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

theGryphon said:
Problem with going mATX with this design is that the riser cable would not be long enough.
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Also, imo, the whole reason to go matx is to run sli. There's not enough space for two cards,I wouldnt think. I do like this case though. I'll be interested in picking one of these up as a living room box, or when I need to bring 2 pcs somewhere
 
MisterClean said:
Also, imo, the whole reason to go matx is to run sli. There's not enough space for two cards,I wouldnt think. I do like this case though. I'll be interested in picking one of these up as a living room box, or when I need to bring 2 pcs somewhere
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Yeah, that and more memory. But for this case's intended target (gaming) that's not really necessary.
 
MisterClean said:
Also, imo, the whole reason to go matx is to run sli. There's not enough space for two cards,I wouldnt think. I do like this case though. I'll be interested in picking one of these up as a living room box, or when I need to bring 2 pcs somewhere
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There are other reasons to go for mATX (vs ITX): more CPU cores, more RAM, more PCI slots for other components, compatibility with existing boards... Not everybody interested in SFF is a gamer ;)
 
+1 to that, not everybody is a gamer

I for example would like to have portable development rig, which means more ram and possibly more cores, as much ram as possible and xeon phi card for UE4 binary compilation along some integrated or small low profile gpu. Notebook is not a portable workstation for everyone :)
 
Sorry guys, but this is a itx case and i will not change it to matx. So a discussion about the matx topic is useless in this thread :p.
 
You haven't read what I wrote. "This case's intended target".

Look at the title of the thread. "Gaming case series". I didn't make a general statement about SFF cases, just this one.
 
@dondan - Yeah, we know, it's not about changing the current design. I just asked If you're readying some follow-up mATX version after this.
 
rawrr said:
You haven't read what I wrote. "This case's intended target".

Look at the title of the thread. "Gaming case series". I didn't make a general statement about SFF cases, just this one.
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I didn't respond to you. I responded and quoted MisterClean.
Yeah, this case and designer is focused on gaming, but the discussion went into mATX. SaperPL's idea was not to replace A4, it was to add a mATX version of it. But dondan now said he's not interested, so case is closed (pun not intended) :p
 
theGryphon said:
I didn't respond to you. I responded and quoted MisterClean.
Yeah, this case and designer is focused on gaming, but the discussion went into mATX. SaperPL's idea was not to replace A4, it was to add a mATX version of it. But dondan now said he's not interested, so case is closed (pun not intended) :p
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Well I was referring specifically to this case, as a gamers case. Of course there are reasons to go matx over mitx even if you're not gaming, but this is a thread about a gaming case.

Now back on topic
 
As as quick suggestion to you dondan: put compatible cpu coolers that work with this case.

My list:
Sycthe Kodati, Noctua NHL-9i (can use new 92mm Noctua fan 25mm thick), Phanteks TC-12LS (fan under cooler?), thermolab itx30, zalman cnps2, Silverstone AR05
 
I would say Noctua NHL-9i (NF-A9 25mm fan) easily for ease of installation. Phanteks tc-12ls (if it fits) can be the top cooler (here's hoping it can fit a 120mm fan underneath) as it has six heatpipes. It will be interesting how the AR05 compares to the nhl-9i.
 
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Is the Noctua NF-A9 premium fan 25mm with or without the anti-noise vibration brown pads?
 
The ITX30 is 1-2C worse in cooling performance than the Noctua NHL-9i. It is quieter, but I don't know if its possible for people in North America to receive it without it being costly due to shipping costs.
 
LP53 not fitting the case? ive got two of those in use atm. I suppose i should measure the fan height.
 
53mm in height. Case limits to 50mm height cpu coolers. I'm waiting on the kodati and phanteks tc12ls as well as ar05 reviews.
 
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dondan said:
The LP53 fits if you replace the fan with a 15mm version.
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LP53 stock fan is 25mm thick/high or however you say it. arent there any (good) 20mm ones around? I am not really pro about them. Just the usual noctua-drone :|
 
I don't like the psu mounting rack hanging like that. That was one of the things I greatly disliked about the ncase m1. Especially since i was using an atx psu, and it weighed a ton. In your design it seems like you could swap the psu and hdd mounts, and place the psu on the bottom of the case. swapping the positions might make it more bottom heavy and more stable.
 
I have a 170mm ATX PSU and the Noctua C12 heatsink in my M1 with no video card and it doesn't seem top-heavy at all.
 
illli said:
I don't like the psu mounting rack hanging like that. That was one of the things I greatly disliked about the ncase m1. Especially since i was using an atx psu, and it weighed a ton. In your design it seems like you could swap the psu and hdd mounts, and place the psu on the bottom of the case. swapping the positions might make it more bottom heavy and more stable.
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This case isn't very high to begin with, and very wide, too. I highly doubt that it would fall over because the PSU is mounted at the top.
Also, they can't just swap HDD and PSU mounts because the PSU has its intake at the side and outlet at the top, which thermally separates it from every other component, one of the key design principles behind this case. If you placed the PSU at the bottom, it would still pull in cold air from the outside, but where would the excess heat go? With your idea, inside the case, and that is not to be desired in such a small one.
Also, having the PSU hang supports the fan quite a great deal. As hot air is less dense and therefore lighter than colder one, it will naturally start to rise up inside the PSU, creating natural airflow that saves the fan a bit of load. With your idea, the fan would have to blow against the natural flow of air, which will increase heat and noise at the same time.

Also, what exactly is the problem with a hanging PSU? It's not like the bracket is really in the danger of breaking. And even more important, do you really think an ATX sized PSU would fit in there?
 
I thought about PH-TC12LS again. Using this and this photos I estimate the thickness (z-height) of the fin stack as well as that of the base (note the ridge along the center line) to be about 20mm and 18mm respectively (based on the heatpipe diameter being 6mm), and let's say the pressure bridge that goes over the base is 1mm thick, then the space between the fin stack and the top of the pressure bridge is 48 - 20 - 18 - 1 = 9 mm, so now I have no hope to stick a Noctua A9x14 in. A 80x80x10mm fan might possibly squeeze in once the heatpipes are bent to widen up the space, but that will be totally suboptimal.
 
People in the states do not have access to the Thermolab cpu coolers? If that is the case, that means we would be limited to Scythe Kodati, Noctua Nhl-9i, Silverstone AR05, and possibly the Xigmatek Praeton. :( That said, I doubt people would be overclocking their i5/i7 cpus over 4.0GHz even if they had the Thermolab LP53 (w/low profile fan) installed.
 
Why overclock a (very SFF) gaming computer ? It's not like those <5% more frames are going to be the difference between a bad gaming device or a good one. But you will be able to hear the difference when a low profile cooler needs to cool 80W or 120W of heat.
 
Phuncz said:
Why overclock a (very SFF) gaming computer ? It's not like those <5% more frames are going to be the difference between a bad gaming device or a good one. But you will be able to hear the difference when a low profile cooler needs to cool 80W or 120W of heat.
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I never understood that in SFF builds, but I guess the goal is to maximise the power to volume ratio. Also, overclocking seems like a fun thing to do for some people, but TBH, this is not really the case to do it in.
 
Phuncz said:
Why overclock a (very SFF) gaming computer ? It's not like those <5% more frames are going to be the difference between a bad gaming device or a good one. But you will be able to hear the difference when a low profile cooler needs to cool 80W or 120W of heat.
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I agree. In my opinion overclocking is quite overrated, and additionally the extra cash needed for the unlocked cpu, better cooler, and z-series motherboard don't really seem worth it, when that locked i5 will perform pretty much the same.
 
And don't forget that the heaviest computations for games are done in the GPU, not the CPU. Even physics calculations and other bits and bobs are outsourced to the GPU, because it does parallel computing so much better and is much more specialised than the CPU we all need and love. I don't think there would be anything wrong with having a dualcore i3 in a gaming system with a 980.
Unless you go for SLI or Crossfire, that CPU probably isn't going to bottleneck your gaming performance.
That depends on the game, of course, but in general, investing in the GPU (and overclocking that) is more rewarding than doing the same thing with the CPU when all you want is to play.
 
That would be true if companies like Ubisoft would get their shitty games optimised better. Games like Far Cry 4 wouldn't even start on dual cores for no rational reason.

Not gonna stop me from pairing a G3258 with a 970 though :D
 
Can't wait to see temperature test for triple-fan graphic card
I don't fancy blower-type as they are mostly too loud
 
I'm very interested in that, too. The SFX version looks like it could give very good temps as all three fans generate static pressure inside the case. But the regular A4 will require a blower, there's no doubt about that.
 
Dondan, when you have some time, may ask that you do a visual size comparison with the M1 Ncase. Thank you.
 
Rorschach said:
Dondan, when you have some time, may ask that you do a visual size comparison with the M1 Ncase. Thank you.
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PodidoB.jpg


Here's an early comparison between the A4 (original) and the M1. Keep in mind the larger dimensions of the SFX version.
 
nbaraka said:
Lian Li launches (somewhat bigger) solution that has some similar ideas as your case:
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The only idea that is similar here is the flexible riser. Everything else is as different as it could be, not to mention that the PC-O5 is comically humongous for the components it fits.
 
iFreilicht said:
The only idea that is similar here is the flexible riser. Everything else is as different as it could be, not to mention that the PC-O5 is comically humongous for the components it fits.
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It's more of a "display" case to be honest; one that you use to show off your beautiful components and cabling :p
 
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