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

I got question for Dondan. Someone here presumed that reseller would be caseking.de. And it seems that that reseller doesn't ship to Russia. Which means I won't be able to buy your case physically.

Can you confirm that?

I'm not dondan but I was the one (or of the ones, who guessed it), one of the reasons I did is because they seemed to ship world wide. (which has for me been a problem with german reseller in the past, some only ship to neighbouring countries)
I couldn't find a list of where they did or didn't ship to.. so how did you conclude that they don't ship to russia?

And dondan said the reseller ship world wide, then maybe I was wrong it's not caseking...
 
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Blk, there is a section in "Englisch" version of site named "Dispatch and delivery", then click on "Shipping cost", there would be a list of countries and estimated price for delivery, there is no "Russian Federation" to be found.

I just noticed there is a german text that says to "contact directly and ask if you want to know whether we ship to other unlisted country". OK, I sent them a message with question. Hope they do ship to russia.

Cheers
 
Blk, there is a section in "Englisch" version of site named "Dispatch and delivery", then click on "Shipping cost", there would be a list of countries and estimated price for delivery, there is no "Russian Federation" to be found.

I just noticed there is a german text that says to "contact directly and ask if you want to know whether we ship to other unlisted country". OK, I sent them a message with question. Hope they do ship to russia.

Cheers

Damn!... They don't include the "Motherland"?!
 
Damn!... They don't include the "Motherland"?!

NYET! comrade.

Come to think of it, even USA is not listed. Oh, its just European countries only delivery. Then its gotta be some other shop, Dondan is talking about.
 
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Obviously, but they seemed to have problems understanding what i would consider basic business and I didn't want to make it overly complicated.

I hope they would understand that the reseller and you together make the equivalent of what the crowdfunding would do. And on that bases you will deiced how many to make, it's not up to the reseller... however it might influence your decision.. but who knows Ncase sold a batch directly to a store, might be others interested when they see how quickly the sell out :)



I don't know what you mean, what dondan said seems more in line of how I thought he would be doing it?

They ordered min 300 so he is creating that many. There isn't a end user order of 300...

The reseller could have decided to order 5000 if they thought they could sell it, good profit margin of buying in bulk. Not up to dondan how many cases they want to take on.
 
Blk, there is a section in "Englisch" version of site named "Dispatch and delivery", then click on "Shipping cost", there would be a list of countries and estimated price for delivery, there is no "Russian Federation" to be found.

I just noticed there is a german text that says to "contact directly and ask if you want to know whether we ship to other unlisted country". OK, I sent them a message with question. Hope they do ship to russia.

Cheers

Exactly, doesn't say anything if they ship or not.. it's just that they don't have a current cost estimate, maybe they don't ship to Russia that often and therefore don't have a fixed price.
 
I don't know what you mean, what dondan said seems more in line of how I thought he would be doing it?

They ordered min 300 so he is creating that many. There isn't a end user order of 300...

The reseller could have decided to order 5000 if they thought they could sell it, good profit margin of buying in bulk. Not up to dondan how many cases they want to take on.

First of nobody has ordered anything...

Meanwhile I am in contact with a large reseller who wants to market the A4-SFX in his shop. If I could make the deal...


How can it be more in line when we said the same thing?

You seem to misunderstand what both me and dondan said..
what the reseller thinks about the case isn't really important, they will _NOT_ "take on" a significant amout of cases!!! (not a single store in the world would do that with out gauging the demand of a new unknown product, if they did they'll be out of buisneess faster than you can say "Wiener Schnitzel")
How is that so difficult to understand..?
Neither dondan or the reseller wants to "get stuck" with cases they won't sell, therefore they can use pre-orders.

They'll take pre-orders on dondans behalf, which is exactly the same thing as if he'd used indiegogo, kickstarter or other crowdfunding...
(If they get 300+ pre-orders the case will be made, if they don't there won't be a case) and then the reseller will order the amount of pre-ordered + a couple of more depending on what risk they're willing to take (might be 0 might be 1 gazillion, who knows) _from dondan_. (not from lian li)
Dondan will then order the amout of cases the reseller wants and possibly other people who are interested in the case (maybe another reseller wants to sell it too?)
 
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Today i mount my Corair H110 on the Asrock X99e ITX. Now the i7 5820k is able to run with 4Ghz on all 6 cores in Prime95 with 60°C.
I route the tubes through the I/O cutout.
 
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That's exactly how I imagined it. :)

Combine that with radiator stand people who want to WC should be in buisines!
12.jpg



Also having that rad/ fan right there helps give some more scale to the case, which is great.
 
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That looks cool, although if I wanted water cooling, I just wouldn't get this case... The whole point of it is portability, and an external radiator would completely defeat that purpose. Maybe some people would find it aesthetically pleasing though.
 
I agree, but it's nice that it's doable, even if it's external.

If I was going to watercool I'd probably set up a pair of radiators with stands and have QD fittings so I could have a portable setup and a home setup. Home would be way too much radiator space, portable would be just enough to get by.
 
That looks cool, although if I wanted water cooling, I just wouldn't get this case... The whole point of it is portability, and an external radiator would completely defeat that purpose. Maybe some people would find it aesthetically pleasing though.

I guess some people might also buy the case for the small footprint or the looks. More options never hurt, but I totally agree that it feels kind of pointless.
 
I hate to be so negative, but I really don't think this picture should be used for marketing. It's just kind of silly. It's saying -- look guys, this can totally be used for watercooling too. I mean yeah, with an external radiator and the tubes going thru the I/O area with the shield removed -- if that's a setup worth advertising, any setup can be advertised. Literally any case can do that.

It's actually kind of anti-advertising. You're essentially saying -- this is an example of something that can't fit in the case. You're taking its biggest selling point -- an incredibly small size, and you're focusing on the negatives of having such a size, rather than the positives. It's like if you had a shot with a 3.5" HDD hooked up to the motherboard and sitting outside the case. You want to send the opposite message -- look how much CAN FIT in such a small case, not look how much CAN'T fit.

I'm picking on a very small thing here, but just my thoughts.
 
I hate to be so negative, but I really don't think this picture should be used for marketing. It's just kind of silly. It's saying -- look guys, this can totally be used for watercooling too. I mean yeah, with an external radiator and the tubes going thru the I/O area with the shield removed -- if that's a setup worth advertising, any setup can be advertised. Literally any case can do that.

It's actually kind of anti-advertising. You're essentially saying -- this is an example of something that can't fit in the case. You're taking its biggest selling point -- an incredibly small size, and you're focusing on the negatives of having such a size, rather than the positives. It's like if you had a shot with a 3.5" HDD hooked up to the motherboard and sitting outside the case. You want to send the opposite message -- look how much CAN FIT in such a small case, not look how much CAN'T fit.

I'm picking on a very small thing here, but just my thoughts.

Exactly!
 
Hi Dan,
Do you know the exact width of the GPU chamber? I'm trying to find a water cooling pump that might fit. So far I've narrowed in on one that is 38mm wide and another that is 45 mm wide. My guess looking at everything is that it's around 42mm thick, but I just wanted to check!
 
I hate to be so negative, but I really don't think this picture should be used for marketing. It's just kind of silly. It's saying -- look guys, this can totally be used for watercooling too. I mean yeah, with an external radiator and the tubes going thru the I/O area with the shield removed -- if that's a setup worth advertising, any setup can be advertised. Literally any case can do that.

It's actually kind of anti-advertising. You're essentially saying -- this is an example of something that can't fit in the case. You're taking its biggest selling point -- an incredibly small size, and you're focusing on the negatives of having such a size, rather than the positives. It's like if you had a shot with a 3.5" HDD hooked up to the motherboard and sitting outside the case. You want to send the opposite message -- look how much CAN FIT in such a small case, not look how much CAN'T fit.

I'm picking on a very small thing here, but just my thoughts.

That's actually a good point. I thought it would be nice to see for people that already use external watercooling anyway, but showing a "feature" that is basically a bodge, shouldn't be posted as primary marketing material.
You could add a question in the FAQ "can I use external watercoolers with this case?" and then show the picture there, that might be a good compromise.
 
I hate to be so negative, but I really don't think this picture should be used for marketing. It's just kind of silly. It's saying -- look guys, this can totally be used for watercooling too. I mean yeah, with an external radiator and the tubes going thru the I/O area with the shield removed -- if that's a setup worth advertising, any setup can be advertised. Literally any case can do that.

It's actually kind of anti-advertising. You're essentially saying -- this is an example of something that can't fit in the case. You're taking its biggest selling point -- an incredibly small size, and you're focusing on the negatives of having such a size, rather than the positives. It's like if you had a shot with a 3.5" HDD hooked up to the motherboard and sitting outside the case. You want to send the opposite message -- look how much CAN FIT in such a small case, not look how much CAN'T fit.

I'm picking on a very small thing here, but just my thoughts.

@QuantumBraced

Why you hating? That external radiator has given me a great idea for my build. The CPU cooler has always been the weakest part of this case for me.

However, now i realise that if i leave off the side panel i can use the 167mm high "DEEPCOOL GamerStrom ASSASSIN II" for the ultimate in CPU air cooling. This would also allow me to do what you suggested and include a 6TB 3.5" HDD on the table beside the case. I don't know how i didnt think of it before!! :p

The only problem i see with the setup is easy access for creepy crawlies. Tarantulas are a big problem where i live!! :D
 
I hate to be so negative, but I really don't think this picture should be used for marketing. It's just kind of silly. It's saying -- look guys, this can totally be used for watercooling too. I mean yeah, with an external radiator and the tubes going thru the I/O area with the shield removed -- if that's a setup worth advertising, any setup can be advertised. Literally any case can do that.


Not everyone will buy this case because of its size, but rather of its look. So this picture should only give some ideas/inspiration what you can do if you have no problem with an external watercooling solution without milling tubing holes in the case ;) Maybe some Users have a Mora radiator under their desk and want use it with the case. Also for the overclockers is this an option to build a very exteme OC system with the A4-SFX. So addressing a hugher group of people can't be a bad advertising.

Hi Dan,
Do you know the exact width of the GPU chamber? I'm trying to find a water cooling pump that might fit. So far I've narrowed in on one that is 38mm wide and another that is 45 mm wide. My guess looking at everything is that it's around 42mm thick, but I just wanted to check!

47mm
 
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I hate to be so negative, but I really don't think this picture should be used for marketing. It's just kind of silly. It's saying -- look guys, this can totally be used for watercooling too. I mean yeah, with an external radiator and the tubes going thru the I/O area with the shield removed -- if that's a setup worth advertising, any setup can be advertised. Literally any case can do that.

It's actually kind of anti-advertising. You're essentially saying -- this is an example of something that can't fit in the case. You're taking its biggest selling point -- an incredibly small size, and you're focusing on the negatives of having such a size, rather than the positives. It's like if you had a shot with a 3.5" HDD hooked up to the motherboard and sitting outside the case. You want to send the opposite message -- look how much CAN FIT in such a small case, not look how much CAN'T fit.

I'm picking on a very small thing here, but just my thoughts.
I gotta agree with this but it comes down to Dan. Basically any case with an I/O cutout has the same capability.
 
As it would for me, but I don't see how that is a let down as koolpc stated.


The case isn't meant for water cooling, the fact that it can do this is a bonus.

What does he mean with that statement and what would he want?
I think he just meant for him, it would be a let down to have a great case with an afterthought cooler solution.
 
I think he just meant for him, it would be a let down to have a great case with an afterthought cooler solution.

Hardly "an afterthought cooling solution"…

Dondon is just SHOWING what could be done for those who REALLY want water cooling in a chassis that was NEVER DESIGNED FOR WATER COOLING…!

Now, a REAL baller PC builder, someone who REALLY loves this chassis, would do the following…

Buy two A4-SFX chassis', build PC in one; second chassis is for water cooling! Take the motherboard 'tray' out & place your radiator/fans/pump/reservoir all in the second chassis, two lines from one unit to the other, plus the power cables for the pump/fans…
 
Hardly "an afterthought cooling solution"…

Dondon is just SHOWING what could be done for those who REALLY want water cooling in a chassis that was NEVER DESIGNED FOR WATER COOLING…!

Now, a REAL baller PC builder, someone who REALLY loves this chassis, would do the following…

Buy two A4-SFX chassis', build PC in one; second chassis is for water cooling! Take the motherboard 'tray' out & place your radiator/fans/pump/reservoir all in the second chassis, two lines from one unit to the other, plus the power cables for the pump/fans…
It might not make sense but you could buy 1 case that fits all your components

But why stop at 2 when you can fit a 1600 watt psu in the 3rd case
 
Thank you to everyone for responding to my comment. I honestly think this discussion/argument is moot. Personally, I would never get this case if I was going to do water cooling. I think the purpose of a case is to case your computer. But apparently there are people who think it's cool and maybe aesthetically pleasing and I get that now. So to each their own. I think if your goal is portability then that doesn't make much sense, but if your goal is just SFF enthusiasm, then it does. I think the NCase M1 makes a ton more sense for watercooling, even if you'll put stuff outside. But again, to each their own, and having the option is nice. (then again, any case has that option without an I/O shield)

I just wouldn't put the external radiator shot on the front page of the A4-SFX website, b/c that kind of implies suggested usage of the case, i.e. the case was designed with that in mind -- it's how it addresses cooling. Which I think sends the wrong message and could turn off some less informed buyers. But in an FAQ, sure. I think it's kind of obvious though, like you don't need an FAQ to tell you, you can route tubes thru an I/O hole. I'm stirring the waters again lol, this is not important.
 
You are right putting this picture on the frontpage is a bad idea, but this was never a option :). Maybe I put it in the FAQ.
 
Yesterday I got the case back from golem. So i think a review from pcper will come end of january.
 
I hate two things about this case

1. No headphone jack in the front. One usb in front is just silly, designer went to far in his design puristic vision.You could have add usb/ audio/card reader on side of the case.In front - headphone jack would much more useful than USB.Perfect would be - 1-2 USB , audio-in in and SD card reader.

2.If it would be just a tad bit wider it would fit non-reference cards.No you have try your luck or get stuck with reference cards (which suck)

Otherwise .... great case.Congratulations to designer for amazing product.
 
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@QinX

"Insanely out of PCIe specs ones aren't supported"

Which ones are these GPU's?
 
Guys, I hate to keep spamming this question here, but since it's been brought up again -- would you recommend a reference or non-reference GPU for this case? Why or why not? My three criteria are dust, temps and noise. I think in such a small case, a non reference card would act as active intake and blow dust out of the case. But then we don't have dust filters. So which would be best? I'd appreciate anyone's take. I see that Dan has only included reference cards in his recommendations and I'm wondering why.
 
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