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

WhyCry over at VideoCardz.com did a review of PCIe riser cables, check it out.

The conclusion:
WhyCry said:
Both Thermaltake and Lian-Li cables are very high quality. During hours of testing and countless reinstallations, performance was not affected in any way. Premium risers are durable and should serve you for many years. These cables are very flexible and should be the perfect choice for DIY wall-mounted PCs or systems from Thermaltake or Lian-LI designed specifically for those cables.

At most, we are looking at 1% lower performance compared to PCIe slot.

I recommend both Thermaltake Premium and Lian-Li Premium risers for gaming.
Click to expand...
 
And the final confirmation is here.
The MSI Gaming GTX1070 fits perfectly the A4.

(I presume the 1080 will too and especially the 1080ti because they came back with the receased part for the pci-e plugs but of course you will not put the side panel anymore because it is too wide and have a muscle pitbull stance :p )

No need to remove the side panel push in clip. Only some convincing for the PSU cables. To hold them into place i used zip ties and once fixed took 'em off. The top/front panel fit perfectly.

*Side-upgraded from a 980ti to the 1070 even more quiet pourpouses and low temps and more efficiency. Plus the newer arhitecture and the extra 2 GB of Vram plus sold it for x and payed the same for the new one*

20170711_110009.jpg
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And the results...

Wooow.

The PSU Corsair SF600 doesn't even start anymore in games - 10 minutes of ME: Andromeda. Usually ii started the moment i entered the game.
Was getting like 80 C degrees with the 980ti no oc and of course it was on the loud side ! Now it stays at 60 ! and Dead Silent !

5960x / 32 GB/ M.2 950 Pro / Asetek 545LC / Asrock X99 miTX

And not to forget that it lights up ! :snaphappy:

Oh yeah, so glad i did this.

MassEffectAndromeda_2017_07_11_12_03_11_346.jpg 20170711_115750.jpg ae.jpg
 
bAMtan2 said:
great pictures in that review, but unfortunately the author doesn't measure mechanical flexibility, which is what dan needs to know. I think dan chooses 3m because only 3m bends well and fits the case...
Click to expand...
My point was not to critique dan or suggest changing riser manufacturer. Frankly, i'm very happy with dan's choice, the 3m riser is working very well in my A4-SFX v1. I just thought it was interesting for us, to see what the performance impact can be, and, that other manufacturers are also producing good stuff.
 
Rorschach said:
And the final confirmation is here.
The MSI Gaming GTX1070 fits perfectly the A4.

(I presume the 1080 will too and especially the 1080ti because they came back with the receased part for the pci-e plugs but of course you will not put the side panel anymore because it is too wide and have a muscle pitbull stance :p )

No need to remove the side panel push in clip. Only some convincing for the PSU cables. To hold them into place i used zip ties and once fixed took 'em off. The top/front panel fit perfectly.

*Side-upgraded from a 980ti to the 1070 even more quiet pourpouses and low temps and more efficiency. Plus the newer arhitecture and the extra 2 GB of Vram plus sold it for x and payed the same for the new one*

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1080ti not fit
 
Like i said, you will not put the side panel anymore. But the other dimensions are within specs.

Dimensions‎: ‎140 x 51 x 290 mm
‎
 
https://www.google.ie/amp/tekeverything.com/noctua-nh-l9i-am4-upgrade-kit/amp/

Not sure whether to believe this, seems to good to be true. I anyone else running an l9i with Ryzen? Can you confirm its awesomeness? :eek: I can only image the l9a would be ever so slightly better again as it is a bit bigger.

Edit: another review from the same guy with an l9a inside the case. http://tekeverything.com/ryzen-7-s4-mini-build-upgrades/amp/

I wonder how the l9a would perform with the 120x15mm noctua... or even a full 25mm thick fan... So many possibilities...
 
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Anyone building a Ryzen system in this case and planning on using the NH-L9(a/i), I have a fan duct you can 3D print. I am using this with the Biostar X370GTN, but I assume the socket height would be the same for other boards?
 

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Deepcoiler said:
Anyone building a Ryzen system in this case and planning on using the NH-L9(a/i), I have a fan duct you can 3D print. I am using this with the Biostar X370GTN, but I assume the socket height would be the same for other boards?
Click to expand...
So what temps are you getting then, I can't find anything in the Google docs excel for any Ryzen processors... I'm tempted to get the l9a if it is actually good, I'd like a 3.6-3.7 overclock @~80degrees but would like some confirmation before I order one :)
 
richiegore said:
So what temps are you getting then, I can't find anything in the Google docs excel for any Ryzen processors... I'm tempted to get the l9a if it is actually good, I'd like a 3.6-3.7 overclock @~80degrees but would like some confirmation before I order one :)
Click to expand...

I'm currently running at stock clocks with very nice temps, but I can try overclocking tomorrow to see how it fares.
 
Deepcoiler said:
I'm currently running at stock clocks with very nice temps, but I can try overclocking tomorrow to see how it fares.
Click to expand...

That's great news, I will probably pick one up then! Interested to see your overclocking results, you are on the latest bios right?
 
richiegore said:
https://www.google.ie/amp/tekeverything.com/noctua-nh-l9i-am4-upgrade-kit/amp/

Not sure whether to believe this, seems to good to be true. I anyone else running an l9i with Ryzen? Can you confirm its awesomeness? :eek: I can only image the l9a would be ever so slightly better again as it is a bit bigger.

Edit: another review from the same guy with an l9a inside the case. http://tekeverything.com/ryzen-7-s4-mini-build-upgrades/amp/

I wonder how the l9a would perform with the 120x15mm noctua... or even a full 25mm thick fan... So many possibilities...
Click to expand...

I have an unused l9a that I bought for the fan. I would be more than happy to trade my l9a for your l9i.
 
Ca11idus said:
I have an unused l9a that I bought for the fan. I would be more than happy to trade my l9a for your l9i.
Click to expand...
Sorry my post was a bit confusing, I don't have one. I meant does anyone else other than the reviewer I linked to have one. Thanks for the offer though! :)
 
I missed the first wave of non kickstarter buys in February by a couple hours, but Overclockers.co.uk had a "preorder" and a date of around July for new stock and I figured I could wait that long, so I just put in a preorder hoping to get it around July.

Well it's July and I checked the page and now it says ETA 15.12.17. Are they ever going to get more in stock or is my preorder just going to sit in limbo forever?
 
Rorschach said:
And the final confirmation is here.
The MSI Gaming GTX1070 fits perfectly the A4.

(I presume the 1080 will too and especially the 1080ti because they came back with the receased part for the pci-e plugs but of course you will not put the side panel anymore because it is too wide and have a muscle pitbull stance :p )

No need to remove the side panel push in clip. Only some convincing for the PSU cables. To hold them into place i used zip ties and once fixed took 'em off. The top/front panel fit perfectly.

*Side-upgraded from a 980ti to the 1070 even more quiet pourpouses and low temps and more efficiency. Plus the newer arhitecture and the extra 2 GB of Vram plus sold it for x and payed the same for the new one*

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Get some heat shrink and a flammable glue with a low viscosity (I use some generic UHU plastic adhesive).
Cut a small V shape in the isolation of your cable to be able to bend it more. Bend the cable exactly at the V (the V should close -> it faces inwards).
Put some glue on the cable (only a little bit) and then put some heat shrink over it (only a small strip).
Press the heat shrink a few time against the glue so that the inside of the heat shrink has glue on it.
Take a lighter and hold it close but not to close under the heat shrink. If done right the heat shrink will first contract a bit, then you will see some small flames and the heat shrink will wrap perfectly around the cable without any gap at all.
Depending on the glue and cables you used you may even be able to remove the heat shrink after that and the fold will still hold together and be perfectly isolated. Some glues are able to fuse the heat shrink of the plastic with the isolation of the cable.

This is a really neat trick if you need right angle bends in cables.
 
Philfreeze said:
Get some heat shrink and a flammable glue with a low viscosity (I use some generic UHU plastic adhesive).
Cut a small V shape in the isolation of your cable to be able to bend it more. Bend the cable exactly at the V (the V should close -> it faces inwards).
Put some glue on the cable (only a little bit) and then put some heat shrink over it (only a small strip).
Press the heat shrink a few time against the glue so that the inside of the heat shrink has glue on it.
Take a lighter and hold it close but not to close under the heat shrink. If done right the heat shrink will first contract a bit, then you will see some small flames and the heat shrink will wrap perfectly around the cable without any gap at all.
Depending on the glue and cables you used you may even be able to remove the heat shrink after that and the fold will still hold together and be perfectly isolated. Some glues are able to fuse the heat shrink of the plastic with the isolation of the cable.

This is a really neat trick if you need right angle bends in cables.
Click to expand...


Thanks ! For now they are good on the video card's end.
But you got me thinking. Maybe i can do that to the PSU so i can increase the space in between it and the fan from the AIO.

Will companies that do custom cables will tackle angled connectors? I mean all that exist the PSU?
 

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richiegore said:
That's great news, I will probably pick one up then! Interested to see your overclocking results, you are on the latest bios right?
Click to expand...

On the latest BIOS, yes. A few things of note:

  • My graphics-side panel is off as my card is too thick
  • I have a 3D printed duct that connects the Noctua fan directly to the CPU-side panel
  • I don't know much about overclocking
With that being said, at a 3.7GHz overclock I had the following temps:

  • At idle, the CPU was at 32C, system temp reported as being 36C
  • At load, the CPU temp was about 73C, with the system temp at 45C

Hope this helps.
 
I was able to get for my build a Galax GTX 1070 OC Mini for a very good price. However the card is very noisy so now I am looking for a good after market GPU cooler to replace the Galax stock cooler. Unfortunately the Arctic Accelero Extreme will not fit in my understanding, Or would it if the swapped the fans to Noctua A9x14? . Can anyone recommend a good VGA cooler, that will fit in the A4? Thanks.
 
Deepcoiler said:
On the latest BIOS, yes. A few things of note:

  • My graphics-side panel is off as my card is too thick
  • I have a 3D printed duct that connects the Noctua fan directly to the CPU-side panel
  • I don't know much about overclocking
With that being said, at a 3.7GHz overclock I had the following temps:

  • At idle, the CPU was at 32C, system temp reported as being 36C
  • At load, the CPU temp was about 73C, with the system temp at 45C

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Those results sound really great, I'm going to order an l9a today. I'll probably do some sort of duct at some point. I also might just make a 1mm sheet metal adaptor plate and fit a 120x25mm if it clears all my other components on my motherboard excluding the ram. Just to see how it performs! Thanks for the tests. Probably also going to order a 1080, it seems like a really great card for the Dan case and Vega is looking quite hot, additionally I am sick of waiting!
 
richiegore said:
Those results sound really great, I'm going to order an l9a today. I'll probably do some sort of duct at some point. I also might just make a 1mm sheet metal adaptor plate and fit a 120x25mm if it clears all my other components on my motherboard excluding the ram. Just to see how it performs! Thanks for the tests. Probably also going to order a 1080, it seems like a really great card for the Dan case and Vega is looking quite hot, additionally I am sick of waiting!
Click to expand...

I have an unused l9a without the fan that you can have for whatever you want to pay and shipping.
 
Ca11idus said:
I have an unused l9a without the fan that you can have for whatever you want to pay and shipping.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer but I think it will cost too much and take to long to post to Ireland to be worth it? I kind of want the fan too as the separate retail one doesn't spin quite as fast....
 
richiegore said:
Those results sound really great, I'm going to order an l9a today. I'll probably do some sort of duct at some point. I also might just make a 1mm sheet metal adaptor plate and fit a 120x25mm if it clears all my other components on my motherboard excluding the ram. Just to see how it performs! Thanks for the tests. Probably also going to order a 1080, it seems like a really great card for the Dan case and Vega is looking quite hot, additionally I am sick of waiting!
Click to expand...

... Please wait for Vega.
 
Rorschach said:
Thanks ! For now they are good on the video card's end.
But you got me thinking. Maybe i can do that to the PSU so i can increase the space in between it and the fan from the AIO.

Will companies that do custom cables will tackle angled connectors? I mean all that exist the PSU?
Click to expand...

I don't think any company will bother with 90° Molex Jr. connectors. I also don't know of any official 90° Molex Jr. connectors in the first place, so your only way would be to follow the earlier posted German thread.
If you have some translation issues just ask. There are many Germans in this forum anyway.


Hotshot619 said:
On the German hardware forums there is a thread with a step by step guide on modifying right angle power connectors like this
p10109842t5h.jpg
If you are the tinkering type and want to eliminate any possible future bulging issues.
Click to expand...

Hotshot619 said:
http://www.hardwareluxx.de/communit...-einen-abgewinkelten-pcie-stecker-683614.html
Click to expand...
 
People who have asus z270I gaming.
What its your bios configuration? because I dont know how to undervolt with offset or adaptative.
 
Greetings,
after seeing the wounderful wiring of mikelorant i'll also try the Cablemod option with a Corsair SF450 and a Gigabyte GA-H270N-Wifi.

  • 150mm 24 pin PSU cable.
  • 250mm 8 pin EPS cable.
  • 2 x 350mm 6+8 pin PCIE cable. (Not sure if i'll try the routing behind the graphics card)
  • 100mm SSD cable.
Did somebody try his idea to make sure that ALL of these cables have the retention clip on OPPOSITE sides?


Question regarding graphic card - is there any advantage with the cooling fins being vertical for better airflow - IMHO only Asus, EVGA and Gigabyte have them this way.

I "maneurved" the ASUS ROG STRIX 1070 OC of my brother into the DAN case...oh my god. I wish i could by one - but 650€ is a bit too much on the crazy side atm. :(

Any other recommendations? The MSI Gaming 1070 is as i saw from Rorschach a bit too high for my taste. Sadly nice it's a very silent card - and that's a must be for me.
 
bAMtan2 said:
great pictures in that review, but unfortunately the author doesn't measure mechanical flexibility, which is what dan needs to know. I think dan chooses 3m because only 3m bends well and fits the case...
Click to expand...

Jann5s said:
My point was not to critique dan or suggest changing riser manufacturer. Frankly, i'm very happy with dan's choice, the 3m riser is working very well in my A4-SFX v1. I just thought it was interesting for us, to see what the performance impact can be, and, that other manufacturers are also producing good stuff.
Click to expand...

Yup!, it would be cool to have the Lian Li´s PCIE risers :) since they have the black PCB that everybody wants and maybe it would be faster to deliver since Lian Li is also making the Cases.

But maybe Dan is getting a better price from 3M or you are right about the flexibility. :(

Anyways it will be cool to get the Lian Li´s ones (dreaming is for free :p) with the black PCB and covered cables, just look at them:

sUfp0Fs.jpg


pci-e-0001.jpg
pci-e-0002.jpg
 
That's why I'm searching for a Lapdock that includes monitor, keyboard and mouse.
Like an HP Elite x3 Lapdock (USB C, 1 cable)
 
That's only USB-C, no HDMI or Displayport so not very usable for a discrete GPU.
 
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Just got a reply from cablemod - their guys cannot build the cables so that the other retention clip is on the opposite side. Bummer, looks like i'll have to do that by myself.
 
MrWho said:
Greetings,
after seeing the wounderful wiring of mikelorant i'll also try the Cablemod option with a Corsair SF450 and a Gigabyte GA-H270N-Wifi.

  • 150mm 24 pin PSU cable.
  • 250mm 8 pin EPS cable.
  • 2 x 350mm 6+8 pin PCIE cable. (Not sure if i'll try the routing behind the graphics card)
  • 100mm SSD cable.
Did somebody try his idea to make sure that ALL of these cables have the retention clip on OPPOSITE sides?


Question regarding graphic card - is there any advantage with the cooling fins being vertical for better airflow - IMHO only Asus, EVGA and Gigabyte have them this way.

I "maneurved" the ASUS ROG STRIX 1070 OC of my brother into the DAN case...oh my god. I wish i could by one - but 650€ is a bit too much on the crazy side atm. :(

Any other recommendations? The MSI Gaming 1070 is as i saw from Rorschach a bit too high for my taste. Sadly nice it's a very silent card - and that's a must be for me.
Click to expand...

Are you f***ing kidding me?
I can buy a used 1080Ti with this amount of money (Switzerland) and would still have some money left for ice cream. (all links bellow)
I can also buy a Asus GTX 1070 STRIX O8G (I assume that is the card you are talking about) used for 460CHF (475USD / 420EUR) and I can order it for about 550CHF (570USD / 500EUR). Sadly I cannot directly buy it new since nobody has them in stock but some say they can get one in approx. 3 weeks for that price.


So yeah, if you live in Europe I could buy and sent them to you or you could ask the guys selling them if they sent them to you.

Gigabyte 1080ti on Anibis
MSI 1080Ti on Anibis

Asus STRIX 1070 O8G on Anibis


P.S: As you might know this prices are all including taxes and other stuff, both 1080Ti still have 3 years warranty. The 1070 doesn't mention anything but it has to have some warranty because it is only 6 months old and the minimum here is 24 months.
 
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