DAN A4-SFX v4.1

[ZTylerDurden]

Cheers, and long live the A4!

Looks great! Nice work.

How you've installed the riser is what I've seen before by sending the cable behind the GPU instead of looping it underneath and behind the motherboard. Do you need any modding for that? Do you get to use a shorter cable or better compatibility with shorter cable brands? My riser (non-A4 included one) sticks up a bit at 300mm. I could cram it down but maybe I can simply route it differently (with a replacement length) like yours.

 

[Zenskas]

Looks great! Nice work.

How you've installed the riser is what I've seen before by sending the cable behind the GPU instead of looping it underneath and behind the motherboard. Do you need any modding for that? Do you get to use a shorter cable or better compatibility with shorter cable brands? My riser (non-A4 included one) sticks up a bit at 300mm. I could cram it down but maybe I can simply route it differently (with a replacement length) like yours.

Thankyou!

No drastic modding or tools required, just a few moments of time. I used the stock PCIe 4.0 riser cable. Out of the box I found the cable was way too close to the bottom 92x14mm fan and it would make a funny noise on the fan blades and made the fan more difficult to install in an already tight spot.

I took the riser out completely in order to start the bend a little bit closer to the PCIe slot PCB. I used a plastic spudger tool and wrapped the end of the cable around it to bend the cable a bit higher up, try not to put too much pressure onto the end of the cable where it connects to the PCB as you don't want to snap it off. Slow and steady. The factory bend then got straightened out.

Once it was bent right, I decided to run it up behind the GPU to maintain the new bend better and to stop the cable from ever sagging down into the fan. This would also make it much easier to remove or replace the riser later without having to take out the motherboard which is far more work than removing the GPU alone. Maybe you can slide the riser out from behind the mobo without taking it out but it wouldn't be as easy to reinstall and may interfere with boards that have rear mounted M.2 drives or backplates etc.
Also, I removed the plastic insulator sheet from the middle of the chassis. I didn't like how it looked and now the riser cable sort of backs the GPU up off the motherboard tray enough to not scratch anything. I wouldn't do this if your GPU does not have a full backplate though - you do not want to short out your PCB on any metal so leave the plastic sheet in if you don't have a GPU backplate.

 

[useruseruser]

Looks great! Nice work.

How you've installed the riser is what I've seen before by sending the cable behind the GPU instead of looping it underneath and behind the motherboard. Do you need any modding for that? Do you get to use a shorter cable or better compatibility with shorter cable brands? My riser (non-A4 included one) sticks up a bit at 300mm. I could cram it down but maybe I can simply route it differently (with a replacement length) like yours.

hello there
form a proud owner of my 2nd A4 bulid, 185mm is the exact fit.
I have the FormD/Ncase one.
Also you will notice waay better airflow (fyi please remove large unusefull nvme heatsinks) top and bottom(w fan) for the CPU

 

[DarkCanuck]

Has anyone tried the Zotac 5070 TI SFF OC in the DAN-A4? I'm trying to find out if it will fit, and if Thermally it would be acceptable.

 

[dondan]

I think it is too long. Better get the INNO3D GeForce RTX 5070 Ti X3

 

[DarkCanuck]

I think it is too long. Better get the INNO3D GeForce RTX 5070 Ti X3

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately the INNO3D 5070 Ti is not available in Canada; importing it wouldn't be viable. I'll have to settle for a 5070.

 

[Straander]

Has anyone tried the Zotac 5070 TI SFF OC in the DAN-A4? I'm trying to find out if it will fit, and if Thermally it would be acceptable.

Hello Dark Canuck. I just got this card so here's my report.

Card was purchased in the US for $750, matching Nvidias msrp for the 5070ti. zotac lists the length of their card at 304.4mm. Dan lists their case GPu compatibility as "Complete card incl. bracket: 306 mm"

Upon installing the card I found it was several mm too long to fit against the front end of the case chassis. So I must conclude that zotac lists their dimensions as 'not including bracket' without including that info.

Pulling out my dremel tool I made a cutout on the front end of the cases' chassis to match to the profile of the video card. Pics below.
With the cutout, I still have to remove several screws from the Dan A4 chassis to bend it out while installing the card, but after installation I can put the screws back in and everything fits with decent clearance. With the Dan A4 front external panel reinstalled, the case is functionally aesthetically and structurally the same as stock.

Compared to the Zotac twin edge 4070 I was using before, the acoustics are actually improved. The twin edge causes a lot of fan blade turbulence noise due to the proximity to the cases' side panel. I must conclude the 5070ti allows a couple more mm of clearance on that axis from the fan blades. The case seems to handle the overall thermals decently over extended use, this is paired with a 7800x3d processor. I haven't looked at GPU and CPU temps but after an evening of VR gaming the sound levels are lower then they were with the old GPU despite this one having 100W higher TDP.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

Hello Dark Canuck. I just got this card so here's my report.

Card was purchased in the US for $750, matching Nvidias msrp for the 5070ti. zotac lists the length of their card at 304.4mm. Dan lists their case GPu compatibility as "Complete card incl. bracket: 306 mm"

Upon installing the card I found it was several mm too long to fit against the front end of the case chassis. So I must conclude that zotac lists their dimensions as 'not including bracket' without including that info.

Did you consider a deshroud or is it not worth it? Because it looks like the missing few mm might have been "removable" without the GPU shroud, but that could be misleading glanced from your pictures (eg. if the heatsink underneath is IRL still too long even without the fan shroud)-

cu, w0lf.

 

[Straander]

Did you consider a deshroud or is it not worth it? Because it looks like the missing few mm might have been "removable" without the GPU shroud, but that could be misleading glanced from your pictures (eg. if the heatsink underneath is IRL still too long even without the fan shroud)-

cu, w0lf.

You might be able to see it on the 4th pic, but the heatsink is flush with the farthest out edge of the card as well as is the card's backplate. So it would have taken more then removing the plastic pieces to gain back those extra 3-4mm.

But I never really considered possibly voiding the warranty on a brand new $750 vidya card when the alternative was to cut some holes in to a $150 case that I'm moving on from soon anyway.

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

But I never really considered possibly voiding the warranty on a brand new $750 vidya card when the alternative was to cut some holes in to a $150 case that I'm moving on from soon anyway.

Well, if you're in the US - or Europe - you'd not be voiding the warranty. But thats a different topic

cu, w0lf.

 

[Vir]

Is there anybody who can provide the cable lengths required for the Losercard mod?

 

[immolationepoch]

Is there anybody who can provide the cable lengths required for the Losercard mod?

Exact lengths are contingent on the PSU and motherboard. This should give you an idea. It's from back when I placed an order with Sean (Losercard) several years ago now.

 

[Frenzy]

Quick share of my updated build.

GPU. PowerColor reaper 9070XT. Already since March'25. Happy with the acoustics after undervolt ( -65mV offset) and curve tweaking. Didnt find the need to deshroud and mod with noctua fans as orignally intended. Added 2nd fan on bottom of the case (in black with fan guard) as outtake.

Further extended back side M.2 by PCIE riser to the front as it got way too hot on the back. Now temps are basically same as the 1st main m.2.
Still on AM4 with B450, the GPU is thus running on PCIE-3 X8, however no noticeable performance impact for me with the 9070XT.
2x 4TB NVME installed. Lexar Ares NM790s.

CPU is 5700x3D (-35 mV undervolt), cooler is Thermaltake APX90 but with Noctua fan. Added a foamy fan duct added from packaging material.
M.2 cooler added in copper to match the APX90 copper fins.

Cables a bit of a mess still have an 1TB SSD on front side and sometimes hang a drive on the side, so still need the SATA power cable there.

edit: To add, recently travelling with the case in Tenba Byob 7 camera bag, and this bag in my carryon luggage. I dont even take the computer out of the luggage and security doesnt complain/comment to take it out. This was through China (several domestic flights) and Thailand Airport security.

edit2: added a pic of the M.2 extension on the mobo rear. 90deg out and 90deg bend again carefully with insulation tape, so can come to the front side.

M.2. extension from rear to front

Travel setup