S4 Mini - An ULTRA-SFF Chassis shipping this December!

I can really recommend watching this, BTW, it gives a very interesting insight into the philosophy behind Josh's cases.
 
Because of the wait times on custom powder I put a halt on doing them. Instead I have been ordering small batches of different colors. This has the added benefit of being much less expensive than a custom powder, and since I stock them, quicker shipping times.

This is Glacier White:

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Let me know what you think, as it helps me determine to make more or strike it forever from the records. :)
 
Ohhhh damn.....white on black is my absolute favorite combination. Damn it NFC, do I have to buy another one of your cases!
 
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It looks nice! Do you have any other colors planned for addition to the shop? I've got a picoPSU build that I'd like to move into your case–– the right color combo might do it! Are you still taking orders for custom powder coats?
 
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It looks nice! Do you have any other colors planned for addition to the shop? I've got a picoPSU build that I'd like to move into your case–– the right color combo might do it! Are you still taking orders for custom powder coats?

I have some colors planned, but the custom powdercoats are suspended for now. I want to bring them back so bad you don't even know. >.< I feel real bad about it but things didn't work out and I want to be able to deliver them in a reasonable time frame.
 
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I have a new black I am switching to for the next couple months. This is "Cast Iron Black" and resembled the look of a cast iron skillet with a very minor texture that is smooth to the touch.

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I have some colors planned, but the custom powdercoats are suspended for now. I want to bring them back so bad you don't even know. >.< I feel real bad about it but things didn't work out and I want to be able to deliver them in a reasonable time frame.

Great to hear that you have some new colors planned, looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

It's too bad about the custom powder coats, hope you're able to bring them back at some point as well!
 
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Wow, I love the white. And the black for that matter.

I have a question: given that I have a 6700k mini ITX build right now, and assuming that a GTX 1070 comes out that fits, can such a build be reliably powered inside this case?

I guess that the 250 Watt HD Plex is the beefiest power board available, that just seems like not enough. I guess people have made it work with the 970 (granted I don't remember what processor they used), would it maybe work if I undervolted my 6700k?
 
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Wow, I love the white. And the black for that matter.

I have a question: given that I have a 6700k mini ITX build right now, and assuming that a GTX 1070 comes out that fits, can such a build be reliably powered inside this case?

I guess that the 250 Watt HD Plex is the beefiest power board available, that just seems like not enough. I guess people have made it work with the 970 (granted I don't remember what processor they used), would it maybe work if I undervolted my 6700k?


I have no idea about the 1070, but I have maybe 6 users with the 6700k. Three of them have had great success undervolting it. Check out Marc Paris' thread and MrTiny's.

Assuming the 1070 keeps inside 150w and doesn't spike really high (like the Nano) then that combo should work out the gate.

I'm pretty excited personally for Sapphire's take on the 480 and waiting on that for my system. :)
 
Unless new RX 480 is a totally new architecture in power management, it's still gonna spike like radeons always did. Since K10 AMD is just trying to catch up with intel by interpreting the TDP their own way. They talk now about 480 being power efficient with 150W but to get the same score as 1080 you have to get two of them.
 
Awesome, thanks for the reply NFC, I may very well go for such a build. I just hope we don't have to wait too long for short 1070's.
 
Unless new RX 480 is a totally new architecture in power management, it's still gonna spike like radeons always did. Since K10 AMD is just trying to catch up with intel by interpreting the TDP their own way. They talk now about 480 being power efficient with 150W but to get the same score as 1080 you have to get two of them.

Granted that they have a slide with the tech specs showing 480 is rated 150W TDP, I still find it hard to believe that it will really have that TDP with a single 6-pin.

That's literally using max rated power from both the PCIE and the 6-pin. (I know it can draw more than that, but it's rated for 75W)

If it's 100W TDP and spikes up to ~150W, then it should fit comfortably in the HDPLEX power envelope.
 
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Nano having 175W and PEG 8PIN giving it up to 225W of rated constant average power draw capability still spiked way over that 225W didn't it?

RX 480 can still go over those 150W in spikes but maybe not so much as nano did.
 
Well, and that HDPLEX is supposed to handle spikes up to 400 watts. I guess the main thing is I'll need a big-ass power brick. I've heard about that 350w voodoo firebird brick. Are there any good alternatives?
 
I'd expect the nVidia 1050 and perhaps even the 1060 to be very, very exciting in this case.
 
I'm looking to get this case! For what it's worth - I powered a x99 system, gtx 970, 5 fans, aquaero, and d5 pump using a Hdplex 250 and voodoo power brick with no issues at all.
 
Just pulled the trigger on a HDPlex 250. This case looks awesome, but the price seems a bit steep. 99$ and I would have ordered it instantly. ;)
 
Sorry, just reread my post. Don't mean to put more pressure on you for custom colors, lol.
 
Nano having 175W and PEG 8PIN giving it up to 225W of rated constant average power draw capability still spiked way over that 225W didn't it?

RX 480 can still go over those 150W in spikes but maybe not so much as nano did.

The Nano surprised me with the Fury X being much more stabe in its power consumption. I eventually did get my Nano to behave, but from the factory I think they did an inadequate job for the average end-user. :|

When are the ribbon cables coming back in stock?

They are back in stock. Sorry for the wait!

Just pulled the trigger on a HDPlex 250. This case looks awesome, but the price seems a bit steep. 99$ and I would have ordered it instantly. ;)

Yeah it is brutally expensive. $99 would get me the front bezel finished. Lots of metal in the Mini!

Sorry, just reread my post. Don't mean to put more pressure on you for custom colors, lol.

I loved the Chaos Tangerine but it was insanely hard and expensive to do. Two-stage with a very high bad bake rate for the clear. We had to do 5 sets to get one good set, and the powder was expensive as well.
 
NFC, how did you get the Nano to cooperate?

Power controls, CPU running at 35w, and the Voodoo 350. Then I force-enabled AA at 8X running at 2560x1440. I found it would only crash due to over peaking if 8X AA wasn't enabled. This wasn't perfect as you can't force enable 8x for all games without weird graphics errors, but it worked for what I was playing at the time.

All in all, the R9 Nano was a major letdown for me for DC-DC power...luckily it is almost irrelevant with this generation of GPUs.

Peace.
 
I almost have the money for another run. I have to work the day job and save up xD

If everything goes well I should have more in November. Before then I have two small batches (20 units each) coming in one after the other.
 
I almost have the money for another run. I have to work the day job and save up xD

If everything goes well I should have more in November. Before then I have two small batches (20 units each) coming in one after the other.

Any modifications coming with newer batches? Like a new revision ala NCASE?
 
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What are your plans for the color options on the new batches? Will they differ from the first run?
 
Sorry for the late replies...I have been VERY busy. :(

Any modifications coming with newer batches? Like a new revision ala NCASE?

Yes, mostly QOL changes for me regarding HDPLEX integration. The HDPLEX 250 was an evolving product but Larry has been amazing in working with me so I can lock down some changes. No more HDPLEX specific mods.

I am toying with the idea of adding a kensington lock slot as I was asked to by several military members, and I added some extra holes on the "bottom" face for screwing in feet, but I think I am dropping that as I like the magnet idea better after playing with it. These are just concepts for now...


Will this GPU work? EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti Superclocked 2Gb
https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00IDG3IDO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Why don't you take a loan for the new batches? If you have the orders, it's easy to get approval and currently loans are cheap. You'll lose a lot more money by not being able to sell anything.

What about a Quadro M2000? I might make a mini workstation with a Xeon.

Both those cards work flawlessly. The S4 Mini supports ALL normal width GPUs under 8". I would personally look into a 1060 Mini, but that is just my opinion!

As for taking a loan, I don't lose ANY money if I don't make any chassis. Taking a loan is an impossibility as the cost of the money far exceeds any profit margin I have on the chassis. This would only make sense at a run of 2000 units...where my price break is a 15 dollar delta from 100 units. Yeah. The S4 Mini just does things the expensive way, but I like the way it looks.


What are your plans for the color options on the new batches? Will they differ from the first run?

Yes, I will be switching over to hard anodizing with black, brushed panels. I still want to do powdercoating at an additional option, but I need to be able to go back to doing that in house so I can deliver in a timely fashion. I plan to release pictures soon along with a pre-order form.


Is the white version the same price? I'm eagerly awaiting the next batch.

No, the Glacier White was a premium option (sorry!) It was a pretty neat color, but it is all sold out.


And to ALL of you...THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND SUPPORT!!!!!! It really means so much to me you guys have no idea!!! <3
 
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Thanks for putting in all the work so far!
What are the chances of a clear anodized silver, like the Ncase/ A4 happening? : )

I think the lock hole and foot threading are good additions, unless they add too much additional cost or something.
I'd definitely do the kensington lock, it's be good for LANs too!
 
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I mean if a clear anodize is popular enough I'd do it...it is way easier than the ultra black dye process I have now. I have a triple dip and boil seal right now for a pitch black finish--usually they just dip once and if they boil it would be a big extra, but this gives off a weak black that almost looks purple.

The problem is if I only do a small amount of clear it would be much more expensive. Now is the time for feedback!!!!

Thanks :D
 
Well, put down one for interested!
I used to always get black cases before my Ncase, now I'm addicted to the silver-y aluminum color. :)
 
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