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

cowsgomoo2 said:
Maybe you can power them from the PSU with molex to DC barrel adapters like https://www.amazon.com/4-Pin-Molex-Connector-5-5mm-2-1mm/dp/B0121QHR2E.
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This is a great idea, do anyone knows if you could fit the cable through the hole in the back of dan case, above the GPU slot? i was watching Linus video since i have an EVGA FTW 1070 and it seems that the video card occupies that space, but it could be possible be routed between the gap of the pcb with the cooler itself, it will be just cool to plug the monitor directly to the case.
 
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M4vr1c1o said:
This is a great idea, do anyone knows if you could fit the cable through the hole in the back of dan case, above the GPU slot? i was watching Linus video since i have an EVGA FTW 1070 and it seems that the video card occupies that space, but it could be possible be routed between the gap of the pcb with the cooler itself, it will be just cool to plug the monitor directly to the case.
Click to expand...
Another one I found:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/50c...Male-Converter-Adapter-Power/32322295759.html
Maybe you can just open the GPU side panel to admire the LED lights while routing the cable out.
I think it's useful if you want to reduce weight while traveling with various 12V DC equipment (speakers, external HDD enclosure, router), but don't want to bring 12V AC-DC adapters.
 
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M4vr1c1o said:
This is a great idea, do anyone knows if you could fit the cable through the hole in the back of dan case, above the GPU slot? i was watching Linus video since i have an EVGA FTW 1070 and it seems that the video card occupies that space, but it could be possible be routed between the gap of the pcb with the cooler itself, it will be just cool to plug the monitor directly to the case.
Click to expand...

You can get 12V @ 3A directly out of USB-C PD Profile 3 if you can find an adaptor to negotiate the profile.. I wonder if the motherboard USB-C ports that are appearing can deliver this much (or more, the current USB-PD spec goes up to 100W). This should be plenty to drive a small-ish display.
 
Thinking about fans for the CPU heatsink, Whats the vertical dimension of the vent holes on the side panel (and the horizontal for that matter). I am thinking of playing around with ducting options as I have had much success with this for my M1

Considering a Noctua L9i, there are a few ways of providing forced airflow

1) Using the bundled A9-14 fan, a slim fan. - consider ducting to the side panel following the 92mm dimension.
2) Using a 25mm thick fan, such as a Noctua A9

3) using a slim 92mm sitting on the heatsink, and ducting the intake to access an increased area of the side panel ventilation, say half the area, or a 140mm equivalent area.
4) using a slim 120/140mm close to the side panel, with its output ducted down onto the 92mm heatsink.


Considering 3 and 4

Hypothesis
1) It would allow the air intake to be spread over a larger filter area, reducing resistance to airflow. This is the primary benefit as fans are suffocated by intake mesh/grill/filters. If the side panel is 50% restrictive, having 50% more area makes it closer to being equivalent to free air.
2) Where the fan is given space in front of the fan, it is better able to generate static pressure. 5-10mm is not a lot, but might help. Normally I find fans need at least 10-25% of its diameter to breathe.
3) Larger dust filter area means it clogs up more slowly.
4) A more efficient system obviously means better temps or less noise.


Null Hypothesis
1) May not actually be better than a 25mm thick fan!



Construction required, someone with a 3D printer would be in a good position to try some designs. I will be trying cardboard :)


Once my case arrives, these are the things I will be trying out. This assumes I will be getting a L9i heatsink. I could also try and source a LP53, but between the two and a variety of fans, its already half the cost of the case itself!
 
Mackan said:
Soon the web will be flooded with near identical A4 builds. ;)

Common differences:

  • Silver vs. black case
  • Corsair vs. Silverstone vs. other brand PSU:s
  • Custom sleeved cables vs. stock cables
  • L9i vs. C7 CPU cooler
  • Different GPU:s (doh)
  • Different motherboards (doh)
More exotic differences:

  • Sleeved PCI riser cable (reward for figuring out how to do this properly)
  • Vandal switch
  • Water cooling, likely external radiator, custom pidestal or similar
  • Side panel window
  • Drilling mod to mount more fans somewhere
  • Repainted case
  • 2 slim 92mm fans wrapped in modders mesh, put on top panel to help suck air out
  • Custom feet
Can anyone else think of anything else?
Click to expand...

First, I think the Mobos won't be that different because of the limited number of available mITX boards.
Second, I recently successfully layout some USB-C connectors with PD compatibility. With that experience I plan to make myself a front-facing USB-C connector for the A4 in the next two months. I will share it if I am successful.

Also, I never even thought of sleeving the PCI-E riser. Will have to look into that.

Note: I studied the USB-C specs forever and layout some test boards. Now I know why most cheap things like keyboards will need some time to properly implement USB 3.1 Type-C with PD. It is complicated and requires some serious dev time to get the layout right.
 
ragnarok666 said:
Hi dondan,
first of all thank you very much for your great work, I am really looking forward to get my A4.
Regarding the AXP 100RH, the homepage says the fan is 15mm, so maybe also a 13mm fan would fit? Could you please check as well? There are some nice 140 fans available with 13mm thickness like the Thermalright 14013R. If the performance is similar to the APX 100H Muscle, this might be be best option for a CPU cooler in the A4.
Greetings from Tokyo!
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Be aware that when the fan is very close to the side-panel, you will get a lot of noise from air turbulence. You will need a few mm distance between the fan so that the air will flow better so you don't get extra noise.
 
Hey guys,
I created a spreadsheet where we can collect benchmark results from different hardware that was tested in the DAN A4. If we find enough participants, everybody could easily find out how good his hardware would perform in the DAN A4 and which cooling solution is superior. I would appreciate it, if you would participe as well.
Currently there are for benchmarks planed.
- Prime95 (8k) v26.6 , because everybody uses Prime95 even though the temperatures are unrealistic high.
- GPUPI for CPU 1B, because it shows realistic temperatur for the CPU and lasts long enough to detect weak cooling solutions.
- Unigine Heaven: because realistic GPU temperatures
- GPUPI + Heaven : So that a worst case can be simulated.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aZfTysWc4dtJC33qkLCjLkhPnzVLtbCtjpxoZeT92ZA/edit#gid=0
Currently the file can be edited by everybody. So, take care when you use it ;)
If you have questions or suggestions to improve, please reply to this post.
 
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cowsgomoo2 said:
I wonder if it's worth it to delid for small CPU coolers like the C7.
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Delidding improves the thermal flow from the CPU to the heatsink, nothing else. It only conveys significant temperature improvements if the cooler can handle the heat. Likely the C7 or L9i capabilities will be the bottleneck here. That said, temperature will drop by a few degrees anyways because the cooler can diffuse the heat more effectively if its temperature (difference to ambient) is higher.
 
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If anyone has recieved an email, i think that person would already posted it in the thread
 
I received an email!

Just kidding, it was just a [H] notification mail because you replied to the thread :D
I think Dan is already in the process of preparing the first batch of shipments...
 
There is an order. Dan will first ship all EU countries, the countries with most backers first. Inside a country it is first come first serve principle.
After that the same will happen with the non-EU countries.
 
Aircoookie said:
There is an order. Dan will first ship all EU countries, the countries with most backers first. Inside a country it is first come first serve principle.
After that the same will happen with the non-EU countries.
Click to expand...
Ok thank you!
 
Hey Dondan, just wanted to say I'm very happy to see you've made it to this point. I've been following the case since day 1, and sadly was not able to participate in the kickstarter due to funds. Hopefully I'm able to get one someday. Until then, great work and best of luck!
 
Caseking gave me a Expected delivery date of 01-02-17, so the 1st of february, but that is probably a case of wishful thinking, especially because the cases will be sent out to the backers first.
 
Well they can always ship it to me after they receive it... worth a shot if someone doesn't need/want it anymore. PayPal handles fraud claims up to 180 days after payment. I'm a custom mechanical keyboard enthusiast (geekhack) and we do this all the time with our group buys...
 
Aircoookie said:
There is an order. Dan will first ship all EU countries, the countries with most backers first. Inside a country it is first come first serve principle.
After that the same will happen with the non-EU countries.
Click to expand...
Do you know when he will start shipping to the US?
 
Aircoookie said:
There is an order. Dan will first ship all EU countries, the countries with most backers first. Inside a country it is first come first serve principle.
After that the same will happen with the non-EU countries.
Click to expand...

US orders won't start shipping till the 2nd half, it sounds like.
 
Best bet is to wait for Dondan to update the thread. I seriously doubt that he will ship them out and not update us. We've waited this long so let's just calm down and wait for the man himself to give us the news.
 
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Also worth noting I didn't see a difference in temps when I delidded, but I probably failed somewhere along the way
 
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