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

Yeah, no disrespect to Dan intended whatsoever. I just wanted to point out something that's pretty obviously wrong. The two cases have different design goals.

In the interest of fairness, I'll say that the A4's design probably does handle the waste heat from open cooler GPUs better than the M1 does.
 
Necere said:
Yeah, no disrespect to Dan intended whatsoever. I just wanted to point out something that's pretty obviously wrong. The two cases have different design goals.

In the interest of fairness, I'll say that the A4's design probably does handle the waste heat from open cooler GPUs better than the M1 does.
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I didn't mean to diss the M1 rather state just what you said. I just didn't elaborate too much on the why. That's why I said that it can really benefit from a blower styled cooler or added exhaust/intake fans to help with the heat that the gpu dumps. The A4 will not compete with the M1 in temps as it's in a different level in the thermal dynamics.
 
I don't think it's clear that Intel boxed cooler will work in the case. I'm assuming it does as no after market cooler is specified in the price-breaker configuration (other configs has).

Maybe this should be in the faq too?
 
Necere said:
Yeah, no disrespect to Dan intended whatsoever. I just wanted to point out something that's pretty obviously wrong. The two cases have different design goals.
In the interest of fairness, I'll say that the A4's design probably does handle the waste heat from open cooler GPUs better than the M1 does.
Click to expand...

I have the Ncase M1 v1 and I love the case as much as I did when I first unboxed it! I cannot wait for my Dan A4 case as well. I look forward to seeing more awesome case designs from both Dan and you!
 
jjsyht said:
I don't think it's clear that Intel boxed cooler will work in the case. I'm assuming it does as no after market cooler is specified in the price-breaker configuration (other configs has).

Maybe this should be in the faq too?
Click to expand...

If you look at the first page of this thread you will find pictures of the case using the Intel boxed cooler. It is even the first thing you see.
 
Necere said:
Yeah, no disrespect to Dan intended whatsoever. I just wanted to point out something that's pretty obviously wrong. The two cases have different design goals.
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I can see I might have started a hint of something, with what was supposed to emphasize my own stupidity (in build) and an ironic comment.
Just to clear things up, you are absolutely right Necere, it is to very different cases and it is indeed important to remember they have different design goals.
CknSalad expressed my exact feelings so eloquently:
CknSalad said:
I have the Ncase M1 v1 and I love the case as much as I did when I first unboxed it! I cannot wait for my Dan A4 case as well. I look forward to seeing more awesome case designs from both Dan and you!
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and I couldn't agree more. Ncase is simply fantastic and I have never had anything like it, and I am super excited for the A4, which I am sure, is likewise awesome. We are all very lucky that we have you guys doing these enormous pieces of work. Now we can of course all have our different options, preferences and needs, but let's all agree that these are unique fantastic cases, and give the guys the credit (and cash) they deserve.

And now with that borderline pandering/sucking up, I return to work. Ciao for now!
 
The M1 offers a lot more flexibility and much higher cooling capacity potential (its probably superior to any other case in the market in maximum cooling capacity per volume). But this flexibility coupled with the focus on water cooling, turns it in a not so great solution for a simple pc build with no custom cooling, with just CPU, GPU, PSU, MB and SSD, specially if the GPU uses axial cooling. The A4 is made specifically for this specific build and thus is expected to perform much better in its "niche". Aside from the "as small as possible" design goal, they are almost opposites in intended use. I would say the Ncase is a smaller Bitfenix Prodigy, while the A4 is a smaller Silvestone SG05.
 
Cherry Dude said:
Cool! or no not cool, warmer? Anyways I must have misunderstood then, but great to have it cleared up. Thanks Ca11idus and bAMtan2.
Excited to see how cool everything will run in the A4-SFX (Spoiler: CPU runs like CENSURED in my NCase M1, hopefully better airflow in the CLEARLY SUPERIOR A4-SFX ;))
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Clearly superior based on...?

Ca11idus said:
The Ncase M1 is a great little case but the airflow needs to be carefully thought out for it to work well. I've heard too many stories where this case was not that well thought out causing everything to overheat. The M1 really benefits from a blower styled cooler or added fans for venting.

I can't wait for my A4 and I just upgraded to these specs:

5820k and asrock x99e - Unchanged
32GB 2x16 DDR4 3200 - New @ $127
OCZ RD400 M.2 1 TB - Brand Spanking new @ $350 :D
Corsair SF600 - get that new new for $ 108
EVGA GTX 1080 FTW DT - Jet.com new for $582
Dynatron t318 - Used for a month last year and ready to kick some thermal butt!
New Noctua fans for extra cooling :D
Silver aluminum Cougar k700/m700 - Gotta match my new case
Silver aluminum Dan A4 SFX - Drool
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The M1 was VERY well thought. Of course, some people do not properly install their system then complain about overheating... but I'm far more worried with the A4, to be honest. Specially with configs like yours. The case itself will run so hot you won't be able to touch it.


Verdi said:
The M1 offers a lot more flexibility and much higher cooling capacity potential (its probably superior to any other case in the market in maximum cooling capacity per volume). But this flexibility coupled with the focus on water cooling, turns it in a not so great solution for a simple pc build with no custom cooling, with just CPU, GPU, PSU, MB and SSD, specially if the GPU uses axial cooling. The A4 is made specifically for this specific build and thus is expected to perform much better in its "niche". Aside from the "as small as possible" design goal, they are almost opposites in intended use. I would say the Ncase is a smaller Bitfenix Prodigy, while the A4 is a smaller Silvestone SG05.
Click to expand...

Some people will find the hard way what happens when you put an axial cooling power hungry gpu in a case without fans...

In any case, it is hilarious that you comment that the A4 and M1 are "opposites" in intended use. Sure, The M1 is an E-ATX compatible case that... oh wait, it isn't.
 
Here is the first picture from Lian Li of the production.


img_5656hxulw.jpg
 
dondan said:
Here is the first picture from Lian Li of the production.


img_5656hxulw.jpg
Click to expand...
Dondan Im sorry to keep asking you but I really need an answer so I can decide on my shipping address. Do you think I will receive my case by December 27th in the US? Is there an email I can contact you to ask directly. Im just in a weird living situation and need to hear your thoughts when you get a chance. Thanks
 
prava said:
Some people will find the hard way what happens when you put an axial cooling power hungry gpu in a case without fans...
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What makes you think that? The desing looks fine, with the intake fans always getting air from the ouside and exausting from the top, and the results in the OP for axial vs radial cooling shows pretty good results.

prava said:
In any case, it is hilarious that you comment that the A4 and M1 are "opposites" in intended use. Sure, The M1 is an E-ATX compatible case that... oh wait, it isn't.
Click to expand...

Verdi said:
Aside from the "as small as possible" design goal
Click to expand...
The M1 is designed for high performance water cooler builds while the A4 is designed for very simple air cooled builds.
The M1 is amazingly flexible, the A4 is pretty much locked to one configuration.
Perhaps not opposites, but that's pretty different goals.
 
Jsalz said:
In the comments section? I did in the past but you didn't respond. I will do again if your recommend. Thanks!
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Not in the comments sections, as a private message.

@All: Please stop comparison of the A4 and the M1. They have different concepts and serve different markets. Both are well thought and based on the feedback of the community.


If you want a small water cooled system the M1 will be your best choice.
If you want a smaller air cooled system the A4 will be your choice.
 
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prava said:
I'm far more worried with the A4, to be honest. Specially with configs like yours. The case itself will run so hot you won't be able to touch it.
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Woop woop! Mine is going to be toasty. I will be undervolting the cpu and probably underclocking it a bit. I will also ramp up the gpu fan curve to provide some extra cooling on that side of the case. I can't wait!

Also master Dondan is also running a 5820k so I'm not too worried.
 
So i "measured" the Image. Its not very accurate But should give a hint, for How many cases these parts are.
The aluminium is 1,5mm thick.

So.in this Image it should be about ~2733 parts for cases
 

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mirgus said:
So i "measured" the Image. Its not very accurate But should give a hint, for How many cases these parts are.
The aluminium is 1,5mm thick.

So.in this Image it should be about ~2733 parts for cases
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Lol, well done, CSI at work here.
 
mirgus said:
So i "measured" the Image. Its not very accurate But should give a hint, for How many cases these parts are.
The aluminium is 1,5mm thick.

So.in this Image it should be about ~2733 parts for cases
Click to expand...

You sure the proportions are proper? The mountain of pieces do not look to be that tall. Far from it.
 
Its just a hint how many parts these are.. its impossible to messeaure it correctly, if u dont know which cameras is used with which lense, which angle etc.



So the number 2733 should be correct in a range of +- 15 parts
 
The number couldn't be right because I ordered 1900 cases.

I think there are 800-900 cases on that picture.
 
Yea found the failure :D the "width" was false with 45 cm^^ its 4,5cm. And now the pile is ~22cm high, so it should be 300 case parts
 
Awesome. It's really happening. 1st post was December 2013, so it will be basically exactly three years from the inception of the thread, and I remember following this right from the beginning.

Cheers dondan.
 
mirgus said:
Yea found the failure :D the "width" was false with 45 cm^^ its 4,5cm. And now the pile is ~22cm high, so it should be 300 case parts
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It probably aren't 200 parts either. IMO the pile looks to be 60cm tall. The picture seems to be made from a phone, whilst standing... and the pile appears to be on a table, so makes sense.
 
dondan said:
The next order will be in January hopefully again 1900 to have a constant supply for you ;). And also in January I strart the development of my next case.
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370 cases for "non-kickstarter" sales - it's ok. I think I can get my case :)
What is the main idea of the next case? Or is it a secret?
 
GIGABYTE GA-Z170N-WIFI (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Can someone tell me if this is a good motherboard for the Dan A4. Everything about it looks good, the only thing that has me concerned are people telling me about the SATA connectors in the comments. They say it might not work with the Dan A4? Can someone clarify for me who is more knowledgeable. Ive been researching building my first pc for a while now, but motherboards still confuse me. Thank you!
 
Reading through the Newegg Reviews for the Gigabyte board, there seems to be a lot of throttling issues to 800mhz under even moderate loads on just a stock i7 6700K as well as VRMs running too hot. might as well fork up the extra $30 or so to get the more solid Asus Z170I Pro board.
 
I just bought the Asrock Fatal1ty Gaming Itx/ac board with the 15% discount and a $30 rebate on newegg. The reviews aren't the greatest but my last 4 boards have been Asrock and I love them all. Never had a single issue. I'm hoping to use the beta bios 1.54 to overclock an i5 6500 to a cool 4Ghz and give it to my girlfriend. Wish me luck!
 
Ca11idus said:
I just bought the Asrock Fatal1ty Gaming Itx/ac board with the 15% discount and a $30 rebate on newegg. The reviews aren't the greatest but my last 4 boards have been Asrock and I love them all. Never had a single issue. I'm hoping to use the beta bios 1.54 to overclock an i5 6500 to a cool 4Ghz and give it to my girlfriend. Wish me luck!
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I own that board, and I would never put a beta bios on it! Hell, their release ones haven't even been very stable.

Related, I'm going to be very interested to see how an M.2 ssd (going with the 960evo) throttles when it's in this case, and underneath the motherboard

Edit: there -> their
 
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dominathan said:
Related, I'm going to be very interested to see how an M.2 ssd (going with the 960evo) throttles when it's in this case, and underneath the motherboard
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Me too, having another storage device without using the drive-bays is an advantage. It all depends on how severe the throttling is. Currently, most PCIe NVMe drives are being pushed for performance, maybe we need one that is more efficiency targeted, maybe one developed for laptop use.

In the 960 pro review at AT Billy Tallis discusses how the power states of PCIe drives are not functioning yet in windows, showing that the drives have significant idle power draw (1.2W). Hopefully, the future will iron out these types of issues.
 
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Jann5s said:
Me too, having another storage device without using the drive-bays is an advantage. It all depends on how severe the throttling is. Currently, most PCIe NVMe drives are being pushed for performance, maybe we need one that is more efficiency targeted, maybe one developed for laptop use.

In the 960 pro review at AT Billy Tallis discusses how the power states of PCIe drives are not functioning yet in windows, showing that the drives have significant idle power draw (1.2W). Hopefully, the future will iron out these types of issues.
Click to expand...

The Intel 600p is less likely to throttle at write speeds since it's quite slow at writes (relative to other NVMe m.2 storage options), but I haven't seen any reviews confirming or denying this.
 
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