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

[Wally Simmonds]

Hi guys,
Have my Dancase in transit and am going with some recycled gear from my old build and some new gear. Have a Asus stix 470, and will be populating that with a Ryzen 1700 from another machine (unless a decent deal comes up on a 2600 in the next few days). I'm also recycling a 1080ti FE, and have purchased a SF600 for the PSU. For storage I'm going with a combo of a 970 evo and I'm hoping to recycle a couple of 500GB 2.5 SSD's if they do not interrupt airflow. Lastly I've ordered a L9A for the cpu cooler as well as a separate A9X 92mm fan for the bottom of the case (however I'm not sure about this if I want to use all my SSD's).

Now I'm probably going to have to undervolt the 1700 to reduce heat but people here have mentioned building a shroud for the V3 and cpu cooler. Are there any guides on this or anything I can purchase to pump out the air/suck in the air properly? Also, is my 1080TI FE going to case me problems (I've read that this can cause issues with the M2 SSD due to the heat distribution on the blower style cards).

Lastly, does the 92MM help much - I've seen people with two, should I order another to help?

Apologies for these noobie questions, first time SFF builder here and all that =)

 

[richiegore]

Hi guys,
Have my Dancase in transit and am going with some recycled gear from my old build and some new gear. Have a Asus stix 470, and will be populating that with a Ryzen 1700 from another machine (unless a decent deal comes up on a 2600 in the next few days). I'm also recycling a 1080ti FE, and have purchased a SF600 for the PSU. For storage I'm going with a combo of a 970 evo and I'm hoping to recycle a couple of 500GB 2.5 SSD's if they do not interrupt airflow. Lastly I've ordered a L9A for the cpu cooler as well as a separate A9X 92mm fan for the bottom of the case (however I'm not sure about this if I want to use all my SSD's).

Now I'm probably going to have to undervolt the 1700 to reduce heat but people here have mentioned building a shroud for the V3 and cpu cooler. Are there any guides on this or anything I can purchase to pump out the air/suck in the air properly? Also, is my 1080TI FE going to case me problems (I've read that this can cause issues with the M2 SSD due to the heat distribution on the blower style cards).

Lastly, does the 92MM help much - I've seen people with two, should I order another to help?

Apologies for these noobie questions, first time SFF builder here and all that =)

No need to undervolt the 1700, works great with an L9a, no need for a fanduct either. That said, I still made a fanduct for mine but I just like to tinker! I have 2 hard drives under my PSU too, I don't think the extra 92mm fan will make much difference for you as you have a blower style GPU.

 

[Mr-S]

so I went with the AR11 Silverstone cpu cooler in the end and the noctua 92mm 14mm fan. I am very happy with the cooler even tho I hate the brown fan lol the asus rtx 2080ti turbo is nice being a blower. I found the a4-sfx v3 very easy to build in and I havnt suffered from any thermal throttling yet from my 2x m2 drives

 

[havelock99]

Has anyone tried putting a fan in the rear of the case on the bottom to get better air flow over the mobo?

I have a 92mm noctua as intake in the front hdd spot, but that doesn't seem optimal as it basically directs air over the power supply.

It looks like I have room for at least a 40mmx15mm if not a 60mmx10 - 15mm fan between the edge of the mobo and the bottom of the case.

When I'm running prime95 that lower back corner feels hot to the touch. I'm using the black ridge which has vertical fins so more upward airflow seems like it would help. (I'm hitting about 90c with avx workloads and sub 70c for others, so in general I think I'm fine, but I'd like to be safe here - 9600k, -30mV).

Noctua only offers a slim 40mm fan but not a 60. Any recommendations or experience here? Thanks!

 

[FinBuilder]

Has anyone tried putting a fan in the rear of the case on the bottom to get better air flow over the mobo?

I have a 92mm noctua as intake in the front hdd spot, but that doesn't seem optimal as it basically directs air over the power supply.

It looks like I have room for at least a 40mmx15mm if not a 60mmx10 - 15mm fan between the edge of the mobo and the bottom of the case.

When I'm running prime95 that lower back corner feels hot to the touch. I'm using the black ridge which has vertical fins so more upward airflow seems like it would help. (I'm hitting about 90c with avx workloads and sub 70c for others, so in general I think I'm fine, but I'd like to be safe here - 9600k, -30mV).

Noctua only offers a slim 40mm fan but not a 60. Any recommendations or experience here? Thanks!

Look at these two builds and go for a bigger fan, thats what I'm planning to do when I'm taking my mobo off the next time. I don't know the results for that fan though...
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-349#post-1043562021
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-369#post-1043951530

 

[havelock99]

Look at these two builds and go for a bigger fan, thats what I'm planning to do when I'm taking my mobo off the next time. I don't know the results for that fan though...
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-349#post-1043562021
https://hardforum.com/threads/dan-a...in-the-world.1799326/page-369#post-1043951530

Wow those are interesting. From eyeballing it I didn't think the 92mm would fit, but I think I even have the same mobo as the first one.(oops I don't - they have an x299 and I have a z390)

 

[EvoFreak]

Hello. I just got this case and im loving the size of it. Im currently using an strix 1080ti which is 2.5 slot. It fits in the case but without side panel on. My question is it worth it to trade my strix for founder edition? How hot does founder edition run on this case with lid on? Thanks

 

[illram]

Hot. It sounds like a vacuum cleaner. I’d look for a quieter solution than the FE.

 

[ranker2]

I've built another Dan case build for use when I'm stationed overseas in south east asia. My thermals are horrendous and I'm wondering if by going with a blower RTX 2080 Ti, i'll be able to achieve overall better thermals. Right now I'm using an 8800k with an Asetek 92mm AIO and have been using a Nvidia FE RTX 2080 Ti. I'm considering getting the ASUS blower model and moving the FE into another computer of mine.

Any insight on whether going blower will result in better thermals?

 

[dondan]

What are the temps for GPU and CPU? Please let me also know what test do you use to validate temps.

 

[myzhi1]

I've built another Dan case build for use when I'm stationed overseas in south east asia. My thermals are horrendous and I'm wondering if by going with a blower RTX 2080 Ti, i'll be able to achieve overall better thermals. Right now I'm using an 8800k with an Asetek 92mm AIO and have been using a Nvidia FE RTX 2080 Ti. I'm considering getting the ASUS blower model and moving the FE into another computer of mine.

Any insight on whether going blower will result in better thermals?

Blower style hits thermal faster and are much louder. Personally, if I could back from a 2080Ti FE, I would go with 3rd party, like MSI Duke 2080Ti 7C less under load and quieter.

 

[Tellisdon]

The MSI Duke 20XX looks like a great successor to the EVGA 1080 Ti FTW3, one of the few 3-fan RTX cards that's not 3 slots, but will it fit length-wise?
Looks like a couple of people have shown they can fit card thicker than the official specs recommend [1], but how much tolerance is there in the length dimension?

[1]

 

[blno]

The MSI Duke 20XX looks like a great successor to the EVGA 1080 Ti FTW3, one of the few 3-fan RTX cards that's not 3 slots, but will it fit length-wise?
Looks like a couple of people have shown they can fit card thicker than the official specs recommend [1], but how much tolerance is there in the length dimension?

No it won't fit. It's 314mm in length; the Dan A4 accepts up to 306mm. The FTW3 is 300mm.
Also it would be extremely tight in thickness at 46mm. The Dan A4 accepts 45mm; the entire clearance is 47mm but you need some remaining clearance. I wouldn't do it just for that anyway, the fans would be at 0.5mm of the grid, making turbulence noise.

Your best option for 3 fans is the Gigabyte Windforce (NOT the Gaming).

 

[oblongpolygon]

Does anyone know if the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 OC Edition 8GB will fit in the Dan A4?

 

[dondan]

As you can see it s more than dual slot:

Please read the compatibility section:
https://dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html

max width: 40mm to 5mm backplate
Asus RTX 2070 = 51,6mm (https://www.asus.com/de/Graphics-Cards/ROG-STRIX-RTX2070-O8G-GAMING/specifications/)

 

[oblongpolygon]

Please read the compatibility section...

Thanks, dondan - I guess I got a bit confused about the measurements, so wanted to check with the community.

It seems, also, that some stores (like the one I tend to use) give incorrect measurements - see the "specs" tab in the link below, for an irritating demonstration of that...

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA/74656-ROG-STRIX-RTX2070-O8G-GAMING

It's listed there as 4.89cm thick (or 48.9mm thick) but your info has it slightly thicker again.

Oh well... I guess I'll wait for the 2060 cards, and hope they're thinner.

Either that, or a ZOTAC... although I'm really keen to try to snag a three-fan card.

 

[rfarmer]

Thanks, dondan - I guess I got a bit confused about the measurements, so wanted to check with the community.

It seems, also, that some stores (like the one I tend to use) give incorrect measurements - see the "specs" tab in the link below, for an irritating demonstration of that...

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA/74656-ROG-STRIX-RTX2070-O8G-GAMING

It's listed there as 4.89cm thick (or 48.9mm thick) but your info has it slightly thicker again.

Oh well... I guess I'll wait for the 2060 cards, and hope they're thinner.

Either that, or a ZOTAC... although I'm really keen to try to snag a three-fan card.

Did you look at the Gigabyte?

 

[ranker2]

Blower style hits thermal faster and are much louder. Personally, if I could back from a 2080Ti FE, I would go with 3rd party, like MSI Duke 2080Ti 7C less under load and quieter.

This is contrary to everything i've been hearing on this forum and SFF. Allegedly blower cards are better with Dan's case at the sacrifice of noise.

 

[myzhi1]

This is contrary to everything i've been hearing on this forum and SFF. Allegedly blower cards are better with Dan's case at the sacrifice of noise.

 

[THeRoSSMaCHiNE]

While we're all talking about blower style cards, I've got a 1070FE, and need a shroud to stop it sucking in the cold... sorry... hot air from my AIO.

Is anyone aware of where I can get this sort of thing? Maybe 3D printed? Maybe a ghetto solution?


And I'm in Australia.........

 

[richiegore]

While we're all talking about blower style cards, I've got a 1070FE, and need a shroud to stop it sucking in the cold... sorry... hot air from my AIO.

Is anyone aware of where I can get this sort of thing? Maybe 3D printed? Maybe a ghetto solution?


And I'm in Australia.........

You can get foam tapes, for example 7mmx7mm from home hardware supply stores. They are to prevent drafts in Windows/doors. I would think they would be good, you could stick it to the case panel or the GPU easily enough.

 

[Hanakuso]

I'm thinking about installing my NVMe SSD on the backside of my motherboard. Will I run into issues?

I currently have the EK heatsink installed on it and I kinda remember it wont fit.

 

[Mr-S]

I'm thinking about installing my NVMe SSD on the backside of my motherboard. Will I run into issues?

I currently have the EK heatsink installed on it and I kinda remember it wont fit.

Hi I am running a M.2 on the backside of my gigabyte motherboard in the Dan case and had zero issues so far

 

[Mr-S]

I've built another Dan case build for use when I'm stationed overseas in south east asia. My thermals are horrendous and I'm wondering if by going with a blower RTX 2080 Ti, i'll be able to achieve overall better thermals. Right now I'm using an 8800k with an Asetek 92mm AIO and have been using a Nvidia FE RTX 2080 Ti. I'm considering getting the ASUS blower model and moving the FE into another computer of mine.

Any insight on whether going blower will result in better thermals?

Hi I am using the ASUS 2080TI Turbo in my Dan A4-SFX and I am not having any issues

 

[ranker2]

Does anyone know if these Trident RAM sticks will result in any issues with the tubes for Asetek 92mm 545LC AIO to fit within the Dan A4 Case? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4V82FW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The rest of the build includes: Corsair SF600, Asus Rog Strix z370-i Gaming, Intel 8800kj, Samsung 970 EVO, PNY RTX 2080 Ti XLR8

 

[RedSawn]

Anyone painted their panels or such? I've only seen that hydrographic red skull pattern DAN a while back and nothing otherwise. Thought about personalising the outside of the case but didn't want to jump in and ruin the aluminium finish. Got custom printed vinyls as another option

 

[dondan]

Hi guys here are all changes for A4-SFX v4

- ADT 185mm PCIe x16 gen 3 riser
- USB 3.0 Typ-C to 20pin intrnal header (90% confirmed)
- changed to the drive bay so it will support 15mm thick drives
- added thread for easy installation of custom window kits
- adding 92mm fan support under the motherboard
- lifting up motherboard for better bottom fan clearance
- the 120mm AIO bracket will not be included and an optional part on SFFLab

With best regards
Daniel

 

[EvoFreak]

That fan underneath the motherboard should help cpu temp big time. Just purchased v2 used few weeks ago. Very nice case but seeing the v4 i should have waited instead

 

[mirgus]

Great now i have the desire to get the V4

 

[HaX]

Luv the development on this case

 

[Momo777]

dondan The PNY 2080 Ti XLR8 OC is not compatible with the Dan case. It's 1-3mm too long.

If you push it in it can fit but the card scrapes against the inside of the case. This won't work with the 92mm AIO as the card hits one of the tubes.

It's a shame as I have to return the case now due to a few mm.

 

[ranker2]

dondan The PNY 2080 Ti XLR8 OC is not compatible with the Dan case. It's 1-3mm too long.

If you push it in it can fit but the card scrapes against the inside of the case. This won't work with the 92mm AIO as the card hits one of the tubes.

It's a shame as I have to return the case now due to a few mm.

Is this confirmed?

I don't mind if it scrapes against the case. So long as it fits I'll be ok. I'm a bit curious as to how it won't work with the Asetek 92mm AIO. It shouldn't matter as you can bend the tubes beneath the card right?


I just bought the exact same card card and haven't even opened the box yet.

 

[pedrofan]

Hi guys here are all changes for A4-SFX v4

- ADT 185mm PCIe x16 gen 3 riser
- USB 3.0 Typ-C to 20pin intrnal header (90% confirmed)
- changed to the drive bay so it will support 15mm thick drives
- added thread for easy installation of custom window kits
- adding 92mm fan support under the motherboard
- lifting up motherboard for better bottom fan clearance
- the 120mm AIO bracket will not be included and an optional part on SFFLab

View attachment 131127

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View attachment 131131

With best regards
Daniel

Hi Dan,

I think that you should consider to put the power supply at the bottom, so the liquid cooling radiators can breath clean air from the top:

(image is reversed)

Gains are noticeable between -22% and -15% lower temps:

96ºC vs 75ºC in push >> -21ºC (and you don’t fry the table nor the internals)
84ºC vs 71ºC in pull >> -13ºC

Yo may also consider to cut down the space where the power supply cable connector is located to leave more space for the aio fan and psu cables in the opposite side.

It is the only thing that lasts to become the perfect case and it is a small modification.

 

[Hanakuso]

I thought one of the V4 improvements were to move the PSU bracket up? If that’s the case then I think Dan wants to keep V1-V4 PSU brackets interchangeable

 

[Quantum_x3]

Hello, I´ve got a question:
I ve got a ryzen 7 2700x cooled the aluminium version of the Cryorig C7 ( stock fan replaced with a noctua) and one case fan by noctua. Athough i am pretty happy with the low noise, I´ve got some heat issues:
My CPU is ideling around 45 C tdie and when I start to stress it with the Stress Tool of CPU-Z, after 50 seconds with the sidepanal on and after 2 miutes with the sidepanal off the CPU reaches 85 C tdie and begins to throttel. After I read that other users don´t have heat issues with the C7 and a Noctua fan, i am a bit confused and worried. I´ ve also read about bad soldered heatpipes in the Alpenföhn Black Ridge which then had also a very bad performence, which made me think of problems with my C7. So, are my heat problems normal for this case and especially fpr this cooler or are there other reasons for these temperatures? I would be gald if i could get some tips for lowering my temperatures.

 

[QuantumBraced]

I think that you should consider to put the power supply at the bottom, so the liquid cooling radiators can breath clean air from the top:

Gains are noticeable between -22% and -15% lower temps:

96ºC vs 75ºC in push >> -21ºC (and you don’t fry the table nor the internals)
84ºC vs 71ºC in pull >> -13ºC

Yo may also consider to cut down the space where the power supply cable connector is located to leave more space for the aio fan and psu cables in the opposite side.

It is the only thing that lasts to become the perfect case and it is a small modification.

Those temp differences are amazing. Do you know what the the clearance is between the floor of the case and the surface it's placed on? I know for the M1 it's about 1cm and that's barely enough, I'm curious what it is for the A4-SFX. I was interested in the new Mjolnir I case because it has bottom 120mm fans, supports a 120mm AIO and has window panels, which in theory solves the air pressure/dust control/CPU cooling issues of the A4-SFX has for an extra 2.5L of volume, which to me is worth it. However, that case only has 5mm of clearance for the bottom fans which seems highly insufficient, reducing airflow greatly, and honestly rendering them almost useless. And they refuse to change the design, so it's a deal breaker for me unfortunately, but now I'm wondering how much clearance the A4-SFX has. Granted, the Asetek 92mm AIO is going away and the A4-SFX relies more heavily on side intake, so it's not as bottom-intake dependent and can get away with less, but... just curious.

 

[pedrofan]

Those temp differences are amazing. Do you know what the the clearance is between the floor of the case and the surface it's placed on? I know for the M1 it's about 1cm and that's barely enough, I'm curious what it is for the A4-SFX. I was interested in the new Mjolnir I case because it has bottom 120mm fans, supports a 120mm AIO and has window panels, which in theory solves the air pressure/dust control/CPU cooling issues of the A4-SFX has for an extra 2.5L of volume, which to me is worth it. However, that case only has 5mm of clearance for the bottom fans which seems highly insufficient, reducing airflow greatly, and honestly rendering them almost useless. And they refuse to change the design, so it's a deal breaker for me unfortunately, but now I'm wondering how much clearance the A4-SFX has. Granted, the Asetek 92mm AIO is going away and the A4-SFX relies more heavily on side intake, so it's not as bottom-intake dependent and can get away with less, but... just curious.

With the stock feet the distance between the table and the case is more or less 5mm. It doesn’t matter if you put the fan in pull or push, It makes ground effect so it loses a lot of efficiency.

The temps I’m showing are by turning the case upsidedown, so you clear the air intake (or exhaust), so the ground effect is gone and the intake (outake) flow is maximized.

 

[juaninamilli]

Is there an ETA on V4? Looking forward to joining the club.

 

[seamon]

Rig update: I managed to fit 3x5TB HDDs inside this case.

Specs are

Intel core i9 9900K
Nvidia RTX 2080Ti
2x16GB Corsair LPX 2800Mhz RAM
Corsair SF600
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB
Samsung 860 EVO 2TB
Crucial MX500 2TB
3x Seagate 2.5" 5TB HDDs

Seriously though, I feel I am addicted to cramming. Where do I go from here? There's nothing left to upgrade

 

[QuantumBraced]

Rig update: I managed to fit 3x5TB HDDs inside this case.

Specs are

Intel core i9 9900K
Nvidia RTX 2080Ti
2x16GB Corsair LPX 2800Mhz RAM
Corsair SF600
Samsung 970 EVO 2TB
Samsung 860 EVO 2TB
Crucial MX500 2TB
3x Seagate 2.5" 5TB HDDs

Seriously though, I feel I am addicted to cramming. Where do I go from here? There's nothing left to upgrade

That is neutron star-like density. How are the HDDs attached, double sided tape?

What cooler are you using, how are the temps on the 9900K?

And what feet are you using? Usually aftermarket feet look bad, but these look nice.