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

Hey Kreyyr,

thanks for your quick feedback!

I hope so, too. :D Until now i haven't got my hands on one so far, but looking forward to their release on caseking!

1. Good point! You're right. The L9a is a little bit wider than the intel version. But shouldn't be an issue?
2. Jup, i am aware of that. Do you think dual channel makes a noticable difference? I assumed that this would be measurable but not really noticable at all?
3. I tend to get a used 960 as interim solution, to keep costs low for the moment and upgrade later to a 1160. I could get a ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 960 4GB for a relative cheap price. According to the measurements on the Asus Website it should fit into the case. Can someone confirm that?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Chris4SFX said:
1. Good point! You're right. The L9a is a little bit wider than the intel version. But shouldn't be an issue?
Click to expand...

The L9i does not come with the right mount for the AM4 Socket, but you can get a mounting kit from Noctua for it to make it fit. (Link it is free if you bought a new Cooler + Ryzen CPU or AM4 Mainboard)
So you either get the L9i and buy / wait for a mounting kit or you get the L9a.
 
Julio Espinosa said:
Has someone seen the HD Plex 400W AC-DC Adapter?
I would be cool to have it with te HD Plex 400W DC-ATX PSU, and an 120mm AIO CPU cooler in a DAN A4-SFX!!!!!
Click to expand...

Julio Espinosa
My initial impressions: https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-358#post-1043668983
My final build: https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-358#post-1043670669

tl;dr: it is very fun to build, but does come with some limitations from the external power brick.
 
Alaberti said:
Julio Espinosa
My initial impressions: https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-358#post-1043668983
My final build: https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-358#post-1043670669

tl;dr: it is very fun to build, but does come with some limitations from the external power brick.
Click to expand...

I got that!
But this is the new AC-DC Adapter (Brick). You're using the Modded G-unique Brick, right?
It would be cool to mount it inside the case, with the 400W DC-ATX PSU too.

They say, this one is half the size of the Dell 330W Brick
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/hdplex-400w-ac-dc-internal-adapter.7069/page-4#post-102555
 
Julio Espinosa said:
I got that!
But this is the new AC-DC Adapter (Brick). You're using the Modded G-unique Brick, right?
It would be cool to mount it inside the case, with the 400W DC-ATX PSU too.
Click to expand...


Ohhh I see what you're saying, I misread the first part of your post. I am using the modded brick yes, which is fine, but a completely internal solution would be best, I agree. I don't really know where you'd put this converter, especially with the 120mm AIO, but it would be fun to figure out.
 
Alaberti said:
Ohhh I see what you're saying, I misread the first part of your post. I am using the modded brick yes, which is fine, but a completely internal solution would be best, I agree. I don't really know where you'd put this converter, especially with the 120mm AIO, but it would be fun to figure out.
Click to expand...

any chance we could get a closer look/more details about your modded brick? im looking to do something similar but don't know where to begin brick-wise.
 
Hi,

I'm just curious if anyone tried to reverse the CPU fan on the heatsink. Usually cold air is pushed into heatsink and what if hot air is pulled out of the heatsink and fan? If hot air can be directly blowed out of the case I think the temperature may be a little better. Anyone tried this before?
 
Tyloo_wNv said:
Hi,

I'm just curious if anyone tried to reverse the CPU fan on the heatsink. Usually cold air is pushed into heatsink and what if hot air is pulled out of the heatsink and fan? If hot air can be directly blowed out of the case I think the temperature may be a little better. Anyone tried this before?
Click to expand...

U will use the warmer air in the case instead of the colder air at ambient temperature -> worse
 
Tyloo_wNv said:
Hi,

I'm just curious if anyone tried to reverse the CPU fan on the heatsink. Usually cold air is pushed into heatsink and what if hot air is pulled out of the heatsink and fan? If hot air can be directly blowed out of the case I think the temperature may be a little better. Anyone tried this before?
Click to expand...
Yes, usually reversing the fans to pull air through the heatsink is worse than pushing cold air through the heatsink. With some exceptions - for air cooling in the Phanteks Shift, I found that the glass panel was starving the fan any air at all, so reversing the fan resulted in better temps (AXP-200 was the heatsink)
 
mirgus said:
Yesterday i decided to try something similar then my previous attempt with the cpu shroud. So for the first test i invested 5 min in a little CAD design which is printing right now. If it perfomance as good as the cpu shroud, i will invest more effort to design it more propper. For example i could implement an air guide for the hot air which is following the fins. Here are some pictures of the first concept. I hope i measured right and i am not printing shit right now :D

View attachment 83671


View attachment 83672



View attachment 83673


View attachment 83674
Click to expand...

So i tested the first shroud and it doesnt had an impact at all on cooling performance. It lowered the fan speed by only 80rpm. I think it doesn't improve the performance that much because my gpu fans are already pretty close to the sidepanel.
 
Thanks for testing it out!

From your pics i would assume that it's not isolated enough, though. Guess they still pull some air from the area between them.

So i could imagine better results from cutting two separate holes instead of one big and more important to isolate themselves from the area around / between them like you did on the cpu fan. So to say two shallow pipes from the heatspreder to the sidepanel...

But away from it. As you say that the gpu fans are quite close to the sidepanel: How would you describe the air turbulences? I guess with a 150w 1070 with two fans it should be noticable quieter than the cpu fan? Does it disturb you nevertheless or do you just experiment with the gpu shroud to optimise temps/noise even further?
 
Hello. i built my dan case v3 a few weeks ago. Credit to the creator of the case. It was a joy to build in. Reading through the forum i decided to create a duct. It does improve temps noticabley.
Can someone help me for a more permanent elegant solution please. My cooler is the cooltek lp53 and noctua nf a9x14.
Using a makeshift cardboard duct at the moment. I tried looking but i cant find anything.
Thanks rob
 

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b0bby199 said:
Hello. i built my dan case v3 a few weeks ago. Credit to the creator of the case. It was a joy to build in. Reading through the forum i decided to create a duct. It does improve temps noticabley.
Can someone help me for a more permanent elegant solution please. My cooler is the cooltek lp53 and noctua nf a9x14.
Using a makeshift cardboard duct at the moment. I tried looking but i cant find anything.
Thanks rob
Click to expand...
I bought this (To mount the fan nicer than strips) and asked him to make this :) I just gotta mod my RAM, as it's the very tall Dominator Platinum, but you should be fine using that duct seeing you have LP ram
 
Hi. Thanks for the reply. Thats exactly what im looking for. How much did it cost you? You wouldnt mind me using that diagram? Yeah got ballistix sport ram but was thinking of upgrading to trident x without the fins eventually.
 
b0bby199 said:
Hi. Thanks for the reply. Thats exactly what im looking for. How much did it cost you? You wouldnt mind me using that diagram? Yeah got ballistix sport ram but was thinking of upgrading to trident x without the fins eventually.
Click to expand...
It's not my makings and it's free to use I think. He did it all for 25euro with postage w/o tracing. It depends on the country
 
b0bby199 said:
Thanks mate. 25 euros isn't bad. I'm going to pm him. Thank you
Click to expand...

I just got your PM.

Btw, here's my setup:

NH-L9a with Thermalright TY-100 fan, 3d printed fan duct.

YGexoD1.jpg


I do carry a small stock of TY-100 or Blackout slim 92mm fans (DC only) for those interested in going for a non-brown look.
 
Your setup looks good. That duct looks good too. Never had use one before in pc but it works in the dan case. Running 4790k in high performance mode in windows and i have decent temps playing games (60 degrees).


 
Hi,

I have a small question, is the new C7 with graphit the best thermal solution for the DAN a4 v.1?
I have a jaguar that I bough as it was described after some modification as the best solution, but with those new C7, I am not sure if it s still true.

regards,
 
dondan in some renders i've seen a 1U psu mounted next to the GPU. could we get more details on how these will mount in the v3 case? will i need to fabricate a bracket for this or is there a specific one to buy elsewhere?

i've seen a 500w flex 1U PSU with a 24pin and two 8pin connectors which is literally perfect for my build. would be nice to know if you can spare the time.
 
tenrose said:
dondan in some renders i've seen a 1U psu mounted next to the GPU. could we get more details on how these will mount in the v3 case? will i need to fabricate a bracket for this or is there a specific one to buy elsewhere?

i've seen a 500w flex 1U PSU with a 24pin and two 8pin connectors which is literally perfect for my build. would be nice to know if you can spare the time.
Click to expand...

V3 has mounting points and standoffs for the HDPlex PSU. Just mind the length of your GPU, 267mm is basically all you get.
 
I reckon there should be range of shrouds made from silicone which will flex for a tight fit on a 120 or 140 fan. The silicone it can compress slightly when sides/tops are put on and form a reasonably effective seal to the outside through whatever holes or filters are in place. Take a look at the collapsible silicone colanders and bowls for the kitchen to see what I mean. If you're using a fan as intake then anything which prevents recirculation of warm air has surely got to be beneficial?
 
I fitted the lp53 fan adapter and duct thehack 3d printed for me. Looks great and does the job of cooling the cpu.
 

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Hi guys,

a friend of mine offered his GTX 960 Strix to me and i consider buying it as a interim solution in order to upgrade to a 1160 by the end of the year...

Does anyone know if the GTX 960 Strix does fit into the A4-SFX case?
According to the gpu's dimensions on the asus website and the compatibility specs on dan-cases.com it should be fine, but i am a bit worried about the 6-pin connector, which seems to be positioned pretty high? (Scroll down a bit to see the placement of the power connector...)

If someone can tell me about this gpu's compatibility that would be very appreciated!!

SkorpioNElite: Very clean build! Would you mind telling us about your config (especially cpu / gpu) and CPU temps you get with your watercooling? Is cooling performance sufficient, although the fan pulls the warm air from the case/power supply...?
Which fan do you use by the way? Similar to the noise levels of the noctua?

b0bby199: I like your duct, but i love the duck ... LOL :D
 
@Chris4SFX

CPU - Intel Core i5 4690K
Board - Asus Z97I-Plus
RAM: G.Skill (Removed the heatspreader)
GPU - Asus GTX 1060 Turbo

Board, CPU and RAM will be changed in the next weeks. Got the fever again after receiving the A4 ^^.

The fan is actually a PSU fan from Corsair or a good imitation I bought from elecok.com. I will rather spend some more money and accept a possible imitation than accept noctuas color sheme.
https://www.elecok.com/corsair-nr092l-12v-0-22a-2-wires-cooling-fan.html

CPU runs at 4.0Ghz All-Core Turbo

Idle: 34°-39°
Game Load: 60°-66° in demanding games (Crysis 3, BF4), around 70° while converting videos (DVDFab)
Prime95: Aborted after 10 minutes (Lowest core stays barely under 80°, while the hottest core still heats up and reaches more than 90°)

As you can guess the CPU is awful so I won`t take my temps as representable. In my Ncase the temps weren`t much better under maximum load. The temps will just keep rising while using Prime95.
The CPU is a typical candidate for delidding, as the temps and temp differences between the cores are only getting worse each year. I already got the liquid metal, silicon glue and delidding tool, but decided to just upgrade.
As for the noise level, the fan is voltage controlled and limited to 9V max via fan adapter. So it's silent. The Asus Board refuses to go below 60% Voltage otherwise.
The GPU with the blower fan is of course the loudest component, but surprisingly it`s still rather silent and not annoying. I only get the noise from the moving air.
Still, a silent enthusiast will prefer cards that dont have the blower style cooling concept.`

I've also tried reversing the fan to push the air out of the bottom, but got really bad temps (Idle temps around 45°).
Board temps are acceptable, just my M2 SSD ist getting quite hot with around 60°. But theres nothing to do about that as it is positioned behind the board.
 
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Hi SkorpioNElite,

thanks for your detailed report!

Yeah. Don't get it why noctua decided to go with these colors :confused:
Fortunately the sidepanels hide it quite well.

While the temps under heavy gaming seem to be pretty good, i would have expected lower temps under full load with the AseTek...
Have you tried a bit more rpm on the watercooling fan?

I will probably going for a 65w CPU like the ryzen 2600 anyway, but it would be nice to have the option to go for a 95w CPU later on, if the Asetek could deliver reasonable temps. I guess even with higher rpm on the fan, it should still be quite a bit less noisier than air cooling?
 
Just startet Prime95 again. After 10 minutes i get these temps. 4Ghz on all cores with the fan at 9V. As you can see the core difference is up to 12°. I guess the temps will drop 3°-5° with the fan at 12V but I won`t test that, as I would have to open the case and remove the adapter.
As far as I know AMD doesn`t use TIM between the DIE and heatspreader so any 95W CPU should just work fine with adequate noise levels. But overclocking has its limits with the Asetek cooler.

Graph.JPG Temps.JPG
 
Guys,

Which temperature can I expect with these components in your opinion? (v3)

CPU: i7-7700K (delided) | 4.5GHz@1.220v
Cooler: "xy AIO" 120mm with Noctua NF-A12x25
GPU: GTX 1070 Founders Edition (no OC)
SSD: Plextor 256GB NVMe with EK heatsink (positioned behind the motherboard)
PSU: HDPLEX 400W

Thanks, and sorry for my bad english!
 
linux.alucard said:
Guys,

Which temperature can I expect with these components in your opinion? (v3)

CPU: i7-7700K (delided) | 4.5GHz@1.220v
Cooler: "xy AIO" 120mm with Noctua NF-A12x25
GPU: GTX 1070 Founders Edition (no OC)
SSD: Plextor 256GB NVMe with EK heatsink (positioned behind the motherboard)
PSU: HDPLEX 400W

Thanks, and sorry for my bad english!
Click to expand...

Asking for temps is pretty fruitless, since it all depends on a lot of variables. In reality, your build will work just fine, and the temps will be very acceptable. But really, I can't stress how worthless temps are. Here is a list of what affects temp:

- How lucky you are. Intel is notorious for marrying crappy TIM with their otherwise excellent processors
- Your ambient temps
- How much noise you're willing to tolerate
- The quality of your "xy AIO"
- The quality and how well your applied your thermal paste correctly
- The mounting job
- If you fart on your computer causing it to heat up more

So, pretty much, the temps will be very acceptable, in line with a good quality 120mm tower air cooler. Probably 60-70C at load. It is not any different than any other builds.
 
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