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

Interesting, let's see what their video production cycle is. I'm curious how long it'll take them to review and post a video. I hope under a week.
 
Lazer1337 said:
What kind of changes will be on the v2?
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Not wanting to rush dondan, but he did indicate that there would be additional production runs likely of the A4-SFX if he got 1000 units on the Kickstarter (which is effectively sold out at the last time I checked). Since I'm not Dan, I won't attempt to speak about changes for future runs, but his recent posts indicate that he's been playing around with the pushpins on the GPU side for the current production run.
 
HopkinsTea said:
Yeah I definitely think it'll get sold out quickly after Linus' video goes up. Especially if Dan moves some more 2x silvers up to 1x.
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There's 16 2x silvers left, that's not a lot. Altogether it seems there are only 151 cases left. I doubt it'll sell out without the Linus video -- from the Kicktraq data it's now down to a handful a day so perhaps it'll get down to ~100-ish -- which is amazing of course. Basically this campaign was almost done on the first three days with over 1200 backers.
 
jtd871 said:
Not wanting to rush dondan, but he did indicate that there would be additional production runs likely of the A4-SFX if he got 1000 units on the Kickstarter (which is effectively sold out at the last time I checked). Since I'm not Dan, I won't attempt to speak about changes for future runs, but his recent posts indicate that he's been playing around with the pushpins on the GPU side for the current production run.
Click to expand...

I'd personally love to see this case stay as is (or minor improvements but without changes to dimensions), and follow it up with the A4XL - same length but another inch wide or so on the motherboard side to allow for bigger heatsinks, a mounted case fan, or perhaps even some entry level closed loop water coolers. It'd still be smaller than any other mITX case that can fit a full sized graphics card while allowing for greater cooling flexibility.
 
tviceman said:
I'd personally love to see this case stay as is (or minor improvements but without changes to dimensions), and follow it up with the A4XL - same length but another inch wide or so on the motherboard side to allow for bigger heatsinks, a mounted case fan, or perhaps even some entry level closed loop water coolers. It'd still be smaller than any other mITX case that can fit a full sized graphics card while allowing for greater cooling flexibility.
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Darn, now I don't know if I should jump on this KS while there's still time left. or wait to see if there's gonna be an A4XL. Maybe instead of a completely different case, Dan can just offer side panels that add 20-30 mm of thickness. Are the panels on both sides identical?


edit: mm not cm
 
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dtallon13 said:
Darn, now I don't know if I should jump on this KS while there's still time left. or wait to see if there's gonna be an A4XL. Maybe instead of a completely different case, Dan can just offer side panels that add 20-30cm of thickness. Are the panels on both sides identical?
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Jump on the KS the A4 XL is pie in the sky.
 
theres never even been any talk of an A4XL until tv just mentioned it. so maybe ask dan instead of starting hype about something non-existent...
 
Sorry, but IMO a hypothetical A4XL defeats the purpose. You just get room for a bigger CPU cooler or maybe a short ATX PSU or even 3.5" bays, but it would not be the "Smallest gaming case" Dan wanted to create. While you're at it, why don't add 4cm? You could then mount the GPU in the classical way and omit the riser... This is the best way to turn a great project into a 10L-ish mainstream case with a premium price. Just my $0.02
 
  • Max Length:
    • Complete card incl. bracket: 306mm
    • Without bracket: 295mm
What bracket are we talking about here ? Im confused. Can any one explain ?
 
It's that small silver thing at the monitor connector side that protrudes a bit over the rest of the card
 
Lazer1337 said:
17111_1_600x600.jpg
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I don't think he is talking about that bracket, it wouldn't move the card at all. There might be a bracket in the front of the case for a ssd or something.
 
Crazness said:
  • Max Length:
    • Complete card incl. bracket: 306mm
    • Without bracket: 295mm
What bracket are we talking about here ? Im confused. Can any one explain ?
Click to expand...
4-port-esata-pci-bracket21.jpg


william quick said:
I don't think he is talking about that bracket, it wouldn't move the card at all. There might be a bracket in the front of the case for a ssd or something.
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Yeah that is what Dan is referring to. If you read the post where he mentions GPU's he states that there is not standard as to how a company measures the length of the GPU. Some measure from edge of bracket to edge of card, others don't include the extra ~5-7 mm that the bracket adds to the length.
 
Hi Dan,

I am about to pull the trigger on a MSI GTX 1080 X. I see the post of you saying that it will fit, I am just a bit nervous that we don't really have a definite from you as you haven't updated the compatibility list on the first page?

Thanks,
 
rude said:
Hi Dan,

I am about to pull the trigger on a MSI GTX 1080 X. I see the post of you saying that it will fit, I am just a bit nervous that we don't really have a definite from you as you haven't updated the compatibility list on the first page?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
dondan said:
Maybe this helps:


Asus (measure the height from bottom of PCIe Socket to top)
  • ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 OC = fit (2mm over dualslot isn't a problem)

EVGA (measure the height from bottom of slot bracket to top)
  • EVGA GTX 1080 = fit
  • EVGA GTX 1080 ACX 3.0 = fit
  • EVGA GTX 1080 SC GAMING ACX 3.0 = fit

Gainward
  • Gainward GTX 1080 Phoenix = incompatible in width
  • Gainward GTX 1080 Phoenix GS = incompatible in width

Gigabyte
  • Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1 = no data (from the pictures compatible)

Inno3D
  • Inno3D GTX 1080 HerculeZ Twin X2 = no data (from the pictures compatible)
  • Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 1080 X4 = incompatible in width and length
  • Inno3D iChill GeForce GTX 1080 X3 = incompatible in width and length

KFA2
  • KFA² GeForce GTX 1080 = fit
  • KFA² GeForce GTX 1080 EX OC = fit

MSI (measure the height from bottom of PCIe Socket to top)
  • MSI GTX 1080 AERO 8G = fit
  • MSI GTX 1080 AERO 8G OC = fit
  • MSI GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G = could be to high (too high power socket)
  • MSI GTX 1080 ARMOR 8G = could be to high (too high power socket)
  • MSI GTX 1080 ARMOR 8G OC = could be to high (too high power socket)

Palit
  • Palit GeForce GTX 1080 GameRock = incompatible in width
  • Palit GeForce GTX 1080 JetStream = incompatible in width
  • Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Super JetStream = incompatible in width

Zotac
  • Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! = no data (from the pictures compatible)
  • Zotac GTX 1080 AMP! Extreme = incompatible in width
Click to expand...
 
The MSI Card is one of the cards where it is very riscy for me to give a guarantee that the card will 100% fit. From the pictures it looks like it will fit but not more.

Your luck is I need a better GPU for Ark so I looking for a GTX 1070 for myself ;).
 
Dan, not wanting to push you, but take the MSI card :D it is the best and quietest, and you can confirm for us if it fits ;)

Yes the card could be too height for the PCIe power connectors to fit...
 
Didn't Dan say you could remove the push pins and it would fit? If not would low profile/90 degree angle 6+8 connectors like these work?
 
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dondan said:
Using custom fans is only necessary if you want to get the best cooling performance otherwise you can use coolers like the L9i, ar05 or C7 with the default fan.
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My concern is that I would be limited to a very mild OC of an i7-6700k on an Asus Z170I Pro Gaming MB in the Dan case, true?
 
illram said:
Didn't Dan say you could remove the push pins and it would fit? If not would low profile/90 degree angle 6+8 connectors like these work?
Click to expand...

Yes, it should, the question is if it also fits with stock connectors...
 
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Is the verdict in yet, as to whether a big OC of an i7-6700k is possible with the relatively limited cpu cooling of the Dan case?

This may be the deciding factor for me as to getting the case or not...
 
RIRed48 said:
Is the verdict in yet, as to whether a big OC of an i7-6700k is possible with the relatively limited cpu cooling of the Dan case?

This may be the deciding factor for me as to getting the case or not...
Click to expand...
Yes, you cannot put a big heatsink into a small case, you will not be able to OC it much.
 
RIRed48 said:
Is the verdict in yet, as to whether a big OC of an i7-6700k is possible with the relatively limited cpu cooling of the Dan case?

This may be the deciding factor for me as to getting the case or not...
Click to expand...

A light OC should be possible, but not if you want great temps or silence... My stock clocked 6700K goes up to 80°C and is rather loud with a Cryorig C7 under AIDA64 stress test load (ok it is in a mid tower with poor ventilation right now)
 
Aircoookie said:
It's that small silver thing at the monitor connector side that protrudes a bit over the rest of the card
Click to expand...

Has anyone else wondered why they still make those things? It's like someone thought in 1981 that it made sense and they've stuck around since then. You can just make the bracket flat and longer and have screws on each end. That would secure graphics cards better too. It'll also save space and look better. Someone should make custom brackets like this and then the industry might shift..
 
RIRed48 said:
Is the verdict in yet, as to whether a big OC of an i7-6700k is possible with the relatively limited cpu cooling of the Dan case?

This may be the deciding factor for me as to getting the case or not...
Click to expand...

Because I read very often about the topic overclocking (oc) in the thread here are my thoughts about it:

In the past oc was a hobby of mine. It was a time where oc make sense, because you could get a real performance boost. The last real generation where oc make sense was Sandy-Bridge. For example I had a real good batch of an 2500k that I oc with a big water cooling solution from 3,3Ghz to 5 Ghz. All verified with a 2h Prime95 run. This was a performance boost of 1,7Ghz on all four cores and it was 100% stable.

But today CPUs does not have the same oc capacities as in the past. For example a 6700K comes with an maximum boost of 4.2 Ghz. So with a big water cooling solution and a good batch you can reach 4.8 Ghz stable. A boot of only 600 Mhz.
In a time where resolutions like 2.5K or 4K become more and more normal more CPU power is worthless without SLI, because in the most games you will run into the GPU limit and not the CPU limit. Only SLI will get an performance boost of oc.

We have two different types of oc user. The first group have the goal to break records with their oc so they are using crazy cooling technologies like LN2 to cool the system. The second group do it with the goal to have stable oc for daily usage and to have more power as currently available. The most important thing for using oc in daily usage is that it is stable. So you have to verify that your CPU is stable with stress test tools.

E.g. the 6700k comes with 4Ghz, a Turbo of 4.2Ghz and a TDP of 95W. With the Cryorig C7 the best cooler for the A4-SFX you will have a max temp of 70-80°C running Prime95. If you now increase the voltage and push the CPU to 4.3-4.5Ghz you will easily reach temperatures of 80-95°C in Prime95. I know in games the temperatures will be 10-20°C lower, but all in all you will have much higher temps with oc, that reduce the lifetime of you components for 1-3 more FPS and only 100-300Mhz more and a fan on 100% speed.

So if oc is your hobby, you know what you do and you do it for the fun and not for 3% more FPS maybe removing the heatspreader of your Skylake CPU can give you the temp buffer to do it. But for all the other guys, I recommend to buy a normal 6700 that have a TDP of 65W. You will save money, get a more silent system, lower temps in all and you will nearly have the same performance.
 
Aircoookie said:
A light OC should be possible, but not if you want great temps or silence... My stock clocked 6700K goes up to 80°C and is rather loud with a Cryorig C7 under AIDA64 stress test load (ok it is in a mid tower with poor ventilation right now)
Click to expand...

Per your 'sig'.... you have the Dan4 case but not set up yet? I'll be curious when you set it up, as you have the MB and CPU I'll be getting for my Mini-ITX build...I'm just not sure which case I'll end up with yet... I change my mind twice a day... sheesh...
 
dondan said:
Because I read very often about the topic overclocking (oc) in the thread here are my thoughts about it:

In the past oc was a hobby of mine. It was a time where oc make sense, because you could get a real performance boost. The last real generation where oc make sense was Sandy-Bridge. For example I had a real good batch of an 2500k that I oc with a big water cooling solution from 3,3Ghz to 5 Ghz. All verified with a 2h Prime95 run. This was a performance boost of 1,7Ghz on all four cores and it was 100% stable.

But today CPUs does not have the same oc capacities as in the past. For example a 6700K comes with an maximum boost of 4.2 Ghz. So with a big water cooling solution and a good batch you can reach 4.8 Ghz stable. A boot of only 600 Mhz.
In a time where resolutions like 2.5K or 4K become more and more normal more CPU power is worthless without SLI, because in the most games you will run into the GPU limit and not the CPU limit. Only SLI will get an performance boost of oc.

We have two different types of oc user. The first group have the goal to break records with their oc so they are using crazy cooling technologies like LN2 to cool the system. The second group do it with the goal to have stable oc for daily usage and to have more power as currently available. The most important thing for using oc in daily usage is that it is stable. So you have to verify that your CPU is stable with stress test tools.

E.g. the 6700k comes with 4Ghz, a Turbo of 4.2Ghz and a TDP of 95W. With the Cryorig C7 the best cooler for the A4-SFX you will have a max temp of 70-80°C running Prime95. If you now increase the voltage and push the CPU to 4.3-4.5Ghz you will easily reach temperatures of 80-95°C in Prime95. I know in games the temperatures will be 10-20°C lower, but all in all you will have much higher temps with oc, that reduce the lifetime of you components for 1-3 more FPS and only 100-300Mhz more and a fan on 100% speed.

So if oc is your hobby, you know what you do and you do it for the fun and not for 3% more FPS maybe removing the heatspreader of your Skylake CPU can give you the temp buffer to do it. But for all the other guys, I recommend to buy a normal 6700 that have a TDP of 65W. You will save money, get a more silent system, lower temps in all and you will nearly have the same performance.
Click to expand...
dondan said:
Because I read very often about the topic overclocking (oc) in the thread here are my thoughts about it:

In the past oc was a hobby of mine. It was a time where oc make sense, because you could get a real performance boost. The last real generation where oc make sense was Sandy-Bridge. For example I had a real good batch of an 2500k that I oc with a big water cooling solution from 3,3Ghz to 5 Ghz. All verified with a 2h Prime95 run. This was a performance boost of 1,7Ghz on all four cores and it was 100% stable.

But today CPUs does not have the same oc capacities as in the past. For example a 6700K comes with an maximum boost of 4.2 Ghz. So with a big water cooling solution and a good batch you can reach 4.8 Ghz stable. A boot of only 600 Mhz.
In a time where resolutions like 2.5K or 4K become more and more normal more CPU power is worthless without SLI, because in the most games you will run into the GPU limit and not the CPU limit. Only SLI will get an performance boost of oc.

We have two different types of oc user. The first group have the goal to break records with their oc so they are using crazy cooling technologies like LN2 to cool the system. The second group do it with the goal to have stable oc for daily usage and to have more power as currently available. The most important thing for using oc in daily usage is that it is stable. So you have to verify that your CPU is stable with stress test tools.

E.g. the 6700k comes with 4Ghz, a Turbo of 4.2Ghz and a TDP of 95W. With the Cryorig C7 the best cooler for the A4-SFX you will have a max temp of 70-80°C running Prime95. If you now increase the voltage and push the CPU to 4.3-4.5Ghz you will easily reach temperatures of 80-95°C in Prime95. I know in games the temperatures will be 10-20°C lower, but all in all you will have much higher temps with oc, that reduce the lifetime of you components for 1-3 more FPS and only 100-300Mhz more and a fan on 100% speed.

So if oc is your hobby, you know what you do and you do it for the fun and not for 3% more FPS maybe removing the heatspreader of your Skylake CPU can give you the temp buffer to do it. But for all the other guys, I recommend to buy a normal 6700 that have a TDP of 65W. You will save money, get a more silent system, lower temps in all and you will nearly have the same performance.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree. I am coming to that position as well.... A 6700k stock w/ the Asus Z170I, the nVidia 1080, the Samsung SSD, and with my Acer XB271HU... it will be an awesome rig.
 
RIRed48 said:
Per your 'sig'.... you have the Dan4 case but not set up yet? I'll be curious when you set it up, as you have the MB and CPU I'll be getting for my Mini-ITX build...I'm just not sure which case I'll end up with yet... I change my mind twice a day... sheesh...
Click to expand...
he doesn't have a case yet, it says "backed". nobody has a case yet except dan. they haven't even finished the kickstarter.


re peoples internal struggles on case buying decisions,
I'm pretty sure these guys, all the sff builders, are tired of the "oh I cant decide which case, oh I changed my mind, nope I changed it back, if it had this, if it had that, do this to it, do that, change this, change that" shit. I know I am. every one of these sff builds are designed for very different uses and comparing them is pretty much pointless. just make up your minds on what you want then buy one. we don't need to hear about it.

edit: btw dan, congrats! fully funded, only 19 case left and 8 days to go.
 
pendragon1 said:
re peoples internal struggles on case buying decisions,
I'm pretty sure these guys, all the sff builders, are tired of the "oh I cant decide which case, oh I changed my mind, nope I changed it back, if it had this, if it had that, do this to it, do that, change this, change that" shit. I know I am. every one of these sff builds are designed for very different uses and comparing them is pretty much pointless. just make up your minds on what you want then buy one. we don't need to hear about it.
Click to expand...
QFT
 
Aircoookie said:
A light OC should be possible, but not if you want great temps or silence... My stock clocked 6700K goes up to 80°C and is rather loud with a Cryorig C7 under AIDA64 stress test load (ok it is in a mid tower with poor ventilation right now)
Click to expand...

How loud is it when gaming or just under normal load?
 
illram said:
How loud is it when gaming or just under normal load?
Click to expand...
In idle it is unhearable and in games my GTX680 blower cooler is way louder, so I can't give you an estimate until I have a 1080. Several programs like renderers that utilize it 100% (taskmanager) make it hearable but still quiet. The C7 gets really loud only when doing benchmarks.
 
illram said:
How loud is it when gaming or just under normal load?
Click to expand...
When I used the C7 in my Ncase on my 3570K @ 4.2 it was louder than my reference 980 when gaming.
A different kind of noise too, the 980 is a smooth woosh whereas the C7 was a higher pitched sound that was obviously a fan.
Here's a recording of my old U9B-SE2 under load
And the C7 from idle to load with the mic in the same place

Not that the C7 is a bad cooler, I'm sure it would be quieter in the A4 since it would have actual access to fresh air, unlike how I had it set up in the Ncase with literally no airflow in the case.
 
Interesting, thanks.

Re: the 6700K vs. non K, SPCR (who should get an A4 sample! :D) did a good write up on the 6700 vs. the 6700K. Sounds like a "6 in one, half dozen in the other" type situation if you're not overclocking.

While the Core i7-6700's specified TDP is 71% that of the i7-6700K, our sample failed to deliver substantial power savings. The vanilla model is undoubtedly more efficient but not by a significant margin. If you're leaning toward the non-K variant because of its seemingly lower power requirements, perhaps for a small/quiet build, the difference is too minor to weigh into the decision. The same can be said if you're considering the "K" version for its higher clock speeds; the level of performance increase is slight.
Click to expand...

In other words the non K isn't going to deliver significant power savings, while a K isn't going to deliver significant performance (at least, at "stock", which is still higher than the non K clock.) So if you're looking at a modest overclock at best.....forget it and buy the i5 and an H series mobo and call it a day? ;)
 
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