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

dondan said:
This is an easy way to use an external watercooling AIO like the Corsaier h110i with the Asrock X99e ITX in the DAN A4-SFX. without modding. Don't use the I/O bracket and use the free area for passing the tubes.

asrockousgu.jpg
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pics or it didnt happen!
 
Fascinating project, and it sounds perfect for my VR arcade startup (planned to open up early 2016)! Could I order one case, confirm that it works out with my VR backpack kit, and then order 15-20 cases? Or do I then run the risk that the first batch has been filled and there won't be another batch in time for my opening?

In case anyone's interested, here's some info about my project:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2725343/battery-powered-sff-untethered.html
 
thewoods said:
Fascinating project, and it sounds perfect for my VR arcade startup (planned to open up early 2016)! Could I order one case, confirm that it works out with my VR backpack kit, and then order 15-20 cases? Or do I then run the risk that the first batch has been filled and there won't be another batch in time for my opening?

In case anyone's interested, here's some info about my project:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2725343/battery-powered-sff-untethered.html
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My only question is what the heck kind of battery are you going to be using to power that, and where can I get one?
 
superblockio said:
My only question is what the heck kind of battery are you going to be using to power that, and where can I get one?
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Assuming 300W continous power draw (GTX970 + Core i7 OC)

And perhaps between 30 and 90 minutes of playtime you'd need somewhere around a 0.45kWh available for 90 minutes of playtime, you could use a HDPlex 250W instead of the SFX so you can keep everything on VDC, safer to use. If you'd go with a 24V battery you'd need at least 18Ah to run it if I'm correct.

Someting like this
24V 20AH V5 LIFEPO4 BATTERY PACK
That weight around 5kg, heavy but doable in a backpack.

Of course this is a fairly rough estimate and the battery is largely depended on the used component, 80W CPU vs 35W T series or a GTX960 vs GTX980ti
 
QinX said:
Assuming 300W continous power draw (GTX970 + Core i7 OC)

And perhaps between 30 and 90 minutes of playtime you'd need somewhere around a 0.45kWh available for 90 minutes of playtime, you could use a HDPlex 250W instead of the SFX so you can keep everything on VDC, safer to use. If you'd go with a 24V battery you'd need at least 18Ah to run it if I'm correct.

Someting like this
24V 20AH V5 LIFEPO4 BATTERY PACK
That weight around 5kg, heavy but doable in a backpack.

Of course this is a fairly rough estimate and the battery is largely depended on the used component, 80W CPU vs 35W T series or a GTX960 vs GTX980ti
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Man that is one sexy battery! I love giant batteries, I've got this one and use it all the time but it can only power my laptop.

As for the GPU, I believe he said in that link that he's thinking of using a 970 mini.

Anyway, one other concern I have about this project is thermals... one of the case's sides will be facing the user's back at all times, so that's going to cover up a vent unless you have a novel way of dealing with that. As much as I love the DAN A4 and plan on getting one, maybe you'd be more interested in this case I found the other day: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HG-Computers/224496684372711

It can only fit mini GPUs which hurts your upgradability a bit, and its slightly bigger (less than a liter more) but its cooling is more of a top-down affair so mayhaps it would be better for a backpack design.

EDIT: pic
osmi_zpsmctwalwa.jpg
 
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Great discussion point, perhaps thewoods can open a topic here, even though he mentioned he is interested in the A4-SFX I think this will get offtopic really quickly. If he wants to ofcourse ;)
 
QinX said:
Great discussion point, perhaps thewoods can open a topic here, even though he mentioned he is interested in the A4-SFX I think this will get offtopic really quickly. If he wants to ofcourse ;)
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I most certainly will. When I started a thread over on Tom's, little did I know where the REAL action is! See you in the new thread in a couple of minutes! :D
 
Haha yeah that's a good idea. I feel a little dirty even bringing up other cases in this thread, I just wanted to be helpful. :D Man that osmi case is beautiful though... *slaps self* Okay I've got it out of my system!

The main thing is the Dan A4 can fit a full length GPU... Nothing else that small can claim that, so that's why it's the most awesome!
 
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I like that Osmi case thing, but I will never ever ever buy a case that plops the PSU over the CPU Socket.
It bothers me more than it should, I used to not like it because it limited CPU cooler height though now with the Dan A4 I'm not minding CPU cooler limitations so much..

In other news I sent Cryorig another Email asking if they have a more specific release date for the C7 than "August", I'm itching to try one out!
 
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Curiositie said:
I like that Osmi case thing, but I will never ever ever buy a case that plops the PSU over the CPU Socket.
It bothers me more than it should, I used to not like it because it limited CPU cooler height though now with the Dan A4 I'm not minding CPU cooler limitations so much..

In other news I sent Cryorig another Email asking if they have a more specific release date for the C7 than "August", I'm itching to try one out!
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Oh good, so that's coming in August? Sweet!
 
Osmi is interesting.

But the A4 has everything I need in functionality. :D

Something as simple as back to back mainboard and discreet graphics pcbs hasn't been done before as far as I know.
 
Just as an example, would this build fit in the A4-SFX?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81N Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.40 @ Mwave)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 960 2GB XLR8 Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: DAN A4-SFX ($149.99)
Total: $803.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-03 14:55 EDT-0400
 
Yes, the hardware fits in the case. 100%

BTW, i recommend u to put the RAM on Dual Channel. You know: 2 Sticks of 4 GB each one. And not a single stick of 8GB RAM.

Dual Channel give u better perfomance, at least on benchmarks.

And the price of the Dan A4 SFX seems too low:

150 USD = 135EURO..

According to Dan:

•How much will it cost?

Between $150 to $250 depending on the discount price of the riser.

150+250/2 = Average price = 200 Dollars. At minimum.
 
Xan-Z said:
BTW, i recommend u to put the RAM on Dual Channel. You know: 2 Sticks of 4 GB each one. And not a single stick of 8GB RAM.

Dual Channel give u better perfomance, at least on benchmarks.
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Why do you recommend this? The performance hit is only significant with APUs and upgrading to 16GB in the future will cost you more if go for dual channel. There's no reason to go that way except if you build your PC purely for being good at benchmarks.
 
Hey Dan, so you have an infinite amount more experience than me with creating custom cases and I was wondering if there is any merit to my design. I believe it would be the world's smallest PC to house a GTX 970 ITX with a complete water cooling loop. I really want to just build this case for my own use, or make a prototype, but I have no idea where to begin. I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me out. I know that there are a few things that don't make sense/aren't grammatically correct as I have been up all night working on this.
 
iFreilicht said:
Why do you recommend this? The performance hit is only significant with APUs and upgrading to 16GB in the future will cost you more if go for dual channel. There's no reason to go that way except if you build your PC purely for being good at benchmarks.
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1. Better perfomance on benchmarks. (Some people say that Dual Channel give you more ''real'' perfomance, don't know about that)
2. Better looks (Aesthetics)
3. If you have one stick of ram, and its fails, u can't use ur pc while u buy more ram or RMA it.

But if you have dual channel RAM, and one stick fails, u can use your PC with one ram slot while u RMA or buy the other ram stick.

I only see advantages when you use Dual Channel, btw that's a preference, and i like that way..
 
M4V3R1C8 said:
Hey Dan, so you have an infinite amount more experience than me with creating custom cases and I was wondering if there is any merit to my design. I believe it would be the world's smallest PC to house a GTX 970 ITX with a complete water cooling loop. I really want to just build this case for my own use, or make a prototype, but I have no idea where to begin. I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me out.
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Smallest 970 build with a custom loop is QinX's crazy 3L project: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1848777

I'd highly recommend checking out SketchUp, even a simple 3D mockup is much better to demonstrate a case layout than trying to explain in words and 2D diagrams.
 
M4V3R1C8 said:
Hey Dan, so you have an infinite amount more experience than me with creating custom cases and I was wondering if there is any merit to my design. I believe it would be the world's smallest PC to house a GTX 970 ITX with a complete water cooling loop. I really want to just build this case for my own use, or make a prototype, but I have no idea where to begin. I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me out. I know that there are a few things that don't make sense/aren't grammatically correct as I have been up all night working on this.
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I think you should start creating a own thread and create some 3D graphics like Aibohphobia said.
 
Thanks for the advice! I will get started with 3D designs as soon as possible. As for QinX's 3L case, I really like the concept. However, I don't like that it will cost more than the cost of a part to upgrade the pc, and that everything must be custom made. This makes it so that it is not "future proof." That being said, he does hold the title for the smallest water cooled 970 build, and I will keep an eye out for his final product:)
 
M4V3R1C8 said:
Thanks for the advice! I will get started with 3D designs as soon as possible. As for QinX's 3L case, I really like the concept. However, I don't like that it will cost more than the cost of a part to upgrade the pc, and that everything must be custom made. This makes it so that it is not "future proof." That being said, he does hold the title for the smallest water cooled 970 build, and I will keep an eye out for his final product:)
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I'm interested in seeing how you plan to address future-proofing via single part upgrades, how will you include the GPU in any custom loop seeing as how most GPUs need a custom waterblock already? GPUs being the single best upgrade for gaming in a majority of scenarios means that you're probably looking at a new custom block for each upgrade, so that already somewhat eliminates single part upgrades as viable
 
I'm not dondan, but from my understanding the case is ready for production, he's just figuring out legal stuff for shipping out of Germany.
 
Xan-Z said:
1. Better perfomance on benchmarks. (Some people say that Dual Channel give you more ''real'' perfomance, don't know about that)
2. Better looks (Aesthetics)
3. If you have one stick of ram, and its fails, u can't use ur pc while u buy more ram or RMA it.

But if you have dual channel RAM, and one stick fails, u can use your PC with one ram slot while u RMA or buy the other ram stick.

I only see advantages when you use Dual Channel, btw that's a preference, and i like that way..
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1. Better performance on benchmarks isn't a real-life advantage.
2. Point given, but does it really matter in a case with no window?
3. Point given.

But you still have the disadvantage of an upgrade costing you twice as much with two sticks.
 
Will there be an option to buy an extra set of panels for the A4? For example, let's say you purchased a black A4 and wanted to change the outer shell to silver.
 
This will not be an option in the crowdfunding but I can manage it for you if you contact me ;)
 
jb1 said:
Okay great, good to know! Looking forward to the crowd funding phase
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Me too! I hope he gets that website up soon, it will have more pictures of the A4 and the ability to be notified when the crowdfunding starts. :D I think he said that was happening sometime this month, hope that's still the case!
 
I just registered here because I have been looking at this case and I am anxiously waiting for it!

I would have couple of questions to dondan:

- Are you going to include any dust filters with the case or can you recommend any dust filters that would work with the case without interfering with airflow and aesthetics?
- Do you think a reference GTX Titan (the first one) with EVGA ACX Cooler will fit in the case?
- Do you have any eta about when you are going to be able to start the crowdfunding phase, maybe before the end of 2015?
 
lemonated said:
I just registered here because I have been looking at this case and I am anxiously waiting for it!

I would have couple of questions to dondan:

- Are you going to include any dust filters with the case or can you recommend any dust filters that would work with the case without interfering with airflow and aesthetics?
- Do you think a reference GTX Titan (the first one) with EVGA ACX Cooler will fit in the case?
- Do you have any eta about when you are going to be able to start the crowdfunding phase, maybe before the end of 2015?
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- From a quick look at the GTX Titan with an EVGA ACX cooler, it looks like it should fit fine!
- It seems like Dondan will start the crowdfunding phase this year, with the case shipping sometime in Q4 2015 or Q1 2016. Correct me if I'm wrong!
 
Got a response from Cryorig about availability for the C7!


Hi Curiositie,

We should begin global shipping in a week or two. But factoring in getting the items into the USA, we are projecting late August to early September.
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Nice!

@Dondan, do you know the width of the case on the GPU side of the central divider?
 
Curiositie said:
Got a response from Cryorig about availability for the C7!
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The only think that sucks about this particular cooler is the proprietary fan on the heatsink. Always difficult obtaining another fan instead of being able to buy another fan like a noctua and replacing it if the original one goes bad.
 
lemonated said:
I just registered here because I have been looking at this case and I am anxiously waiting for it!

I would have couple of questions to dondan:

- Are you going to include any dust filters with the case or can you recommend any dust filters that would work with the case without interfering with airflow and aesthetics?
- Do you think a reference GTX Titan (the first one) with EVGA ACX Cooler will fit in the case?
- Do you have any eta about when you are going to be able to start the crowdfunding phase, maybe before the end of 2015?
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1. No dust filters includes, I will give Demiflex the measures so they can offer a filterset.
2. The EVGA Titan fits
3. The releaseplan is end 2015


Greets
 
Thank you for the reply. Can't wait to get this case, I am sure arranging the cables inside the case will be a fun challenge with this one! :)
 
If you work often with itx systems or you use only a msata/m.2 ssd it is very easy.
 
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