CubanLegend

Preface: I'm sharing my build log from the SFF Forums, here on the LTT forums, welcomeing any feedback, suggestions, & constructive criticisms to better my build.
 
So I got my S4 Mini April 22nd, 2017, It's #193! The build is Code-named "Ant-Man" by Josh from NFC himself.
Here's an early pic of the build sent to me by Josh (check out the custom Frosted Acrylic Front Bezel), click it to see Josh's imgur of my S4-mini/1080mini:

 
---------------------------------------------
Build Intro, Goals & Challenges
---------------------------------------------
Build Intro: I've had the same Gaming PC based on an ASUS Crosshair Mobo from 2006, & an aging CPU/GPU, this Full-ATX PC lasted me 10 years, but no longer runs modern games at 1080p60fps or even 30fps. So, I recently came into some money & decided I was due for an upgrade... to an i7-7700k and a GTX 1080!!, but then, I watched a video by "Tek Everything" where I discovered Josh's "NFC S4 Mini Chassis", and I fell in love, and it became the catalyst for making a 7700k and a GTX 1080 mini fit into my SFF build idea.
 
Goal/Use of my build: On top of using this PC at home and taking it to friend's houses for game/movie nights. I also take this build to work everyday and game during my lunch breaks, so I required: A no-compromise PORTABLE 4K gaming/4K media PC (w/ 4K UHD Bluray drive support). I wanted this build to use "the fastest performing parts, be quiet, be portable, and be wrapped in luxury" to paraphrase Josh's description of this build. I use this build for all my 1080p gaming on my Optoma GT1080 projector (most games I supersample to 4K using Nvidias DSR), (and for 4K gaming on my 4K tv) while I wait for 4K projectors to become more affordable. I also plan to hook up an external UHD/4K Bluray player once they're available, to enjoy my 4K Bluray Collection on from my PC on my 4K TV once I can rip my 4K UHD Blurays to take them along with me & this PC!
 
Challenges: At first, NO GTX 1080 could fit inside the S4 mini until the ZOTAC 1080 mini was released, but even then no one had tried to fit it into the S4 mini yet (with the front panel in place)... So I volunteered & sent Josh my 1080mini so he could test fit & mod it to fit into my S4 mini. He ended up having to shave a bit off the card's plastic shroud and he cut me a custom Acrylic Front Bezel (2D/non-wrap around) that he frosted beautifully for extra GPU fan clearance, so that we wouldn't have to mod the stock fans/heatsink on the 1080 mini. AND IT WORKED!

So although my 1080mini was modded to fit inside the S4-mini with a custom 5mm Acrylic Bezel: Going forward, all future S4 Mini customers (batch #3 and forward) will be able to purchase an alternate 7mm Front Bezel from Josh's S4 Mini site/shop page... that will allow fitment of the ZOTAC 1080 mini in the S4 Mini without ANY modding of the GPU.

---------------------------------------------------------
PCPartPicker part list & Price Breakdown
---------------------------------------------------------
Total: $2749.37 (ouch) I intended to max my costs at $2300, lol
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-06 20:32 EST-0500

-----------
MEDIA:
-----------
Below are Josh's Twitter 1080mini video preview of my 1080 mini that I sent him to mod/review , and his youtube'd S4 Mini & 1080mini Fitment Project video for my build, & his imgur photo album of his project to fit my 1080mini into the NFC S4 mini chassis

------------------------------------------------------
Build Thread - TABLE OF CONTENTS
------------------------------------------------------
STAGE1: Pre-S4-Mini "Open Test-Bench Testing": 
Pre-S4-Mini Open Test-Bench Testing (in post #3) HDPLEX-300 & ZOTAC-1080-Mini Modding (in post #4)  
STAGE2: S4-Mini Chassis "Build/Fitment" Progress, Final Pics:
[PART 1] "Building the S4-Mini" (in post #5) [PART 2] "S4-Mini Build Fitment" (in post #6) Final S4-Mini Build Pics (in post #7)  
STAGE3: Pre&Post CPU Delid Temp Testing
CPU Temp Testing [Pre-Delid, PART1] (Noctua Nf-B9 & Zalman CNPS2X) (in post #8) CPU Temp Testing [Pre-Delid, PART2] (Thermolabs/Cooltech LP53 vs NH-L9i) (in post #9) CPU Temp Testing [Post-Delid] (Termolabs/Cooltech LP53 vs Delidded Temps) (in post #10) -------------------------------
Performance RESULTS
-------------------------------
Temps:(CPU Cooling used: Themolab LP53 & NF-A9-14xPWM)
CPU: 4.5GHz, 35/36c idle, 70-78c +/- while gaming GPU: +200 Core (~2080MHz w/GPUBoost3) & +1GHZ Memory (11GHz effective) 120% power target, 35c idle, max 72c gaming  Benchmarks Setup:
i7-7700k stock we/Turboboost @ 4.5GHz & XMP 2x8GB DDR4-4000Mhz ZOTAC 1080mini (if OC'ed: 120% power target, +200MHz Core & 11GBps Memory) average 2080Mhz Core w/GPUboost3) 3DMark Timespy Scores:
6,733 - Stock CPU & Stock GPU 7,420 - Stock CPU & OC'ed GPU 3DMark Firestrike Scores:
17,605 - Stock CPU & Stock GPU 19,098 - Stock CPU & OC'ed GPU
  ---------------------
Conclusion:
---------------------
All in all, all the parts and accessories I ended up buying & the price premiums I paid on a few parts for buying them early-on, added up to a little bit more than I expected to pay originally (originally aimed at $2300 total using a GTX1070)... but for a build that I plan to keep for 10 years... Let's hope it's enough with a 1080!
 
Thank you!: Thank you, to the LTT Community for any feedback you give me. And thanks to everyone in the S4 Mini thread over on the SFF forums, for helping me with finding custom parts and gathering ideas for this build. Thank you to Josh of NFC, for his infinite creativity, hard work, dedication, and skills with building and modding custom SFF Computer Cases that double as works of art in my book! Josh's communication during the process of this custom build was very quick and he was very upfront and thorough regarding all aspects of my build throughout the entire process, he was a pleasure to deal with in answering all my questions while offering practical options & solutions.  

A GTX 1080 Mini in something smaller than a shoebox?
This chassis and build is amazing.   The Genie says it best ...   
 

The NFC S4 Mini is the most compact case we've seen yet. But what happens when we mod it with a GTX 1080?
 
 
Buy the Core i7 7700T on Amazon: http://geni.us/kdU7X
Buy the Core i7 7700K on Amazon: http://geni.us/pmAJc8l
Buy the MSI GTX 1060 OCV1 on Amazon: http://geni.us/7bQrt
Buy the Zotac GTX 1080 Mini on Amazon: http://geni.us/Wpfk
Buy the Noctua NH-L9i on Amazon: http://geni.us/kkJq
Buy the Corsair Force MP500 on Amazon: http://geni.us/KvUQfoj
Buy Corsair Vengeance LPX on Amazon: http://geni.us/vpCam
Buy the Dell ADP-330AB on Amazon: http://geni.us/yLakJo
 
Buy the Core i7 7700T on Newegg: http://geni.us/oHb7sag
Buy the Core i7 7700K on Newegg: http://geni.us/1sJxsMH
Buy the MSI GTX 1060 OCV1 on Newegg: http://geni.us/Bmwha
Buy the Zotac GTX 1080 Mini on Newegg: http://geni.us/CoAEaMj
Buy the Noctua NH-L9i on Newegg: http://geni.us/TBX1f
Buy the Corsair Force MP500 on Newegg: http://geni.us/p3GA5Ao
Buy Corsair Vengeance LPX on Newegg: http://geni.us/SWCD8

I'm the proud owner of an S4 (I got #14 of the first batch he began sell in the OG Black wrinkle powder coat). It's a great case and I'm glad it's getting mainstream coverage. 

Yup, I think we were in contact with Josh about that before it was made available, but I can't be 100% sure since I'm not sure when he introduced it. Either way, we liked our silver brushed aluminum bezel too much to give it up!
 
We certainly appreciated the attentiveness he provided to us! The side panel was epic, as was the tale of its delivery.
 
Actually, it didn't throttle even with AIDA - 4.2 - 4.3 all day. I do wish I'd noticed that before filming, though - Could have maybe had a higher turbo under synthetic load.
 
As built, it'll probably be stripped down, but pretty much everybody loves it. I'm sure SOMEBODY would insist on building a workstation in the S4 Mini... Maybe with RGB Trident RAM?

Final Pics: Final S4-Mini Build Pics
So after it was all said and done and I was able to cram everything I wanted into a tiny 4.4L S4-Mini Chassis... I present to you, S4-Mini #193! Codenamed, "Ant-Man"!
 
Remember that the RGB on the ASUS Motherboard can be controlled, tweaked and even turned OFF completely, great for movie nights when the LEDs can be a distraction.
 
My next post will be an alternate CPU HSF Temp Test [Pre-Delid, PART1] of the: Zalman CNPS2X w/ Scythe 12x120 & Rosewill 15x120mm vs Noctua NH-L9i w/ NF-a9x14PWM & NF-B9 Redux PWM...:)

Overall, I enjoyed the video. I feel like the script was a little sloppy though. For starters, you claim that the DAN-A4 is, "currently the world's smallest computer case" at 7.2L. Maybe you meant smallest case that can fit a full sized (~10") graphics card and internal power supply, which would eliminate options such as the NFC S4-mini; but you list the Sentry in your video at 6.9L. You also mention that the DAN-A4 can only be purchased when another crowdfunding campaign starts, but fail to mention that it's the same situation for the Sentry. I can tell that a lot of time has gone into testing all of these cases, and making the actual video which is why I think it bothers me so much when mistakes like this are made. Sorry if I'm being a little overly-critical.  
 
I'm really enjoying all of the SFF content we've been getting lately. Keep up the good work.

Awesome work put into this set of 8 cases. Great starter cases for any looking to join the SFF community.
Exactly how I feel regarding the "world's smallest computer case" line. My NFC S4 Mini is smaller than an OG Xbone and a PS4 as just 4.47L, portable as hell when I pop it and the power brick into my backpack to take to work each day. And I've got a 7700k/1080mini humming along almost dead silent in that thing. the 2x 2.5in drives are the loudest part of my system currently. And yes, I'm aware that the next Batch of NFC S4 Mini's arent going to be available until July, since Batch #3 just sold out last month.
 
And according to this SFF Case spreadsheet, there's plenty smaller cases to look at when it comes to SFF enthusiast or even HTPC computers cases, Maybe take a gander at it for any future SFF case review videos?  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dzRY3LLsXcDX5Qt5PvQOrAJhw0EK9Cy7UtQPdyRp6PY/edit
 
Personally though, this is a great starting point for large-format LTT SFF Case reviews, as I was going to go for an RVZ01 or ML08B before I discovered the S4 mini, so those cases aren't BAD per se... but there ARE smaller options out there if customers are looking to fit the top-end of gaming PC CPU/GPU, have them be quiet, stay cool and, be wrapped in a luxury SFF case, too.

I think the writer was just careless and saw the, "DAN Cases A4-SFX - The World's Smallest Gaming Tower Case" title for the A4 Kickstarter and didn't do any fact checking. I'm just surprised that no one caught that error though.

That's semi-accurate, I didn't catch that the Dr. Zaber Sentry was actually smaller - An error on my part. That being said, there's little else available that actually fits that description, though more to the point, the "pre-order" wording for the S4 Mini's page led me to believe it wasn't currently on the market. The CustomMOD cases are also such low volume that they can't really be said to actually be a product you can buy (19 MINI cases and 7 SLIM cases currently exist).
Stay tuned... 

Preface: I'm sharing my build log from the SFF Forums, here on the LTT forums, welcomeing any feedback, suggestions, & constructive criticisms to better my build.
 
So I got my S4 Mini April 22nd, 2017, It's #193! The build is Code-named "Ant-Man" by Josh from NFC himself.
Here's an early pic of the build sent to me by Josh (check out the custom Frosted Acrylic Front Bezel), click it to see Josh's imgur of my S4-mini/1080mini:

 
---------------------------------------------
Build Intro, Goals & Challenges
---------------------------------------------
Build Intro: I've had the same Gaming PC based on an ASUS Crosshair Mobo from 2006, & an aging CPU/GPU, this Full-ATX PC lasted me 10 years, but no longer runs modern games at 1080p60fps or even 30fps. So, I recently came into some money & decided I was due for an upgrade... to an i7-7700k and a GTX 1080!!, but then, I watched a video by "Tek Everything" where I discovered Josh's "NFC S4 Mini Chassis", and I fell in love, and it became the catalyst for making a 7700k and a GTX 1080 mini fit into my SFF build idea.
 
Goal/Use of my build: On top of using this PC at home and taking it to friend's houses for game/movie nights. I also take this build to work everyday and game during my lunch breaks, so I required: A no-compromise PORTABLE 4K gaming/4K media PC (w/ 4K UHD Bluray drive support). I wanted this build to use "the fastest performing parts, be quiet, be portable, and be wrapped in luxury" to paraphrase Josh's description of this build. I use this build for all my 1080p gaming on my Optoma GT1080 projector (most games I supersample to 4K using Nvidias DSR), (and for 4K gaming on my 4K tv) while I wait for 4K projectors to become more affordable. I also plan to hook up an external UHD/4K Bluray player once they're available, to enjoy my 4K Bluray Collection on from my PC on my 4K TV once I can rip my 4K UHD Blurays to take them along with me & this PC!
 
Challenges: At first, NO GTX 1080 could fit inside the S4 mini until the ZOTAC 1080 mini was released, but even then no one had tried to fit it into the S4 mini yet (with the front panel in place)... So I volunteered & sent Josh my 1080mini so he could test fit & mod it to fit into my S4 mini. He ended up having to shave a bit off the card's plastic shroud and he cut me a custom Acrylic Front Bezel (2D/non-wrap around) that he frosted beautifully for extra GPU fan clearance, so that we wouldn't have to mod the stock fans/heatsink on the 1080 mini. AND IT WORKED!

So although my 1080mini was modded to fit inside the S4-mini with a custom 5mm Acrylic Bezel: Going forward, all future S4 Mini customers (batch #3 and forward) will be able to purchase an alternate 7mm Front Bezel from Josh's S4 Mini site/shop page... that will allow fitment of the ZOTAC 1080 mini in the S4 Mini without ANY modding of the GPU.

---------------------------------------------------------
PCPartPicker part list & Price Breakdown
---------------------------------------------------------
Total: $2749.37 (ouch) I intended to max my costs at $2300, lol
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-06 20:32 EST-0500

-----------
MEDIA:
-----------
Below are Josh's Twitter 1080mini video preview of my 1080 mini that I sent him to mod/review , and his youtube'd S4 Mini & 1080mini Fitment Project video for my build, & his imgur photo album of his project to fit my 1080mini into the NFC S4 mini chassis

------------------------------------------------------
Build Thread - TABLE OF CONTENTS
------------------------------------------------------
STAGE1: Pre-S4-Mini "Open Test-Bench Testing": 
Pre-S4-Mini Open Test-Bench Testing (in post #3) HDPLEX-300 & ZOTAC-1080-Mini Modding (in post #4)  
STAGE2: S4-Mini Chassis "Build/Fitment" Progress, Final Pics:
[PART 1] "Building the S4-Mini" (in post #5) [PART 2] "S4-Mini Build Fitment" (in post #6) Final S4-Mini Build Pics (in post #7)  
STAGE3: Pre&Post CPU Delid Temp Testing
CPU Temp Testing [Pre-Delid, PART1] (Noctua Nf-B9 & Zalman CNPS2X) (in post #8) CPU Temp Testing [Pre-Delid, PART2] (Thermolabs/Cooltech LP53 vs NH-L9i) (in post #9) CPU Temp Testing [Post-Delid] (Termolabs/Cooltech LP53 vs Delidded Temps) (in post #10) -------------------------------
Performance RESULTS
-------------------------------
Temps:(CPU Cooling used: Themolab LP53 & NF-A9-14xPWM)
CPU: 4.5GHz, 35/36c idle, 70-78c +/- while gaming GPU: +200 Core (~2080MHz w/GPUBoost3) & +1GHZ Memory (11GHz effective) 120% power target, 35c idle, max 72c gaming  Benchmarks Setup:
i7-7700k stock we/Turboboost @ 4.5GHz & XMP 2x8GB DDR4-4000Mhz ZOTAC 1080mini (if OC'ed: 120% power target, +200MHz Core & 11GBps Memory) average 2080Mhz Core w/GPUboost3) 3DMark Timespy Scores:
6,733 - Stock CPU & Stock GPU 7,420 - Stock CPU & OC'ed GPU 3DMark Firestrike Scores:
17,605 - Stock CPU & Stock GPU 19,098 - Stock CPU & OC'ed GPU
  ---------------------
Conclusion:
---------------------
All in all, all the parts and accessories I ended up buying & the price premiums I paid on a few parts for buying them early-on, added up to a little bit more than I expected to pay originally (originally aimed at $2300 total using a GTX1070)... but for a build that I plan to keep for 10 years... Let's hope it's enough with a 1080!
 
Thank you!: Thank you, to the LTT Community for any feedback you give me. And thanks to everyone in the S4 Mini thread over on the SFF forums, for helping me with finding custom parts and gathering ideas for this build. Thank you to Josh of NFC, for his infinite creativity, hard work, dedication, and skills with building and modding custom SFF Computer Cases that double as works of art in my book! Josh's communication during the process of this custom build was very quick and he was very upfront and thorough regarding all aspects of my build throughout the entire process, he was a pleasure to deal with in answering all my questions while offering practical options & solutions.