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

That would be great, what do U guys think about temp? Should it perform better than EVGA CX3? Never had blower card before.
yeah temps will probably be higher. you have to accept that in such small cases.
 
That card is going to be a rendering beast for me I can not wait. Or rather I am going to be waiting a long time for everyone to get theres first
 
I was going to mention the EVGA XC3, but someone beat me to it.
It looks like even the EVGA RTX 3090 XC3 will fit. Their 3070, 3080 and 3090 XC3 all have the same dimensions.

Any guesses on whether a Nvidia 3070 might fit?
See above :)
 
I was going to mention the EVGA XC3, but someone beat me to it.
It looks like even the EVGA RTX 3090 XC3 will fit. Their 3070, 3080 and 3090 XC3 all have the same dimensions.


See above :)


What about your earlier comment worrying about card thickness? Isn't the EVGA too thick?

"It looks like no. They are all too thick :(
Not all have had their dimensions announced yet, but of the ones that have, all of them are 5cm+ and the A4-SFX is max 45mm with backplate. The others don't look any thinner. Keep a lookout for when the dimensions of MSI GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 2X are announced. "
 
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Sorry I was very unactive on this thread the last years because the community has moved to "smallformfactor.net". Here are some answers:

It's time for a three slots Dan A4-SFX :D

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I work on a new product C4-SFX https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/dan-c4-sfx-update-28-06-2020.12329/

Do we anticipate that DAN will update the A4 so as to accomodate three-slot cards?

If i'm honest, I'm also hoping for a new A4 case with stronger heat management credentials... so I'm quietly hoping that the case will grow in size for these three-slot cards, and then given that change has been made, room for two intake and two exhaust fans will be created / found - that an update of the case size in one dimension, will remove a barrier to update it in other dimensions.

There are no plans to change the A4-SFX. While 3 Slot support would be nice it will destroy the astetic of the case. The current one looks very slim while a 3 Slot it would look "fat" and bulky.
After the C4 will hit the market I will evaluate if I start to redesign the A4.
 
Thinking about building a system with one of these, to replace the old Titan X eGPU which has lasted far longer than I would've ever imagined - this would also allow me to upgrade my laptop to the upcoming ARM MacBooks for better power efficiency.

I'd be using the system for a combination of games and AI research, which tempts me to get a 3090 for the extra RAM, even though I probably don't really need it since I can run big stuff remotely. Looks like one of the EVGA 3090s is the same dimensions as the 3080 - I wonder if it'll fit too? Can the case handle the higher TDP of a 3090? How about noise - I can't stand loud fans - should I consider a weaker GPU to keep it quieter or will the noise level be about the same?
 
Thinking about building a system with one of these, to replace the old Titan X eGPU which has lasted far longer than I would've ever imagined - this would also allow me to upgrade my laptop to the upcoming ARM MacBooks for better power efficiency.

I'd be using the system for a combination of games and AI research, which tempts me to get a 3090 for the extra RAM, even though I probably don't really need it since I can run big stuff remotely. Looks like one of the EVGA 3090s is the same dimensions as the 3080 - I wonder if it'll fit too? Can the case handle the higher TDP of a 3090? How about noise - I can't stand loud fans - should I consider a weaker GPU to keep it quieter or will the noise level be about the same?
Honestly, the DAN is at its limit with the 3080. (IMO)
 
Honestly, the DAN is at its limit with the 3080. (IMO)

Why? Lower case volume alone does not cause higher temps - if anything, it helps reduce temps, because there is less space for hot air to accumulate in. Bad airflow - either because of not enough fans, or because of air flowing in the wrong directions, will cause bad temps. Ditto for heatsinks that are too small - but in this case that should primarily be a CPU limitation not GPU.

I might be talked into something a little bit bigger, if extra size is worth it from performance standpoint.
 
Has anyone made a glass side panel for their A4-SFX v4.1? I'd love to see what it looks like before I make one.
 
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Hi Team - in need of some help. Just upgraded to a 3600x from a 1700x using Noctua -NH-L9a AM4 x2 doing push. Check out these temps at idle - 70c!

  • ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac mobo
  • Ryzen 3600x cpu
  • EVGA 2070 Super Black

Any advice on how to reduce temps using this setup appreciated.


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I would take a look at this guide. It helped me drop the temps for my 2080 Super.



You may see a significant drop in temps as well as reduced fan noise.

Good luck!
 
I would take a look at this guide. It helped me drop the temps for my 2080 Super.



You may see a significant drop in temps as well as reduced fan noise.

Good luck!


Very interesting!

So what I could do if a 3090 is too hot for this case as-is is to underclock and undervolt it, getting the extra RAM but lower power consumption and noise. Paying a small runtime cost seems pretty worthwhile for this, particularly since at least some of the workflows I have will be limited by SSD and PCIe bandwidth rather than the GPU. Only downside is why the hell would I be buying a flagship card only to throttle it?

Yet another option if cooling is the limiting factor is to 3D print a fan duct for the GPU, so that hot air is not recirculating in the case. This has been shown to significantly improve CPU temps so probably would do the same for GPU. All in all putting a 3090 in there doesn't seem too scary - hopefully this is not utterly naive.

Note that I'm interested purely in air-cooled systems, since I might have to take the box with me on a flight (my eGPU is just small enough to fit in a carry-on), and don't trust liquid cooling systems in settings where air pressure may change.
 
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The YT guys are sayin you can not really under volt because the cores need the power to run correct this time and if you do under volt you will have a massive performance loss
 
The YT guys are sayin you can not really under volt because the cores need the power to run correct this time and if you do under volt you will have a massive performance loss
You'd be surprised! My 3dmark scores actually improved slightly because my thermals were not exceeding 85*C.
 
I fixed it!

This is wild. I love it.

Have you also removed the backplate? Did you need to remove it, in order for it to fit?

Also, is that the 3080 XC3 Black Gaming, or the 3080 XC3 Gaming, or the 3080 XC3 Ultra Gaming?

Edit / additionally... I wonder whether the XC3 Black Gaming version would fit without modifications?
 
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This is wild. I love it.

Have you also removed the backplate? Did you need to remove it, in order for it to fit?

Also, is that the 3080 XC3 Black Gaming, or the 3080 XC3 Gaming, or the 3080 XC3 Ultra Gaming?

Edit / additionally... I wonder whether the XC3 Black Gaming version would fit without modifications?

Thank you! haha Backplate made ZERO difference. It's the shroud that's actually the problem. Backplate fits fine. It's the XC3 Ultra. I assume the black will fit the same as all the others. The shroud barely fits and so the fans are right up against the side panel.
 
Thank you! haha Backplate made ZERO difference. It's the shroud that's actually the problem. Backplate fits fine. It's the XC3 Ultra. I assume the black will fit the same as all the others. The shroud barely fits and so the fans are right up against the side panel.

Is the side panel flex with this trick visible? How much fan clearance do you get - something like 1mm or 0.5mm?
 
It's the shroud that's actually the problem. Backplate fits fine. It's the XC3 Ultra. I assume the Black will fit the same as all the others. The shroud barely fits and so the fans are right up against the side panel.
Okay, gotcha. So the 3080 XC3 Ultra Gaming version fits, and the backplate doesn't need to be removed.

Noted! Thank you! This is really good to know. Cheers.

I had thought the Black version would fit easier, because it is seemingly without a backplate... however as you said, the backplate makes no difference - the snug fit is due... to the shroud!

(It seemed / seems like the backplate is removed on the Black version, based on a comparison of shots showing the end of it, versus say the XC3 Gaming, and XC3 Ultra Gaming which seem to be thicker. Here is the XC3 Ultra which seems thicker, and here the XC3 Black which seems thinner.)

But maybe our DANA4 has enough room to accommodate even those thicker cards / those with backplates.

Thanks again for the clear answers, Sandman.
 
In about a week I'll receive 10x Noctua NF-A9x14 fans (tan/brown) that are of the 2500RPM 2.52W variant that ships with the NH-L9i. I'm looking to sell them for $17 each (shipping included to CONUS, else $15 + shipping,) and figured y'all might be interested as they've been brought up in this thread a couple of times. PM me if you're interested and I'll set them aside from you.
 
Turns out the brackets I ordered for the AXP90R from superbuy were not for mounting the cooler parallel to the RAM. They are the exact same as the ones included. Anyone got an up to date link for those brackets? Has anyone actually tested and confirmed they cool better? I have the AXP90 here ready to install, but I'd rather do it and be done with it and not have to take the build apart again. If it makes no difference I'll stick with what I have, if the brackets actually help I'll order them and wait.
What about your earlier comment worrying about card thickness? Isn't the EVGA too thick?

"It looks like no. They are all too thick :(
Not all have had their dimensions announced yet, but of the ones that have, all of them are 5cm+ and the A4-SFX is max 45mm with backplate. The others don't look any thinner. Keep a lookout for when the dimensions of MSI GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 2X are announced. "
They weren't listed on the places I checked, so I didn't know about them. But they look like true dual slot.
 
I also ordered an AXP90R, in the hopes it would be more friendly for ram clearance.
If you have any install tips let me know
 
AMD has introduced its new graphics cards. According to the description the smallest one has even a 2 slot heat sink

The reference design of all three graphics cards is equipped with an almost identical cooler, which offers 3 axial fans.
The reference cooler
the Radeon RX 6800 is 2.0 Slot (250 Watt TBP)
RX 6800 XT and Radeon RX 6900 XT each with 2.5 slots. (250 Watt TBP)
All three graphics cards are 27 cm long and use two standard 8-pin power plugs

Wouldn't such a RX6800 with undervolting to max 0.9v also do well in Dan ?

I would really like to try a Dan with 5800x and RX6800 :). Do you get that halfway quiet ? The thing doesn't need benchmarks only demanding games in 4k.
 
So I have the original DAN case that came out from Kickstarter back in 2016. Due to health and finance reasons I have not been able to use it, but those have finally passed. It is time to build!

The v1 likely has PCIe 3 riser - correct? If so, can I replace that riser with a PCI 4.0 riser?

Anyone have suggestions given that it is the original? On the assumption that I cannot upgrade the riser, I had planned a budget+ Ryzen 5 5600 + value upper range card (6800 or 3070 once I see reviews of each).
 
Sure you could upgrade the riser cable, but the 3M should work with PCIe 4.0 and if it doesnt work, simple disable pcie 4.0 and you are fine.
 
Dan doesn't want to make competition here but what do you think would be the better case for a 5800x/5900x and a 6800XT ? The DAN or Ncase ?

For the 2.5 slot story I could get a spacer. https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/dan-a4-sfx.252/page-199#post-228297

In the Dan one would have to reduce TDP with the CPU probably to 65 and undervolt the graphics card for a pleasant volume ?

I like the size of the Dan. I think it is dead fancy. :/. But I can't decide what is more useful now. This is one of those things where you have to have both cases here and try to change the hardware and then decide :(. It is noticeably bigger and more massive.

danvergleich.jpg
 

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More than the 2.5slot GPU support, it would give a bit more space to the side panels for 2 slot GPUs, too. I had a FE 2060 that didn't have idle stop, and the fan turbulence was the noisiest part of the entire system. In game, I didn't care, but it was just always noisy, and my computer was in my bedroom back then. I found by pushing out the side panel by a little bit, the noise would be drastically reduced. Of course, it wouldn't be a problem if idle fan stop was actually enabled in the first place. Fan stop did exist in the firmware of the card itself, but the drivers forced the fan to be always on.

All of that being said, a big part of the appeal of the DAN A4 SFX, for me, was the uncompromising focus on small size, without actually removing compatibility with parts (I was surprised my massive ASUS 970 fit in there, when the Ncase M1 required removing a side panel clip and required partial disassembly of the GPU to squeeze it in - the V6 would fix both issues, but I was installing it into a V5). I get that GPUs are getting bigger nowadays, but if the A4 SFX is adding a few mm (5mm to be exact) for wider GPUs, it could afford to add a few mm for taller CPU heatsinks, too... Would also allow for more space to offset mount a PSU (for blow-through coolers and 120mm radiators).
 
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