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

[dondan]

This isn't possible because of power button and USB at the front.

 

[tenrose]

This isn't possible because of power button and USB at the front.

then leave cutouts for those also? with a bit of careful design it should be perfectly possible to make the chassis front symetrical

 

[ezeftw]

Does anyone have one UDG producer bag for moving the A4? I'm about to buy one and would be great to hear experiences.

 

[pedrofan]

This isn't possible because of power button and USB at the front.

They can be placed both on the left.
The benefits worth the redesign imo.

 

[pedrofan]

^ This. Especially noticeable since my A4 sits on a white surface. Like a muddy child, the case leaves behind footprints wherever it goes.

Anyone have a good source for replacement feet?

After finishing the modding my table looked like a pollock painting

 

[Woxys]

Does anyone know where i can buy better case feet and power button here in europe? dondan di say something about this a while ago but i can't find any updates on that :/

 

[mcheddadi]

1080 ti kingpin acquired. anyone looking for a 1070 gtx on the cheap? lol

 

[Rolling9Deep]

Over the last few weeks I've been doing my youtube and forum research on my next build. (Current machine is an air cooled i2500K with a 980 GTX TI, originally built in Jan, 2011 inside a micro-atx Silverstone FT03.)

Thinking of doing an air-cooled GTX1080TI intel 9th generation build with either a DAN case or LOUQE case. Any thoughts of which 1080 GTX TI I should be hunting for? The build will be used for gaming (1440P) and video work. I'm cool with going the AMD route as well. Any thoughts? (I'd like to go with air cooling as I plan to be flying a fair amount with it as carry on.)

(also, I don't remember my old HARD account (and associated e-mail) which I set up over 12 years ago)

Cheers,

 

[mcheddadi]

1080 ti ftw3 preferably or sc2 should fit and have good thermals i think. otherwise the cheapest 1080ti if you don't mind the blowers "Aero" cards

 

[ezeftw]

Over the last few weeks I've been doing my youtube and forum research on my next build. (Current machine is an air cooled i2500K with a 980 GTX TI, originally built in Jan, 2011 inside a micro-atx Silverstone FT03.)

Thinking of doing an air-cooled GTX1080TI intel 9th generation build with either a DAN case or LOUQE case. Any thoughts of which 1080 GTX TI I should be hunting for? The build will be used for gaming (1440P) and video work. I'm cool with going the AMD route as well. Any thoughts? (I'd like to go with air cooling as I plan to be flying a fair amount with it as carry on.)

(also, I don't remember my old HARD account (and associated e-mail) which I set up over 12 years ago)

Cheers,

I can recommend 1080ti sc2. Excellent thermals for this case.

 

[Eugenides]

I can recommend 1080ti sc2. Excellent thermals for this case.

What are your Temps like? I am trying to get an air cooled 1080ti build in the case, and am split between ftw3 and sc2. Supposedly ftw3 should be cooler, but sc2 allows me to switch to AIO for the cpu later more easily if air just doesn't cut it.

 

[ezeftw]

What are your Temps like? I am trying to get an air cooled 1080ti build in the case, and am split between ftw3 and sc2. Supposedly ftw3 should be cooler, but sc2 allows me to switch to AIO for the cpu later more easily if air just doesn't cut it.

Im not seeing any temp above 71*. Really cool card.

 

[Shaav]

Another well done review:

 

[ezeftw]

Anyone with the Tenba BYOB 13? I'm looking for a backpack that fan fit it inside.

 

[gdourado]

Anyone here tried the Id cooling is-vc45?
How does it compare to the c7?

Cheers!

 

[oblongpolygon]

I need to get my DAN v2 open again, and try to work out a way to cram another Noctua fan towards the top of the case, as well as a second fan at the bottom, below the mobo.

I'm sure some ducting for the CPU cooler could help performance, too.

Because I have a blower card, I'm thinking some ducting on the GPU could help it too, but there's not much room for it.

If this doesn't work, then I guess I'm hoping v4 of the DAN gives us enough room for a fan both below, and also above, the CPU / mobo.

 

[Jspr]

I need to get my DAN v2 open again, and try to work out a way to cram another Noctua fan towards the top of the case, as well as a second fan at the bottom, below the mobo.

I'm sure some ducting for the CPU cooler could help performance, too.

Because I have a blower card, I'm thinking some ducting on the GPU could help it too, but there's not much room for it.

If this doesn't work, then I guess I'm hoping v4 of the DAN gives us enough room for a fan both below, and also above, the CPU / mobo.

You should be able to use the Akasa 80mm slim fan (AK-FN076) both on top or bottom Noctua is to thick.

 

[AWDSOME]

I need to get my DAN v2 open again, and try to work out a way to cram another Noctua fan towards the top of the case, as well as a second fan at the bottom, below the mobo.

I'm sure some ducting for the CPU cooler could help performance, too.

Because I have a blower card, I'm thinking some ducting on the GPU could help it too, but there's not much room for it.

If this doesn't work, then I guess I'm hoping v4 of the DAN gives us enough room for a fan both below, and also above, the CPU / mobo.

I found that the case fan at the bottom towards the front actually made a good difference for the mobo and CPU temps. I saw an 8 deg C improvement on average during a full load test. The trick was using good cable management with it.

 

[richiegore]

You should be able to use the Akasa 80mm slim fan (AK-FN076) both on top or bottom Noctua is to thick.

I installed this fan at the top of the case. Even with a Noctua low noise adaptor it's way noiser than the Noctua fan. Very noticeable at idle. I didn't see much if any temperature difference when running Prime 95 so removed it after a couple of days. I would have removed it anyway as it was way too noisy.

 

[dondan]

Great news for every v2 owner. In the next days SFFLab will offer a USB 3.0 v3 upgrade kit. With this cable you can use a Asetek 92mm AIO together with front I/O installed.

https://www.sfflab.com/products/dan_a4_cable_usb

 

[mcheddadi]

It's about to get a lot more exciting for my build. Should go great with my solid copper CPU heatsink (gallery in signature). Here's a preview, I just got it in the mail.

 

[gdourado]

Any big differences between the Noctua l9a am4 and the Cryorig c7? For a Ryzen 2600.

 

[Nanook]

It's about to get a lot more exciting for my build. Should go great with my solid copper CPU heatsink (gallery in signature). Here's a preview, I just got it in the mail.

View attachment 103014

View attachment 103015

Double copper would look very nice.

 

[CLOUDZZ]

View attachment 102999

Great news for every v2 owner. In the next days SFFLab will offer a USB 3.0 v3 upgrade kit. With this cable you can use a Asetek 92mm AIO together with front I/O installed.

https://www.sfflab.com/products/dan_a4_cable_usb

As an v2 owner I am happy that this is available, some picture would be nice though

 

[mcheddadi]

Double copper would look very nice.

Edit: Added the a photo of the front also

Looks amazing! I had to modify the internal front panel a little for the power cables that plug on the side but otherwise fits like a glove :-D

 

[Engr62]

View attachment 103249

Looks amazing! I had to modify the front panel a little for the power cables that plug on the side but otherwise fits like a glove :-D

Looks stunning! It'd be a shame to cover that up with the side panel.

 

[galletabah]

View attachment 103249

Looks amazing! I had to modify the front panel a little for the power cables that plug on the side but otherwise fits like a glove :-D

no problem fitting the top right panel clip?
I'll install mine in 2 or 3 days

 

[mcheddadi]

no problem fitting the top right panel clip?
I'll install mine in 2 or 3 days

Kingpin Bros! Nice.
I removed the top right one for the install and then when the card was mounted and bolted I put it back in. The card and the clip are in contact but it's not a problem. There is a long rectangle gap to route the power cables that you will need to enlarge in the internal front panel unless you can find some right angle power connectors or some low profile ones. Enjoy man!

 

[illram]

Beautiful mcheddadi. How's temps/noise now that she's all done?

 

[mcheddadi]

I don't have hard numbers but it's audible while gaming and pretty silent while working on the PC. On the benchmarks it's a symphony of coilwhine and turbines. LOL! i exagerate but with heaphone I dont hear it. It never thermal throttles. 4.4ghz CPU stays Bellow 80 and gpu 2000mhz Bellow 70 in all my quick benchmarks. Didn't try much overcoming the gpu yet but I got to 2050mhz at 70%fan speed.

 

[Vyker]

Just bought the parts for my build in the V2.

Looking forward to it.

Feel free if anyone has any comments or feedback on my part list. GPU is a 1050Ti Palit at the moment, but i'll replace it with the 2060 when it's out. 950 Pro 512 m2 and 960 1Tb SSD also joins the parts list. All paired with a S2716DG Dell Monitor

 

[richiegore]

Just bought the parts for my build in the V2.

Looking forward to it.

Feel free if anyone has any comments or feedback on my part list. GPU is a 1050Ti Palit at the moment, but i'll replace it with the 2060 when it's out. 950 Pro 512 m2 and 960 1Tb SSD also joins the parts list. All paired with a S2716DG Dell Monitor

View attachment 103485

Maybe check the tested ram list for your motherboard. Its more likely to work well with minimal effort. You should find the list on the Asus website.

 

[Vyker]

Maybe check the tested ram list for your motherboard. Its more likely to work well with minimal effort. You should find the list on the Asus website.

Thanks for the tip - Just checked and we're good to go!

 

[Vyker]

Built!

Really easy getting all the parts into the board. Love the m.2 Heatsink. Under stress test it only got to 58c

Then the hard part started! Getting the PSU cables in

Though I've got to say the bending of the GPU cable into the socket was very hard, in hindsight i would suggest you connect it before you screw the board in.

I opted for a "curl" versus "fold" for cable management. I can't believe you you're all getting AIO's or even case fans into that space, it's madness how small and tight it all is.

Then it was all done, in only 90mins or building..

Temps so far are:

Ryzen 5 2600 idles at 50c with 1000-1200rpm on the noctua fan
1050ti idle is 40c
M.2 is 45c idle or thereabouts.

Under gaming, ( I dont really play AAA titles) the fans spin up a bit, but nothing too troublesome. All in all, in general use, the thing is silent, and I love it!

If anyone has any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks Dan

 

[dondan]

Here is the RTX 2080 & RTX 2080 Ti compatibility list:

RTX 2080 Ti Cards:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition = compatible

ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Advanced = incompatible (3 Slot)
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC = incompatible (2.5 Slot)
ASUS Turbo GeForce RTX 2080 Ti = compatible

EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti XC Gaming = compatible
EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti XC Ultra Gaming = incompatible (3 Slot)

Gainward GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Phoenix GS = incompatible (3 Slot)
Gainward GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Phoenix = incompatible (3 Slot)

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming OC 11G = incompatible (2.5 Slot)
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Windforce OC 11G = compatible

INNO3D GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming OC X3 = compatible
INNO3D GeForce RTX 2080 Ti X2 OC = compatible

KFA² GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC = compatible

MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Duke 11G OC = incompatible (2.5 Slot)
MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming X Trio = incompatible (3 Slot)

Palit GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GamingPro OC = incompatible (3 Slot)
Palit GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GamingPro = incompatible (3 Slot)

PNY GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Blower Design = compatible
PNY GeForce RTX 2080 Ti XLR8 Gaming Overclocked = compatible

Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Ti AMP Edition = incompatible (3 Slot)
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Triple Fan = incompatible (3 Slot)



RTX 2080 Cards:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition = compatible

ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2080 OC = incompatible (3 Slot)
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 OC = incompatible (2 Slot)

EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 XC Gaming = compatible
EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 XC Ultra Gaming = incompatible (3 Slot)

Gainward GeForce RTX 2080 Phoenix GS = compatible
Gainward GeForce RTX 2080 Phoenix = compatible

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8G = incompatible (2.5 Slot)
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Windforce OC 8G = compatible

INNO3D GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming OC X3 = compatible
INNO3D GeForce RTX 2080 Jet = compatible
INNO3D GeForce RTX 2080 X2 OC = compatible

KFA² GeForce RTX 2080 OC = compatible

MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Duke 8G OC = incompatible (2.5 Slot)
MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming X Trio = incompatible (3 Slot)
MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Sea Hawk X = unknow
MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ventus 8G OC = unknow

Palit GeForce RTX 2080 GamingPro OC = compatible
Palit GeForce RTX 2080 GamingPro = compatible

PNY GeForce RTX 2080 Blower Design = compatible
PNY GeForce RTX 2080 XLR8 Gaming OC Triple Fan = compatible
PNY GeForce RTX 2080 XLR8 Gaming OC Twin Fan = compatible

Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 AMP Edition = incompatible (3 Slot)
Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Blower = compatible

 

[thed00d]

Hey all, I've been looking around and getting mixed reports, so I figured I'd just come here to ask:

I'm trying to put together a rig that will run a 2700x in the CPU and a 1080Ti in the GPU in the Dancase. I've heard that the FTW3 runs pretty well in this case, it has good cooling capabilities, but I'm worried about the 2700x. TDW of 105 is a bit high for such a small form factor case it sounds like.

My goal is to just use air cooling, like the noctua nh-l9a, as I don't think AIO will work super well with the FTW3. To help, I don't plan on overclocking anything, and looking at dan's advice in the quoted post, lowering the voltage will probably help. I wouldn't be doing anything crazy, just gaming and some VR eventually.

Most of the builds I see in this case are intel, so I'm not getting a ton of help there. Does anyone have any feedback for keeping the 2700x relatively cool in this case? For CPU coolers that dan mentioned, is the LP53 a good idea for AMD over the noctua?

Thanks in advance

I got the 2700X in my build, it definitely is throttling on synthetic load (down to 3.5 for me), but I never had this while rendering or gaming, so it doesn't affect me that much - as CknSalad said, you'll be around 3.8GHz with it, if using the Cryorig C7 - which is pretty loud tho.

I personally am moving forward to Dans new C4 case, as soon as it gets released, to stuff a watercooler in.

 

[richiegore]

I got the 2700X in my build, it definitely is throttling on synthetic load (down to 3.5 for me), but I never had this while rendering or gaming, so it doesn't affect me that much - as CknSalad said, you'll be around 3.8GHz with it, if using the Cryorig C7 - which is pretty loud tho.

I personally am moving forward to Dans new C4 case, as soon as it gets released, to stuff a watercooler in.

Maybe wait and see what the Alpenföhn® Black Ridge turns out like? It is fun to rebuild in a new case though...

 

[Eugenides]

I got the 2700X in my build, it definitely is throttling on synthetic load (down to 3.5 for me), but I never had this while rendering or gaming, so it doesn't affect me that much - as CknSalad said, you'll be around 3.8GHz with it, if using the Cryorig C7 - which is pretty loud tho.

I personally am moving forward to Dans new C4 case, as soon as it gets released, to stuff a watercooler in.

Yeah, after looking at a bunch of sources, I have decided to go with the 2700. You're looking at 15 to 20C temp differences for about 10% less performance, but the 2700 still gives you a lot of power for casual gaming. Who cares if you're at 120+ fps instead of 140?

 

[dglow]

Here is the RTX 2080 & RTX 2080 Ti compatibility list:

RTX 2080 Cards:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition = compatible

ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2080 OC = incompatible (3 Slot)
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 OC = incompatible (2 Slot)

Dan, doesn't ASUS make a 2080 version of the Turbo GeForce that would fit the A4?

 

[aiphoenix]

Dan, doesn't ASUS make a 2080 version of the Turbo GeForce that would fit the A4?

Yes! According to Asus, this is the same size as the Ti version. https://www.asus.com/us/Graphics-Cards/TURBO-RTX2080-8G/