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

[Bump_eD]

does anyone know the clearance height we have from the board where the cpu cooler mounts to the case side panel? iam trying to see if i can put a swiftech Apogee II pump combo in there and have my 92mm rad mounted on the back with 3d printed mounts to make it as clean as possible without sticking out more then the case it self but allowing me to still connect all my cables. cross my fingers for 2.4"s

 

[Jann5s]

Bump_eD, should be 48mm, which is less than 1.9"

 

[Bump_eD]

thats a bummer..

 

[Jann5s]

I don't see why you woud want to watercool in the A4 anyway. The only reason would be to "just do it" or "just for fun". If you really want to push your CPU/GPU to higher levels, I'd say you've picked the wrong case. Remember that even a water cooling system is "air cooled" in the end. It only makes sense if you can move the air-cooling part to a location where you have more space, read: big radiators, with lots of fans. For short distances heat-pipes do fine, they even have water inside

 

[Bump_eD]

yea i guess it can go back in my m1 case, i just happened to find a 92mm rad when cleaning my house and was wondering if i would work in my soon to come dan case

 

[David A4]

After talking with EVGA tech support im eligible for a 1080TI Step-Up for another 33 days as long as they come out with a TI card option for my ACX card within that time.

 

[Pantera_666]

I just got done building custom ATX and EPS cables for my Corsair SF450 and MSI H110i combo using the same method that Pantera_666 has outlined on this forum (i.e. using short "patch" wires on the PSU end for the double wires).

I varied the lengths of the ATX wires from 145mm to 105mm to match the curve, and it's a tight fit. So if I was ordering I'd probably go for 150mm for ATX. And I made the EPS cable 240mm long and it fits well.

This is my first custom cabling project. It's slow fiddly work and I still have the PCI-E cable to go, but happy with the outcome so far. Only thing I would change in hindsight is using 18 AWG cable instead of the 16 AWG that I'm using as thinner cables would have been much easier to deal with when crimping two wires into a single pin.

View attachment 18469 View attachment 18470 View attachment 18471 View attachment 18472

O
M
G

Just like i pictured it on my mind!!!!!!

Congratulations bro, i'm glad that my idea came to reality and looking so good as well...

Now i just have to wait for my case (USA) and see how good it looks in person



A little confession: I feel a bit of regret about sharing my idea... Now i'm not gonna be the only one with cool looking cables

Good bye my only chance for the Hall of Fame

 

[Jirbin]

hmm anyone got their silver case on hand already? care to post some pictures? all i see in this thread are all black version. there are atleast 500 backers who went for the silver version, but i dont see one here

 

[OmenemO]

A little confession: I feel a bit of regret about sharing my idea... Now i'm not gonna be the only one with cool looking cables

fwiw, as an electrician I have all the tools I need to make my own custom cables and was also intending to have varying lengths for tidiness. I'm also sad that other people are doing the same

 

[Jonas Mellkvist]

 

[danij3l]

hmm anyone got their silver case on hand already? care to post some pictures? all i see in this thread are all black version. there are atleast 500 backers who went for the silver version, but i dont see one here

here you go. not the pest pics but if you want I can upload more once I finalize my build. Will delid CPU and make final decision on cooler tomorrow (either stock L9i or LP53 with L9i fan). Hoping to also get 4.5GHz OC since it can be done on stock voltage.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B9JzkIA3mEBpRjIya1pMeks1Rjg?usp=sharing

 

[Cherry Dude]

I just got done building custom ATX and EPS cables for my Corsair SF450 and MSI H110i combo using the same method that Pantera_666 has outlined on this forum (i.e. using short "patch" wires on the PSU end for the double wires).

I varied the lengths of the ATX wires from 145mm to 105mm to match the curve, and it's a tight fit. So if I was ordering I'd probably go for 150mm for ATX. And I made the EPS cable 240mm long and it fits well.

This is my first custom cabling project. It's slow fiddly work and I still have the PCI-E cable to go, but happy with the outcome so far. Only thing I would change in hindsight is using 18 AWG cable instead of the 16 AWG that I'm using as thinner cables would have been much easier to deal with when crimping two wires into a single pin.

View attachment 18469 View attachment 18470 View attachment 18471 View attachment 18472

fwiw, as an electrician I have all the tools I need to make my own custom cables and was also intending to have varying lengths for tidiness. I'm also sad that other people are doing the same

That is a minblowing idea! So simple but effective, perfect!
As a truely uncreative person when it comes to cables I just have to say I'm sorry - if I ever get to doing custom cables, thats the way I'll go. I could of course put a small note on the cables, thanking you guys...

On that note, I'm not shy to rewire and fiddle around with household item cabels, but how difficult is is to do your own custom cables? My main concern is a sudden gust of smoke from the case i.e. one wire in the wrong order or something like that.

 

[Blackreplica]

OK so i'm waiting for the Dan A4 (and GTX 1080Ti) to arrive....so in the meantime i hooked up my rig to get everything working and do a little stress testing



1) 7700K (stock clocks), Asus Z270I Strix, GSkill Trident Z RGB 16GB, Samsumg 960 Evo 1TB, Corsair SF600
2) DELIDDED - IHS removed with a razor blade, applied Coolaboratory Liquid Metal between die and IHS, and Noctua NT-H1 between IHS and CPU cooler. IHS was not relidded with any sealant. It just sits on top and the CPU socket clip holds everything in place
3) CPU cooler is a C7 heatsink with the Noctua NF A9x14 cable tied to it
4) Setup is sitting on an open table, so not tested in the Dan A4

Observations:

1) the SF600 PSU is basically silent. It spins up during Prime 95 but at no point do you ever hear it
2) the CPU fan is very...ultra quiet..even at full speed. and this is on an open setup about 0.5 meters from my ear.
3) the temperatures of the 7700K are incredible thanks to the delid. IMO...the delid combined with even just an L9i should please even the most demanding builder. You don't even need the C7 heatsink

Pictures

Temperatures shown in the screenshot are after 20 mins of Prime 95. Idle temps are 38 degrees (ambient 25 degrees). Needless to say, I'm a happy camper

 

[krcm0209]

I'm so salty that I happened to miss the preorder window for the 1080 Ti. Anyone know of any open-air cards that have been announced that will probably fit in the case? I would wait for the Strix 1080 Ti but I'm pretty sure it's too big.

 

[mcheddadi]

fwiw, as an electrician I have all the tools I need to make my own custom cables and was also intending to have varying lengths for tidiness. I'm also sad that other people are doing the same

A little confession: I feel a bit of regret about sharing my idea... Now i'm not gonna be the only one with cool looking cables

Good bye my only chance for the Hall of Fame

lol whats wroung with you guys. "oh no, they are all copying my idea" come on! wth lol

 

[StrawKite]

OK so i'm waiting for the Dan A4 (and GTX 1080Ti) to arrive....so in the meantime i hooked up my rig to get everything working and do a little stress testing



1) 7700K (stock clocks), Asus Z270I Strix, GSkill Trident Z RGB 16GB, Samsumg 960 Evo 1TB, Corsair SF600
2) DELIDDED - IHS removed with a razor blade, applied Coolaboratory Liquid Metal between die and IHS, and Noctua NT-H1 between IHS and CPU cooler. IHS was not relidded with any sealant. It just sits on top and the CPU socket clip holds everything in place
3) CPU cooler is a C7 heatsink with the Noctua NF A9x14 cable tied to it
4) Setup is sitting on an open table, so not tested in the Dan A4

Observations:

1) the SF600 PSU is basically silent. It spins up during Prime 95 but at no point do you ever hear it
2) the CPU fan is very...ultra quiet..even at full speed. and this is on an open setup about 0.5 meters from my ear.
3) the temperatures of the 7700K are incredible thanks to the delid. IMO...the delid combined with even just an L9i should please even the most demanding builder. You don't even need the C7 heatsink

Pictures

Temperatures shown in the screenshot are after 20 mins of Prime 95. Idle temps are 38 degrees (ambient 25 degrees). Needless to say, I'm a happy camper

The gpu might change that temperature sligthly because of gpu heat and psu heat (adding gpu will without a doubt add more stress.

 

[SideSwiped]

I'm so salty that I happened to miss the preorder window for the 1080 Ti. Anyone know of any open-air cards that have been announced that will probably fit in the case? I would wait for the Strix 1080 Ti but I'm pretty sure it's too big.

ASUS is coming out with three versions including the STRIX. EVGA announced theirs and I believe maybe ZOTAC or MSI teased theirs. Should be plenty of options, but Im sure they'll all cost more than FE.

 

[Blackreplica]

The gpu might change that temperature sligthly because of gpu heat and psu heat (adding gpu will without a doubt add more stress.

Indeed, for sure. Wondering how much higher the temps will get once in the case with the GPU. I played around with the overclocks and got 4.7GHz @ 88deg C running Prime 95's small FFT test (which i understand is worst case scenario for temps). Using the prime 95 blend test or intel extreme test im only seeing temps in the low 70s at the most. As a gaming pc i reckon this would work in the Dan A4 and GPU but we'll see

 

[StrawKite]

Indeed, for sure. Wondering how much higher the temps will get once in the case with the GPU. I played around with the overclocks and got 4.7GHz @ 88deg C running Prime 95's small FFT test (which i understand is worst case scenario for temps). Using the prime 95 blend test or intel extreme test im only seeing temps in the low 70s at the most. As a gaming pc i reckon this would work in the Dan A4 and GPU but we'll see

I'm looking forward to seeing your results with the gtx 1080ti.

 

[irebel]

Has anyone tried fitting the LP53 cooler on the Asus Z270I Strix or ASRock Z270M-ITX with fins running parallel to RAM like this?:


Thank you.

 

[jtcera]

I'm so salty that I happened to miss the preorder window for the 1080 Ti. Anyone know of any open-air cards that have been announced that will probably fit in the case? I would wait for the Strix 1080 Ti but I'm pretty sure it's too big.

Don't worry about it. The 3rd party cards are much quieter and clock higher. Patience will win out here.

 

[illram]

Has anyone tried fitting the LP53 cooler on the Asus Z270I Strix or ASRock Z270M-ITX with fins running parallel to RAM like this?:


Thank you.

Yes, it won't fit. IO heatsink blocks it. If removed you could do it.

 

[krcm0209]

Spoke with Cablemod. They said their foam backed RGB LED strips are at end of life/discontinued because magnetic is much more popular. Sucks since this case is aluminum. Anyone know of some good quality RGB strips that will work with ASUS Aura and this case?

 

[Noctua]

You're using an L9i with a 7700K? If so I'm disappointed because I ended up returning the 7700K I bought for a 7700 after talking to Noctua about TDP.
View attachment 18438

This is indeed unfortunate as we updated the TDP guidelines for the L9i just one day later with the newest information, which is now more fine grained than before and accompanied by yet another FAQ-entry.
http://noctua.at/en/nh_l9i_tdp_guidelines

7700K with proper stock values and realistic workloads (not prime95) is doable with the L9i and no delid, while for very AVX heavy loads lowering the AVX-Offset by 2-3 steps helps a lot and brings the power consumption to more reasonable areas.

The topic of supporting the top-end SKU's on LGA115x with our L9i has been difficult ever since Ivy Bridge and the non soldered heatspreaders. It doesn't help that since Haswell all vendors are shipping most of their Z-series boards with TDP values set to such a high value that the function of the TDP-limit is basically disabled, as well as enabling turbo-overclocking by default.

The result is a processor that runs overclocked out of the box, with the majority of users not even aware of this and then blaming the cooler for being crap, when they are loading their overclocked CPU with prime and no limits in place to ensure the CPU stays within thermal specs.
Needless to say the processors emit quite a bit more than the specified 84/88/91W when the CPU is stressed with prime, which ends up being too much for a small cooler, whose capabilities are already seriously hampered by the bad thermal performance between chip and heatspreader.

Delidding helps a lot and I have done tests with stock and delidded CPUs ever since Ivy but even though the process is easy with the newly made delid-tools, we can't recommend it officially to users. Just imagine a complete novice getting the hint to delid his processor and damaging it in the process. You can bet that he would blame us for even suggesting something like this and expecting full compensation for his dead CPU, even though it is his own fault. Seeing how the web works nowadays, there is a reasonable risk that it could hurt our reputation, even though we are not to blame at all .

Thus we are very cautious and conservative with our suggestions, trying to avoid any risks, as we can't tell how experienced a user is and if he is able to see why his processor is getting hot and what to do to resolve the issue. People having completely unreasonable expectations when it comes to CPU temperatures with a small cooler doesn't help either.
As I have seen in this thread, there are many experienced users here but unfortunately the majority of our customers is not into this topic that much and has no clue about all this.

 

[CknSalad]

Is the LP53 with the Noctua fan worth the price over just a NH-L9i cooler? I see mixed opinions where the BLIX YouTube videos show great results, whereas others are saying the LP53 did not make a huge difference.

 

[illram]

If I remember correctly there was at least one user here who posted results showing the L9i throttling during gaming with a 7700K. There are some 100c readings in the Dan A4 spreadsheet that is floating around also. That's not to say the LP53 won't get toasty. On open air my LP53 on occassion went >90c during a 10 minute run of Aida64. (7700K stock)

But I haven't seen a user here yet say the LP53 throttles if I remember correctly. I think the consensus is between the L9i and the LP53, the LP53 is a little bit better, if you are going the 95w route. Worth the extra money? Don't know. You could probably delid or undervolt or both and be perfectly fine.

 

[p0lish]

OK so i'm waiting for the Dan A4 (and GTX 1080Ti) to arrive....so in the meantime i hooked up my rig to get everything working and do a little stress testing



1) 7700K (stock clocks), Asus Z270I Strix, GSkill Trident Z RGB 16GB, Samsumg 960 Evo 1TB, Corsair SF600
2) DELIDDED - IHS removed with a razor blade, applied Coolaboratory Liquid Metal between die and IHS, and Noctua NT-H1 between IHS and CPU cooler. IHS was not relidded with any sealant. It just sits on top and the CPU socket clip holds everything in place
3) CPU cooler is a C7 heatsink with the Noctua NF A9x14 cable tied to it
4) Setup is sitting on an open table, so not tested in the Dan A4

Observations:

1) the SF600 PSU is basically silent. It spins up during Prime 95 but at no point do you ever hear it
2) the CPU fan is very...ultra quiet..even at full speed. and this is on an open setup about 0.5 meters from my ear.
3) the temperatures of the 7700K are incredible thanks to the delid. IMO...the delid combined with even just an L9i should please even the most demanding builder. You don't even need the C7 heatsink

Pictures

What length cables did you go with? Cablemod i assume?

 

[danij3l]

I have both LP53 and L9i and don't think that diff is significant enough to justify buying LP53 because if you event don't own either currently buying LP53 means you need to buy extra fan .... LP53 has horrible mounting (I have bent my MBO - not paying attention) and rest of the cooler is just so much inferior in build quality.... I still haven't settled on which one I will be using ...

 

[Noctua]

illram: We can't test all configurations of course and what works for us might not work for everyone and everywhere.
That's another reason why we can only give vague and conservative suggestions, as there are so many factors that play a role when it comes to real world temperatures with a certain CPU and cooler combination.
But I don't have to explain this here anyway ...

Every new CPU generation is a bit of a roulette game when it comes to performance and compatibility with the L9i (and L9a too):
We don't know what will be the outcome until we have actual testing results.

 

[Shaav]

I will just leave this here hoping that more and more people will share their results

Edit:
https://d

ocs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aZfTysWc4dtJC33qkLCjLkhPnzVLtbCtjpxoZeT92ZA/edit#gid=0

 

[OmenemO]

Could someone tell me how we obtain the actual link of a google docs sheet linked on this forum?

 

[Shaav]

https://do

cs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aZfTysWc4dtJC33qkLCjLkhPnzVLtbCtjpxoZeT92ZA/edit#gid=0

 

[cityle]

Can we hope to be able to buy the case soon again? I'm impatient of being able to get my hand on one of these.

 

[p0lish]

https://do

cs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aZfTysWc4dtJC33qkLCjLkhPnzVLtbCtjpxoZeT92ZA/edit#gid=0

you should at least fix the link

 

[illram]

illram: We can't test all configurations of course and what works for us might not work for everyone and everywhere.
That's another reason why we can only give vague and conservative suggestions, as there are so many factors that play a role when it comes to real world temperatures with a certain CPU and cooler combination.
But I don't have to explain this here anyway ...

Every new CPU generation is a bit of a roulette game when it comes to performance and compatibility with the L9i (and L9a too):
We don't know what will be the outcome until we have actual testing results.

I love your guys' coolers, don't get me wrong. I've got an L9i in an ISK 110 that I am typing this on right now, it's a fantastic little cooler.

 

[illram]

I have both LP53 and L9i and don't think that diff is significant enough to justify buying LP53 because if you event don't own either currently buying LP53 means you need to buy extra fan .... LP53 has horrible mounting (I have bent my MBO - not paying attention) and rest of the cooler is just so much inferior in build quality.... I still haven't settled on which one I will be using ...

This is true. The LP53 mounting is awful. L9i's is way better.

I remember now a good resource for this particular debate: Ej24's fairly comprehensive review of the LP53 and L9i over in the Overclocking subforum. Lots of discussion in there about the merits of these two coolers. His tests did find the LP53 outperforming the L9i in stress tests on a 4790K. (88w). I had similar temps as him on my 7700K for the Aida64 tests and I did 10 minutes not 90 seconds. Also Dan's own testing. (Look at the load graph) I think this really only matters though if your obsessively chasing every last degree and bit of performance. Otherwise the L9i is really fine.

 

[Philfreeze]

fixed link for google doc

Good news (for me)!
The case has arrived in Switzerland which means I will get it this week.
This means I will test the hardware & make all heatsinks ready to go into the case (requires minor modding).
After that (next week I think) I will start to test all heatsinks with noise measurements.
Is someone interested in the maximum noise? If nobody is interested in that I would rather get data on the maximum temperature and noise for the cpu only and test some games while recording temperature and noise. I think this would be a more realistic scenario.

If somebody would like some additional data points please write me until next weekend (11.03).
I can record up to 2 precise temperatures, 2 not so precise temps (+/- 3°C), thermal imaging and sound (recording of how it sounds, pitch analysis and volume of course) .

 

[goldy]

Haven't followed the thread, but are there planned retailers for the USA?

 

[JackGLemmon]

- We are not angry that people are asking for the fan clips. However, as someone has already pointed out, it's not the material cost for the clips which make this difficult for us, it's the handling and shipping costs.
We appreciate that you are purchasing our fan for this interesting case but everything considered we are on par in the best case or maybe even make a loss on each fan sold, if we send out fan clips to every single user.
While we are open to projects and we have a bit of room for supporting them, I can't justify something like this to my boss if it goes beyond a few fans, especially if there are alternate ways to install the fan - sorry.

However, this doesn't mean that we haven't thought about a way to come towards you.
I suppose that most users in this thread are from the US and Canada? If you could find someone who would be able and willing to distribute the fan clips to the users interested in them, I could imagine sending a bag with fan clips to this person. Or maybe Dan himself would be interested and capable of making things work?
We are open to suggestions how we could handle this, preferably in this thread.

I think that it would be good to just include the clips with all the new retail-boxed fans produced. The Noctua fans are already known for including everything that you might need to use the fan. I think that all come with screws and rubber mounts. They come with a couple of inline resistors to lower their speed, sometimes spliters and extensions, etc.

The box will protect the delicate clips, and eventually all the fans in the retail channel will include clips. If people need clips before that, they could order new fans directly from Noctua (or their chosen/confirmed retailer). I will admit that I have no idea how long the production and distribution system cycles, or holds inventory. If the system takes too long (more then a couple months), it is not a solution for these people.

- Regarding the comment of a bigger L9i where another colleague of mine was quoted, well, he started at Noctua only a few months ago and thus isn't that much in the know regarding things that have already been tried in the past.
While his answer wasn't wrong, a slightly taller L9i specifically tailored for this case is unfortunately unrealistic. We've tried a taller L9i in the past but performance wasn't noticeably better, which is the reason why the L9x65 looks quite a bit different than the L9i/a coolers.

Has a trim-to-size conical duct ever been considered as an accessory to SFF 92 mm CPU coolers (L9 and L9x65)? If it could be made of a foamy material anti-resonance needs may not be large. If it must be made out of harder material periodic anti-noise shapes, perhaps with perforations, would aid the user in trimming. I expect that the user can not be trusted to trim to size, and a poor job could lead to pressure on the processor and socket area.

Haven't followed the thread, but are there planned retailers for the USA?

I believe that you will have to order them from CaseKing.de or its UK subsidiary (Overclockers.Co.UK). Shipping them from Taiwan to Germany, then to you will take a long time and add to cost. The Dancase A4-SFX supply chain is complicated by the need to order the ultimate 16x flexible riser from 3M. (I wonder if the ThermalTake riser units could be used, if the plate for mounting the 16x socket could be tapped for multiple hole patterns?)

https://www.caseking.de/dan-cases-a4-sfx-mini-itx-gaming-gehaeuse-schwarz-gedn-001.html

https://hardforum.com/threads/flexible-pcie-risers.1907110/

 

[amvoith]

I just got done building custom ATX and EPS cables for my Corsair SF450 and MSI H110i combo using the same method that Pantera_666 has outlined on this forum (i.e. using short "patch" wires on the PSU end for the double wires).

-snip-

Pantera_666 can you link me to the post that loafidelity is talking about? I've got all my supplies to do custom cables with varying lenghts, the double wires are my concern atm.