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

The official specs say the maximum gpu length for the dan case is 295mm.
On the new 2080ti cards, the MSI Duke is 314 and the Gigabyte Windforce is not declared yet, but looking at it, it may be longer.
That just leaves the EVGA at 270mm to fit the dan case, but the EVGA is more expensive.
Since the 2080ti is already crazy expensive, I wasn't looking to add another premium to get the EVGA card.
Is 295mm the absolute limit of the case?

Cheers!
 
The released benchmarks are crap...
First there are some HDR benchmarks. Its known that the 1080 is at least 10% slower using HDR. The RTX series probably hasnt the problem anymore..
Second the benched the 1080 @ 4k. The performance impact on a GTX 1080 @ 4k is much higher then on lower resolutions. So the benched the worst possible perofmance achievable with a 1080 and compared it to the new RTX, which hasnt any perfomance problems @ 4k and HDR

RTX will be at best 30% faster... even if the are 50% faster, the RTX series is still to expensive for the perfomance they deliver.. at the actual price they should be at least 80% faster then the GTX series.

Yeah, the RTX value proposition makes no sense. You can get a couple used 1080TIs and still have a few hundred left over to just throw out your window, and a 1080 or TI are going to play most anything available for the next couple years. I am sure the RTX lines will offer some advantages in the 4K space, but I just can't support Nvidias price point.
 
We just need to wait and see benchmarck.
Then depending on your need you can décid.
If you fully focus on 4k 2080ti might do it. Ifyou focus on 1080 the 1080ti might be the best.

A part of me do hope that those 2080ti don t get super succesful. Those price need the consumer to react and show that they're not ready to pay that much.
 
We just need to wait and see benchmarck.
Then depending on your need you can décid.
If you fully focus on 4k 2080ti might do it. Ifyou focus on 1080 the 1080ti might be the best.

A part of me do hope that those 2080ti don t get super succesful. Those price need the consumer to react and show that they're not ready to pay that much.

Yep, even if the 20xx series are hugely powerful, I hope they don't see the sales numbers they want. I am fine with a company making a profit, but there's nothing about these prices that make sense.

On NVidia's store you can still pre-order the 2080 and it still has a September ship date, where the 2080TI eventually got updated to October as they sold out.

I am really hoping that means the... special people... got the 2080TI but they aren't seeing enough people willing to dump money on the 2080.
 
The released benchmarks are crap...
First there are some HDR benchmarks. Its known that the 1080 is at least 10% slower using HDR. The RTX series probably hasnt the problem anymore..
Second the benched the 1080 @ 4k. The performance impact on a GTX 1080 @ 4k is much higher then on lower resolutions. So the benched the worst possible perofmance achievable with a 1080 and compared it to the new RTX, which hasnt any perfomance problems @ 4k and HDR

RTX will be at best 30% faster... even if the are 50% faster, the RTX series is still to expensive for the perfomance they deliver.. at the actual price they should be at least 80% faster then the GTX series.

Remember back when each generation only improved frame rates by 10-15%? Pascal spoiled us.
 
The official specs say the maximum gpu length for the dan case is 295mm.
On the new 2080ti cards, the MSI Duke is 314 and the Gigabyte Windforce is not declared yet, but looking at it, it may be longer.
That just leaves the EVGA at 270mm to fit the dan case, but the EVGA is more expensive.
Since the 2080ti is already crazy expensive, I wasn't looking to add another premium to get the EVGA card.
Is 295mm the absolute limit of the case?

Cheers!

https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/TURBO-RTX2080TI-11G/specifications/

Rtx 2080ti Turbo should fit according to ASUS it’s 269mm
 
My current 1080ti is a blower cooler model and I don't ever want to get close to one ever again.
It is loud and hot as hell! With the 2080ti I am definitely going open air cooler.
Probably the gigabyte windforce oc that is two slot thick and 3 fans.

I got the Gigabyte gtx 980 with the blower and mine runs fine.
Asus is known for quality so I am confident in their design. It would be nice to see some benchmarks first
 
My current 1080ti is a blower cooler model and I don't ever want to get close to one ever again.
It is loud and hot as hell! With the 2080ti I am definitely going open air cooler.
Probably the gigabyte windforce oc that is two slot thick and 3 fans.

Yeah, same. I have the Ti FE blower cooler and it is crazy loud.
 
Themalright AXP-100 Full Copper

Hi,
what do you think about this brandnew copper cooler? And will it fit?

http://thermalright.com/product/axp-100-full-copper/

My Dan A4 V2 is still lying around because I haven't found a sufficient cooling solution. 7700K delidded, 1080Ti, Asus 270-i. My experience with water cooling has been an unbearable pump noise (Corsair H70).

I'm using the 8700k (not delidded) in my v2 with the Asetek 545LC. I've found to run the CPU at any reasonable temperature I needed to run a voltage offset of -0.100V / 100Mv and limit the Max TDP of the chip within the Intel Extreme Overclocking utility to 100 Watts. This does drop core frequency to 4.3 across all cores when under a synthetic stress test in Aida 64 but temps hovered around 80 max.
 
I've tried the Noctua NHL9i with the Redux Fan 1600 (for the looks...) on my i5 8400 and it doesn't work. I'm getting 90° with stress test, after 5 minutes... a real shame. With the stock Noctua fan, i'm sitting in 77-78° after 20 minutes. That's a big difference.
 
Will asus strix 2080ti fits?? They mentions they extend the slot gpu slot to 2.7, but the dimensions mentions in their website seems like it will fit

BTW it seems that we have something to look forward to :) I am sure am gonna get it
 
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I've tried the Noctua NHL9i with the Redux Fan 1600 (for the looks...) on my i5 8400 and it doesn't work. I'm getting 90° with stress test, after 5 minutes... a real shame. With the stock Noctua fan, i'm sitting in 77-78° after 20 minutes. That's a big difference.

The Redux fan isn't good at keeping pressure. The stock fan also spins at 2600 max RPM so it makes sense you lose performance.
 
The Redux fan isn't good at keeping pressure. The stock fan also spins at 2600 max RPM so it makes sense you lose performance.
Yes, but I was simply impressed by the difference, 10° it's hell of a lot in this case.
 
Thank you for your replies. I've found the post with the modding/bending of the AXP-100 Full Copper:
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-245#post-1042866322
and here:
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a4-sfx-post-your-build-here-thread.1924512/#post-1042808258
I'm searching for the cooling results now.

What the height concerns the AXP-100 is 44 mm. So as you wrote the fan on top won't work but the fan in sandwich mode does.
I wonder how a guy could post his build about the Full Copper Edition already in February 2018 as the product is released only yesterday.

What about the noise of the Asetek 545LC ?

Undervolting is an option as well though I prefer running my hardware at full speed.

Still the Dan A4 gives me headaches. What you gain in dimensions you lose in the restrictions. The lack of an efficient cooling solution is the core problem for me. What sense does it make to squeeze all the precious hardware in a dwarf box if you can't cool it properly? Unfortunately Daniel Hansen cancelt his HLSP-48 project I was eagerly waiting for.
 
Larry Hard: What hardware do you plan to use inside the A4?

Edit: I found it (7700K delidded, 1080Ti, Asus 270-i.)

I don't see the problem cooling this hardware.

- Your 7700k is delidded so cooling will be not that hard

Watercooling:
- The Asetek 545LC is the most silent option cooling this CPU
- Routing the cables of the SFX is very hard with the Asetek 545LC

Aircooling:
- Get the Thermolab LP53/Cooltek LP53 or an Cryorig C7 Copper with an Noctua A9x14 fan
- On a delidded CPU in Gaming the Temps should be ~70-75°C
- If you like to reduce the temp for another 5-8°C just reduce the vcore voltage in offset mode with -0.05V
 
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Larry Hard: What hardware do you plan to use inside the A4?
Thank you dondan:
i7-7700K delidded
EVGA 1080Ti SC2
Asus 270-i
Samsung 970 Pro

At this time my hardware is residing cool in silent in a Lian Li Tu-200 with a Noctua NH-L12. I'd like to move soon.
 
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Larry Hard: What hardware do you plan to use inside the A4?

Edit: I found it (7700K delidded, 1080Ti, Asus 270-i.)

I don't see the problem cooling this hardware.

- Your 7700k is delidded so cooling will be not that hard

Watercooling:
- The Asetek 545LC is the most silent option cooling this CPU
- Routing the cables of the SFX is very hard with the Asetek 545LC

Aircooling:
- Get the Thermolab LP53/Cooltek LP53 or an Cryorig C7 Copper with an Noctua A9x14 fan
- On a delidded CPU in Gaming the Temps should be ~70-75°C
- If you like to reduce the temp for another 5-8°C just reduce the vcore voltage in offset mode with -0.05V

I will give this a try. Thank you for your detailed recommendations.
 
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Thank you for your replies. I've found the post with the modding/bending of the AXP-100 Full Copper:
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-245#post-1042866322
and here:
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a4-sfx-post-your-build-here-thread.1924512/#post-1042808258
I'm searching for the cooling results now.

What the height concerns the AXP-100 is 44 mm. So as you wrote the fan on top won't work but the fan in sandwich mode does.
I wonder how a guy could post his build about the Full Copper Edition already in February 2018 as the product is released only yesterday.

What about the noise of the Asetek 545LC ?

Undervolting is an option as well though I prefer running my hardware at full speed.

Still the Dan A4 gives me headaches. What you gain in dimensions you lose in the restrictions. The lack of an efficient cooling solution is the core problem for me. What sense does it make to squeeze all the precious hardware in a dwarf box if you can't cool it properly? Unfortunately Daniel Hansen cancelt his HLSP-48 project I was eagerly waiting for.

Dis you check the video i share?? Thats the dan haslp48
 
CLOUDZZ
Just viewed it. In the comments a guy mentioned a possible incompatabilty with Asus Strix boards because of the cooling blocks on the board. These are a hassle as it's very tight around the no-fly-zone.
Otherwise if not it would be great if it works.

Maybe dondan can clarify this.
 
Remove the Asus heatsinks if they are in the way. You can replace them with much smaller ones if you want or just leave them bare. They are more for eye catching l33t g4m3r bling than actual utility.
 
Larry Hard: What hardware do you plan to use inside the A4?

Edit: I found it (7700K delidded, 1080Ti, Asus 270-i.)

I don't see the problem cooling this hardware.

- Your 7700k is delidded so cooling will be not that hard

Watercooling:
- The Asetek 545LC is the most silent option cooling this CPU
- Routing the cables of the SFX is very hard with the Asetek 545LC

Aircooling:
- Get the Thermolab LP53/Cooltek LP53 or an Cryorig C7 Copper with an Noctua A9x14 fan
- On a delidded CPU in Gaming the Temps should be ~70-75°C
- If you like to reduce the temp for another 5-8°C just reduce the vcore voltage in offset mode with -0.05V

Hey all, I've been looking around and getting mixed reports, so I figured I'd just come here to ask:

I'm trying to put together a rig that will run a 2700x in the CPU and a 1080Ti in the GPU in the Dancase. I've heard that the FTW3 runs pretty well in this case, it has good cooling capabilities, but I'm worried about the 2700x. TDW of 105 is a bit high for such a small form factor case it sounds like.

My goal is to just use air cooling, like the noctua nh-l9a, as I don't think AIO will work super well with the FTW3. To help, I don't plan on overclocking anything, and looking at dan's advice in the quoted post, lowering the voltage will probably help. I wouldn't be doing anything crazy, just gaming and some VR eventually.

Most of the builds I see in this case are intel, so I'm not getting a ton of help there. Does anyone have any feedback for keeping the 2700x relatively cool in this case? For CPU coolers that dan mentioned, is the LP53 a good idea for AMD over the noctua?

Thanks in advance
 
Hey all, I've been looking around and getting mixed reports, so I figured I'd just come here to ask:

I'm trying to put together a rig that will run a 2700x in the CPU and a 1080Ti in the GPU in the Dancase. I've heard that the FTW3 runs pretty well in this case, it has good cooling capabilities, but I'm worried about the 2700x. TDW of 105 is a bit high for such a small form factor case it sounds like.

My goal is to just use air cooling, like the noctua nh-l9a, as I don't think AIO will work super well with the FTW3. To help, I don't plan on overclocking anything, and looking at dan's advice in the quoted post, lowering the voltage will probably help. I wouldn't be doing anything crazy, just gaming and some VR eventually.

Most of the builds I see in this case are intel, so I'm not getting a ton of help there. Does anyone have any feedback for keeping the 2700x relatively cool in this case? For CPU coolers that dan mentioned, is the LP53 a good idea for AMD over the noctua?

Thanks in advance

Here is a pc build posted on pcpartpicker. Seems like you're going to be limited to 3.7 GHz, maybe 3.8 GHz if you're lucky.
 
Remove the Asus heatsinks if they are in the way. You can replace them with much smaller ones if you want or just leave them bare. They are more for eye catching l33t g4m3r bling than actual utility.

The heatsinks I've removed before already to have a look at them. There are just some tiny screws. The heatsink with a pad for my Samsung 960 Pro makes sense. The temperatures are most of the time around 40°C to rarely 60°C after a long gaming session. What the other 2 heatsinks concern (don't know what they are cooling precisely) I don't know if they are function or eyecandy. Some guys removed them all and ventilated via fan and had not issues. In a DAN A4 I'm not sure if the components will overheat.
 
Here is a pc build posted on pcpartpicker. Seems like you're going to be limited to 3.7 GHz, maybe 3.8 GHz if you're lucky.

Isn't 3.7 the normal clock speed for the 2700x? But yeah, I saw that one. I think it will be a close call, but as I said, I am not going to be OCing at all. Just looking looking for any and all advice I can get on making the 2700x run reasonably well in this case.
 
Isn't 3.7 the normal clock speed for the 2700x? But yeah, I saw that one. I think it will be a close call, but as I said, I am not going to be OCing at all. Just looking looking for any and all advice I can get on making the 2700x run reasonably well in this case.


I run a 2700x in my dancase with a gtx 980 (soon to be 2080 Ti) im using an AiO and (I hit 90C while benchmarking with cinebench OC'd to 4.2ghz) but around 70C for gaming.

It also turbos up to 4.1 while doing its thing according to HWMonitor and tops out around 80C with XFR2 doing its thing.

Cinebench has hit about 1866 score when manually overclocked. 17xx when XFR'd

I know this is a lot of info but trust me the cooler and processor are just fine especially if you use a good paste like thermal grizzly. I could liquid metal but im not wanting to do that. But it would be the best config possible for the A4-SFX.
 
I run a 2700x in my dancase with a gtx 980 (soon to be 2080 Ti) im using an AiO and (I hit 90C while benchmarking with cinebench OC'd to 4.2ghz) but around 70C for gaming.

It also turbos up to 4.1 while doing its thing according to HWMonitor and tops out around 80C with XFR2 doing its thing.

Cinebench has hit about 1866 score when manually overclocked. 17xx when XFR'd

I know this is a lot of info but trust me the cooler and processor are just fine especially if you use a good paste like thermal grizzly. I could liquid metal but im not wanting to do that. But it would be the best config possible for the A4-SFX.

Thanks, that's encouraging to hear. I'm a little hesitant since you're using AIO and I won't be, but am still glad to hear that the setup is probably going to work out.
 
The heatsinks I've removed before already to have a look at them. There are just some tiny screws. The heatsink with a pad for my Samsung 960 Pro makes sense. The temperatures are most of the time around 40°C to rarely 60°C after a long gaming session. What the other 2 heatsinks concern (don't know what they are cooling precisely) I don't know if they are function or eyecandy. Some guys removed them all and ventilated via fan and had not issues. In a DAN A4 I'm not sure if the components will overheat.

Yes an M.2 heatsink makes sense.

The others are MOSFET heatsinks. IIRC the danger point for the these specifically is over 120c or thereabouts. You get nowhere near that even under the most grueling conditions. I took a laser thermometer to them a few years ago in my V1 build (search the thread) and it was not even close. I still stuck some tiny dime sized heatsinks on them just for peace of mind.
 
Hi everybody,


last weekend I upgraded the heasink of my 22 Cores E5-2696 V4 Xeon with the Asetek 545LC AIO.


mZfbjNg.jpg





It is a very balanced cpu as it has turbo boost on one core to 3.7ghz for gaming or photoshopping as well as 2.8ghz x 22 cores for rendering. The downside is that it gets very hot on all cores full load, so cooling it inside of the A4-SFX may be very tricky.

CPU Specs:

Inten Xeon Broadwell E5-2696 V4
TDP 155 W
22 Cores (44 Threads)
Cinebench ~3,200cb (it performs better than E5-2699 although some people say that it is the same chip)
Turbo boost one core 3.8ghz
Turbo boost all cores 2.8ghz
I paid for it 1,300€ on ebay from china






I‘ve been using it paired with the Dynatron T-318 + Thermalright TY-100 + 2 x 40X20mm evercool fans, but it has it's drawbacks:

- It is very silent most of the time as it only uses some cores and I had the 40X20 fans disabled till 70ºC, but while rendering on full load it gets extremly noisy because of the high rpms of the smaller fans (they sound like bees)-
- You have to open the side panel for rendering because it can reach 100ºC easily if not.
- It stays between 85-90ºC while rendering with three fans at 100% which are certainly high temps.
- I've tryed MANY fans till I got to this viable configuration (€€€), and all of them failed to keep it under 100ºC (forget any configuration with the Noctua NF-A9x14), If you want the best fan out there it is the TY-100.

proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYmOi7x2.jpg





So I've upgraded it with the Asetek 545LC liquid cooling solution, and I tested the following fan setups and case positions before deciding which one was going to be the definitive:

Straight: case vertical on its rubber feet.
Straight on 24mm Standoffs: standing on 4 x skate wheels
Upside down: the case with the bottom up clearing the air intake of the radiator.


rEPHiC4.jpg



And here are the results (100ºC means that I stopped the test before getting hotter, for me it is a fail):


Rendering a 4k interior scene with VRAY:

qab322I.jpg







Observations:

- Best configuration is with the fan in push with the case upside down letting the hot air go naturally up and free. It has good temperatures and the internals and the table are safely cool, but you have to be turning the case everytime you want be serious with the cpu (dan, you should consider reversing the case design in A4-SFX v4, look how well it performs, there is no need for the C4-SFX in my opininon. Shaving some milimeters in the PSU cable space should improve air intake): something like this:

WjO0SYY.jpg


- You have to shave the TY-100 a little with a dremel to fit it, but the screw holes match.

- I expected a lot more of the noctua fan as it fits perfecly on the cooler, but as with the Dynatron, the Thermalright TY-100 performs much better (although the noctua is dead silent) so I stopped testing it. If you have the asetek and you want to push further with overclocking give the TY-100 a try.

- I've separated one by one the psu cables for better cable management, and I'll buy some pins to make them custom lengthed.

- On push configurations gpu temps remain under control, but they may impact in some degree on the overclockability.

- A little bit higher feet are recommended is you are using this cooling setup (I will look for some).

- Rubber feet paint the tables with black dots and lines. They are too soft, Dan should address it in upcoming case versions.



Conclusions:

KlFOc32.jpg



- With the Astek 545LC it is possible to fit a 155W Cpu inside of the A4-SFX with the case closed and staying reasonably silent.

- The radiator position can and should be modified in A4-SFX V4 (if that happes XD) to be in the upper side.

- I have selected the TY-100 in pull configuration by the moment, but I have it in quarantine because internals get very hot, I may change it to pull in any moment to use the case upside down as it is a perfect solution (thermally speaking).

- This is a big success for me, now i don't have to open the case for rendering, it is very silent in comparison to my previous configuration (3 fans to only 1) and it performs between -7ºC with the case straight and closed and -20ºC just by turning it upside down.



Thank you for reading, and leave any comments.
 
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The temps are better flipped, because I think when the radiator is below the CPU, the air left in the loop will rise up to the cpu water block. Since the pump is in the cpu block it will perform worse. At least that's my guess
 
The temps are better flipped, because I think when the radiator is below the CPU, the air left in the loop will rise up to the cpu water block. Since the pump is in the cpu block it will perform worse. At least that's my guess
that would be correct. almost all aios have bit of air in them and if the pump is the high point, that's where it will go.
 
The temps are better flipped, because I think when the radiator is below the CPU, the air left in the loop will rise up to the cpu water block. Since the pump is in the cpu block it will perform worse. At least that's my guess

that would be correct. almost all aios have bit of air in them and if the pump is the high point, that's where it will go.

No it is because you let the air go in or out freely
 
- Rubber feet paint the tables with black dots and lines. They are too soft, Dan should address it in upcoming case versions.

^ This. Especially noticeable since my A4 sits on a white surface. Like a muddy child, the case leaves behind footprints wherever it goes.

Anyone have a good source for replacement feet?
 
would be cool to see the case actually reverable. just having screw mounts for the front-top panel on the bottom as well as the top would suffice i think. as well as screw holes for feet on the top
 
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