DAN A4-SFX: The smallest gaming case in the world

elgardo said:
What about type-C?
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I got tried of waiting and modified my own USB-C in while I wait for the official accessory.
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Alright guys, which 1080 ti FTW should i get? the green one or white one? im going for a white/green powder coat build.

Edit: to be more specific, should i go for all white with green LED, or White case, Green components, and white LEDs illuminating?
 
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dondan said:
A4-SFX v2 preview


Today I got two samples of the A4-SFX v2 and some window kit samples. So I spend the day to do many tests. I installed the Asetek 92mm AIO (545LC), did temperature tests with the window kits and I tested the new 92mm FAN mount point.


Carton

Let us start with a preview of the new cartons. I love the carton of the window kit, it is thin and has a good quality.

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Asetek 92mm AIO (545LC)

At first I have to say the installation of the AIO is very hard and it took over an hour to find the perfect routing for the cables. It’s worth the trouble! At first I removed the two Lian Li push clips because the radiator is thicker than 92mm. Furthermore I removed the front USB port, because it will not fit without modding it. And I had to remove the plastic shield because I don’t want to cut it to fit. So you need a GPU with a backplate for this mod. After removing nearly everything XD I installed the radiator without the fan, because you will have more space to plug-in the PSU wires. You are restricted to a normal SFX PSU. After an hour of routing wires I installed the fan and the other components.

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Here are the temperature results. I was able to clock my 6 core i7 to 4Ghz with good temperatures in Prime95. The noise level is very low in comparison to the Dynatron T318.


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Window Kit test and case FAN test

I am very happy with the new windows kits and I tend towards the DAN cutout version because it looks more elegant. But it will be your decision I will start a survey/poll in the next two hours, that will end on Tuesday. Here are some pictures of the new panels:


DAN Cutout:

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Slot Cutout:

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If you remember my last test of the first window kit you know that I had to add the cutouts for better temps. After the last hours I can say the temps are better but not on the same level with the default panels. I also made all tests with a case fan on the new mount point. I used a Noctua A9x14 fan. I am very impressed about the results with the case fan. So I recommend a 92mm case fan for the window kit if you plan to install a CPU with a TDP > 65W. Also with default panels installed you will have better temps with a case fan installed. I will add a test with case fan in blow out mode later.

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Some words:

I really like the new rubber feets the case has so much more grip. No slide on smooth surfaces while pushing the power button. Also the cover for the GPU mounting hole looks very great. I also love the stamped-in motherboard stand-offs because they stay in position forever while unscrewing the motherboard.



Thank you for reading.

With best regards

Daniel
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Note that the Astek will give owners of the Strix board issues due to the location of the ram. (Side where the hoses will cross over)

If you look at Dan's X99 board, the ram is located at the bottom of the board.

I personally had issues because the hoses were not long enough to make the loop across the bottom of the ram and back to the socket.

Will break it out and try once again this weekend. (with photos)
 
David A4 said:
Alright guys, which 1080 ti FTW should i get? the green one or white one? im going for a white/green powder coat build.

Edit: to be more specific, should i go for all white with green LED, or White case, Green components, and white LEDs illuminating?
Click to expand...

Green components, for sure. Getting the exact right shade of green is really finicky, and is much less suave. If you're going as far as powder coating the case, you want it to look somewhat refined.
 
Got some temps to tell you guys about. Got home and ambient was about 19-20C, FTW3 idled at 36C. I set my fan curves to that the fans never spin up more than 50%. After running a full benchmark of Unigine Heaven, max temp reached was about 75-76C. I used EVGA Precision XOC with a power target of 127%, temperature target of 80C, +25MHz on GPU clock, and +400MHz on MEM clock.
 
krcm0209 said:
Got some temps to tell you guys about. Got home and ambient was about 19-20C, FTW3 idled at 36C. I set my fan curves to that the fans never spin up more than 50%. After running a full benchmark of Unigine Heaven, max temp reached was about 75-76C. I used EVGA Precision XOC with a power target of 127%, temperature target of 80C, +25MHz on GPU clock, and +400MHz on MEM clock.
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How about fan noise?
 
Man am I glad I was patient enough to wait for the FTW3. Still waiting for mine to ship though. Knowing it fits, its pretty much the ultimate 1080Ti for the Dan A4
 
MikeTheTiger said:
When the Kickstarter goes up again, are there any changes to the case for the "v2"?
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1. Rubber feets instead of metal feets for better grip with the same look
2. 92mm case fan mount point if you not use the hdd bay ( will also support Asetek 92mm AIO)
3. A cover plate for the GPU mounting hole
4. Better centered USB front port
5. Stamp-in motherboard stand-off instead of screwed ones
 
David A4 said:
With the FTW3, are we running the limits on sf600w?
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I'm running a 1080ti with a 4790k at stock with a 450w. No issues so far but I am sure its probably shortening the lifespan of the PSU pushing it that hard.
 
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drklu said:
I'm running a 1080ti with a 4790k at stock with a 450w. No issues so far but I am sure its probably shortening the lifespan of the PSU pushing it that hard.
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I was getting worried because the FTW3 consumes 20w more, and I already maxed hard drive capacity and LEDs.
 
David A4 said:
I was getting worried because the FTW3 consumes 20w more, and I already maxed hard drive capacity and LEDs.
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For Top tier gpu builds, at least 500w for longevity to me and that is without overclocking or overclocking perhaps the cpu to near stock voltage at base speeds. Unfortunately since there are no quality 500-550w SFX units (Enermax is just okay), we are stuck with SF600. I am not quite a fan of 600w SFX psus since to have that much power in a small package needs pretty good cooling, so I do not know how long that unit will last in a real world case. I really want a Superflower-based SFX psu or a psu with near the performance of the Corsair SF series but with better/more flexible stock cables.
 
CknSalad said:
For Top tier gpu builds, at least 500w for longevity to me and that is without overclocking or overclocking perhaps the cpu to near stock voltage at base speeds. Unfortunately since there are no quality 500-550w SFX units (Enermax is just okay), we are stuck with SF600. I am not quite a fan of 600w SFX psus since to have that much power in a small package needs pretty good cooling, so I do not know how long that unit will last in a real world case. I really want a Superflower-based SFX psu or a psu with near the performance of the Corsair SF series but with better/more flexible stock cables.
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FSP's new SFX PSUs look pretty promising, though it's a shame they only have an 80mm fan. Just waiting on Jonnyguru to publish a review.
 
darksable said:
FSP's new SFX PSUs look pretty promising, though it's a shame they only have an 80mm fan. Just waiting on Jonnyguru to publish a review.
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Yeah same here. would be nice to see eVGA come out with an SFX psu as their psus as of late have been quality.
 
CknSalad said:
Yeah same here. would be nice to see eVGA come out with an SFX psu as their psus as of late have been quality.
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I had an EVGA G2 Supernova in my last build and it was probably the nicest PSU I have owned, I would love to see them make a SFX.
 
Now that I know the FTW3 fits, and the A4 v2 and Ghost S1 won't be available for some time, is it still possible to get an A4 v1 somehow?
 
How are you guys obtaining the fan clips for the Noctua fan and LP53?

I purchased a Noctua Fan / NH-L9i kit to use the Fan and clips on the LP53. However, the fan is screwed into the heatsink and not attached with the needed clips.
 
dondan said:
1. Rubber feets instead of metal feets for better grip with the same look
2. 92mm case fan mount point if you not use the hdd bay ( will also support Asetek 92mm AIO)
3. A cover plate for the GPU mounting hole
4. Better centered USB front port
5. Stamp-in motherboard stand-off instead of screwed ones
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
krcm0209 said:
The FTW3 fits. :)
You have to unscrew the PCI slot and fold it out of the way and get the card in first, then push the PCI slot onto the card and screw it back in.
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Sorry for the crappy photo, will take some better ones later if requested.
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Thanks for the confirmation, ordered mine once I seen your post... will be here this week :)
 
Now, please excuse me if this has been asked before or something like this was provided earlier in this... 279 page thread. But I was wanting to mock-up a watercooling setup for my A4-SFX but when asking Dan if he could provide measurements or a blueprint of the case he advised that he couldn't. Has anyone else mocked this case up in Sketchup or another modeling/CAD program so I can see what fits best for what I want to do?
 
maven1975 said:
How are you guys obtaining the fan clips for the Noctua fan and LP53?

I purchased a Noctua Fan / NH-L9i kit to use the Fan and clips on the LP53. However, the fan is screwed into the heatsink and not attached with the needed clips.
Click to expand...

I used rubber bands for one end and the small zip ties that came with the corsair SFX PSU for the other. Fairly easy install.
 
maven1975 said:
Note that the Astek will give owners of the Strix board issues due to the location of the ram. (Side where the hoses will cross over)

If you look at Dan's X99 board, the ram is located at the bottom of the board.

I personally had issues because the hoses were not long enough to make the loop across the bottom of the ram and back to the socket.

Will break it out and try once again this weekend. (with photos)
Click to expand...

Please do, since i presume all 115x boards which have the ram near the psu are affected. (?)
Thanks.
 
Dan, have you given any thought to ventilating the top of the A4 and leaving mounting points and grommets so those that are willing to make the case a little taller can mount 240 rads (maybe call it the B4)?
 
D-Wiz said:
Dan, have you given any thought to ventilating the top of the A4 and leaving mounting points and grommets so those that are willing to make the case a little taller can mount 240 rads (maybe call it the B4)?
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That would be a new case entirely, i dont think that is gna happen with his focus on that heatsink.
 
So, I found some reviews for the FSP Dagger 600w:

Kitguru
Tom's Hardware

Seems that the 3.3V rails are poor, while efficiency could be better. Looks like we are stuck with the Corsair SF600 for now.
 
Jann5s said:
Those looking for power supplies, enermax recently released two new SFX PSUs, a 550W and a 650W, see for instance here:
https://smallformfactor.net/reviews/powersupplies/enermax-revolution-sfx-550w-review
Don't know if they are any good (they probably are), just a new player in the SFX market to add to the list.
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They are decent, but Corsair SF series is just better than it in pretty much every regard while being maybe $10 or so more expensive. We need eVGA to enter in the SFX psu market.
 
CknSalad said:
They are decent, but Corsair SF series is just better than it in pretty much every regard while being maybe $10 or so more expensive. We need eVGA to enter in the SFX psu market.
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We need some reputable PSU makers entering the SFX market under their own banner. Seasonic, Super Flower etc.
 
Sorry if this has been answered before, but I can't really find a definite answer so far, but what is currently the best way to get a hold of this case? Expected availability on Overclockers.co.uk has been shifted to mid-December while Caseking.de says "unknown", so I assume participating in the V2 Kickstarter is the fastest option? Or might there still be a small batch of V1 cases to be sold in the near future?

I'm love reading the experiences in this thread so far and getting more and more jealous with every picture posted.
 
mathijs159 said:
We need some reputable PSU makers entering the SFX market under their own banner. Seasonic, Super Flower etc.
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I used to like Seasonic, but it seems that they can be pretty hit or miss. A friend of mine had the old Seasonic Platinum psu and it died on him in just a month. Super Flower is the king of PSUs now imo, but Seasonic-based psus should fare just fine.
 
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