VIM3 Board and Case Suggestions

Hi there. I’m generally really having a great experience with the VIM3. I just received the VIM3 case, and love it.

I have a few suggestions.

  1. In your next iteration of the the VIM, please ensure that the ports on the back are not so close together, especially the HDMI and USB-C ports. I have found it difficult to find a combination that will fit together.

  2. The case wall is unnecessarily thick and the only USB-C plug that will fit with any of my HDMI cables is not long enough to seat fully into the jack making power connection rather tenuous. I have had to shave down the plastic before my USB cable would click securely into place. It looks hella janky, but hey, I’m a software guy.

  3. The case engineer does not seem to have taken the fan into account. The fan is slightly wider than the heat sink, and makes closing the top quite a challenge.

  4. A few extra screws. They are small, black, bouncy, and very easy to loose.

  5. Include the recommended power supply, even if it means charging a higher price. I’ve found the VIM3 to be exceedingly particular about its source of power. The only power supply I have found to work reliably is an 87W Apple USB-C power brick. (Ironically, the brick is bigger and heavier than the SBC, case included.) Nothing else I’ve tried has worked. Not even a newer 140W Apple USB-C power brick.

  6. Support for more video modes? I’m not sure if this is a hardware issue, but the VIM3 does not seem to recognize my monitor which has a 21:9 aspect ratio forcing me to use either cropped or stretched mode. It would be nice to have native support for more resolutions.

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Yes, that is an issue. The amazon choice USB c to USB a cable has a small housing. I did find some HDMI cable that has small connectors they are available just have to look. Not too easy to find.

For the power GSM12U05-USB its made by Mean Well. So far that one has good enough regulation for the VIM3 with an NVMe drive on the bottom side. Its medical spec device with lower ripple and very low leakage current. Its 2.4 A at 5 VDC.

Also use caution with the USB c cable, so many of them are cheap junk. Some just use the small data wires for the power. Too much voltage drop with the small wires, the good cables will spec the max current at 5 amps. A good cable will have a large diameter power conductor.

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Can’t agree more

Also please stop using that weird triangle screw head!