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

Has anyone tested the Phantecs PH-TC12LS together with the NF-A12x15 PWM?


BTW:

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Great pc case. THX Dan! :) :) :)
 
It's not. Dan himself has tested it with another fan two years ago in a DAN A4 Prototype.
 
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You have only 11.5mm free space. The Scythe 100mm slim fan was a very close fit. So without modding the Noctua will not fit.
 
OK, I know most people go team blue and green, and I know most people bought the black case. But I can't be the only silver case owner who ordered a window kit that can't wait for the brushed aluminium Limited Edition RX Vega (assuming price/performance is reasonable):

AMD-Raden-RX-Vega-64-Limited-Edition_1-740x416.jpg
 
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Semose said:
OK, I know most people go team blue and green, and I know most people bought the black case. But I can't be the only silver case owner who ordered a window kit that can't wait for the brushed aluminium Limited Edition RX Vega (assuming price/performance is reasonable):

AMD-Raden-RX-Vega-64-Limited-Edition_1-740x416.jpg
Click to expand...

if you already have a free-sync monitor it's always going to make a lot of sense. Also, TVs with free-sync are due to arrive soon too, that will be very cool!
 
Semose said:
OK, I know most people go team blue and green, and I know most people bought the black case. But I can't be the only silver case owner who ordered a window kit that can't wait for the brushed aluminium Limited Edition RX Vega (assuming price/performance is reasonable):

AMD-Raden-RX-Vega-64-Limited-Edition_1-740x416.jpg
Click to expand...
I am afraid Vega is bad for SFF due to it's power consumption. Right now it looks like it'll compete with 1080, it's 295 Watt vs 180. The difference is huge for SFF build. If you want to go with Vega - you'd better wait for Vega Nano, I assume it'll be around 200 Watt
 
St1X said:
I am afraid Vega is bad for SFF due to it's power consumption. Right now it looks like it'll compete with 1080, it's 295 Watt vs 180. The difference is huge for SFF build. If you want to go with Vega - you'd better wait for Vega Nano, I assume it'll be around 200 Watt
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I fully agree power is an issue, however, it will be pulling the same as most aftermarket 1080ti, 980ti and fury X cards and I've seen plenty of those in the Dan A4.

It is certainly something to consider but as long as it is cooled well I don't see a major issue.
 
Semose said:
OK, I know most people go team blue and green, and I know most people bought the black case. But I can't be the only silver case owner who ordered a window kit that can't wait for the brushed aluminium Limited Edition RX Vega (assuming price/performance is reasonable):

AMD-Raden-RX-Vega-64-Limited-Edition_1-740x416.jpg
Click to expand...

I'd love one of these as well. The design is a match made in heaven for the silver case. Hopefully the power draw will be manageable. To my mind it should be, especially as this is a blower card, but other opinions are always welcome.
 
Lord Mortigon said:
I'd love one of these as well. The design is a match made in heaven for the silver case. Hopefully the power draw will be manageable. To my mind it should be, especially as this is a blower card, but other opinions are always welcome.
Click to expand...
The chip & architecture seem capable of ludicrous overclocks, or undervolting, depending on your priorities (based on FE reviews and promise of better power management as drivers catch up to this platform). I'd speculate (generally) a blower card is thermal rather than VRM limited, especially in this arch. All the deep dive / teardown power section reviews will come with benchies when the press embargo date arrives. Tough being patient, especially when you know the brushed aluminum ones are limited edition ...but most of us are waiting a while longer for the SFXv2 case regardless

Personally, I'd wait to buy a card until closer to the holidays. Partner cards and other options will be out by then, and drivers will be more than mature. Let this mining thing blow over or, become the new normal with chip production to match. With this minimalist design, easy enough to "oven cleaner mod" any color anodized aluminum to bare, then wire brush and rattle-can clear. TIM upgrade while the shroud is off. Worth an hour or two for the look you want, if a different cooler style hasn't tempted you by then
 
I would love to do an all AMD build for my Dan Case, but... i'm not too optimistic i'll be able to get my hands on a Vega card, let lone Polaris with the miners out there.
 
Btw I swapped the Noctua NF-A9x14 on my L9i for a "beQuiet! Silent Wings 2". Temps are admittedly a few degrees higher at full load but it runs much more quiet than the A9x14 - although it is just 1-2mm from the sidepanel.

In idle both are inaudible.

Maybe you wanna try ^^

IMG_20170801_141616.jpg
 
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If anyone in the US is interested in a v1 case PM me. I have one that I only opened to inspect for damage. After that it went back into a box to wait for a build that never came to fruition.
 
morgwon said:
If anyone in the US is interested in a v1 case PM me. I have one that I only opened to inspect for damage. After that it went back into a box to wait for a build that never came to fruition.
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Still available??
I can't PM you
 
I'll just leave these here...


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Gigabyte GA-AB350N
Ryzen 1800x
Corsair H110i (Only Corsair AIOs with swivel fittings on the block will work. Ones with the tubes coming straight out the top of the block will keep the side panel from fitting)
Corsair HD140 and 120 RGB fans
16gb Gskill 3200mhz 14ns
Corsair SF600
Samsung 960 EVO 512gb M.2

Soon to have 2tb Samsung EVO SATA, 1tb Samsung EVO SATA, and 5tb Seagate Barracude 2.5in HDD.

Soon to have Vega 64 Liquid Edition or possibly the Asus STRIX one.

Custom PSU cables from ModDIY should be coming Monday.

Fabricated little stabilizers to keep the 280mm rad standing upright.

Will be getting filters/grills for the exposed fans as well.
 
Hey guys.

I have been lurking this thread for a long time, while Asrock got their act together and finally released their X370 Fatal1ty Gaming/ITX motherboard, so i could build my Ryzen in this case.

Today the parts finally arrived and only thing i am missing is the Cryorig C7 AM4 bracket in the mail, but i was too excited and had to show you guys right away.

Asrock X370 Fatal1ty Gaming/ITX
Ryzen 1700
Gigabyte 1080TI
Corsair LPX 3200mhz Ram 16Gb
Corsair SF600 PSU

I can't really do any temps atm, because i cannot put on the sidepanel bc of the Wraith cooler, but i will get right to it, once the bracket arrives.

Check out pics below.
Y1XJmVB.jpg

UN897lZ.jpg
rUALT0R.jpg


Added an LED strip to the bottom after the first pictures:
M9k52bd.jpg

o0cXCd3.jpg
 
Pr0Pain said:
Hey guys.

I have been lurking this thread for a long time, while Asrock got their act together and finally released their X370 Fatal1ty Gaming/ITX motherboard, so i could build my Ryzen in this case.

Today the parts finally arrived and only thing i am missing is the Cryorig C7 AM4 bracket in the mail, but i was too excited and had to show you guys right away.

Asrock X370 Fatal1ty Gaming/ITX
Ryzen 1700
Gigabyte 1080TI
Corsair LPX 3200mhz Ram 16Gb
Corsair SF600 PSU

I can't really do any temps atm, because i cannot put on the sidepanel bc of the Wraith cooler, but i will get right to it, once the bracket arrives.

Check out pics below.
Y1XJmVB.jpg

UN897lZ.jpg
rUALT0R.jpg


Added an LED strip to the bottom after the first pictures:
M9k52bd.jpg

o0cXCd3.jpg
Click to expand...
Very nice, looking forward to your cooling results when you get the am4 bracket. Also, do you have your ram at 3200? I have the same ram but a different motherboard, you might want to check out my post here if you are having any bother...
 
Pr0Pain
If you want to close the case while you wait for the am4 bracket you can do so by just replacing the fan on the wraith cooler with the fan of the cryorig c7.
It should be easy and work.
 
richiegore said:
Very nice, looking forward to your cooling results when you get the am4 bracket. Also, do you have your ram at 3200? I have the same ram but a different motherboard, you might want to check out my post here if you are having any bother...
Click to expand...

Calysto said:
Pr0Pain
If you want to close the case while you wait for the am4 bracket you can do so by just replacing the fan on the wraith cooler with the fan of the cryorig c7.
It should be easy and work.
Click to expand...

Richiegore, i could not get mine to run 3200 via xmp, so i will give your tRC recommendation a shot. Would be cool if it worked.

Calysto, i already tried with the NF-A9x14 fan on there and it is still too tall. If i take the stock fan off, there is only 4mm clearance to the side panel.
 
Calysto said:
Pr0Pain
If you want to close the case while you wait for the am4 bracket you can do so by just replacing the fan on the wraith cooler with the fan of the cryorig c7.
It should be easy and work.
Click to expand...
I had to cut 11mm off it to use with a 14mm thick noctua fan. That allows for a 5mm gap to the case.. not worth it as it opens the vapour chamber in the cooler but it worked fine for a couple of months.
 
richiegore said:
I had to cut 11mm off it to use with a 14mm thick noctua fan. That allows for a 5mm gap to the case.. not worth it as it opens the vapour chamber in the cooler but it worked fine for a couple of months.
Click to expand...

The tRC setting worked ! Running 3200mhz now on 18-19-19-19-60 1.5v

Thank you VERY much for that tip.

Only now, i cannot clock over 3.7ghz on the cpu even with up to 1.4v, so back to the drawing board on that :p
 
Hey guys, which PSU are you using? I think my Corsair SF450 is too loud and I am looking for a solution that would help me to get rid of its noise.
 
Pr0Pain said:
SF600
Click to expand...

Hey Pr0Pain, that is such a beautiful build. I've followed this thread for a while without posting. I would like to ask you and any others who've had experience with the Dan A4-SFX case a question.

Are any of you using a CPU like the 7700k or similar in your Dan cases? Are you able to overclock it? If so, did you de-lid, and what are your recommended coolers?

I want to build a small, portable super music computer for live performance with .vst softsynths which benefit greatly from CPU speed to replace my current 2010 Macbook Pro which is comparably slow. A laptop is maybe the more logical choice for portability, but I can't get over how more econimal a mini-ITX build would be for an end result with the same specs.

My question: If I were to delid a 7700k or the upcoming 6-core 8700k and install it in a Dan A4-SFX, do any of you experienced builders think it would be possible to cool the CPU adequately in the Dan A4-SFX if the CPU is overclocked for maximum speed to drive the software synthesizers?

Thanks for your time.
 
MIDIBoss said:
Hey Pr0Pain, that is such a beautiful build. I've followed this thread for a while without posting. I would like to ask you and any others who've had experience with the Dan A4-SFX case a question.

Are any of you using a CPU like the 7700k or similar in your Dan cases? Are you able to overclock it? If so, did you de-lid, and what are your recommended coolers?

I want to build a small, portable super music computer for live performance with .vst softsynths which benefit greatly from CPU speed to replace my current 2010 Macbook Pro which is comparably slow. A laptop is maybe the more logical choice for portability, but I can't get over how more econimal a mini-ITX build would be for an end result with the same specs.

My question: If I were to delid a 7700k or the upcoming 6-core 8700k and install it in a Dan A4-SFX, do any of you experienced builders think it would be possible to cool the CPU adequately in the Dan A4-SFX if the CPU is overclocked for maximum speed to drive the software synthesizers?

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

The short answer is you will not be able to run the 7700K in the dan a4 without either delidding or underclocking/undervolting it
 
thed00d said:
is there something similar with ryzen CPUs already? I only saw one Ryzen on that list, but the values given there feel very strange to me (0,5V 3,2GHz and still running at about 80°C is quite hot imo)
Click to expand...

I'm afraid not. There is only 2-3 itx boards for ryzen and only 2 coolers fitting AM4. Also, if the ryzen in the list is an X variant, it has 20 degrees added on top of the real temp, to help with fan performance. Only the 1700 shows the correct temp and I get around 65 degrees with the stock cooler and no side panel.
 
Pr0Pain said:
I'm afraid not. There is only 2-3 itx boards for ryzen and only 2 coolers fitting AM4. Also, if the ryzen in the list is an X variant, it has 20 degrees added on top of the real temp, to help with fan performance. Only the 1700 shows the correct temp and I get around 65 degrees with the stock cooler and no side panel.
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ah right that 20° extra could explain it - I was wondering, as it is only listed as "R5 1600", rather than "1600X"

I just hoped to get a glimpse at how my upcoming System might perform in the V2 Case and was a bit shocked to see the 1600, undervolted, running at only 3,2GHz at 80°C ^^
 
Blackreplica said:
The short answer is you will not be able to run the 7700K in the dan a4 without either delidding or underclocking/undervolting it
Click to expand...

From what I read on the google worksheet, if you are really lucky, you 'may' be able to get up to 4.4-4.5GHz for the i7 7700k. Realistically speaking, probably the non-turbo 4.2 GHz undervolted and delidded is much more doable. Also seems like a simple fan duct to even just the NHL-9i is better.

Tek Everything has put up a new video showing that the Noctua NHL-9a is better than the NHL-9i variant by 2-4C. Cooling is even better with a mounted 120mm slim Noctua fan. Just food for thought especially for Ryzen builders.

For further data proof that there is not too much variance between a CryOrig C7 and a Noctua NH-L9i, there's this fairly recent video testing on a slim console-itx case with the i7 7700K.
 
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thed00d said:
is there something similar with ryzen CPUs already? I only saw one Ryzen on that list, but the values given there feel very strange to me (0,5V 3,2GHz and still running at about 80°C is quite hot imo)
Click to expand...
That voltage isn't right, I think it's a typo. My 1700 Ryzen is in the list if you clear all the filters. It runs perfectly with the noctua L9a cooler, hits 69 degrees, actual temp, with prime95. No messing around delidding etc. required. Check for some benchmarks with your software and Ryzen but otherwise I would say go for it.
 
richiegore said:
That voltage isn't right, I think it's a typo. My 1700 Ryzen is in the list if you clear all the filters. It runs perfectly with the noctua L9a cooler, hits 69 degrees, actual temp, with prime95. No messing around delidding etc. required. Check for some benchmarks with your software and Ryzen but otherwise I would say go for it.
Click to expand...

For some reason I am having trouble finding your result on the google sheet. What voltage and clockspeeds were you running at? Also, did you have a fan duct for the cpu?
 
CknSalad said:
For some reason I am having trouble finding your result on the google sheet. What voltage and clockspeeds were you running at? Also, did you have a fan duct for the cpu?
Click to expand...
Running stock, 3.2 on all cores, no fan duct or anything, noctua paste. Fan was at just under 2500, not too noisy for me when I do rendering. The temp never increases either, I ran it for over 2 hours and it kept to 69. I also have the I.O. shield in place too.
 
CknSalad said:
From what I read on the google worksheet, if you are really lucky, you 'may' be able to get up to 4.4-4.5GHz for the i7 7700k. Realistically speaking, probably the non-turbo 4.2 GHz undervolted and delidded is much more doable. Also seems like a simple fan duct to even just the NHL-9i is better.

Tek Everything has put up a new video showing that the Noctua NHL-9a is better than the NHL-9i variant by 2-4C. Cooling is even better with a mounted 120mm slim Noctua fan. Just food for thought especially for Ryzen builders.

For further data proof that there is not too much variance between a CryOrig C7 and a Noctua NH-L9i, there's this fairly recent video testing on a slim console-itx case with the i7 7700K.
Click to expand...

I'm doing 4,4 on a 4790k though. All at stock voltage etc. So I'll try fidling with it at some point. Hoping to do some more.
 
Jspr said:
I'm doing 4,4 on a 4790k though. All at stock voltage etc. So I'll try fidling with it at some point. Hoping to do some more.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i7 7700K just seems to run hotter in general because Intel just did a terrible job with the TIM for them. 4.4GHz is doable for the i7 7700K if you have a higher tolerance for hotter temps. I7 4790K TIM is not done as poorly, though delidding still helps. I personally like having the cpu temps while gaming at around mid 70s on average at the worst.
 
Blackreplica said:
The short answer is you will not be able to run the 7700K in the dan a4 without either delidding or underclocking/undervolting it
Click to expand...

Thank you Blackreplica. I do not mind delidding the CPU, no problem.

I guess the only question I have left is if you guys think the upcoming 8700k would be a good match in the Dan case.

Most of my software synthesizers do benefit from multithreading. Dune 2 for example uses multithreading to great advantage, which is why I thought it might be useful to wait for the new hexacore Intel 8700k chip.

All this is still pretty new to me, so forgive me if my question is naive, but: Will the 8700k be that much more of a wattage guzzler than the 7700k that the thermals will be un-useable when overclocked even if delidded & well cooled in the Dan case?

I suppose we'll have to wait and find out, but I thought someone here might have some insight on that. If speed and multicore processing are both equally important, should I just build now with the 7700k or wait for the 8700k? I am hoping thermals between the two would be similar, which would mean waiting for Coffee Lake would be the best choice. I do not currently have a motherboard, so buying the one for the new 8th Gen socket when it becomes available would be a non-issue.

Thanks again for your time.
 
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