Midnight Coffee S4 Mini build

[spencers]

Hi all,

I'm a huge fan of small form factor and ITX builds. A couple of years ago I built a Node 202 gaming PC but still thought there was too much wasted space. After selling the Node build, I tried to simplify my setup by adding a video card to my unRAID NAS and going virtualized (think Linus Tech Tips 2-gamers-1-PC) but I never felt the virtual performance matched a bare metal setup. Then I found the S4 Mini from Not From Concentrate!

The S4 Mini is a well-thought out unique design, allowing enough space for a powerful, small-footprint ITX gaming rig. For components, you can fit an ITX board, ITX graphics card, DC-to-DC converter, and optional two 2.5" drives. Straight away, assembling everything into the case felt like a three dimensional silicon and aluminum puzzle as there was a strict order of assembly. At the end, it became apparent how much power was densely packed into this little aircraft-grade aluminum chassis the size of a ream of paper.

When deciding whether to go with Skylake or something newer, I managed to pick up the Coffee Lake Intel i5-8400 on Newegg while it was in stock for approximately 15 minutes. Glad I did because 6 cores in a 65w package is killer. The S4 Mini was developed for a 65w CPU, as is the Noctua L9i. Overall, this build is super quiet, as there are only two fans: the CPU and GPU (which turns off at idle!) and the entire thing is easily powered by a chunky 330W Dell AC adapter.

The S4 Mini originally came with a wenge wood 3D front bezel that has a cutout for longer graphics cards. After deciding to powder coat the side panels midnight blue wrinkle from Prismatic Powders, I ordered a wraparound silver brushed aluminum front bezel. I also sourced some awesome torx screws to hold the size panels on. Overall, I'm extremely happy with how everything turned out and it's now uniquely mine!

I built this strictly to play games and be a portable beast. Forza 7, Wolfenstein 2, and Star Wars Battlefront II are the 2017 games this rig will handle at 1440p.

Firestrike 15138
Time Spy 5780
Passmark CPU Score: 12,864

Parts list:
NFC S4-Mini, wraparound bezel, SIFLEX riser cable, on/off switch, side panels powdercoated midnight blue wrinkle from Prismatic Powders
Intel i5-8400 Coffee Lake 6-core/6-thread 2.8ghz (4.0ghz turbo) LGA1151 65w 9MB
Noctua L9i
Asrock Z370M-ITX
2x8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR 3200
500GB Samsung 960 Evo NVMe
MSI GTX 1070 Aero ITX
HDPlex 400w + Dell 330w PSU

Idle Temps:
CPU: 30C
GPU: 45C

Load Temps:
CPU: 54C
GPU: 63C

Spoiler: Initial Build Pictures

Obligatory picture of component boxes, with Windows 10 installing in the background:





Running the stock HSF until I pulled my Noctua L9i from my NAS.




I wish the IO shroud was black!


Here you can see the 1070 Mini.


Now some glamour shots with the panels on:

 

[spencers]

Update: I've installed the Noctua L9i. I had to remove the motherboard because I couldn't access the top two HSF mounting holes while the motherboard was installed in the case.

While I love the Wenge wood, I feel like the case is missing something because it looks weird when sitting upright on the side panels (see below image). So I ordered a silver wraparound bezel from NFC.


Trying to source some 6-32 side panel screws similar to the ones from another build but not having any luck. They appear to be Torx or hex, with a FLAT undercut head.

ALSO, I've l found a local powdercoat facility. I'm currently looking at midnight blue wrinkle from Prismatic Powders.


Noctua installed!


Wenge wood represent!

 

[QuintLeo]

I'd have gone with the Gigabyte ITX over the MSI Aero - better cooling and clocks higher - but it's still an impressively small build.

 

[spencers]

I'd have gone with the Gigabyte ITX over the MSI Aero - better cooling and clocks higher - but it's still an impressively small build.

Thanks! I think this little post helped me decide which graphics card to go with.
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...view-of-mini-gtx-1070-cards-nfc-s4-case.2586/

 

[spencers]

Sneak peek!