Log Another DAN A4 Build!

[vktrz]

Dear Community,

I am in the process of building my first SFF and as a complete newbie I would highly appreciate a few advices. I have already bought the following parts (which I can return if incompatible)

- Case: Dan Case A4 V4.1
- CPU : Intel i7-11700 (65w)
- CPU Cooler : Asetek 645LT (92mm) with Noctua Fan
- Motherboard : Gigabyte Z590I AORUS Ultra
- RAM : HyperX FURY Black HX432C16FB4K2/32 (2x16Gb @ 3200Mhz)
- SSD : Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB
- Power Supply : Corsair SF600 Platinum

I have been lurking a lot of r/sffpc as well as in this forum but my worries are the following:

1. Will my config fit in my case?

The parts I am worried the most so far is the RAM. It seems that the max height according to dancase guidelines is 52mm and as far as my understanding goes the ram I chose is ~35mm but with other components installed, I would like some reinsurance.

2. Which GPU should I go for?

The current prices/availibity make it really hard for me to decide. I would like to be able to stream some games casually without having to worry, but also do some video editing comfortably. I definitely cannot afford a 3080/90 at the current prices, so I have listed a few available options. What are your thoughts?

- Nvidia 2080 SUPER Founders Edition : 1000€. At the moment it's slightly above my budget but with my current config I am willing to put the price difference. Unfortunately I would have to wait to get my hands on it....
- MSI GeForce® RTX 3060 VENTUS 2X 12G OC : 820€. In my opinion my best shot at the moment despite an inflated price. Pretty sure it can handle everything that I would ever require.
- Asus GeForce® GTX 1660 SUPER Phoenix OC 6GB : 550€. Not sure if the card will be good enough to handle what I want; but I am thinking I can get this now, and hope that before the end of the year, new cards will be out.


3. Which Custom Cables/Provider?
'Having two left hands' I will obviously not be mounting the PC however I saw that I can get some custom cables, and that pslatecustoms was highly recommended. Since I am in Europe though I was thinking of ordering from "End Game Customs". Are they reliable/good price for quality providers? If so, which cables should I be getting?

Any recommendations/advices are more than welcome!

 

[scatterforce]

1. It looks good. I have not personally built in a Dan A4, but as a newbie.... I wouldn't suggest using the Asetek cooler. It makes cable management really hard. Instead, get the Noctua NH-L9i with a fan duct. Yes, there are other cooler configurations that are better, but none are as easy to install with this level of performance. The fan duct is a must.

2. Personally, I would avoid the 3060. A 2060 Super gives near the same performance; it's just not enough of a performance bump for the price. Besides that, any GPU you could get your hands on is fine in this market. The 3070ti is going to launch in the 4 weeks (not confirmed, but the cards are in the hands of retailers). If you are quick, there is a chance to get a FE card at MSRP.

3. DreamingBigByRay is where I sourced my cables; no complaints and quick turn around.

If you are concerned with your budget, get a B560 board instead. You can overclock the RAM and maintain max clock speeds on your 11700. ASUS and MSI both have good B560 ITX offerings, but they might be hard to find. An alternative would be ASRock H570M-ITX ( I don't trust their B560 board to adequately power an i7).

 

[BenSanford]

I'm currently building a Dan A4 with the Austek, and I can see that it's going to be a tight fit. I plan to build it with the stock Corsair power supply cables - likely not fitting into the case to check everything out, and then switch to custom cables once they arrive. I think tall RAM should be ok, but that might force you to route the cooler pipes around the end of the RAM rather than over the top. There are photos of several builds on line that do that.

I still don't have the video card I want so initially I will likely use a very old card until I can get what I want. Ideally I would like to get a Nvidia RTX 3070, a RTX 3060 Ti, or a RTX 3060. I think anything more powerful than the 3070 would have problems - apparently the 3080's & 3090's use opposing fans that don't work well in this type of case (and they are also too expensive) - even if they were available.