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

[kingtron]

Lol those comments. ...point taken...
Probably not the best idea to cool...

How about this one

 

[pionir]

One does not simply put a fan into the dan case

 

[danij3l]

 

[dondan]

This one will not fit! I tested it my CAD drawing

 

[dondan]

Today I testes the HSLP-48 Copper with a 7700k. (Before you ask I will not delid it)
I can't believe that Intel will use TIM also on the new 2066 Socket. Soldering a DIE result in so much better temps.
My 5820K with 6 cores and a TDP of 140W stays cooler as an 7700k with 4 core and a TDP of 91W.


7700K Turbo-Off (4,2Ghz) - Bench Table
Prime95 v26.6 8K Test – 15min each

Heatsink------------Fan---------------Position-----Mode----------RPM--------Room Temp--------Core Temp
HSLP-48 Copper.....A12x15..............Top..........Pushing.........1800..............25........................83°C
Cryorig C7..............A12x15..............Top..........Pushing.........2400..............25........................90°C

7700K Turbo-On (4,4Ghz) - Bench Table
Prime95 v26.6 8K Test – 15min each

Heatsink------------Fan---------------Position-----Mode----------RPM--------Room Temp--------Core Temp
HSLP-48 Copper.....A12x15..............Top..........Pushing.........1800..............25........................92°C
Cryorig C7..............A12x15..............Top..........Pushing.........2400..............25........................100ü°C (throttle)



If you touch the HSLP-48 under heavy load its is very cool also the heatpipes arn't hot, this is very strange. I am not sure if this is normal.



Tomorrow I will test the AXP-100 on the 7700k. If its perform linea we should see 5°C better temps on it. So if my prototype 2 is

2-3 better as the AXP-100 we reach the temp goal that I am aiming for. ~15°C better as the C7.

 

[bAMtan2]

2-3 better as the AXP-100 we reach the temp goal that I am aiming for. ~15°C better as the C7.

I wonder if you are already 15c better than C7 when inside A4 with pull mode

 

[xrayos]

Guys,


So, what is the consensus on removing the large heatsink next to the I/O ports? I want to fit a big cooler like this guy did. See his pics from below. This is what it looks like with the heatsink removed.

A made a couple changes to my CoolJag setup and got pretty good increases in performance. I was finally able to complete a 10 minute (actually did 15) Prime95 run while keeping my temps lower than the C7.

First, was that I realized that the cooler was basically oriented incorrectly in my existing case (the heat pipes were facing down) so I flipped my case over to reflect the correct orientation and to mirror the way it would be sitting in the A4. This caused a very noticeable drop in temps.

Second, I removed the IO area heatsink on the Strix Z270i and put in a TY-100 FAN. This dropped temps about 3C.

 

[Rorschach]

My own temporary solution regarding the noise output.

1 - used the Cryorig C7 heatsink + Noctua new A-series slim fan - the A12x15 PWM
2 - removed the anti vibration pads from the C7 fan and placed them strategically on the heatsink for the new fan.
3 - Some twist wires and voila - finally i can protect my nerves and ears - the temperatures now are almost the same as with the C7 without the pannel - high '70s but again the new noise levels are impressive - more details in the video description.

 

[dondan]

UPDATE:

So my work on the 6 heatpipe design is nearly done. Here are the new dimensions:


Specifications:

Socket Support: 1155. 1151, 1150, 1156, 2011 square and narrow Ilm, AM4
Total Dimensions: 48 (H) mm x 121 (W) mm x 143 (L) mm - including heatpipes
Fin Area Dimension: 18 (H) mm x 121 (W) mm x 116,5 (L) mm, 59 fins
Material: copper and aluminum base
Heatpipes: 4x 6mm heatpipes
Total Surface: ~128500mm²


So as you maybe see I changed also the surface size for compatibility. The width is 9mm smaller and I reduced the fin count from 60 to 59 for easier clip mounting with a 120mm fan.
On the rednerings I used a 120x120x15mm Silverstone fan. I also made some changes to the fan clip mount holes. Now we have holes on the outside for 120mm fans with a thickness of 15mm.
The inner mount holes are for 15, 14 and 12mm fans.

Pictures:

 

[lscollo1234]

Hey guys I just have a quick question. I just got my Asus rog strix z270i and it came with a 20% off cablemod coupon. Does anyone know what the lengths I would need for the 24pin, 8 pin cpu, 8 pin graphics card, and sata power to the front mount are? This is for a corsair sf450. Thanks.

 

[m-jeri]

Hey guys I just have a quick question. I just got my Asus rog strix z270i and it came with a 20% off cablemod coupon. Does anyone know what the lengths I would need for the 24pin, 8 pin cpu, 8 pin graphics card, and sata power to the front mount are? This is for a corsair sf450. Thanks.

There is a build thread in the SFF Gallery. In that I remember someone posting.

EDIT: I am not able to link properly. It is a google doc.

 

[pendragon1]

Hey guys I just have a quick question. I just got my Asus rog strix z270i and it came with a 20% off cablemod coupon. Does anyone know what the lengths I would need for the 24pin, 8 pin cpu, 8 pin graphics card, and sata power to the front mount are? This is for a corsair sf450. Thanks.

need to measure it yourself and each system is different based on components and how you route things. otherwise you'll end up short or long.

 

[P15]

kingtron, slim 120mm clearance:

Config 1 (X370GTN, VLP DDR4, Nexus LOW-7000 R2, Nexus AM3 Bracket, Scythe SY1212SL12H-P):
View attachment 27235 View attachment 27236

Config 2 (X370GTN, VLP DDR4, Nexus LOW-7000 R2, Thermalright AM4 Bracket, Noctua NF-A12x15):
View attachment 27237 View attachment 27238

Can I ask what brand of VLP ram you have on this and how much it cost you?

 

[kingtron]

Can I ask what brand of VLP ram you have on this and how much it cost you?

See here
http://store.supermicro.com/memory/16gb-ddr4-2400-mem-dr416l-cv02-eu24.html

You can find it on Amazon also Just search for:
(MEM-DR416L-CV02-EU24)


See this for more info:
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-294#post-1043044765

 

[sldr]

Deviced to delid my 7700K using the Rockit tool ... Now waiting for the Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut to relid!

 

[illram]

Why does the A4 spreadsheet keep getting drastically culled of tons & tons of entries every day? With Dan's testing results now getting published it would be useful to have all the data there (not getting deleted on a daily basis) to compare.

 

[duke00]

would it not better if the sides of the fins are being closed like the nexus cooler. If its open the fan will suck warm air of inside the case.

 

[Jonas Mellkvist]

would it not better if the sides of the fins are being closed like the nexus cooler. If its open the fan will suck warm air of inside the case.

No Cooler have the 4 sides of the fins closed, Nexus Cooler have the same sides closed back with heatpipes and front where the heatpipes ends.

 

[duke00]

And for the sides the nexus has two extra parts. they are where used as fan holder and closed the fins on the sides.
you can see it here, the black sideparts: Sideparts

 

[Xymos]

296 sides of goodness, but couldn't find an answer:
corsair sf450 or silverstone sfx-l 500?

Wattage isn't an issue. Using 280W total right now.
Simply want a quiet clean PSU

 

[Dethroy]

296 sides of goodness, but couldn't find an answer:
corsair sf450 or silverstone sfx-l 500?

Wattage isn't an issue. Using 280W total right now.
Simply want a quiet clean PSU

The Corsair SF450 is the better and less noisy PSU.

 

[QuantumBraced]

I hadn't followed this project for 9 months and I just got caught up -- very excited for version 2. A few thoughts: (and I very much apologize for repeating what other people have said already, I haven't gone back and read the last 100 pages. Feel free to ignore parts/all of this)

1) Do the window panels have to say Dan? You know, that's not everyone's name.

2) Super excited for the 92mm AIO option. Do we have any pictures of such a config, I couldn't find any. I imagine the idea is to exhaust thru the bottom of the case. I see you'd have to remove the USB 3.0 port to install that, any ideas for good ways to cover that up, or just leave a hole there?

3) Speaking of AIO, I know at least one dude has mounted a 120mm AIO + 120x20mm fan on the GPU side with a short GPU. Is this something that can be officially supported?

4) I know there isn't enough room for vertical-side push-pins on the back side of the case, but the front side seems to have enough room for a push pin in the middle of the vertical column. Could that be implemented, so the panels don't have a bulge visible from the front, and so we can finally get rid of the bottom flaps that no one uses anyway? Also, a bit on the crazy side, but what about a hinge?

5) Random/bold idea, but in line with 92mm AIO disabling front USB 3.0, what if you got rid of the front USB 3.0 port altogether and instead put a 2x USB 3.0 ports between the power plug and the GPU bracket on the back side, then you have a completely flush front (except for the power button) and you have some extra rear I/O which could be useful for ITX motherboards that only feature a few USB ports. The extra ports can stay plugged in permanently if they are on the back, so it's more functional too. You can move the label to the plate covering the GPU hole, similar to the NCase M1.

I'm also thinking about the upcoming ASRock X299 board where if you want to get rid of the rear riser card, you lose all rear USB 3.0 ports and Gigabit Ethernet, so having those extra ports will enable people to get rid of that riser card to help with air cooler installation and airflow, and still maintain use of their machines.

6) Question for Dan/people who have used the case for a while -- have you had serious issues with dust? The case is an intake monster, so I'm thinking you'd have to blow out dust biweekly and thoroughly clean the heatsinks and components at least twice a year or so.

 

[pionir]

I'm using designated dust filters from demiflex (around 30-40$ combined). By given numbers, the heat increase might be around 5-7C but I cannot confirm any of this. I get same heat levels with or without my dust filters attached.
I´m using this build: i7700k 4.8 OC delided,LH 9i Noctua Cooler, 2x8gb trident z RGB cl16, Strix z270i mobo with a SS SX500-LG, 1x 960evo 500gb. (no GPU yet)

My idle temps are 34C and under load, in prime, it gets up to 91C when I keep running 20min. In real Case Scenarios such as running 4-5k rendering on adobe premiere, i get around 78-82C at most. In terms of Gaming, this, however, seems different, since I am still using the iGPU from my 7700k. The temps there vary around 64 up to 88 C. in high graphics depending Games such as "The Crew" it sometimes gets choppy in terms of performance. with low settings, i get around 28fps at 720p.
Putting a standing fan (fan for people) next to the closed side panel, it gives me about 5-6fps more. I cannot give any reasonable explanation for that since all my testings showed that there would not be any throttling at all.

As for the AIO, I am planning to drill vents onto the bottom of the case so that I can mount it under the PSU without having to sacrifice space for my upcoming GPU.
(V1 DAN CASE USER)

I strongly advise you to get flat cables for better cable management and to get a better ventilation inside the case. Now that I saw the upcoming HSLP test results of Dan's prototypes it might be better for you to wait for official release since they might get you close to same results as the AIO without having to sacrifice necessary space (especially for the USB connector). Also, if it's not gonna be included I would add the new gen Noctua fans which just have been released.

The last suggestion I have: get yourself cable ties. they saved me on multiple occasions when for example going for a clean cable management.

I hadn't followed this project for 9 months and I just got caught up -- very excited for version 2. A few thoughts: (and I very much apologize for repeating what other people have said already, I haven't gone back and read the last 100 pages. Feel free to ignore parts/all of this)

1) Do the window panels have to say Dan? You know, that's not everyone's name.

2) Super excited for the 92mm AIO option. Do we have any pictures of such a config, I couldn't find any. I imagine the idea is to exhaust thru the bottom of the case. I see you'd have to remove the USB 3.0 port to install that, any ideas for good ways to cover that up, or just leave a hole there?

3) Speaking of AIO, I know at least one dude has mounted a 120mm AIO + 120x20mm fan on the GPU side with a short GPU. Is this something that can be officially supported?

4) I know there isn't enough room for vertical-side push-pins on the back side of the case, but the front side seems to have enough room for a push pin in the middle of the vertical column. Could that be implemented, so the panels don't have a bulge visible from the front, and so we can finally get rid of the bottom flaps that no one uses anyway? Also, a bit on the crazy side, but what about a hinge?

5) Random/bold idea, but in line with 92mm AIO disabling front USB 3.0, what if you got rid of the front USB 3.0 port altogether and instead put a 2x USB 3.0 ports between the power plug and the GPU bracket on the back side, then you have a completely flush front (except for the power button) and you have some extra rear I/O which could be useful for ITX motherboards that only feature a few USB ports. The extra ports can stay plugged in permanently if they are on the back, so it's more functional too. You can move the label to the plate covering the GPU hole, similar to the NCase M1.

I'm also thinking about the upcoming ASRock X299 board where if you want to get rid of the rear riser card, you lose all rear USB 3.0 ports and Gigabit Ethernet, so having those extra ports will enable people to get rid of that riser card to help with air cooler installation and airflow, and still maintain use of their machines.

6) Question for Dan/people who have used the case for a while -- have you had serious issues with dust? The case is an intake monster, so I'm thinking you'd have to blow out dust biweekly and thoroughly clean the heatsinks and components at least twice a year or so.

 

[dondan]

What do you think about the kensington lock position for A4-SFX v2?

 

[sldr]

Yes, good enough since it doesn't matter where the slot is

 

[galletabah]

Its correct

 

[QuantumBraced]

Is this so I can wear the A4-SFX on my keychain?

 

[dondan]

yes XD

 

[AlexFil]

I'm going to build a computer for virtual reality. Will this graphics card fit into this case? Or recommend a video card for virtual reality (and not only), so that it does not exceed the temperature above 75-80, nor does it warm the motherboard. Thank you)
http://www.gigabyte.us/Graphics-Card/GV-N1080XTREME-W-8GD-rev-20#kf

 

[ManaNeko]

What do you think about the kensington lock position for A4-SFX v2?

I suggested a while back the Kensigton lock. I thought you weren't going to put one.
I'm glad you reconsidered.

 

[RASMUS Zachrisson]

Hello!

I am now researching for my A4- v2 Build.
I want to use these parts and wonder if you guys think it will be possible to exhaust the heat:

AsRock X299 M-itx

intel I9 7820x 8-core 140w TDP

Titan XP

32Gb DDR4 (Quad channel)

Corsair SF600



I really wish this works! What are your thoughts?

 

[jb1]

Hello!

I am now researching for my A4- v2 Build.
I want to use these parts and wonder if you guys think it will be possible to exhaust the heat:

AsRock X299 M-itx

intel I9 7820x 8-core 140w TDP

Titan XP

32Gb DDR4 (Quad channel)

Corsair SF600



I really wish this works! What are your thoughts?

Should be fine! Take a look through this thread for cooler recommendations for the 140W TDP CPU.

 

[pedrofan]

What do you think about the kensington lock position for A4-SFX v2?

Have you thought on eliminating the plate between the two gpu slot holes? It blocks a high amount of air exhaust on my 1080ti founders edition blower style gpu. and I dont think it makes any job.

You can make the right removable plate wider to cover the hole if a single slot gpu is installed.

 

[pedrofan]

Hello!

I am now researching for my A4- v2 Build.
I want to use these parts and wonder if you guys think it will be possible to exhaust the heat:

AsRock X299 M-itx

intel I9 7820x 8-core 140w TDP

Titan XP

32Gb DDR4 (Quad channel)

Corsair SF600



I really wish this works! What are your thoughts?

If you forget overclocking it may fit. I have a 155 watts 22 cores xeon with the dynatron t-318 and it works like a charm.

If you plan on rendering it may hit >90º though.

Better ssf cooling solutions appears everyday, and in a4- v2 it's possible to fit a liquid cooling rad so you may have no problem, and you can always underclock while waiting for the perfect cooling.

 

[bAMtan2]

Hello!

I am now researching for my A4- v2 Build.
I want to use these parts and wonder if you guys think it will be possible to exhaust the heat:

AsRock X299 M-itx

intel I9 7820x 8-core 140w TDP

This would not malfunction. But it could throttle to a lower clock speed if you use the CPU to its maximum potential. If I was running that CPU at 100%, I would want a bigger heatsink and fan than this case can support, because I wouldn't want thermal throttling, and I wouldn't want loud noise from a small fan. But if all you do is play games, it won't be used 100%...

 

[P15]

What do you think about the kensington lock position for A4-SFX v2?

I'm so glad you decided to put one in as i thought that this was something that was definitely missing from the case!

 

[QuantumBraced]

I'm using designated dust filters from demiflex (around 30-40$ combined). By given numbers, the heat increase might be around 5-7C but I cannot confirm any of this. I get same heat levels with or without my dust filters attached.
I´m using this build: i7700k 4.8 OC delided,LH 9i Noctua Cooler, 2x8gb trident z RGB cl16, Strix z270i mobo with a SS SX500-LG, 1x 960evo 500gb. (no GPU yet)

My idle temps are 34C and under load, in prime, it gets up to 91C when I keep running 20min. In real Case Scenarios such as running 4-5k rendering on adobe premiere, i get around 78-82C at most. In terms of Gaming, this, however, seems different, since I am still using the iGPU from my 7700k. The temps there vary around 64 up to 88 C. in high graphics depending Games such as "The Crew" it sometimes gets choppy in terms of performance. with low settings, i get around 28fps at 720p.
Putting a standing fan (fan for people) next to the closed side panel, it gives me about 5-6fps more. I cannot give any reasonable explanation for that since all my testings showed that there would not be any throttling at all.

As for the AIO, I am planning to drill vents onto the bottom of the case so that I can mount it under the PSU without having to sacrifice space for my upcoming GPU.
(V1 DAN CASE USER)

I strongly advise you to get flat cables for better cable management and to get a better ventilation inside the case. Now that I saw the upcoming HSLP test results of Dan's prototypes it might be better for you to wait for official release since they might get you close to same results as the AIO without having to sacrifice necessary space (especially for the USB connector). Also, if it's not gonna be included I would add the new gen Noctua fans which just have been released.

The last suggestion I have: get yourself cable ties. they saved me on multiple occasions when for example going for a clean cable management.

The fact that you're running a 7700K @ 4.8GHz with the L9i and it's not on fire is quite an accomplishment. What's your VCore? Did you overclock the cache?

I have Demciflex 120mm filters on all 4 of my fans + the top in my NCase M1, so I have serious no-dust OCD, and that's the main potential issue I saw with the A4-SFX, but I realize for most people it's not a big deal and it's nice that you made it work with Demciflex.

So you have the filters across the entire vented area on both sides, attached on the inside with magnetic strips? One issue you may have with filters this big is, if the mesh is right up against a fan, it may make contact with it and make a noise/wear out over time. You don't have this issue on the motherboard side because you have a good 10mm of clearance between the L9i and the side panel, and the PSU fan has a guard. But watch out for the GPU side, make sure the shroud design is such that it prevents friction (or if you're going reference you won't have an issue).

Do you mind posting some pictures? I don't think I've ever seen the A4-SFX with full-coverage filters on both sides before. Does the rim of the Demciflex interfere with clearance anywhere? They're pretty thick.

And yeah, I couldn't agree more on flat cables (and cable ties), I see people using sleeved power cables in the A4-SFX or NCase M1 and I cringe as they are super bulky. But I get it.

 

[pionir]

Here you go...i basically stuffed all my cables under the psu which is not as i would wish...but due to the price of custom cables its worth using stock ones.
The gpu side has the demiflex covering all of the holes in the sidepanel. Didn't think it'd be necessary to post pics about the gpu sidepanel

The fact that you're running a 7700K @ 4.8GHz with the L9i and it's not on fire is quite an accomplishment. What's your VCore? Did you overclock the cache?

I have Demciflex 120mm filters on all 4 of my fans + the top in my NCase M1, so I have serious no-dust OCD, and that's the main potential issue I saw with the A4-SFX, but I realize for most people it's not a big deal and it's nice that you made it work with Demciflex.

So you have the filters across the entire vented area on both sides, attached on the inside with magnetic strips? One issue you may have with filters this big is, if the mesh is right up against a fan, it may make contact with it and make a noise/wear out over time. You don't have this issue on the motherboard side because you have a good 10mm of clearance between the L9i and the side panel, and the PSU fan has a guard. But watch out for the GPU side, make sure the shroud design is such that it prevents friction (or if you're going reference you won't have an issue).

Do you mind posting some pictures? I don't think I've ever seen the A4-SFX with full-coverage filters on both sides before. Does the rim of the Demciflex interfere with clearance anywhere? They're pretty thick.

And yeah, I couldn't agree more on flat cables (and cable ties), I see people using sleeved power cables in the A4-SFX or NCase M1 and I cringe as they are super bulky. But I get it.

 

[QuantumBraced]

View attachment 27869 View attachment 27868 Here you go...i basically stuffed all my cables under the psu which is not as i would wish...but due to the price of custom cables its worth using stock ones.
The gpu side has the demiflex covering all of the holes in the sidepanel. Didn't think it'd be necessary to post pics about the gpu sidepanel

Haha thank you very much for the graphic, I appreciate the effort. On the CPU, great job undervolting. You can install HWiNFO64 to see your total CPU power consumption under load, I bet it is well under 95W even with your overclock. I've found that keeping the cache stock is key to a better and more stable overclock at a much lower VCore and hence much lower power consumption, which then enables usage of coolers like the L9i as you've shown, that couldn't normally handle an overclocked 95W Intel chip. I had my 6800K overclocked to 4.2GHz until recently at 1.24 VCore and stock cache and it only consumed about 120W at full load. I recently went down to 4 GHz and 1.16 VCore and now it only consumes 100W. It is rated at 140W.

I see, so you only have the CPU area covered with the filter. What happens when you try to put the GPU full-size filter on the motherboard side, do you have issues getting the panel back on? Does it hit the PSU?

Nice lens flare, is your case directed by J J Abrams?

 

[pionir]

Everything for the show of course . The demiflex filters were designed for the dan a4 propably due to the psu issue as you mentioned. I measured around 0.8~1mm between psu and and the sidepanel.
Now...it may work for someone to put a fullsize dustfilter but as for me it is not worth the effort to make it work. The dustfilter would be just too tight fitted in between. (Heheh...thats what she said)...
Anyways, it seemed to me that the amount of dust which mostlikely is going to build up at some point is not that big of a deal. People who use the dan case are mostlikely not the type of audience, keeping their precious systems in an unclean enviroment, but also they may be the type of people who open up their rigs more usually than the average one in all system consumer. Also stating: most people here care about performance, temps and so on, while tweaking around their little shoebox. As for me..the dustfilters are sort of to prevent noise..(my system's super quiet even under load) although, it is to say that people would complain over an increase than a decrease of the system volume. ( it just works for me) my next project is probably to save money for a gpu...and afterwards watercooling.

Haha thank you very much for the graphic, I appreciate the effort. On the CPU, great job undervolting. You can install HWiNFO64 to see your total CPU power consumption under load, I bet it is well under 95W even with your overclock. I've found that keeping the cache stock is key to a better and more stable overclock at a much lower VCore and hence much lower power consumption, which then enables usage of coolers like the L9i as you've shown, that couldn't normally handle an overclocked 95W Intel chip. I had my 6800K overclocked to 4.2GHz until recently at 1.24 VCore and stock cache and it only consumed about 120W at full load. I recently went down to 4 GHz and 1.16 VCore and now it only consumes 100W. It is rated at 140W.

I see, so you only have the CPU area covered with the filter. What happens when you try to put the GPU full-size filter on the motherboard side, do you have issues getting the panel back on? Does it hit the PSU?

Nice lens flare, is your case directed by J J Abrams?