Suse, but because I am not at home until 25th it need some time
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DAN A4-SFX: The smallest gaming case in the world
- Thread starter dondan
- Start date
dondan
[H]ard|Gawd
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Here is a gread video review of the A4-SFX. I will add this to my website later:
This review states that the case "even accepts 2.5 wide slot video cards" (~4:15). Is this true? Do we know of any 2.5 slot card that fits the case?
dondan
[H]ard|Gawd
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1.) Deactivated in UEFI?
2.) Download the driver from asus.com
2.) Download the driver from asus.com
I failed to mention the driver I was using was the downloaded one from asus.com. My system does not have an optical drive so I ended up getting one and for whatever reason the DVD worked. Up and running now thanks for your reply.
cityle
n00b
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- Feb 20, 2017
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When can we expect the 2nd kickstarter, and how much time will it take to reach us?
Up to 45 mm wide. That's the only number we know from dan.
enyownz
[H]ard|Gawd
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Took a L last night. Got everything installed and but system didn't post because I forgot to update the z170i BIOS before putting in my 7700k. Had to take a trip today to microcenter to pick up a i3 skylake just to get this thing to boot. Not a big loss since I was planning on buying a cpu for my homelab but whatever.
Overall impressions, second time building in A4 is much easier than first but everything is actually pretty simple to put together. Still love my ncase slightly bit more but this thing is amazing too.
Full system specs:
Core i7 7700k
Asus z170i Pro Gaming
16gb Corsair Dominator 3000mhz
Samsung 960 evo 500gb
cryorig C7
Corsair SF600
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti
Didn't snap pics during build but here's some post build pics: https://imgur.com/a/p6TdF
Overall impressions, second time building in A4 is much easier than first but everything is actually pretty simple to put together. Still love my ncase slightly bit more but this thing is amazing too.
Full system specs:
Core i7 7700k
Asus z170i Pro Gaming
16gb Corsair Dominator 3000mhz
Samsung 960 evo 500gb
cryorig C7
Corsair SF600
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti
Didn't snap pics during build but here's some post build pics: https://imgur.com/a/p6TdF
Itchy_Lettuces
n00b
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- Mar 11, 2017
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- 20
I just had a similar issue when I upgraded my home media server to Windows Server 2016. I ended up having to use Device Manager to manually search for a driver. I found a model number that was closest to the integrated NIC on the motherboard and installed it. While I can't gurantee that this method will work for you, or that you would have all the functionality of the exact drivers, you may be able to at least get it to work.
Blackreplica
Limp Gawd
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- May 9, 2016
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- 205
Yes I had the same strange issue with my Asus z270i motherboard. On a fresh windows install, LAN would not work. But thankfully wifi was still working so I used that to get on to my network temporarily, then downloaded the LAN drivers from the Asus Z270i Support/Driver page. That fixed the problem and LAN worked fine from that point on
illram
[H]ard|Gawd
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- Sep 19, 2011
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Has anyone with the LP53 and the z270i been able to orient the heatsink parallel to the RAM (after removing the VRM heatsink)? I'm wondering, even with the IO heatsink removed so the heatpipe bends fit, if the heatpipe terminations on the other side still stick out to much and are blocked by the RAM in that orientation?
I am almost finished with mounting the 120mm fan over my LP53. Spent some time fabricating aluminium mounting tabs that are fixed to the VRM heatsink mounting holes on my H97I Plus motherboard. I have used a light cured acrylic material as a spacer that allows for a close fit. It allows for electrical insulation whilst providing structural support to the PCB, and its mould-able nature allowed fine-tuning of its position prior to curing.
For more photos, see my DanCase A4 Album
For more photos, see my DanCase A4 Album
Ran furmark and Prime, temps are as follows
H97I Plus
i5 4590
EVGA 1070 SC
LP53 cooler, stock thermal material that came with the cooler
Gelid 120x15.8mm Slim Blue LED fan (800-1600 rpm)
Fan profile is set to reach full RPM at 70 degrees, and it does, so is therefore running at 1600 rpm.
Noise can be considered to be relatively quiet, it is not louder than the EVGA1070SC, and comparatively about the same volume as a 2.5" spinning HDD (not in this build)
Voltage offset -0.15v (I think I have set this, but havent noticed any change)
Ambient 23 degrees, 45% humidity
Prime95 26.6? (cant remember) and furmark.
After stabilied for at least 10 minutes after a 30-60 minute preheat
CPU without filter - was at 70 degrees (Delta of 47 degrees)
CPU With DemciFilter (borrowed from NCaseM1) - 81 degrees (Delta of 58 degrees)
GPU 68 degrees, no throttling noted?, Power target hovering around 98-100% with both fans running at 1550 rpm (of a max 3600 or something to that effect)
Does the orientation of the heatpipes affect heatpipe efficacy in the LP53? --> No effect
Out of interest, I wanted to test if the orientation of the LP53 had effect on the efficacy of the Heatpipe.
The reason for this test is that in an earlier post, Mecabolix (I think) did a test on the temperature of his CPU with the cooler orientated "vertically" and "Horizontally". His definition of vertical and horizontal was in reference to the heatpipes (not the fins). He noted a 5 degree difference between the two, with the 'vertical' orientation performing better.
There are a few factors that can change the performance of the heatsink, so I wanted to test one of these to be able to rule it out, or confirm its effect.
1) Heatpipe efficacy is affected by orientation
2) Airflow is different due to air blowing out a different way/blocked by the motherboard design
3) Re-mounting a heatsink means re-applying thermal paste and re-tightening the mounts itself is a variable.
I therefore conducted this test to determine if heatpipe efficacy is a relevant factor.
Considerations
- I only wanted to test the heatpipes, so this simply meant orientating the whole case differently would test for this and allow for airflow and remounting the heatsink to be kept constant.
- In the event that bottom airflow changes with proximity to the table, I tested the normal orientation with the case sitting 100mm off the table with wooden blocks.
- Fan RPM was constant as the fan profile called for full rpm at 70+ degrees, therefore fan speed was 1600 rpm throughout
- I did have a Demci fan filter installed for this test.
- And the figures from the test were confirmed by retesting each orientation again, but in reverse order to help account for the variable of room temperatures and the effect of pre-heating the case. No measurable change was noted between the first and second test of each position.
1) Case in the normal orientation sitting on the table, CPU and GPU were 81 and 68 deg.
2) Case normal orientation, raised 100mm off the table - CPU temps were 80 and 68 deg.
3) Case in Vertical orientation, power button facing upwards - CPU and GPU were 80 and 68 deg.
Summary - In the 1) Normal, 2) Raised off the table, and 3) Pointing upwards, the CPU and GPU temps were not different to any significant amount. Heatpipe efficacy in the LP53 is not affected by orientation in a tower case.
For more photos, see my DanCase A4 Album
For more photos, see my DanCase A4 Album
Ran furmark and Prime, temps are as follows
H97I Plus
i5 4590
EVGA 1070 SC
LP53 cooler, stock thermal material that came with the cooler
Gelid 120x15.8mm Slim Blue LED fan (800-1600 rpm)
Fan profile is set to reach full RPM at 70 degrees, and it does, so is therefore running at 1600 rpm.
Noise can be considered to be relatively quiet, it is not louder than the EVGA1070SC, and comparatively about the same volume as a 2.5" spinning HDD (not in this build)
Voltage offset -0.15v (I think I have set this, but havent noticed any change)
Ambient 23 degrees, 45% humidity
Prime95 26.6? (cant remember) and furmark.
After stabilied for at least 10 minutes after a 30-60 minute preheat
CPU without filter - was at 70 degrees (Delta of 47 degrees)
CPU With DemciFilter (borrowed from NCaseM1) - 81 degrees (Delta of 58 degrees)
GPU 68 degrees, no throttling noted?, Power target hovering around 98-100% with both fans running at 1550 rpm (of a max 3600 or something to that effect)
Does the orientation of the heatpipes affect heatpipe efficacy in the LP53? --> No effect
Out of interest, I wanted to test if the orientation of the LP53 had effect on the efficacy of the Heatpipe.
The reason for this test is that in an earlier post, Mecabolix (I think) did a test on the temperature of his CPU with the cooler orientated "vertically" and "Horizontally". His definition of vertical and horizontal was in reference to the heatpipes (not the fins). He noted a 5 degree difference between the two, with the 'vertical' orientation performing better.
There are a few factors that can change the performance of the heatsink, so I wanted to test one of these to be able to rule it out, or confirm its effect.
1) Heatpipe efficacy is affected by orientation
2) Airflow is different due to air blowing out a different way/blocked by the motherboard design
3) Re-mounting a heatsink means re-applying thermal paste and re-tightening the mounts itself is a variable.
I therefore conducted this test to determine if heatpipe efficacy is a relevant factor.
Considerations
- I only wanted to test the heatpipes, so this simply meant orientating the whole case differently would test for this and allow for airflow and remounting the heatsink to be kept constant.
- In the event that bottom airflow changes with proximity to the table, I tested the normal orientation with the case sitting 100mm off the table with wooden blocks.
- Fan RPM was constant as the fan profile called for full rpm at 70+ degrees, therefore fan speed was 1600 rpm throughout
- I did have a Demci fan filter installed for this test.
- And the figures from the test were confirmed by retesting each orientation again, but in reverse order to help account for the variable of room temperatures and the effect of pre-heating the case. No measurable change was noted between the first and second test of each position.
1) Case in the normal orientation sitting on the table, CPU and GPU were 81 and 68 deg.
2) Case normal orientation, raised 100mm off the table - CPU temps were 80 and 68 deg.
3) Case in Vertical orientation, power button facing upwards - CPU and GPU were 80 and 68 deg.
Summary - In the 1) Normal, 2) Raised off the table, and 3) Pointing upwards, the CPU and GPU temps were not different to any significant amount. Heatpipe efficacy in the LP53 is not affected by orientation in a tower case.
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Do you use 4mm standoffs? Or how do you use the dominator platinum? I had to remove the aluminium heatsink for it to fit with sidepanels on.
repentsinner
n00b
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- Dec 18, 2016
- Messages
- 43
Damn, nice fabrication work okwchin! Do you have a link for the acrylic you used? That seems like it could be helpful all over the place.
Also thanks for the super thorough orientation testing. I'm building a heatpipe cooler for another product at work so will have to learn all about this stuff. I understand that the capillary action inside them is pretty efficient for fluid return, but where possible if there can be a gravity assist from the condenser end back toward the evaporator it is helpful. The heatpipe orientations on PCs with vertically mounted motherboards never made much sense from that perspective..
enyownz
[H]ard|Gawd
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- Jul 31, 2009
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- 1,878
Do you use 4mm standoffs? Or how do you use the dominator platinum? I had to remove the aluminium heatsink for it to fit with sidepanels on.
I just left the damn things on. The side panel protrudes a tinge in the middle but nothing too much so I didn't bother taking off the heatsink.
Veritas187
Weaksauce
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2017
- Messages
- 84
It's a shame that no manufacturer has a readily available cooler for the sff community that can hand 100watt tdp processors still and do it quietly. I'm talking sub 47mm height. It's a complete missed opportunity especially since most people looking in this arena would pay a lot of money for it.
(sorry for thr off-topic reference about the pink material, but for those who are curious...)
The acrylic material is from the dental world. These materials are aimed at the dental industry as a material for making customised mould trays for taking impressions/moulds of teeth/mouths, a stage in the making of dentures/crowns/bridges. It is a somewhat sticky sheet of what feels like plasticine mixed with some small grains of sand, its mouldable and can be folded over on itself into thicker sheets, but depth of cure becomes an issue. Maximum cure tends to be 2-3mm at most depending on the strength of the light. It needs UV or a very strong light with a good amount of blue light or shorter wavelength.
Buying some can be tricky normally, but the following google images link should help point you in the right direction so you know what to search for. light cure tray resin
Cold cure acrylic is an alternative, and can cure to any thickness. Mix the powder and liquid and it starts to cure exothermically after 5 minutes, and is mostly cured in another 10. Dealing with liquid monomer is not the safest nor most pleasant, but the utility it brings is valuable. Also not as strong as the light cured stuff. Both can be added to by simply spreading more liquid monomer on it and then building up on it.
I have been trying to achieve this for a while but I got lost in failure and lazyness.
NO MORE
Ok guys, mission complete.
delid with liquid metal and kryonaut for the cpu to heatsink.
can hit 5ghz but in prime 95 it thermal throttles after 1 minute, no crash though.
can hit 4.8ghz and stay there almost completely for now but does throttle a little.
4.6ghz stable with prime 95. not loud but noticeable
4.4ghz sillent
the noctua a9x14-pwm is the only one that fits. on the strix z270i and because of the heatsinks all around it has to work hard. I made the max space I could with the pci-extender cable bends and no io sheild and some smart cable rerouting. but at more than 50% load it whines because of turbulence. it's not anoying just you hear it. compared to the lp53 with a9x14-pwm that is silent even at max speed.
anyways, it's been a long time coming.
posted to the Dan A4-SFX Member's build thread
NO MORE
Ok guys, mission complete.
delid with liquid metal and kryonaut for the cpu to heatsink.
can hit 5ghz but in prime 95 it thermal throttles after 1 minute, no crash though.
can hit 4.8ghz and stay there almost completely for now but does throttle a little.
4.6ghz stable with prime 95. not loud but noticeable
4.4ghz sillent
the noctua a9x14-pwm is the only one that fits. on the strix z270i and because of the heatsinks all around it has to work hard. I made the max space I could with the pci-extender cable bends and no io sheild and some smart cable rerouting. but at more than 50% load it whines because of turbulence. it's not anoying just you hear it. compared to the lp53 with a9x14-pwm that is silent even at max speed.
anyways, it's been a long time coming.
posted to the Dan A4-SFX Member's build thread
Last edited:
enyownz
[H]ard|Gawd
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- 1,878
Got around to testing everything and must say that the c7 is not working out for me. As others have mentioned, the c7 works considerably better with the backplate and unfortunately can't use it with my z170i pro gaming. Going to switch to the L9i, not much better in terms of raw cooling, but should fair better than c7 with no backplate.
When I get the l9i, should i run the fan as push or pull? Also anyone know a good place to get custom cables for corsair sf600 and lengths needed?
When I get the l9i, should i run the fan as push or pull? Also anyone know a good place to get custom cables for corsair sf600 and lengths needed?
I replaced the feet with these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TX433EY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Don't let the picture fool you, none of mine look anywhere near what the picture shows.
These feet don't contact anything like the stock ones, they are about .100 of an inch taller which is better for airflow.
Don't let the picture fool you, none of mine look anywhere near what the picture shows.
These feet don't contact anything like the stock ones, they are about .100 of an inch taller which is better for airflow.
For normal style coolers like the l9i you have the orient the fan such that it pushes air in the cooler. Otherwise no air will reach the center of the cooler, which is the hottest.
Coolers that allow the air to go straight tru, i.e. heat-pipes to a radiator, like the nexus low, or the one currently in design by Dan, you can play with the direction, depending on other components in your case.
cowsgomoo2
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2016
- Messages
- 144
Do you need special screws for this or do the original screws work?
Been lurking [H]ardForum for years now, figured I'd finally make an account.
Thank you Dan for this awesome case. I do frequent LAN parties here and there so this will definitely make life easier.
I didn't take photos during the build but there is really nothing special in there that hasn't been posted already.
Asus ROG Strix Z270I mini-ITX Motherboard
Intel Core-i5 6600K
Notuca NH-L9i CPU Cooler
16GB G.Skill TridentZ RGB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
Corsair SF450 SFX PSU
Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD
Samsung 850 Evo 1TB SSD
SanDisk Ultra II 960GB SSD
SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SSD (via USB 3.0 external enclosure)
Samsung 950 Pro 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Samsung 960 Evo 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Replaced the feet with StarTech Rubberfeet (1-1/4" Diameter)
DeepCool RGB LED Strip
Cable management was a bit of a nightmare but I made it work. Will probably get some shorter cables soon from moddiy.com to clean up the insides a bit. I'll take some internal pictures then.
Again Dan, thank you.
I'll throw this over in the build thread as well.
Thank you Dan for this awesome case. I do frequent LAN parties here and there so this will definitely make life easier.
I didn't take photos during the build but there is really nothing special in there that hasn't been posted already.
Asus ROG Strix Z270I mini-ITX Motherboard
Intel Core-i5 6600K
Notuca NH-L9i CPU Cooler
16GB G.Skill TridentZ RGB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
Corsair SF450 SFX PSU
Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD
Samsung 850 Evo 1TB SSD
SanDisk Ultra II 960GB SSD
SanDisk X400 1TB M.2 SSD (via USB 3.0 external enclosure)
Samsung 950 Pro 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Samsung 960 Evo 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
Replaced the feet with StarTech Rubberfeet (1-1/4" Diameter)
DeepCool RGB LED Strip
Cable management was a bit of a nightmare but I made it work. Will probably get some shorter cables soon from moddiy.com to clean up the insides a bit. I'll take some internal pictures then.
Again Dan, thank you.
I'll throw this over in the build thread as well.
The original feet are threaded, these are not.
You need #4-40 bolts with nuts to attach. Half inch long are good.
Sweet case. Did you have to drill the opening into the case/frame bigger to fit the new power button?
SideSwiped
n00b
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- Jan 14, 2017
- Messages
- 46
So anyone know where I can find metal 4-40/M3 black screws and bolts for cheap? Lowes seemed to only have stainless steel and keep finding nylon on the net.
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repentsinner
n00b
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- Dec 18, 2016
- Messages
- 43
Not sure what counts as cheap for you, but they're readily available online at Amazon, McMaster, and Fastenal here in the US. Search for 'm3 black oxide screw' to omit the nylon options on Amazon. You might also try an Orchard Supply if you have one local, they tend to have better loose parts bins than Lowes and Hoagie Depot.
Had a quick look on eBay, this seems to be a pretty good deal. Good photos, appears to be of decent quality. I have bought cheap screws from various chinese sellers, and some can be good, some not so much. These look good based on photos. Just the long long shipping times.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/M3-Hex-S...hash=item4b095ac60d:m:mCuIhjecxlzb7QbthiZIr3g
Hobbyshops near you should have them too if you need them in a hurry, but expect to pay through the nose for them.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/M3-Hex-S...hash=item4b095ac60d:m:mCuIhjecxlzb7QbthiZIr3g
Hobbyshops near you should have them too if you need them in a hurry, but expect to pay through the nose for them.
Philfreeze
Weaksauce
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2016
- Messages
- 101
.......
finally you should make a 10mm wide opaque acrylic spacer strip that would have the side panel sit farther outward so we can fit up to 60mm coolers( also we could run a led strip in it for extra rgb goodness lol).
Can I borrow this idea?
I really like the look of this and a friend of mine has a 3d printer and semi transparent resin. I might just try this.
darthmatin
n00b
- Joined
- May 27, 2016
- Messages
- 29
increased fan noise when panel is closed on x99 asrock itx. any solution to overcome this or reduce the fan noise? anyone have this issue?
If you are using the C7, you can try shorter MB stand-offs (4mm) and replacing the stock fan with the Noctua A9x14. C7 tends to be quite noisy in this case regardless, tho, so check out the fan noise/performance chart that was posted in this thread a few pages back.
EDIT: Not sure if the C7 even fits on 2011-3, so you are probably using something else. Essentially, any CPU cooler wih the fan right up to the side panel is bound to cause turbulence.
There's a build thread?
The bolts in c7 are very long.Is it possible to mount with 4 mm standoff?
Pantera_666
Weaksauce
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2016
- Messages
- 103
Too late... i've already did it, it was my secret plan for may's contest (before mcheddadi came with that idea...)
i'm kind of dissapointed with the results let me tell you...
i'll post some pictures later...
Yeah, check HoodedHusky's setup on page 246 of this thread.
ultraman982
n00b
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- Oct 28, 2016
- Messages
- 17
Finally built, more beautiful than I could've imagined. It's basically the same size as the Razer Core I was using previously. Thank you Dan for all your hard work!
Now I just gotta find a way to share peripherals without a dongle =p
Now I just gotta find a way to share peripherals without a dongle =p