one of those to "regulate", of sorts, the UHP's voltage. Test fit :


I mean - my "gut" sense of space told me it would fit, but just wanted to make very sure before committing...I'll probably mount it to the top cover. Only disadvantage is I'll have to lave longer cables to make sure I can actually lift the cover enough to unplug them when I need access to the innards;

- Ordered 1TB MX500 M.2. Was on sale at Mike's. I'll partition it in two, mirror my C: and D: drive setups and sell the 860 Evo's. I need to get rid of excess cabling...plus, I'd like to use the Skybracket to mount my two 92mm Noctuas to cool the 2060.

 

[SilverJS]

Quick update : was trying to upgrade to a 7700k but found an irresistible deal on an 8600k so getting that instead! Expect a Z270i for sale in the coming weeks...

Also, my S2716DG had developed a stuck-on pixel. I was flabbergasted to find that this particular model needs SIX such pixels before being eligible for warranty replacement. Well - the very last day of my return window was Tuesday, and on sale that day was the S2719DGF. Updated version, premium panel guarantee (ONE stuck pixel = replacement) and FreeSync, which is ok since Tuesday with my Nvidia GPU... . So, returned mine, ordered the new one, and actually made a bit of money!

(For those not tracking : since the Jan 15th driver update, FreeSync monitors are now compatible with Nvidia GPU's. More to the story, but that's the gist.)

 

[SilverJS]

Z390i purchased - eBay Canada had a coupon for Canadian sellers, and Newegg Canada's eBay store was included in the list of sellers it applied to. Was not having much luck locating a used one, or even new, that wasn't within striking distance of the price I paid for the Z390-I.

In other news - for those who were interested in what @Thehack proposed (connecting two 12V MeanWell in series, for a summed 24V output) : I had indeed contacted MeanWell about this, to ask about viability. Their answer is below, for future reference (the "units" I had specifically asked about, were the UHP-200-12 and RPS-200-12). Not sure if those power supplies in question have this reverse blocking diode discussed in the diagram...?

Dear [customer],

You can connect these two units in series to get the higher output voltage,24V. Please reference the information as shown as below.

 

[SilverJS]

Alright - so, received a bunch of things today. S2719DGF came in, Z390-I (won't really be discussing in this post), and my RTX2060. (DisplayPort cable also arrived - good thing, because as my research had borne out, that particular monitor doesn't come with one. But anyway - I was all set.)

See album below. Short version : In terms of physical fit, first steps with the RTX2060 by Zotac are stupendously positive. I think that if Zotac engineers had actually tried super-hard to design a card made to fit with a Meanwell on the S4M's side panel, they couldn't have done it any better.

Anyway, it's a great little item. Looks fantastic, and that recessed power connector is what takes it to level 11 for an SFF build. I'm really impressed with it so far.

Only very slight testing done so far, but noise and thermals seem to be about the same as my 75% GTX1070, with a power limit of 73%. That's the lowest Afterburner allows me to go...too bad. I'd need ~66% or so to replicate my 75% on the 1070 (75% of 150W TDP = 112.5, which is roughly 66% of the RTX2060 Amp's 170W). I'm expecting power cycles until I can get my dual-PSU solution. That, or I'll download and play with Zotac's proprietary GPU software (Firestorm?). Afterburner doesn't let me control the voltage but Firestorm does. That power limit slider is so handy though...

Also decided to take the opportunity to install my M.2 MX500, but later realized I picked the wrong slot...forgot that not both slots are SATA-compatible. Oh well, I'll fix it tomorrow.

Anyway, on to the pics - pretty excited!


(Oh - and, for anybody wondering, during my short round of tests, the S2719DGF seemed to perform absolutely flawlessly with FreeSync and the new compatible drivers.)

 

[SilverJS]

Received my RPS-200-24-C. Unfortunately, the specs on their web page aren't accurate for the covered version. I knew that with regards to the height by looking at the data sheet, but it never occurred to me to look at the width as well. 62mm...too big for the S4M.


(Picture is with the bottom of the RPS lined up with the top of the bottom aluminum cover, which is still generous as the inner front bezel also has a lip I have to account for.)

The good news is that the unit is quite easily separated from its cover. I think I might just use a metal saw to hack off everything but the backplate - that's got the stand-offs built-in and provides a very nice surface to either double-side tape, or screw.

 

[SilverJS]

OK, so tried out the dual-PSU solution, and also Noctua fans on GPU (didn't last - you'll see). First, pictures! And, comments in album.


So, summary of observations :

- Noctua 92mm fans need to be strapped directly to GPU's cooler, in my case;

- KMPKT 160 can totally be used to power a GPU, but it's a bit shy on power for a stock OC RTX2060 (I got the factory OC one from Zotac, +120 clock and 170w TDP vs 160w stock). Had 4-5 power cycles at stock settings. I've found undervolted settings that give me close to 99% of stock performance (+50 clock, +400 memory, 85% power limit) and preliminary testing is encouraging, but more testing required, ran out of time today;

- The sync function doesn't quite work - or, not as it should...unless I'm doing something wrong, of course (entirely possible!). During my power cycles, the WHOLE computer would shut down. I thought that was weird - I tried unplugging the sync cable, and lo and behold, my power cycles would now only shut the GPU off (but, computer would keep running because I would hear the game's music and sound effects, etc...). So, it would appear that the GPU 160 was sending a shutdown signal to the CPU 160. BUT, when I shut down the computer, the GPU was still getting power until I physically unplugged the computer. That's not a big deal to me at all, BTW - I always leave my computers running but the sync thing was a big reason I had gone with a second 160;

- Meanwell RPS-200-24 seems to work just fine for mobo/CPU, entirely as expected. It did get warm and one thing you don't see in the pics is that I since have just plopped my little 40mm Noctua fan right in front of it (like - kinda between the motherboard and RPS). It's not secured or anything yet, just testing it out. That fan is very quiet, surprisingly - barely audible;

- Had to buy some custom cabling to make the RPS work. If you're in the States, HIGHLY recommend buying @Thehack's stuff from his shop - much easier, pre-wired, and it all fits - and it's cheaper! It's just that he doesn't yet ship outside the States (he's working on it!). So for me, I had to get those cables elsewhere.

RPS input stage :
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Power-Suppl...h=item33cabeca96:g:V7MAAOSw4YdYzpa6:rk:1:pf:0

RPS output stage :
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Singel-1pc-JST-VHR-6N-RWB-Harness-Silicone-16AWG-cable-wire-for-amp-3d-printer/323095719590?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&var=512205480642&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Same seller, as you'll notice - very responsible and flexible. I asked for a custom length for the input, and only four wires for the output (vice 6) and they accommodated both requests. They're also using SpeedPak delivery service (to Canada, anyway) - barely a week between shipment and delivery from China! Worked out great.

- When everything was disassembled, thought a perfect placement for second 160 was right where the power button goes. Fit in there like a glove. But, I'm now thinking - if the sync function doesn't work properly, I might as well just get a UHP-200-12 and hook it up directly to the GPU, and call it a day. Would very much simplify the setup and allow me to keep my front bezel as is.

So if I did that - would it be a simple matter of hooking the GPU's 3 positive wires to the Meanwell's +'s, and the five ground to the -'s, and that's that?

Anyway - narrowing it down nicely now. This setup can work, might just need to be tweaked, but still a huge step-up from before.

 

[SilverJS]

Quick update : gamed a couple of hours today with the 360 replacing the GPU's 160, and no issues. The MeanWell powering the GPU was barely warm to the touch.

At @aquelito's suggestion, might go with this to replace the 160 :

https://www.pololu.com/product/2885

 

[chanberg]

wondering how much heat those step-down converters will generate... 19v to 12v

 

[SilverJS]

That's one of my questions too. Plus, looking at it - if it's 15A, and steps down to 12V - that basically means 180W, right...? Which is a bit lower than I'd like for fudge...

 

[CARC Mini]

Plus, looking at it - if it's 15A, and steps down to 12V - that basically means 180W, right...? Which is a bit lower than I'd like for fudge...

if you or anyone else here is not aware of this already, HDPLEX started accepting orders for their 400W internal AC-DC this weekend, & a HDPLEX 400W internal unit can be used with a ITX-length [ 170mm ] video card, in its front, if your SkyReach is modified properly.

and as i posted yesterday, there's a NFC SkyReach case on ebay, where the seller says its modified for this.

 

[aquelito]

That's one of my questions too. Plus, looking at it - if it's 15A, and steps down to 12V - that basically means 180W, right...? Which is a bit lower than I'd like for fudge...

According to the staff comments, it can handle more amps with some additional cooling.

https://www.pololu.com/blog/628/new...lator-family-our-highest-power-regulators-yet

Additionally, we have generally found forced airflow to be more effective than a heatsink alone. For fun one of our engineers designed a fan enclosure for these regulators and in some brief tests was able to get several extra amps out.

 

[SilverJS]

Update : installed two 92mm Noctua's on the rtx2060. Very significant difference (for the best!), sounds levels are much quieter now. Here's a pic, although it looks exactly like all others on this forum with this mod... Decided to keep the backplate as it seemed to function as a pretty effective heat shield, and also worked really well as a cable management tool (could tuck all extra cables in the little nook of sorts)


Also - contacted MeanWell about the ripple on the uhp-200-12. Apparently, the 240mv figure is a very worst case scenario - typical ripple is 136mv p-p. I can live with that - a bit higher than the 120mv of ATX spec but pretty close. If it worked for @petricor, it's good enough for me! (@aquelito confirmed the load switch does no voltage regulation of any kind.)

Also ended up returning the z390-I. I had forgotten about one important variable - the trouble of setting up all of my music production programs with the new "computer" (as they would see the new motherboard). That's a significant time investment and I wasn't willing to do that. So it's back on the hunt for a 7700k, which will be fine for me.

 

[CARC Mini]

Update : installed two 92mm Noctua's on the rtx2060. Very significant difference (for the best!). Here's a pic, although it looks exactly like all others on this forum... Decided to keep the backplate as it seemed to function as a pretty effective heat shield.

can you please state if this modded GPU is 116mm, or less [ ITX-size ] ,in height ?

what is the total amount of combined power, in watts, that your PSUs provide ?

 

[SilverJS]

Total for both PSUs is probably around 340W. 200W for the UHP, and 140W for the RSP as I'm running it convection only. I do have a 40mm Noctua fan that I'll try to pair the RSP to, but even at max capacity, the fan gives only half of the air flow that Meanwell recommends for the RSP so I'm not sure how much of an effect it will have.

I'll try to measure when I have it next open. I think that, with the backplate off, it might JUST JUST fit the HDPLEX 400W...not sure. The cooler might have a few protruding bits that would prevent it, but if one is really, really keen on modifying...=)

 

[CARC Mini]

I'll try to measure when I have it next open. I think that, with the backplate off, it might JUST JUST fit the HDPLEX 400W...not sure. The cooler might have a few protruding bits that would prevent it, but if one is really, really keen on modifying...=)

do you still have aquelito's load switch ?

 

[SilverJS]

So, been a while!

I've been using the computer as you've seen above since then - so roughly six weeks. No real issues (Witcher 3 did have a few stability issues, but that was due to my pushing the GPU too far in overclocking testing). But I'd been running it open (no side panels) because the 360 doesn't fit with my two psu's.

So today, I finally got around to installing the uhp-200-12 that I'd had sitting around for a month or so . Totally forgot to take pictures of the process, but fairly elementary wiring. I used the 160's GPU wire, cut it so I could use its 8-pin connector, stripped the wires and hooked pos to pos and neg to neg on the UHP. I also considerably shortened my CPU/mobo harness (from the RPS). So now, my Mini is closed again!!

And - it all works! I've been playing a fair bit of Witcher 3 today to put the rig through its paces, and no tomfoolery occurred.

In fact, other than the 7700k (got it - just have to install it), this seems to be wrapping up. Just one concern - when the computer goes to sleep now, the GPU's fans start spinning much more, to what I think is 100%. This phenomenon does occur when I shut down, as I expected (due to the fact I have no load switch) - but during sleep...?

I might need one of those from @aquelito after all ...

Pic just before closing her up :

 

[Choidebu]

Did you not sync the two dynamo?

 

[SilverJS]

I've got two Meanwells. Can't really sync them (or I don't know how). But, interestingly, the fans were quiet this afternoon when I first went to the PC. More monitoring required...but, otherwise, this functions quite nicely.

 

[SilverJS]

Update : this whole setup is actually working quite nicely. It's been a bit over a week or so, and there's been no issues at all since. The fans ramping up on sleep is still there, but :

1. Seat of the pants, I'd say the phenomenon happens once in every four or so sleeps, with decreasing frequency - increasing interval, I mean - as time goes on, as weird as that sounds;

2. The interesting thing is that both the GPU, AND CPU fans ramp up. Which leads me to believe it might be more software than hardware.

 

[petricor]

i fixed my typo.

output is " 54.5 Wide Molex " .

and C6 is not rated for 400- 600W.

I just got my hands on one of these (supermicro pws-606p-1r) - do you happen to have a pinout?