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

Is anyone planning on running an amd build? I will have a never used nh-l9a without the nf a6x14 fan. All accessories and untouched thermal paste included.
 
Blorgon said:
It's been my impression since the start of this thread that the case is designed around using a blower-style GPU cooler so as to minimize internal case temperature as much as is possible.
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Jonas Mellkvist said:
I also afraid that the hot air will be dumped in the Case with a non reference design and increase temp on Cpu and more hot air in the Case with aftermarket Gpu.
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Dan tested the non-blower GPU coolers and found they work well in A4-SFX. We think this is because the fans have no space between them and the case vents, which prevents the fans from sucking air from inside the case. Because they only suck cool air from outside the case, the GPU stays cool. The excess hot air is blown out the top of the case and doesn't affect the CPU cooler much because the CPU is in a totally different location.

The best CPU cooler will use the same principal, with the fan chassis butting up against the case vent surface. We don't know what that CPU cooler is yet though, because people need to get their cases and mix and match heatsinks and build baffles until they find the perfect combination and report back here.
 
illram said:
A slower M.2 is still nice insofar as it's less cables. Makes the Strix very nice as you can potentially eliminate the need for any SSD's whatsoever with two m.2 slots.
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Can you not eliminate the need for a traditional SSD or HDD with using a single M.2 drive?
 
mirgus said:
Dont get a GTX 1080 blower style... wtf

Wont go for a Intel 600p either, its not that much faster then a normal sata ssd and u could reuse a sata ssd in another pc/laptop

If u go m.2 then do it right.
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stelsevo said:
GTX 1080 (MSI, Evga etc, not ref) + M.2 Samsung 960 Evo 500Gb + Noctua L9i
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What exactly is doing it right? is the M.2 960Evo 512gb worth it at 50% more expensive than the intel 600p?
 
ahmedelamin_ said:
What exactly is doing it right? is the M.2 960Evo 512gb worth it at 50% more expensive than the intel 600p?
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50% more expensive and you don't see 50% added realworld performamce gains. The drive is impressive but it is too expensive for what you actually get. I bought my 1TB ssd because I got it for a steal. Other wise I would've grabbed a slower drive. The intel 600p drives don't perform at their rated speeds consistently so they aren't as good as they seem. It is still a fast drive though.
 
ahmedelamin_ said:
Hey so just wanted to ask for advice before going ahead and making the big purchases for this build. It's been a while since I completed my last build and this is quite a niche case that I don't want to mess up!

Monitor: 27" 4k LG27UD88

The build is for 3d modeling and CAD. The case seems perfect from a size perspective - need to be able to carry it about a lot. Any and all opinions are welcome!! Main concern is that everything works well with the case and performance isn't hindered.
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For CAD/gfx work I like the Benq 32" BL3201PH a lot (have had two at work and one at home for the last ~2 years). 32" is the sweet spot for UHD imo - but maybe I'm just getting old and prefer a larger screen that I don't have to sit so close to :)
 
danij3l said:
here is A4-SFX being made :)



such a coincidence to actually find this :))))


EDIT: OMFG there are so many points in the video where you can actually see A4 ....
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At 5:05 you can see an Ncase M1 as well... thats quite coincidental.
 
Ca11idus said:
50% more expensive and you don't see 50% added realworld performamce gains. The drive is impressive but it is too expensive for what you actually get. I bought my 1TB ssd because I got it for a steal. Other wise I would've grabbed a slower drive. The intel 600p drives don't perform at their rated speeds consistently so they aren't as good as they seem. It is still a fast drive though.
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The WD blue m.2 comes pretty well out of the tests price/performance wise, I'd consider that one too. The blue 1Tb is in the 12th place in Allyn's big ass list in this review (note, there are more of these big ass lists in the same review, in some the blue is much lower in the list):

qd-rnd.png
 
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No this is not the sidepanel of the A4. It is the LL PC-Q33A panel.

I checked the complete video and there are no A4 parts in it. But you see the M1 U-Frame.
 
ahmedelamin_ said:
Hey so just wanted to ask for advice before going ahead and making the big purchases for this build. It's been a while since I completed my last build and this is quite a niche case that I don't want to mess up!

GPU: Gtx 1080 Founders Edition (Blower style cooler)
SSD: M.2 Intel 600p (512GB)
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Your components seem to be quite like what I have, are going for.

I am not sure about the Blower Style GPU and I don't seem to be alone in this thread. I have a Strix 1080 already.
I you don't have it yet I would wait for comments from users in this thread when system are built.
This was something which mainly seem to have been started by Linus and I don't really trust those guys when it comes to technical stuff...

I you are going with an Intel 600p you should read a few reviews, every review points in the same direction. It has severe drawbacks (Abysmal writing speed when cache is filled for example). I looked at it and in the end I came to the conclusion that a 960 Evo were a little bit more expensive but better in every way.
 
spda242 said:
I am not sure about the Blower Style GPU and I don't seem to be alone in this thread. I have a Strix 1080 already.
I you don't have it yet I would wait for comments from users in this thread when system are built.
This was something which mainly seem to have been started by Linus and I don't really trust those guys when it comes to technical stuff...
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uhm dude, there are several videos already which compares blower and non-blower GPUs in different kind of cases (atx, itx,etc ). mostly for mini itx cases, blower style coolers are preferred because it vents the hot air out of the small restricted airflow case,
unlike the non-blower which only spread the heat inside the case. Though the non blower gets better GPU temps, but makes the other components warmer. i think dan already have tested it and posted it in the thread.
 
The dan A4 layout is not the same as the other cases. Blower gpu in this configuration might not be better than non blower.
We will have hundred of A4 delivered by next week.
We should have a clear answer really fast regarding this topic.
If you don t own à gpu I would defenetly recommand to old on.

My bet is that non blower gpu will have a very small impact on the cpu temps meanwhile having à strong one on the gpu temps and noise.
 
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Hey guys, first post here! been following this thread as I'm waiting for the case to be available on caseking to have a chance to get one... my F5 key is ready for Feb 1st lol

As far as cooling is concerned, the C7 seems to have the best cooling capacity but I'm worried about noise, does anyone know if a noctua NF-A9x14 fan could be mounted on a C7 even with some modding? It doesn't seem hard as the original fan is already held to grooves on the side of the heatsink by some clips, and I'm guessing another fan could be installed with some custom-built clips like the ones noctua uses on their own heatsinks.

What do you guys think about this C7+A9x14 combo?
 
kse617
I think it could perform best. A guy on Computerbase.de is going to test this combination. the results will be published in this spreadsheet together with many other hardware combination of other people:

Code: 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aZfTysWc4dtJC33qkLCjLkhPnzVLtbCtjpxoZeT92ZA/edit#gid=0
 
Jirbin said:
uhm dude, there are several videos already which compares blower and non-blower GPUs in different kind of cases (atx, itx,etc ). mostly for mini itx cases, blower style coolers are preferred because it vents the hot air out of the small restricted airflow case,
unlike the non-blower which only spread the heat inside the case. Though the non blower gets better GPU temps, but makes the other components warmer. i think dan already have tested it and posted it in the thread.
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The CPU and motherboard are isolated to their own compartment from the video card. The cooling configuration of the video card will have minimal (if any) impact on the CPU and vice versa. Given the nonexistent empty space inside the case, and also how close component fans will be to the vent holes, open air coolers are going to perform better in this case than blowers.
 
tviceman said:
The CPU and motherboard are isolated to their own compartment from the video card. The cooling configuration of the video card will have minimal (if any) impact on the CPU and vice versa. Given the nonexistent empty space inside the case, and also how close component fans will be to the vent holes, open air coolers are going to perform better in this case than blowers.
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Ofc you will get the most hot Air in the top, Gpu Chambers. But its not air tight to CPU Chamber so hot air will come here to.

The question is how much and the impact in temps.

Have you tested all Gpu in this case to state your statement.

And i wont diagrams and full test on atleast 6 Gpu.
 
tviceman said:
The CPU and motherboard are isolated to their own compartment from the video card. The cooling configuration of the video card will have minimal (if any) impact on the CPU and vice versa. Given the nonexistent empty space inside the case, and also how close component fans will be to the vent holes, open air coolers are going to perform better in this case than blowers.
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Maybe to early to know, but would using a mini 1070/1080 card (which creates more empty space) negatively affect temps?
 
*SPAM APOLOGY*

I've decided not to build my DAN-A4 (black) so will be selling it. I'm UK based and it's due to be shipped any day now. UK buyer preferred, may ship to EU. PM me if interested.
 
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daedos said:
*SPAM APOLOGY*

I've decided not to build my DAN-A4 (black) so will be selling it. I'm UK based and it's due to be shipped any day now. UK buyer preferred, may ship to EU. PM me if interested.
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If you're willing to ship to the US (or if anyone else is) let me know.
 
daedos said:
*SPAM APOLOGY*

I've decided not to build my DAN-A4 (black) so will be selling it. I'm UK based and it's due to be shipped any day now. UK buyer preferred, may ship to EU. PM me if interested.
Click to expand...
where about are you in the uk? would be interested if i could pick it up
 
tviceman said:
The CPU and motherboard are isolated to their own compartment from the video card. The cooling configuration of the video card will have minimal (if any) impact on the CPU and vice versa. Given the nonexistent empty space inside the case, and also how close component fans will be to the vent holes, open air coolers are going to perform better in this case than blowers.
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yep isolated, but not entirely, the right side where the PSU will be sitting in is half open.
 
ndjwin99 said:
linus lp cooler review ... c7 l9i engeine 27 etc..
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We know that small one sucks, but there's useful data there about C7 and L9i! The L9i is smaller but performs the same ore better than C7 when the sound level is capped. So while this is not the same as testing both heatsinks with the same fan, it comes close. This leads me to believe the poster here who said the best combination would be a L9i with the biggest fan possible to fill the case and hit the side vents. A thicker fan is also more performant under adverse pressure situations, like sucking against a surface with holes in it.
 
There is also à New thermalac but this time 37 mn tall. Same all métal principal. Let s hope it performances 30% better.
 
Are there any ITX boards currently that have 2 M.2 slots? I'd hate to have to run a sata power just for 1 drive :p
 
ultraman982 said:
Maybe to early to know, but would using a mini 1070/1080 card (which creates more empty space) negatively affect temps?
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I wouldn't over think it too much. It's a small void and all the ventilation holes are close by so it should be fine.
 
lukedriftwood said:
Here comes the grammar police, X299 ITX should be the successor of X99 ITX, not predecessor.
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Also it's kabylake-x/skylake-x. Anyway english is not my first language bro, sorry. :D
Also can someone confirm? Dan A4 will be available in february?
 
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Is there any word if the MSI 1080 Gaming X truly fits? I saw Dondan's post about someone fitting it but I want to do custom psu cables and I'm curious to know if it will interfere with the top cover or if it will just touch it and not cause further interfere. I'm looking at that and the Asus Strix 1080. I already have a FE 1080 but find that to be too loud and too hot. Thanks and is there any word on what time the cases will be orderable on OCUK, I know Feb 1 is the date before anyone posts that.
 
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