The DAN A4-SFX is literally the smallest possible case for a standard mini-itx / sfx build with a full size GPU. That’s what’s cool about it!
What's new in v3 versus v2
I have only the v2 like a sad plebe. Hopefully the big fixes went into v2, here’s what changed in v3
Lian Li PCIe 16x Gen3 riser (black PCB and cabes)
Adjustments to the USB3.0 internal cable to be compatible with Asetek 92mm AIO
Improvements to the power button to optimise the pressure point
Adding mount points for HDPLEX 400W HiFi DC-ATX
Mounting bracket for 120mm AIO
I guess just tiny tweaky stuff?
As for components, I was going for a “bang for the buck” build here so:
960 Evo m.2 500gb – $200
Cryo C7 SFX slim heatsink – $30
i5-7600k – $220
MSI Z270 mini-itx – $150
Silverstone SST-SX500-G 500W PSU – $105
And because cryptocurrency (shakes fist at sky) the video card is expensive
GTX 1070 Ti $570
This is a SFX case so it takes a SFX PSU, I couldn’t see any need for anything larger than 500w. I have DDR4 laying around here that should work fine (from servers).
Nifty! How’s the heat management on that thing and what kind of temperatures do the cores and video card get up to when gaming or in VR?
I have a full-size ATX beast in a neat Phanteks Enthoo Evolv case, BUT it sure does take up a ton of room and it is relatively loud. But OTOH it looks a bit like the classic cheese-grater era Mac Pro cases, so there’s that :-)
I’m out of the game on this sort of thing but 2015 me would have definitely participated in any mini ITX + SPCR-inspired silent + small gaming PC arms race.
[preparing myself to cringe when you cut away all of those ventilation holes on the top of the case.]
But seriously, looking forward to this. With photos, right?
This case really is a marvel – it is exactly right for a full sized GPU, SFX PSU, and mini-itx mobo. Just enough space to work in without it being a knuckle-busting pain. And so nicely thought through in every detail. Even the manual is IKEA level clear!
For such a small case it is surprisingly clean inside even with a rushed build like mine where I spent almost no time obsessing over cable cleanup. The split brain “GPU side” and “mobo and PSU side” design works well, and we’re on V2 so the initial problems have been ironed out. It has bays for two 2.5" drives as well (one on the bottom, one on the front), but I used the single M.2 SSD slot on the back of the mobo – not visible in the pics, obviously.
My only minor complaint, and it is very minor, is that it would be better to find a SFX power supply with shorter cables, there’s a fair bit of smushing excess PSU cables under the PSU there. Plus I went ahead and wired up the second 6-pin power connector even though the 1070 Ti I put in there, doesn’t need it, as well as the SATA power connectors too. I figured better to keep those extra PSU connectors in the machine just in case, I’ll lose them if they float around my office.
The DAN A4-SFX case is a definite buy, if the smallest possible build that can still use a two slot full size GPU is the sort of thing that is your bag, baby!
I tested with some runs of PC Mark 10 and the latest 3dmark. It’s surprisingly quiet and cool… having the CPU and PSU fans be as large as possible helps:
Cryorig C7 92mm
SFX PSU 92mm
video card triple 80mm, it’s the MSI Gigabyte AORUS
You definitely DO NOT want the “exhausts out the back of the GPU” style blower video card here. This is an open air design.
Anyway, this is a modestly efficient build, since I went for the Core i5 and the 1070 Ti, so it doesn’t generate that much heat and noise. I did have to go into the BIOS and turn down the CPU fan speeds a bit, though. That and snipping the PSU fan grille is all the tweaking I did.
If you do want an inferno in there, it looks like in v3 they’re making more accommodations for the small closed loop watecooler systems. You can see where the 2.5" drive cage in the front could be taken out.
Here’s a ridiculous video of a core i9-7980XE (de-lidded, with liquid metal conductor added under the lid), Titan XP, and M.2 SSDs in raid 0 jammed into the A4-SFX case, and they also fit the watercooler in but they had to take a few things out of the front (the USB etc).
So… yeah… my build is easy mode compared to that, and even dropping a 1080 Ti in there should be fine for getting full bore 4k gaming going!
Small correction, AORUS is a Gigabyte brand.
Other than that, looks like a dream. I’m thinking of getting a smaller case as well, though I want a Micro ATX, I have a 1080 TI AIO and two 3.5" HDDs which won’t fit in an ITX case even if for my next build I go with an ITX motherboard.
Nice. I pre-ordered v3!
I’m going to order a Mini ITX mobo and move the 2nd PC that the kids use and gets dragged to the living room for VR (Ryzen 1700X/16GB/500 GB M.2./1080) into this box.
Me too, this case is kinda amazingly great… looks like v3 won’t ship until June so anyone who is interested should bite the bullet and order now. I can wholeheartedly recommend this thing, it is fantastic and excruciatingly well thought out in every detail. $225 at https://www.sfflab.com/products/dan_a4-sfx
Wire grills also have an effect: ~20%. This was checked with an anemometer on several different fans of 80, 92 and 120mm size, at full and lower speeds. The airflow reduction went as high as 24% but it was never below 19%
It also looks like many motherboards come with a standard 4-pin 5050 RGB LED pin connector. I bought a compatible 24 inch LED strip (the header on this mobo is near the rear panel connectors) and it works. It is directional, I plugged it in wrong the first time and had to figure that out.
You definitely want this on the GPU side as there’s more room to work with there. That’s where we put ours too. Looks cool, and you can control it via the gamer utility. It looks like the settings are written to the BIOS somewhere because that software doesn’t need to be running for it to work, thankfully.
Thanks for the pix (the thermals were interesting too).
While I love the idea of this in theory, there is no way I could build something like that without messing something(s) up.
Glad you went with a non-butcher-able GPU this time.
That’s surprising to me, because it looks like a blower card would be ideally placed to draw in air directly from outside the case through a side intake. Seems like a missed opportunity.
The PCIe extender doesn’t impact performance at all, they work fine.
A blower card would also work fine, but the case is designed so the GPU is isolated on a side of the case by itself, so you don’t need to worry about heating up your other components except through conduction. So you might as well use a non-blower card, as they perform better.
Surprised wumpus didn’t slice out the airholes on the side of the case!
