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

Hey everyone,

I just registered here to participate in an awesome thread about an awesome case. Due to financial shortcomings at the very moment I couldn't support the kickstarter campaign. But I plan on buying an A4-SFX once the next batch will be available for purchase. Having said that, I already ordered an Cryorig C7 and have been planning the rest of the build. But there a few things I'm not certain about yet...

Dan himself mentioned that the i7-6700 might be a better fit for most users than the i7-6700K since it'll allow for a more silent and cooler system while ending up with very similar performance. So my question is: Will a C7 be sufficient enough to cool a 6700K with a small overlock at a silent level/less than 100% rpm? Or do you think that the lower TDP of 65W of the i7-6700 will be a better match? But then again, according to silentpcreview - like illram has pointed out - the i7-6700 is much closer to the K variant in power consumption (tested here) than suggested. I really don't know what do at this point... Maybe even wait for Cannonlake?

The other decision I'm uncertain about is the GPU. I've pinned it down to 3 cards by now:
  1. EVGA GTX 1070 SC (nice review at techpowerup)
  2. EVGA GTX 1070 FTW (wondering if it'll be even quieter and cooler due to 10mm bigger fans and beefier heatsinks than the SC, but unfortunately no reviews of both EVGA cards from the same source so far)
  3. MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X (a bit worried about size)
Right now I am leaning towards the EVGA FTW due to beeing possibly even quieter than the SC, having a custom PCB with 10+2 VRM phases + 2x 8-pin power connectors (reviews so far suggest that this doesn't translate to real world benefits though), a higher power target and dual BIOS. What cards have you guys been eyeballing so far?
 
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Dethroy said:
Hey everyone,

I just registered here to participate in an awesome thread about an awesome case. Due to financial shortcomings at the very moment I couldn't support the kickstarter campaign. But I plan on buying an A4-SFX once the next batch will be available for purchase. Having said that, I already ordered an Cryorig C7 and have been planning the rest of the build. But there a few things I'm not certain about yet...

Dan himself mentioned that the i7-6700 might be a better fit for most users than the i7-6700K since it'll allow for a more silent and cooler system while ending up with very similar performance. So my question is: Will a C7 be sufficient enough to cool a 6700K with a small overlock at a silent level/less than 100% rpm? Or do you think that the lower TDP of 65W of the i7-6700 will be a better match? But then again, according to silentpcreview - like illram has pointed out - the i7-6700 is much closer to the K variant in power consumption (tested here) than suggested. I really don't know what do at this point... Maybe even wait for Cannonlake?

The other decision I'm uncertain about is the GPU. I've pinned it down to 3 cards by now:
  1. EVGA GTX 1070 SC (nice review at techpowerup)
  2. EVGA GTX 1070 FTW (wondering if it'll be even quieter and cooler due to 10mm bigger fans and beefier heatsinks than the SC, but unfortunately no reviews of both EVGA cards from the same source so far)
  3. MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X (a bit worried about size)
Right now I am leaning towards the EVGA FTW due to beeing possibly even quieter than the SC, having a custom PCB with 10+2 VRM phases + 2x 8-pin power connectors (reviews so far suggest that this doesn't translate to real world benefits though), a higher power target and dual BIOS. What cards have you guys been eyeballing so far?
Click to expand...
Can't say much about the rpm of the c7, but in this review it handled a 6700k at 1.25v quite well (see the temp chart as main review is about the c1), so at least a small oc should be possible.
http://www.funkykit.com/reviews/cooling/cryorig-r1universal-cooler-review/3/

Gpu wise, I think the bigger fan solution might be best. I think Dan previously mentioned the possibility of trying out the MSI, but at the time sounded uncertain whether he would purchase one.
 
Dethroy said:
Hey everyone,
Dan himself mentioned that the i7-6700 might be a better fit for most users than the i7-6700K since it'll allow for a more silent and cooler system while ending up with very similar performance. So my question is: Will a C7 be sufficient enough to cool a 6700K with a small overlock at a silent level/less than 100% rpm? Or do you think that the lower TDP of 65W of the i7-6700 will be a better match? But then again, according to silentpcreview - like illram has pointed out - the i7-6700 is much closer to the K variant in power consumption (tested here) than suggested. I really don't know what do at this point... Maybe even wait for Cannonlake?

The other decision I'm uncertain about is the GPU. I've pinned it down to 3 cards by now:
  1. EVGA GTX 1070 SC (nice review at techpowerup)
  2. EVGA GTX 1070 FTW (wondering if it'll be even quieter and cooler due to 10mm bigger fans and beefier heatsinks than the SC, but unfortunately no reviews of both EVGA cards from the same source so far)
  3. MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X (a bit worried about size)
Right now I am leaning towards the EVGA FTW due to beeing possibly even quieter than the SC, having a custom PCB with 10+2 VRM phases + 2x 8-pin power connectors (reviews so far suggest that this doesn't translate to real world benefits though), a higher power target and dual BIOS. What cards have you guys been eyeballing so far?
Click to expand...

IMO. If you are going for a new build, and the build will be around Dan A4-SFX case, which you won't be buying/receiving until after early 2017, I would recommend you to wait for Kaby Lake. About the CPU is up to you, here in Europe the low TDP versions of the i7 are more expensive, and as you saw on the graphics, the temperatures and power draw are similar on the real world. I would keep the K version whether you OC it or not. The K version is a bit more powerful than the other versions, and if you want to OC on the future, you still have the option to, though I wouldn't on Dan's case.

I will go for the 1070 too, but I will wait until I receive my case to see if the price drops at least 50 euros. I liked the EVGA because it requires only 1 [8 pin] connector, though I want the MSI gaming X if it fits (to reduce noise at maximum and because I would like to add a window to show the card at some point). Although I might end up buying EVGA, because in the end the main source of noise in the case will be the PSU, and not the CPU or VGA cooler.
 
Thanks for the link KarateOC

crisisv87akd said:
IMO. If you are going for a new build, and the build will be around Dan A4-SFX case, which you won't be buying/receiving until after early 2017, I would recommend you to wait for Kaby Lake. About the CPU is up to you, here in Europe the low TDP versions of the i7 are more expensive, and as you saw on the graphics, the temperatures and power draw are similar on the real world. I would keep the K version whether you OC it or not. The K version is a bit more powerful than the other versions, and if you want to OC on the future, you still have the option to, though I wouldn't on Dan's case.

I will go for the 1070 too, but I will wait until I receive my case to see if the price drops at least 50 euros. I liked the EVGA because it requires only 1 [8 pin] connector, though I want the MSI gaming X if it fits (to reduce noise at maximum and because I would like to add a window to show the card at some point). Although I might end up buying EVGA, because in the end the main source of noise in the case will be the PSU, and not the CPU or VGA cooler.
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Thanks for your advice. According to TPU the EVGA GTX 1070 SC is even quieter than the MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X (29 vs 30 dBA). Apart from that - imho - the EVGA card looks better as well.

Edit: Cannonlake will be the next tick / die shrink, so I don't expect Kaby Lake to use less W...
 
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For those who were waiting, Cryorig sent me a PM indicating the C7 is back in stock at Amazon US (verified by going to the product page on Amazon). PCPartPicker has yet to notice the stock refresh and return to "normal" pricing.
 
jtd871 said:
For those who were waiting, Cryorig sent me a PM indicating the C7 is back in stock at Amazon US (verified by going to the product page on Amazon). PCPartPicker has yet to notice the stock refresh and return to "normal" pricing.
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Just need the C7 to be on sale on Amazon.co.uk too now... :(
 
jtd871 said:
For those who were waiting, Cryorig sent me a PM indicating the C7 is back in stock at Amazon US (verified by going to the product page on Amazon). PCPartPicker has yet to notice the stock refresh and return to "normal" pricing.
Click to expand...

That's great. I wonder if they are now shipping with additional fan clips.
 
I don't know why Linus is using that server board for his ultimate-maximum-everything build. If he wants to use a Xeon or a Broadwell-E chip, he can just use the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac. The only advantage the server board has is 4 SODIMM slots for quad-channel memory, but honestly dual-channel vs quad-channel is virtually indistinguishable in the real world. I guess he used the X99E-ITX/ac for his previous ultra small build in the SG13, so he wanted to do something different this time. But he may have gone too far, I mean that board doesn't have audio and just 2 USB ports... it's for servers. So I don't know where he plans to get audio from. He could plug in an external DAC, but that would only leave him with 1 USB port, and he'll need 2 more for mouse and keyboard. I guess he could use the front USB port too, but... it'll have to stay permanently plugged in. Or a USB hub. It'll be a little silly for a showoff build to have all of those dongles, especially when you're trying to sell the notion of supersmall. That board is severely underspecced for consumer use and I worry the build may give newbie builders the wrong impression that the A4-SFX only supports SODIMMs and/or boards with limited IO or something... I guess we'll find out on Monday. I can see why Linus is excited about this project though as it combines his 2 passions - SFF and server stuff. :D And he's also doing a regular Skylake build, but I think most people would be more interested in his ultimate power build. His previous smallest ultrapoweful build video got 1.5 million views, so this may just by far exceed all the exposure the A4-SFX has gotten so far... so I hope he does a good job and represents the case well.
 
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dondan said:
A small Update for all x99 socket 2011-3 Narrow Ilm lovers.


Today I got a second C7 from Cryorig, I will make a custom bracket to fit on Narrow Ilm.
Also I got a Nexus LOW-7000 R2 (a older nearly sold out heatsink). With a 120mm FAN under the heatsink it will fit inside the case. I also make a custom bracket for the Nexus to fit on Narrow Ilm. The Nexus has direct attached heatpipes and is nearly the biggest cooler that fit inside the case.

The mission is 4Ghz oc on 6 cores inside the A4-SFX.
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Dan, my 6800K is overclocked to 4.2GHz in the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac at 1.25v VCore and 1.2v cache, and it consumes 120W at full load with synthetic tests. That's as high as the chip will go without requiring ridiculous voltage (i.e. 1.45-1.5v). And your Dynatron T318 solution is rated at 140W, so you already support enthusiast line Intel chips OCed pretty much as far as they will go at safe voltages. It's just a matter of noise, but the support is there.
 
dondan said:
I can ask them for you ;)
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Thank you, Dan. I appreciate it.

Last night, I was checking the Cryorig C7 on Amazon and read some of the questions answered by Cryorig Official Store representative. Then I saw this,
Question: Can you replace this with a delta electronics ffb0912sh-f00 fan
Answer: Currently we do not have available alternative fanclips for the C7 yet. We will be releasing them later this year. With the fanclips you'll be able to swap in other 92mm by 10mm thickness fans.
By CRYORIG Official Store on June 13, 2016
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I searched the web for any 92mm x 10mm fans and found nothing. The closest I could find were the Noctua NF-A9x14 (92mm x 14mm), and the Scythe Kaze Jyu Slim (100mm x12mm with mounting holes for 92mm).

pic01.jpg


The 10mm they're referring to is the one in red, or the one in the blue?
 
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Dan, would it be possible to have official google docs file or such, where we could collect all the gpu's and what not that fits or doesnt fit the case?

Im also wondering about the cable management. Ive got 2x SS SZ600-G's and no idea how well the vanilla cables will fit. Same with recommended cable lengths for SSD's. Would be nice to have all the info collected nice and neat in one place. Ive had issues with too long cables in much bigger cases, so kinda would like to get this right on the first try :)
 
Hey guys I have a few questions. Please go easy on me I am learning and this is my first PC. Just want to be sure about everything before ordering my parts (already ordered my A4)

I want to know if this motherboard will be compatible with the A4 and the Cryorg C7. The motherboard is the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI motherboard.
GIGABYTE GA-Z170N-WIFI (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Will this motherboard fit in the A4 with no problems? Will the Cryorg C7 work with this motherboard? And lastly I read something about angled SATA connectors from other users, will I need those for this motherboard?

Last question, I am thinking about getting the G Skill Ripjaws Series ram. Will this fit in the A4 or is it too high?

I apologize for all of the questions! I would be very appreciative if someone more knowledgable than myself can help me out with this before I order the components. Thanks
 
Jsalz said:
Hey guys I have a few questions. Please go easy on me I am learning and this is my first PC. Just want to be sure about everything before ordering my parts (already ordered my A4)

I want to know if this motherboard will be compatible with the A4 and the Cryorg C7. The motherboard is the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI motherboard.
GIGABYTE GA-Z170N-WIFI (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Will this motherboard fit in the A4 with no problems? Will the Cryorg C7 work with this motherboard? And lastly I read something about angled SATA connectors from other users, will I need those for this motherboard?

Last question, I am thinking about getting the G Skill Ripjaws Series ram. Will this fit in the A4 or is it too high?

I apologize for all of the questions! I would be very appreciative if someone more knowledgable than myself can help me out with this before I order the components. Thanks
Click to expand...




Jsalz said:
Will this motherboard fit in the A4 with no problems? Will the Cryorg C7 work with this motherboard?
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Yes to both.

Jsalz said:
And lastly I read something about angled SATA connectors from other users, will I need those for this motherboard?
Click to expand...

It looks like this board has angled connectors on the board so yes you probably will need angled cables.

Jsalz said:
Last question, I am thinking about getting the G Skill Ripjaws Series ram. Will this fit in the A4 or is it too high?
Click to expand...

I think the maximum RAM height is 47mm.

Jsalz said:
I apologize for all of the questions! I would be very appreciative if someone more knowledgable than myself can help me out with this before I order the components. Thanks
Click to expand...

You can never ask too many questions!
 
dtallon13 said:
Yes to both.



It looks like this board has angled connectors on the board so yes you probably will need angled cables.



I think the maximum RAM height is 47mm.



You can never ask too many questions!
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Thank you for the nice reply. I found the max height for ram in the Dan A4 but I cannot find any measurement of the ram itself! thats why I asked, maybe I will research further.

About the angled cables, where can I find these? And what are they connected to?
 
jtd871 said:
That is the thickness dimension (blue) they are referring to.
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I was hoping it will be the red one (10mm being the maximum dimension that the clip could hold) so that the C7 could support any 92mm fans. Anyway, we'll just have to find out if 10mm will be the final thickness that the clip could support.

jtd871 said:
DC Fan, 12/24V, 92 x 92 x 10mm, Available in PWM/FG | Global Sources

Found 1 92x10 fan using Google.
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baonguyen312 said:
But I concern that is it really better than the original fan of Cryorig C7?
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That is also my concern. If ever it is better than the C7's fan, I'm not sure if I will buy that especially with a minimum order of 500 pcs. :eek:
 
Jsalz said:
Thank you for the nice reply. I found the max height for ram in the Dan A4 but I cannot find any measurement of the ram itself! thats why I asked, maybe I will research further.

About the angled cables, where can I find these? And what are they connected to?
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I think all of gskill's ddr4 ripjaws kits will fit, but which one were you looking at specifically?
 
baonguyen312 said:
But I concern that is it really better than the original fan of Cryorig C7?
Click to expand...

I doubt that you will find many aftermarket 92x10mm fans, and I doubt that they will be significantly "better" than the OEM fan in terms of airflow/noise. If thicker fans can be mounted, they won't fit in the A4 case as the stock C7 just fits.

The consensus is that the C7 is one of the best coolers for this case and a good option regardless of case for "consumer" CPUs from Intel. Buy and use as-is or choose another cooler/fan combination. I was looking seriously at the Silverstone AR-06 but was concerned about the orientation of the heatpipes and conflicts with the heatpipes and motherboard components that would force me to use a less than optimal orientation of the cooler (with respect to heatpipes). The C7 seems not to have this issue and is by Dan's testing a better performer.
 
jtd871 said:
I doubt that you will find many aftermarket 92x10mm fans, and I doubt that they will be significantly "better" than the OEM fan in terms of airflow/noise. If thicker fans can be mounted, they won't fit in the A4 case as the stock C7 just fits.

The consensus is that the C7 is one of the best coolers for this case and a good option regardless of case for "consumer" CPUs from Intel. Buy and use as-is or choose another cooler/fan combination. I was looking seriously at the Silverstone AR-06 but was concerned about the orientation of the heatpipes and conflicts with the heatpipes and motherboard components that would force me to use a less than optimal orientation of the cooler (with respect to heatpipes). The C7 seems not to have this issue and is by Dan's testing a better performer.
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I think the only reason to mount something other than the stock fan would be to use something bigger than 92mm. I think I saw a 100x10mm fan on here, but not sure how it stacks up against the stock one
 
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baonguyen312 said:
But I concern that is it really better than the original fan of Cryorig C7?
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I highly doubt it'll perform better than the fan provided by Cryorig. They've certainly tested different setups (fan sizes, etc.) themselves and concluded that the final product they are offering was the absolute best they could possibly achieve within the dimensions and price they were targeting.

jcagara08 said:
In case if this was not yet posted, LTT tweeted this photo the other day;
View attachment 5462
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#5791 ;)
 
Do you guys think it's a safe bet to buy a Cryorig C7 now at $30? There isn't any new Intel chips slated for the end of the year right? Just the current Z170 chips?
 
krcm0209 said:
Do you guys think it's a safe bet to buy a Cryorig C7 now at $30? There isn't any new Intel chips slated for the end of the year right? Just the current Z170 chips?
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You're mixing up chipsets & sockets.

Skylake is an 1151 socket processor. Kabylake (due out end of this year, and Cannon Lake due end 2017 will both also be 1151 socket processors. So the C7 should be compatible with all 3.

Z170 is a motherboard chipset. Along with Kabylake at the end of this year, Z270 motherboards are expected to arrive too.
 
dondan said:
A small Update for all x99 socket 2011-3 Narrow Ilm lovers.

Today I got a second C7 from Cryorig, I will make a custom bracket to fit on Narrow Ilm.
Click to expand...

C7 is forced to be off-center to clear off the inner DIMM slot, forcing C7 to overlapp part of the chipset and the M.2 SSD. Have you confirmed that the C7 mounted onto a CPU on X99E-ITX/ac will clear the top of the chipset heatsink as well as the top of the M.2 SSD/screw?

I believe the center of the X99E-ITX/ac CPU socket (hence the center of whatever CPU mounted on it) is approx 41mm away from the inner DIMM slot, forcing the center of the (current version of) 38x38mm square copper base of C7 (which I believe is centered within the 97x95mm rectangular heatsink footprint) to be at least about 7.5mm offset towards the M.2 slot side. Based on the margins of the CPU PCB outside the IHS shown in this photo, I think the copper base of C7 will have to hang over the CPU IHS by at least 4mm on the M.2 slot side of it, and at least 10mm of the CPU IHS will not be covered by the copper base on the DIMM slots side of it. This makes me curious if the C7 will perform as commendably as it did in your LGA115x test when the contact between its copper base and the IHS of a Haswell-E/EP or a Broadwell-E/EP CPU is not really optimal. This is different from Dynatron T318 which doesn't have a protruded base on the bottom of the heatsink like C7 does, but isntead just a flat vapor chamber on the entire bottom side of the heatsink.

dondan said:
Also I got a Nexus LOW-7000 R2 (a older nearly sold out heatsink). With a 120mm FAN under the heatsink it will fit inside the case.
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I think a 120mm fan under the heatsink fins will interfere with the DIMM slots on most of the Mini-ITX motherboards even if you choose the slimmest one available. And once you choose a slim 100mm fan like TY-100 or Scythe Kaze-Jyu Slim as you did in your test, Isn't the setup more or less the same as the Phanteks heatsink you tested in terms of heatsink size and the fan configuration? The Phanteks heatsink turned out to be a poor performer but you think it's worth giving this Nexus one a shot?
 
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I'm slowly amassing parts as well. K/S paid for, just got the motherboard in from Prime day ($33 shipped!) and just bought the Cryorig C7 when I saw it was back in stock. I can't wait!
 
Just got everything except the case itself. I'm just hoping my Asus Strix 1080 really fits. It's so long it didn't even fit in one of my two ATX cases with ITX motherboard because of the stupid non-removable 5.25" drive cage...
 
Aircoookie said:
Just got everything except the case itself. I'm just hoping my Asus Strix 1080 really fits. It's so long it didn't even fit in one of my two ATX cases with ITX motherboard because of the stupid non-removable 5.25" drive cage...
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the maximum length supported was 295mm and the Asus Strix 1080 is >297. When you spend that much money on a video card you should know what you are buying o_O
 
crisisv87akd said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the maximum length supported was 295mm and the Asus Strix 1080 is >297. When you spend that much money on a video card you should know what you are buying o_O
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Dondan said it should fit, no need to be condescending.
 
Are the black and silver colors both anodized, or is it just the black color? I'm asking because, I was just thinking how my old black Lian Li black case was anodized and it was a nightmare to clean, and finger print oils would stain the case if they weren't cleaned off right away.
 
itschop. What I can say by experience is that brushed aluminium is always a nightmare to clean...

First page says about the color: Anodized black or silver exterior, matte black painted interior. (subject to changes, I guess)
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Hrvatfull Thank you!, Good to find useful comments about the topic :)
 
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