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

If your expected demand is correct and you are looking in the several hundred mark for production do you think offering both colours could lead to an increase in cost due to splitting the production numbers?
 
@dondan

The silver version of the case looks awesome. That's the one I will be purchasing for sure.

The vent holes on the right side look way better in the silver, especially without any horizontal or vertical line. You should keep it that way in my opinion. What you do with the left side is up to you but if it were me I would mirror the right side vent. It seriously looks very classy.

One question, the rendering of the silver one makes it look like the finish is smooth. Will this be the case or will it have the same brushed aluminium finish as the black one?
 
I ordered the prototype with both sidepanel version so I can test which one is better.
For the finish both versions are brushed. If you click on the renderings and see it in 4k resolution you will recognize that the silver rendering is brushed too.
 
Hmm, the silber version is so great i think i`ll buy that one :) Will you also use black as color for the inner parts to save cost like the Ncase M1 did? Because it appears like the back of it is black in the render... Anyway, I will decide what color, but i`ll definiately buy one, this project is so awesome!! great work, Dondan!
 
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First and Last.
 
Last one is the way to go. I like the symmetrical look. The divider line in the first just doesn't make sense to me.
 
I also prefer the symmetric look, but I would be curious to see what Dondan sees as far as temperatures between these two configurations before placing a vote!
 
Talking about temperatures, Dondan, have you received and tested the lp53 yet? Is close to the NH-L9 in performance? I don't remember seeing an update on this.
 
I got the Lp53 but I don't test it already. I will the it if I have the prototype.
 
I vote second.

The first one looks very unsettling to me, the divider just shouldn't be there, or so my head says.

The third may also be a good option, but nobody will ever see both sides of the case at the same time, so why would you care about the symmetry there? And it may offer worse cooling for non-blower coolers because it allows the fans to recycle some of the hot air and obstruct the intake for higher-than-normal cards. It also obstructs the CPU side for some motherboard layouts, which I don't find to be particularly great.

I could see why people like the third one aesthetically, but in my eyes the second one is the way to go.
 
Great news for everybody, I will get the outerparts (sidepanels, outerframe, powerswitch and skrews) for the prototype in silver and also in black, so I can build out my prototype both versions. So everybody will get real fotos of the colored version them favor.
 
Symmetry OCD is not important. Topmost priority is to stop even the slightest amount of hot air from getting recycled. Which typically means: the fewer and correctly placed holes the better.

Like on the kickass Silverstone SG08 where the area with holes on the gpu side is 10.5cm high.
http://s272.photobucket.com/user/Nerdyg33kzor/media/Super%20Midget%20Rig/DSC03139.jpg.html?t=1349571000

Second priority is airflow. Which translates to noise level. The more holes the more fan noise escapes but air also needs to move easily otherwise "whooshing"-noise is made instead and/or fans speed up.

I'm confident the area of holes on the middle alternative is perfect with both these things in mind, so that's where my vore goes.
 
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I vote second design's CPU-side panel duplicated on the GPU side as well.
Better yet, I vote no panels.
 
Sorry guys but actual there is no vote time ;) I will test both panel solutions and decide it by my own.
 
Voting isn't pointless, you just missed the vote! There was already a big discussion on this a few pages back and he ordered the panels based on what people thought ;)
 
You can't honestly expect him to drop cash to test every single version he makes for the side panels.
I think it's better that he gets to decide himself, it'll give the case his personal touch and probably save some time.
 
The prototype with black and silver parts will be finished on 24.04 and ready for shipment.
 
Looking forward to thermal testing. This past week I took out my case fans and GPU in my Ncase and temps hit the 90s on my stock 4790K. Wasn't expecting that. The 4790K is actually undervolted as well.
 
If you test it with a L9i in the M1 the temps are normal, because the L9i get not directly fresh air like in the A4-SFX. This means he used nearly 70% of the hot air again that he pushed on the motherboard through the heatsink. You can resolve this in the M1 if you made a fanduct from the fan to the sidepanel. You can made a fanduct out of an rolled carton piece. It is very important that the fan is near to the airholes on the sidepanel or using a airduct in other cases.
 
dondan said:
If you test it with a L9i in the M1 the temps are normal, because the L9i get not directly fresh air like in the A4-SFX. This means he used nearly 70% of the hot air again that he pushed on the motherboard through the heatsink. You can resolve this in the M1 if you made a fanduct from the fan to the sidepanel. You can made a fanduct out of an rolled carton piece. It is very important that the fan is near to the airholes on the sidepanel or using a airduct in other cases.
Click to expand...
Right now my L9i is exhausting air towards the sidepanel. I was just surprised how poorly convection was working. Makes me think a reference GPU blower is the best way to go in the A4.

I ordered a Silverstone AR05 and want to test it the best like how it will perform in the A4. I might make a mock up and see how it works compared to other A4 compatible CPU coolers. I only have the L9i, stock Intel, and soon the AR05
 
It'd be interesting to see what the temperature difference is if you try it with some quick DIY ducting (just a rolled up piece of construction paper).
 
goodbyegalaxy said:
It'd be interesting to see what the temperature difference is if you try it with some quick DIY ducting (just a rolled up piece of construction paper).
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I was thinking about a half cardboard + half ncase m1. I basically want to test how the A4 might perform with a cooler/fan very close to the Lian Li ventilation holes

Or another easier way is keeping the motherboard flat on a table and putting the ncase side panel 1-2mm above that
 
I'm not surprised to see the AR05 beating the L9i given the copper heatpipe and better fan.... But beating the LP53, I'm not saying I don't believe it but I'd like to know more about the physical setup of their testbed (all the list is the parts, not whether it sits in a case/on a desk etc).
 
Ca11idus said:
Looks like the AR05 performs quite good compared to the Noctua and the LP53.

http://www.nikktech.com/main/articles/pc-hardware/cpu-cooling/cpu-air-coolers/4705-silverstone-argon-ar05-low-profile-cpu-cooler-review?showall=&start=5

@ Hanakuso -Would you be able to test both heatsinks with a 92x25mm fan? Both coolers are 23mm tall so that would hit the 48mm limit. The AR05 is a hair shorter so that shouldn't have any issues with clearence.
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Unfortunately i tried to install it just now but it doesn't fit on my Asus Impact. The pipes are just too long. I have a Asrock Z97 ITX PC that I might be able to test it on but I won't be able to get to that until later this week.
 
Hanakuso said:
Unfortunately i tried to install it just now but it doesn't fit on my Asus Impact. The pipes are just too long. I have a Asrock Z97 ITX PC that I might be able to test it on but I won't be able to get to that until later this week.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. Now I don't regret going with the L9i.


All parts collected, ready for switching from the M1.. campaign? (puppyeyes)
 
I always wonder if I could fit in a nice custom liquidcooling loop.
 
Does anyone know how the Cooltek LP53 will fit in the A4? I know Dan bought it but with the stock fan, it doesn't seem to fit with the max height being too much. Is the plan to use a slim 92mm fan?
 
Yes it will only fit with the Noctua A9x14 Slim 92mm FAN. I will test it with it.
 
Hanakuso said:
Does anyone know how the Cooltek LP53 will fit in the A4? I know Dan bought it but with the stock fan, it doesn't seem to fit with the max height being too much. Is the plan to use a slim 92mm fan?
Click to expand...

Dondan already mentioned that you will need to use the slim 92mm fan in order for it to fit (Whoops Dondan beat me to it haha). Since most will probably not overclock their cpus and even then to 4.0GHz at most, those from the states probably will end up getting the NHL-9I with a regular 92mm fan.
 
Sounds good. I guess i'll be patience and wait for you to test it rather then buy it myself.
 
Here are the new shots of the new prototype in silver and black. The pics of the case with the other sidepanelversion will I get on monday:

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