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

Got my Custom-Sidepanels from Duke00 yesterday.

I´ve ordered them with 3mm, 5mm + 10mm frames. For now the 10mm frames are installed. The panels are blackish colored.

The card inside the case is actually the MSI Gaming X 1080 Ti ! It fits perfectly and has about 5mm extra space to breathe. The MSI X Ti is working nicely with ca. 1900Mhz and no heat issues, though the case itself gets quiet hot on the surface (about 50C) in worst case scenarios. But it´s all good´n´stable.

I also tried to install the Gigabyte Aorus Ti. Theoretically it´s possible if you´re ready to modify (damage) the crappy much too fat fan casing part here and there but it´s not recommendable anyway since the backplate is so damned thick it touches the metal and would therefore lead additional heat to the mainboard. Also the Aorus gets quiet hot and the advantage is such a little like 5% and I think it´s not worth it.

I´m really happy and satisfied with Dukes custom sidepanels. Could be improved here and there but hey, the result is so classy and shiny, wow, it really turns the A4-SFX into something new from my point of view. The extra space is so helpful for the air flow within the case, CPU is a few grades less hot in demanding scenarios. Now there is about 2cm space over the CPU fan: I´ll put an Ultra Sleek Vortex 140/15 there and I´m curious what the result will be. Anyway, one day I´ll probably swap the cpu cooler for a bigger, significantly better one, but for now I´m fed up with further work on this baby.

BTW: I think Dukes panels are wonderful, at least it looks like a great idea just to allow bigger GPUs and CPU coolers which both come with nice advantages. Most top Ti cards now are bigger than 2-Slot... And the air circulation within the case, let´s be honest, is not quiet perfect, is it? I feel pity about Dan not creating something similar. For sure, many people would love it. Don´t you think, too?





View attachment 26598 View attachment 26600 View attachment 26601

View attachment 26602 View attachment 26599


HOW CAN I BUY THESE PANELS? Me need!
 
Got my Custom-Sidepanels from Duke00 yesterday.

I´ve ordered them with 3mm, 5mm + 10mm frames. For now the 10mm frames are installed. The panels are blackish colored.

The card inside the case is actually the MSI Gaming X 1080 Ti ! It fits perfectly and has about 5mm extra space to breathe. The MSI X Ti is working nicely with ca. 1900Mhz and no heat issues, though the case itself gets quiet hot on the surface (about 50C) in worst case scenarios. But it´s all good´n´stable.

I also tried to install the Gigabyte Aorus Ti. Theoretically it´s possible if you´re ready to modify (damage) the crappy much too fat fan casing part here and there but it´s not recommendable anyway since the backplate is so damned thick it touches the metal and would therefore lead additional heat to the mainboard. Also the Aorus gets quiet hot and the advantage is such a little like 5% and I think it´s not worth it.

I´m really happy and satisfied with Dukes custom sidepanels. Could be improved here and there but hey, the result is so classy and shiny, wow, it really turns the A4-SFX into something new from my point of view. The extra space is so helpful for the air flow within the case, CPU is a few grades less hot in demanding scenarios. Now there is about 2cm space over the CPU fan: I´ll put an Ultra Sleek Vortex 140/15 there and I´m curious what the result will be. Anyway, one day I´ll probably swap the cpu cooler for a bigger, significantly better one, but for now I´m fed up with further work on this baby.

BTW: I think Dukes panels are wonderful, at least it looks like a great idea just to allow bigger GPUs and CPU coolers which both come with nice advantages. Most top Ti cards now are bigger than 2-Slot... And the air circulation within the case, let´s be honest, is not quiet perfect, is it? I feel pity about Dan not creating something similar. For sure, many people would love it. Don´t you think, too?





View attachment 26598 View attachment 26600 View attachment 26601

View attachment 26602 View attachment 26599
Looking at this, I gotta agree that the GPU should be lowered to make it center vertically. Well, too late for that now I guess.
 
Anyone with fan duct tried reversing the fan to force all the hot air to exhaust out of the case? My gut tells me it will generally have 1-2 degrees worse temps but the real max temp after 30+min of prime95 will be lower and it will reach equilibrium faster...
 
Second! Does he offer different colors? How much extra space do you gain on both sides? I know you said you got an extra 2mm on the cpu side.

Actually it´s 10mm each side! And I have additional frames to lower to 5mm or 3mm. Yes, many different colors are possible depending on type, thickness and material.
The problem is, we had ordered a bunch together since a certain amount of numbers has to be ordered, don´t now how many.

Maybe, if enough people will order again, there might be a second buy. But it´s unsure. You could at least indicate interest at the German topic, who knows. He can be found at the Computerbase Forum. (Duke00)
 
FTW 3 easy fit. Finally achieved silence (with custom fan curve and 165 fps on overwatch epic settings never going over 73C on gpu, never over 80c on cpu) cheers Dan
 

Attachments

  • 20170604_184626.jpg
    20170604_184626.jpg
    168.9 KB · Views: 220
FTW 3 easy fit. Finally achieved silence (with custom fan curve and 165 fps on overwatch epic settings never going over 73C on gpu, never over 80c on cpu) cheers Dan

Hey! Your system is exactly what I was planning on doing. Were you able to get both screws in on the GPU outer bracket? What fan curve did you go with?
 
Got my Custom-Sidepanels from Duke00 yesterday.

I´ve ordered them with 3mm, 5mm + 10mm frames. For now the 10mm frames are installed. The panels are blackish colored.

The card inside the case is actually the MSI Gaming X 1080 Ti ! It fits perfectly and has about 5mm extra space to breathe. The MSI X Ti is working nicely with ca. 1900Mhz and no heat issues, though the case itself gets quiet hot on the surface (about 50C) in worst case scenarios. But it´s all good´n´stable.

I also tried to install the Gigabyte Aorus Ti. Theoretically it´s possible if you´re ready to modify (damage) the crappy much too fat fan casing part here and there but it´s not recommendable anyway since the backplate is so damned thick it touches the metal and would therefore lead additional heat to the mainboard. Also the Aorus gets quiet hot and the advantage is such a little like 5% and I think it´s not worth it.

I´m really happy and satisfied with Dukes custom sidepanels. Could be improved here and there but hey, the result is so classy and shiny, wow, it really turns the A4-SFX into something new from my point of view. The extra space is so helpful for the air flow within the case, CPU is a few grades less hot in demanding scenarios. Now there is about 2cm space over the CPU fan: I´ll put an Ultra Sleek Vortex 140/15 there and I´m curious what the result will be. Anyway, one day I´ll probably swap the cpu cooler for a bigger, significantly better one, but for now I´m fed up with further work on this baby.

BTW: I think Dukes panels are wonderful, at least it looks like a great idea just to allow bigger GPUs and CPU coolers which both come with nice advantages. Most top Ti cards now are bigger than 2-Slot... And the air circulation within the case, let´s be honest, is not quiet perfect, is it? I feel pity about Dan not creating something similar. For sure, many people would love it. Don´t you think, too?





View attachment 26598 View attachment 26600 View attachment 26601

View attachment 26602 View attachment 26599


Wow! Did you get Duke to make it for you or did you have one done through the files he uploaded? Also did you modify the original files somehow for the increase mm sizes? How much did they cost? :)

Edit: saw that you did a sort of GB above.
 
Hey! Your system is exactly what I was planning on doing. Were you able to get both screws in on the GPU outer bracket? What fan curve did you go with?
I have the exact same setup and yes I was able to use both screws on the GPU outer bracket. Did not realize this was an issue for people tbh. I just lifted the GPU a bit from the other end.
 
I have the exact same setup and yes I was able to use both screws on the GPU outer bracket. Did not realize this was an issue for people tbh. I just lifted the GPU a bit from the other end.

Hows your temps? Did you delid?
 
Sorry guys I must leave this here very quick.

Today I got the Lian Li samples and currently my system is running Prime95 with a crazy room temp of 25°C.

The copper edition with the thermalright 100mm fan perform nearly on the same level as the Asetek AIO with a room temp of 21°C. So the HSLP-48 is 3°C better as the AIO and 13°C better as the Dynatron T318.

Now It will try 4Ghz XD

20170606_174259s0sum.jpg
 
Sorry guys I must leave this here very quick.

Today I got the Lian Li samples and currently my system is running Prime95 with a crazy room temp of 25°C.

The copper edition with the thermalright 100mm fan perform nearly on the same level as the Asetek AIO with a room temp of 21°C. So the HSLP-48 is 3°C better as the AIO and 13°C better as the Dynatron T318.

Now It will try 4Ghz XD

20170606_174259s0sum.jpg

Looks great Dondan! Please keep us updated and I cannot wait to buy this! :)
 
Sorry guys I must leave this here very quick.

Today I got the Lian Li samples and currently my system is running Prime95 with a crazy room temp of 25°C.

The copper edition with the thermalright 100mm fan perform nearly on the same level as the Asetek AIO with a room temp of 21°C. So the HSLP-48 is 3°C better as the AIO and 13°C better as the Dynatron T318.

Now It will try 4Ghz XD

20170606_174259s0sum.jpg

Can you install the slim 120mm fan from Noctua or is the max 100mm?
 
I have question about pcie extender. Has anyone tested if there is any loss when using it? Checked whats are scores with and without this extender?
 
Here is a small update what I plan to do with the HSLP-48 in the next weeks.


I will test the following setups all CPUs @ default clock:

  • AM4 (1700x)
  • 1151 (7700k)
  • 2011-3 (5820K)
I will test the HSLP-48 against these heatsinks:

  • Asetek 92mm AIO (AM4, 2011-3, 1151)
  • Cryorig C7 (AM4, 1151)
  • Noctua L9i (AM4, 1151)
  • Dynatron T318 (2011-3)
  • Thermalright AXP 100 (AM4, 2011-3, 1151)

I will test the HSLP-48 Copper and Alu version following fans:

  • A9x14 (92mm)
  • TY-100 (100mm)
  • SY1212SL12H (120mm)
  • A12x15 (120mm)
I will test the following fan modes:

  • under the heatsink sucking through it
  • under the heatsink blowing through it
  • on the heatsink blowing through it
  • sandwich mode
  • different fan speeds


What I can say about the Lian Li samples, the quality is great for a prototype, but they forgot to include the 2011-3/AM3 retention bracket. They forgot to add a thread on the 1151 brackets so I can't use them. Therefore I use my Thermalright retention kit that I have for all sockets. What luck the Thermalright retention kits are full compatible to the HSLP-48 XD

I have to improve the fan clips because the two ends that go inside the heatsink are very short. I have to make them longer to better secure the fan. I also plan to add more holes for the clips to better support different thickness of fans.

I think I will get the CoolJag samples tomorrow, I hope they did a better job on the retention brackets.

I am thinking of outsourcing the retention kits to Thermalright if they can offer a good price. The brackets are the most complicated part on this project and it could be a good idea also for future compatibility. I will ask Lian Li if they can get in touch with them and I don’t have to take the route over the German contact.



Preview

Here is small preview of tests on the copper version I did today. All values are not comparable to older result, because I run the CPU (i7 5820K 140W TDP) on default clock (3.4GHz) and voltage. Older tests was made with 3GHz and lower voltage. The Dynatron T318 will reach ~80°C on default clock and voltage.


Prime95 v26.6 8K Test – 15min each

Heatsink------------Fan---------------Position-----Mode----------RPM--------Room Temp--------Core Temp
HSLP-48 Copper.....A9x14...............Under......Pushing..........2600..............25........................74 °C
HSLP-48 Copper.....A9x14...............Under......Sucking..........2600..............25........................65,8°C
HSLP-48 Copper.....TY-100..............Under......Pushing..........2400..............25....................... 65°C
HSLP-48 Copper.....TY-100..............Under......Sucking..........2400..............25........................63,8°C
HSLP-48 Copper.....SY1212SL12H..Under......Sucking..........2000..............25....................... 65,2°C
HSLP-48 Copper.....A12x15..............Top..........Pushing.........1800..............25........................63,5°C
HSLP-48
Copper.....A12x15..............Top..........Pushing...........900..............25........................73,5°C


Maybe you wonder why the A9x14 performs not good in pushing mode. I think the fan has a bad pressure and isn't able to push enough air through the fins in this mode. What I think is realy crazy that the heatsink is able to cool a six core i7 in Prime95 with the new A12x15 on top with only 900 RPM at 73°C. I am nure sure if any other heatsink with a height of 63mm is able to do that.



Some pictures

20170606_174223p2uak.jpg


20170606_183224wbugc.jpg
 
Last edited:
Sorry guys I must leave this here very quick.

Today I got the Lian Li samples and currently my system is running Prime95 with a crazy room temp of 25°C.

The copper edition with the thermalright 100mm fan perform nearly on the same level as the Asetek AIO with a room temp of 21°C. So the HSLP-48 is 3°C better as the AIO and 13°C better as the Dynatron T318.

Now It will try 4Ghz XD

20170606_174259s0sum.jpg

I told you guys this was coming! ;) There will be only ONE heatsink for dan's case. ;) DAN'S HEATSINK!!!
 
Why no results for nf12x15 under, does this interfere with mb components?
 
And with the 8pin CPU power (EPS) connector.

But you are going to try it on the other boards (once you get VLP ram), right? Also, does that mean that the 3mm difference in height between the Scythe 120mm and the Noctua 120mm is the problem?

Eyeballing the Gigabyte and asrock am4 boards- does it look like there's enough clearance there?
 
It's look like the difference between HSLP-48 copper and alu is 4°C. This is in the same range of a review I saw years ago between a Thermalright Tower Copper vs Alu.

masteralef: Yes the 3mm is the problem ;)
mathijs159: I don't know but I will get also an AM4 and 115x board I think we have a higher chance to fit the A12x15 under the heatsink.
 
Yup, it's hard to justify the huge price difference in raw materials with such a small difference in performance.

That aside, I'll still pay for the copper version.
 
Back
Top