Streacom DB4 Fanless Aluminum Chassis Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
Staff member
Joined
May 18, 1997
Messages
55,634
Streacom DB4 Fanless Aluminum Chassis Review - This case review is for all of you mini-ITX system builders out there that may be looking for something a bit different than the normal case....that looks like a computer case. The Streacom DB4 fanless chassis may be exactly the HTPC case that will grace your living room....with grace
 
Looks nice, I do wonder about drive temps if you want to (like me) have your htpc double as a nas with a bunch of spinners in there.
 
I was surprised you managed to get a GTX 960 in there. I would have liked to see a 1050 Ti tested. I think I read somewhere on Streacom's site that they do heatpipe adapters so that low-power GPUs can be completely fanless (is that what you mention on the last page?)

UK and EU readers may like to know that the DB4 is available on Overclockers UK. The price is eye-watering.
 
Last edited:
Quartz-1 said:
I was surprised you managed to get a GTX 960 in there. I would have liked to see a 1050 Ti tested.
Click to expand...

The PNY GTX 960 is short enough to easily fit in this chassis. I didn't have a 1050 Ti on hand or I would have preferred to use it since it doesn't have a 6-pin power connector. As far as heatpipe adapters, I know they have one for added CPU cooling but I didn't see one for GPUs (but it would be totally doable in this chassis)
 
I think I'll have to pick one of these up. Right after I win the lottery.
 
After checking out the review, my main question is: Exactly how many Geisha doll statues does Steve have?

I'm going to guess 13.
 
Sweet case design. Only wish it could use SFX power supplies instead of the proprietary one.
 
Surprised to see this review here and not at one of the other sites I read.

I also have the Corsair 250D. It's going to be my first mITX computer, if the motherboard manufacturers make something worth buying.
 
This looks damned sharp.

I don't do small form factor anymore (Iv'e been burned by wanting to expand and not being able to too many times) but if I did, I'd be taking a serious look at this.
 
I didn't see it mentioned. I'm assuming the CPU was running stock speeds (with Turbo enabled) since you mentioned the 84w stock TDP of the CPU?

I really like this case.
 
I really don't know about the decision to put the motherboard's ports side down, making it harder to plug in ANYTHING without having to lift up the case every time. Should have reserved one side face to be the back of the machine.
 
rat said:
I really don't know about the decision to put the motherboard's ports side down, making it harder to plug in ANYTHING without having to lift up the case every time. Should have reserved one side face to be the back of the machine.
Click to expand...

I disagree. The underside is the best place. 99.99% of the time the thing is just going to sit there. This isn't a PC for those who chop and change.
 
This case may be worth looking at more seriously once Nvidia's 11xx series of GPUs is launched. The GTX 1050 Ti is good enough for 1080p gaming but the 1060 is better except it exceeds the TDP limit of the case. I expect that the 1150 Ti will have the performance of the 1060 but the TDP of the 1050 Ti.
 
Well, this review reminded me of Streacom's existence, and after some research, I just ordered another case of theirs, the FC5WS EVO as a new fanless case for my main HTPC.
 
What happened to the video exhibiting sound levels during operation? Something go wrong?
 
"What the heck is that on your desk??"

"A miniature nuclear reactor. Put your hand here - it works!"

"..."
 
Quartz-1 said:
I was surprised you managed to get a GTX 960 in there. I would have liked to see a 1050 Ti tested. I think I read somewhere on Streacom's site that they do heatpipe adapters so that low-power GPUs can be completely fanless (is that what you mention on the last page?)

UK and EU readers may like to know that the DB4 is available on Overclockers UK. The price is eye-watering.
Click to expand...

Cut that price in half and I'll consider it.

Looks impossible to cram a full sized PSU, though. I like the insides
 
dgz said:
Cut that price in half and I'll consider it.

Looks impossible to cram a full sized PSU, though. I like the insides
Click to expand...

You have to buy the specially-sized PSU. The price for that is, you guessed it, eye-watering. Or you could buy an external PSU.
 
Streacom is pretty expensive, but the attention to detail is amazing. Here is a detailed overview of one of their other cases:


The DB4 needs some kind of mod to make use of the heatsinks for GPU cooling.

All 4 sides of the DB4 are identical. Each side = ~65W of cooling potential. If you could rig up heatpipes to two sides for GPU cooling, it could handle a GTX 1060.
 
Snowdog said:
All 4 sides of the DB4 are identical. Each side = ~65W of cooling potential. If you could rig up heatpipes to two sides for GPU cooling, it could handle a GTX 1060.
Click to expand...

When I was researching my FC5 EVO, I saw someone in another forum who posted about doing this with theirs. He used a 960, I believe. It worked MOST of the times, I think he said there where some applications in which it got uncomfortably hot.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Well, this review reminded me of Streacom's existence, and after some research, I just ordered another case of theirs, the FC5WS EVO as a new fanless case for my main HTPC.
Click to expand...

So, this is a different case, I know, but I have to say, I am pretty damned impressed with it.

The install was a pain in the ass. Getting all the heat-pipes into place required having about 8 hands, but once done, the case looks nice in my entertainment stand, and it is eerily awesome to press the power button and have it come to life without any noise indication at all.

Everything about the FC5WS EVO screams quality (except the heatpipe install process). The material has a very premium solid feel, the black coating is fantastic, the power button has a very satisfying tactile feel, and the little blue power LED on the front is - unlike many other cases I've used - dimmed down to the point where it doesn't bother me when watching movies.

I love this case for my HTCP (but at $250, I should I guess, huh?) and I imagine its big brother reviewed here is every bit as awesome.

streacom.jpg


(Note to self: Cleaning with paper towel and Isopropyl alcohol leaves white streaks on front of textured case)
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
When I was researching my FC5 EVO, I saw someone in another forum who posted about doing this with theirs. He used a 960, I believe. It worked MOST of the times, I think he said there where some applications in which it got uncomfortably hot.
Click to expand...

On a DB4, using 2 sides for GPU? I'd like to see how that was pulled off.

On thing you could do is aim a desk fan at it during serious gaming, that should provide a significant boost in cooling potential.
 
Snowdog said:
On a DB4, using 2 sides for GPU? I'd like to see how that was pulled off.

On thing you could do is aim a desk fan at it during serious gaming, that should provide a significant boost in cooling potential.
Click to expand...

Yes, GPU connected to the left side of the case, no, it was an FC5 not a DB4 (similar concept though), and I was wrong, it was a 660ti not a 960.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Yes, GPU connected to the left side of the case, no, it was an FC5 not a DB4 (similar concept though), and I was wrong, it was a 660ti not a 960.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was suggesting using 2x65W DB4 sides together to cool a 1060. So ~120 W of cooling available for GPU cooling, which is comparable to the TDP of a 1060 IIRC.

Though it is kind of a huge PITA to do that. Too much work for me.

An APU in a FC8 case with it's bigger (than FC5) heatsink might work out pretty good, and is more what I have been thinking about doing.

A new AMD Zen/Vega APU could be really big step up for APUs. I am more excited to see new APUs than 8 core desktops Zens.
 
i made a case with cables that went down similar to this one. i would have like to have seen the cables for mouse , keyboard etc as that is where the look would be not as pretty. also the video card if its fan will blowing downward against the table not as effective as going up. a very nice case until you add the cables outside it.
 
I can't find a write up to go with it. I would love to know more about it in operation as well.

Streacom Specs the expansion to two sides together at 110W load cooling.

I think both the GPU and CPU will probably pull more than that fully loaded, but in typical gaming it will probably scrape under the limit. Maybe point a fan at it if you are going to do some serious encoding.
 
This is the only review using more than 1 panel I am aware of. It does not manage to cool a 88W cpu properly. My own experience is similar.

Besides putting too much total tdp in the case the above build is never going to work because a RX570 is going to shut itself down as soon as you put some load on it because it can never run without proper vrm cooling. A few heatsinks on the vrm's in a hot box will just not work, been there done that.

Found his posts, looks like cpu is working okish, don't know how good the aida stress test is. His temp were 92 after 30 mins but still rising.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top