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

I liked the LinusTechTips review. Luke did a good job. I enjoyed it for what it was. Yes, it wasn't in-depth, but that's typically what they do. They hardly ever review cases anymore. I expect HardwareCanucks to do a better job with specifics, and maybe Kyle/Paul/Jay if they get to do a review, but generally don't expect anything too comprehensive. These YouTube reviews are meant to be about 10 minutes, just to get you hooked and prompt you to do your own research. Given, the 10 minutes could be used for facts and data and benchmarks, or in the case of Luke's review, more of a subjective opinion. The opinion and hype-building are potentially more valuable, because it's more likely to get people interested. For in-depth, written reviews are better and I imagine we'll see quite a few of those when the cases start shipping. Some more obscure YouTube channels also do in-depth stuff but as there isn't as wide an audience for it, the major channels do more of a quick-opinion/lots of videos thing.
 
In 10 minutes, they could have easily addressed drawbacks like price and compared to competing products like Node 202, NCASE M1, or S4 Mini. For example if you only want a gtx 1060, you can get a smaller setup with the S4 Mini.
 
danger said:
In 10 minutes, they could have easily addressed drawbacks like price and compared to competing products like Node 202, NCASE M1, or S4 Mini. For example if you only want a gtx 1060, you can get a smaller setup with the S4 Mini.
Click to expand...
A smaller setup that requires an external PSU, and a short GPU.
I love the S4 mini, I'm considering getting one just to have the option of using it but I don't really think it's fair// logical to compare it to the A4 in terms of price.
Don't forget that the riser cable is a decent chunk of why the A4 is expensive, and since you mention the S4, You have to buy one in addition to the $150 for that case.
 
Curiositie said:
A smaller setup that requires an external PSU, and a short GPU.
I love the S4 mini, I'm considering getting one just to have the option of using it but I don't really think it's fair// logical to compare it to the A4 in terms of price.
Don't forget that the riser cable is a decent chunk of why the A4 is expensive, and since you mention the S4, You have to buy one in addition to the $150 for that case.
Click to expand...
I 100% disagree with you. I think the S4 and Dan Cases are direct competitors are it is completely fair and logical to compare them. They each have their pluses and minuses, but that is true with any competing products. I'm the person that has an M1 with a Dan in order and S4 pending. I don't see how one can say it is not logical to compare them, but you're entitled to your opinion.
 
danger said:
I 100% disagree with you. I think the S4 and Dan Cases are direct competitors are it is completely fair and logical to compare them. They each have their pluses and minuses, but that is true with any competing products. I'm the person that has an M1 with a Dan in order and S4 pending. I don't see how one can say it is not logical to compare them, but you're entitled to your opinion.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't compare them either.
 
The Dan case has a non-conductive shield to prevent contact between the GPU and the frame. What material is this and where do I get some? I'd like to put some on the back of my Titan XM as insurance as there's only about 2mm between it and my Nofan CR-95.
 
It is plastic. We don't sell it without the case, but you can buy a plastic folder and cut it by yourself.
 
If dondan wants to, hardwarecanucks and perhaps tek syndicate (preferably Wendell - in depth review; Logan - good <8min overview/review) would elevate this pc case's exposure.
 
Mackan said:
Well, half of the youtube comments are about Linus penis size...
Click to expand...
As much as I am not a fan of Luke whatsoever, at least he gave a very good one-liner at the end of his review, which pretty much states that he hopes to see more cases from dondan. Also, Luke did state that although the case was small at just 7.25L, installing the gpu was so much simpler than a traditional mid-tower case. As much as it is too bad that Linus' and Luke's review of the case did not give a good in-depth analysis especially with noise and temperatures as well as gpu clockspeeds and FPS for games tested, they gave good comments to the A4. This is important because their audience is catered to the more mainstream tech audience.
 
dondan said:
It is plastic. We don't sell it without the case, but you can buy a plastic folder and cut it by yourself.
Click to expand...

But what sort of plastic is it? It's got to resist high temperatures on the GPU, so any old plastic won't do. Is it coated with anything?
 
It's just there to prevent the GPU's backside from shorting out. You can use anything non-conductive. Black cardstock would work fairly well I imagine.
 
danger said:
I 100% disagree with you. I think the S4 and Dan Cases are direct competitors are it is completely fair and logical to compare them. They each have their pluses and minuses, but that is true with any competing products. I'm the person that has an M1 with a Dan in order and S4 pending. I don't see how one can say it is not logical to compare them, but you're entitled to your opinion.
Click to expand...
I'm in a similar boat, M1 currently, A4 backed, and considering getting an S4 also.
In my mind they're competing in the sense that they are SFF as it was meant to be, but because of compatibility differences they don't compare well.
Calling it not logical was not the best choice of words, I apologize.
 
Samsung 950
Reading all the comments about using a Samsung 950 mounted under the mobo, consensus seem to be that it will get hot and throttle!?
We are not sure how hot it actually will get and how much it will throttle but a safe (and cheaper) option would be to get another M2 like Samsung 840 or Intel/Cruscial?

SF450 vs 600
This is something which confiuses me, my first thought were that a SF600 ought to be more quite since it will be under less load but same here SF450 should be quiter anyway?

Asus 1080 Strix (non OC)
I have finally got around to mount this in my Prodigy case and it works like shit :( unafortunately. (Win10 shuts down but not the computer and when using DP+DVI connection my Dell U2711 monitors doesn't show a picture sometimes.)
That is really not relevant to this thread but what I wanted to share (most reviewers have already metioned this) are that the card is running quite cold 55-60C playing TSW/WoW but the fans are loud if you are running default settings (Gaming Mode). My old 670 Strix was so much quiter (default settings). Tinkering with the fan settings are neccecary for this card.
 
spda242 said:
SF450 vs 600
This is something which confiuses me, my first thought were that a SF600 ought to be more quite since it will be under less load but same here SF450 should be quiter anyway?
Click to expand...

I strongly discourage from bying an SFX and get an SFX-L isntead. 2 drives (SSD + big HDD if you need it) is more than enough.

I had a very bad experience with Silverstone SFX supplies... First I had ST45SF-G and it was quite loud so I've decided to switch to SX600-G thinking that it would stay more silent (with GTX 970), but it didn't... And it even has some weird squeaking sound when spinning up, I hated it. I RMAed 3 times, finally gave up. That small package combined with a small fan is just not enough to keep it cool and quiet.

Finally I bought SX500-LG and never looked back. It stays silent even after I've upgraded to EVGA GTX 1080 SSC.
 
promaty said:
I strongly discourage from bying an SFX and get an SFX-L isntead. 2 drives (SSD + big HDD if you need it) is more than enough.

I had a very bad experience with Silverstone SFX supplies... First I had ST45SF-G and it was quite loud so I've decided to switch to SX600-G thinking that it would stay more silent (with GTX 970), but it didn't... And it even has some weird squeaking sound when spinning up, I hated it. I RMAed 3 times, finally gave up. That small package combined with a small fan is just not enough to keep it cool and quiet.

Finally I bought SX500-LG and never looked back. It stays silent even after I've upgraded to EVGA GTX 1080 SSC.
Click to expand...

I've had the ST45SF, the SX500-LG and I'm now using the SF600. ST45SF has a high pitched whirring noise even at idle and both the SX500-LG and the SF600 are silent at idle. However if you look at the SX500-LG thread, a lot of people experienced clicking noises from the fan. I did when I first got it but it went away after a week.
 
spda242 said:
Samsung 950
Reading all the comments about using a Samsung 950 mounted under the mobo, consensus seem to be that it will get hot and throttle!?
We are not sure how hot it actually will get and how much it will throttle but a safe (and cheaper) option would be to get another M2 like Samsung 840 or Intel/Cruscial?
Click to expand...

Anything that you stuff under your motherboard will get hot. That is unavoidable. If said part is sandwiched between the gpu and motherboard... yep, more heat.
 
promaty said:
I strongly discourage from bying an SFX and get an SFX-L isntead. 2 drives (SSD + big HDD if you need it) is more than enough.

I had a very bad experience with Silverstone SFX supplies... First I had ST45SF-G and it was quite loud so I've decided to switch to SX600-G thinking that it would stay more silent (with GTX 970), but it didn't... And it even has some weird squeaking sound when spinning up, I hated it. I RMAed 3 times, finally gave up. That small package combined with a small fan is just not enough to keep it cool and quiet.

Finally I bought SX500-LG and never looked back. It stays silent even after I've upgraded to EVGA GTX 1080 SSC.
Click to expand...
I have the Silverstone SFX 600watt PSU powering 6700K and GTX 1080 FE. It works great and is quiet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jspr
like this
promaty said:
I strongly discourage from bying an SFX and get an SFX-L isntead. 2 drives (SSD + big HDD if you need it) is more than enough.

I had a very bad experience with Silverstone SFX supplies... First I had ST45SF-G and it was quite loud so I've decided to switch to SX600-G thinking that it would stay more silent (with GTX 970), but it didn't... And it even has some weird squeaking sound when spinning up, I hated it. I RMAed 3 times, finally gave up. That small package combined with a small fan is just not enough to keep it cool and quiet.

Finally I bought SX500-LG and never looked back. It stays silent even after I've upgraded to EVGA GTX 1080 SSC.
Click to expand...

I am running the Silverstone 450 watt modular SFX in my system and I don't seem to be having as much noise problems as some people, but I can definitely hear it. When I built my wife's computer 2 months ago, I used the Corsair 450 watt SFX and I never hear it. The fan usually doesn't even spin. Even when she is playing games (GTX 970) her PSU is the quietest thing in her build. The Corsair model she has is orders of magnitude different than the silverstone 450 watt in my computer. I will definitely go with the corsair 450 watt next time I need an SFX power supply.
 
danger said:
I 100% disagree with you. I think the S4 and Dan Cases are direct competitors are it is completely fair and logical to compare them. They each have their pluses and minuses, but that is true with any competing products. I'm the person that has an M1 with a Dan in order and S4 pending. I don't see how one can say it is not logical to compare them, but you're entitled to your opinion.
Click to expand...

Man, you should consider currency conversion import values and shipping costs over seas. Of course it will be expensive for you. It is the same as if I bought the M1, for people on Europe it is a lot more expensive than for Americans.
 

Ok I see, I was probably unlucky. Still I think we can all agree that an SFX-L should generally stay more quiet than an SFX one with a smaller fan, it's just simple physics. If you can fit an SFX-L, I see no point in buying an SFX, which also tend to be more expensive.
 
promaty said:
Ok I see, I was probably unlucky. Still I think we can all agree that an SFX-L should generally stay more quiet than an SFX one with a smaller fan, it's just simple physics. If you can fit an SFX-L, I see no point in buying an SFX, which also tend to be more expensive.
Click to expand...
Agreed that the larger fan in the SFX-L can be more quiet.
 
Last edited:
It seems that the 700w SFX-L by Silverstone has some QC issues again with the fan. The 500w SFX-L gold is fixed with v2.0 out now, but I still would rather get a 450-500w sfx psu for easier cable routing. Hopefully Silverstone comes out with their 500w sfx, so that it pressures Corsair to come out with a 500w SF500 version as well.
 
Today I start my work on an window kit for the A4-SFX. Do you like it? Currently I work on a version without visible screws.

window_preview_12008vsa0.jpg
 
Last edited:
I understand the price of the case, and I happily supported the project. But adding additional costs to a 230 euros case is ridiculous. As much as I like the window, I feel like you are trying to squeeze your supporters... I know I will receive hate comments, but I also want to express my opinion as a supporter.
 
If you don't like it then don't purchase the window. Giving options is a good thing. Dan calling it a "window kit" suggest it is a stand alone item or option and not something you have to purchase...
 
crisisv87akd said:
adding additional costs to a 230 euros case is ridiculous... I feel like you are trying to squeeze your supporters...
Click to expand...
Where do you see:
1. An increase to the existing kickstarter pledges?
2. This window kit added to the original kickstarter campaign?
3. Request for additional funds from backers?

This looks like an optional additional kit that may become available in the future. And I like it
 
As I said, I'm a supporter and I'm free to have an opinion and express it respectfully. I think people find hard to accept any different opinion other than theirs. I'm not demanding things to be my way, I know things won't change with my comment. Just learn to respect and stop making a big deal out of everything.

Edit:
dondan I like a lot of things about the project, I informed myself that's why I'm a baker, I understand why the price tag, but I still thing that the window panel should be the default kit.

To others, don't worry about my economic situation I'll be fine, but thank you.
 
Last edited:
crisisv87akd said:
As I siad, I'm a supporter and I;m free to have an opinion and express it respectfully. Not asking anyone to like or agree me. ;)
Click to expand...
And you chose to state your opinion on a discussion forum, hence the discussion. Don't buy it if you can't afford it. Simple.
 
crisisv87akd said:
But adding additional costs to a 230 euros case is ridiculous. As much as I like the window, I feel like you are trying to squeeze your supporters...
Click to expand...
I explaind it so many times why it is costs 230€. We don't produce in mass (5000+). We use high-end server grade components like 3M riser and Lian Li manufactured case. DAN Cases is located in Germany and not in China so we have higher fix costs. We don't have our own production so we have to buy from other manufacturer, for them we are competitor, so we will not get the best price. If my company don't make a little profit I can't provide new innovative ideas in future.

The window side panel is a accessoires so you don't need it, but you can upgrade your product if you like. It is normal that you have to pay for accessoires extra money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top