DAN A4-SFX v4.1

[gffermari]

There could be a new A4-SFX Plus version of the case with 2.5-3 slot card support, natively.
The original A4 can remain as it is since it covers 90+% of the cards, anyway.

 

[neoberg]

Yeah no biggie.

Just had some spare time between my exams so I did a quick test to change the direction of the fan under the PSU. Just did a simple stress test with Heaven and recorded the temperature with HWInfo64.

Initial impression is that with the PSU fan flipped, the GPU runs about the same but also with 100-300 more RPM. I don't have the equipment for audio levels but it was also significantly louder.

The CPU side panels around the bottom fan area were also quite warm to the touch, possibly due to the heat build-up by the intake fan.


The preliminary conclusion is that leaving the fan as exhaust is better, and considering the result I'm not sure if it's worth it to do further testings. But I'm quite inexperienced with testing hardware and using HWInfo(as you can see from my janky graph) so my experiment is not quite set up right and there could be errors.

I don’t have any fancy graphs but I’ve done a bunch of fan tests since I built my a4 3-4 weeks ago. My system: 5600x with noctua lh-9a, 3070 fe. Options I tried:
- sfx-l psu, flipped psu. Mobo fan exhaust, no psu fan
- sfx-l psu, normal psu orientation. Mobo fan exhaust, no psu fan.
- same as previous one + gpu riser standoff
- same as previous one but sfx psu
- same as previous one + intake under psu
- same as previous one but exhaust under psu

I got the best performance overall with the last one (sfx psu, normal position. Both fans as exhaust. Gpu standoff)

 

[nhatminh2h]

TIL

thanks a bunch for that

@aporias
Looking into those 5mm spacers and changing my fan under my PSU to intake Tomorrow. Thanks!

Also I found this video quite informative. O!Technology explains the heatsink design and airflow pretty well.

 

[nhatminh2h]

I don’t have any fancy graphs but I’ve done a bunch of fan tests since I built my a4 3-4 weeks ago. My system: 5600x with noctua lh-9a, 3070 fe. Options I tried:
- sfx-l psu, flipped psu. Mobo fan exhaust, no psu fan
- sfx-l psu, normal psu orientation. Mobo fan exhaust, no psu fan.
- same as previous one + gpu riser standoff
- same as previous one but sfx psu
- same as previous one + intake under psu
- same as previous one but exhaust under psu

I got the best performance overall with the last one (sfx psu, normal position. Both fans as exhaust. Gpu standoff)

Damn, that's a lot of tests. Congrats on your build. Have you had a chance to try PBO2?

Yeah, it seems that setting both case fans as exhaust is still the best.

I was considering setting my mobo fan to intake and my CPU fan to exhaust since I have turned the L9i heatsink direction to be vertical(parallel to ram) but I have a feeling that there is little to gain there(my 3600 is fairly quiet at full load already) and my time is better spent undervolting my GPU since it gets a little loud at full load.

Some modification I'm considering is maybe taping the heatsink on the face of the card to force the air to the bottom, top and back to prevent air recirculation. Additionally maybe a 40mm fan somewhere to help the cooling.

 

[neoberg]

Damn, that's a lot of tests. Congrats on your build. Have you had a chance to try PBO2?

Yeah, it seems that setting both case fans as exhaust is still the best.

I was considering setting my mobo fan to intake and my CPU fan to exhaust since I have turned the L9i heatsink direction to be vertical(parallel to ram) but I have a feeling that there is little to gain there(my 3600 is fairly quiet at full load already) and my time is better spent undervolting my GPU since it gets a little loud at full load.

Some modification I'm considering is maybe taping the heatsink on the face of the card to force the air to the bottom, top and back to prevent air recirculation. Additionally maybe a 40mm fan somewhere to help the cooling.

Oh the tape idea is interesting. I also want to rotate the heatsink but with the l9a it’s not possible
I’ve played a bit with pbo but not sure if it’s pbo2. My mobo is gigabyte aorus b550i ax, latest bios version says it has “AGESA ComboV2 1.1.0.0 D” so I guess it doesn’t have pbo2 yet?

 

[nhatminh2h]

Oh the tape idea is interesting. I also want to rotate the heatsink but with the l9a it’s not possible
I’ve played a bit with pbo but not sure if it’s pbo2. My mobo is gigabyte aorus b550i ax, latest bios version says it has “AGESA ComboV2 1.1.0.0 D” so I guess it doesn’t have pbo2 yet?

If I recall correctly, some boards have it and some don't at AGESA 1.1.0.0 but I'd recommend checking out Optimum Tech's video if you haven't yet.

I'd also highly recommend trying out undervolting and/or overclocking. Having undervolted my 3600 to 4100@1.056V, I had my first crack at the GPU. Played around a bit with MSI Afterburner yesterday and got an 800 score gain in TimeSpy benchmark(from ~13200 to ~14000). During Heaven, 100-200 fewer rpm(from ~2350 to ~2150), with 9.44% lower power consumption on average. I think I could push for more but it's diminishing returns at this point.

Next weekend I will try to print some feet extensions and maybe the taping/cover mod.

 

[neoberg]

If I recall correctly, some boards have it and some don't at AGESA 1.1.0.0 but I'd recommend checking out Optimum Tech's video if you haven't yet.

I'd also highly recommend trying out undervolting and/or overclocking. Having undervolted my 3600 to 4100@1.056V, I had my first crack at the GPU. Played around a bit with MSI Afterburner yesterday and got an 800 score gain in TimeSpy benchmark(from ~13200 to ~14000). During Heaven, 100-200 fewer rpm(from ~2350 to ~2150), with 9.44% lower power consumption on average. I think I could push for more but it's diminishing returns at this point.

Next weekend I will try to print some feet extensions and maybe the taping/cover mod.

I am currently running my 3070fe at 1840@850mv. Still running mid-high 70s during timespy but getting better scores than the stock.
Watched the Optimum Tech video but as far as I understand both versions of PBO have the curve optimizer but with different algorithms? I have the curve optimizer option in my bios but didn’t see considerable gains at stable values. At -30 (pbo2’s stated limit) it wouldn’t even boot to bios and had to reset.

 

[nhatminh2h]

I am currently running my 3070fe at 1840@850mv. Still running mid-high 70s during timespy but getting better scores than the stock.
Watched the Optimum Tech video but as far as I understand both versions of PBO have the curve optimizer but with different algorithms? I have the curve optimizer option in my bios but didn’t see considerable gains at stable values. At -30 (pbo2’s stated limit) it wouldn’t even boot to bios and had to reset.

Oh nice. I'm running at 1950@893mV VRAM+850. Similarly, it still gets to about 75, the 200 rpm difference is very noticeable tho. I might try to go down to 850mV to see how quiet I can keep it.

I think there's only the curve optimiser with PBO2. This is my first build and frequency/voltage capping was the first thing I came across, so I don't know much about PBO. Currently, I've just got a profile in clocktuner and set it to apply at start-up.

 

[butcherq]

I am currently assembling my build that includes A4 v4.1 and Black Ridge. I have swapped the default fan on BR for Noctua Chromax and decided to use the spare default Black Ridge fan underneath the motherboard.

However, the fan looks as if it was touching the motherboard and when spun it comes in contact with mobo producing a rattling noise. I have tried pushing motherboard a little bit upwards (as far as mounting holes allow, probably not even a millimeter) but to no avail.

Has anyone else encountered such issue?

 

[dondan]

Update:

I created a RTX 3060Ti/3070/3080 Guide for the A4-SFX. You can found it on the FAQ Page on https://dan-cases.com/dana4_faq.html

 

[Bonusround]

Update:

I created a RTX 3060Ti/3070/3080 Guide for the A4-SFX. You can found it on the FAQ Page on https://dan-cases.com/dana4_faq.html

Thank you! A few questions this guide could clarify:

1. Allowed dimensions for the fan.
2. Suggested fan orientation: intake or exhaust?
3. Specifications of the standoffs for v1 or v2 owners.

 

[dondan]

1. https://dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html
2. look at the picture
3. I add the specs of the stand-off to the manual M3 5mm. Or remove the old ones and add M3 10mm.

 

[peacecraft_M]

I have also looked how to get a similar setup running. If you have not done it already you can offset the graphic card to the outside with additional 5mm motherboard spacers on the pci-e riser, in order to create a wider gap between the backside of the gpu and the psu. I would then look into setting the fan under the psu as intake so it blows fresh air into this gap. I would not replace the 3060ti fans as they are really very good (at least compared tp the previous RTX20xx FE fans). If you have the new Dan Case with the pci 4 riser it should also be no problem adding a custom bracket above the motherboard and use an Akasa fan 10mm x 80mm with a grill fan as exhaust.

Ultimately it seems that the most important part is creating that gap between the gpu and psu to run the 30xx cards. This cards are really not designed for that case that is why i use a Founders Edition RTX2080ti@0,875v with an EVGA Bios Flash to get the best noise / performace ratio.

Please do post an update with what you have tried and what worked for you

Still working on spacers but I was able to get temps down roughly 1-2 degrees on average with the following tweaks:

• Cleaner cables under psu
• Noctua 92mm x 25mm to fit under my PSU as exhaust. thanks @nhatminh2h and @neoberg
• adjusted my undervolt to 1950mhz @ 925mv with no memory clock boost(I dont really understand the memory clock bit so I don't touch it)

Things to note that I will do to improve are:

• Getting spacers or finding the ones I KNOW I have somewhere
• Ramping my fan under my mobo back to normal. Since I posted last I put on a LNA as I found its turbulence was the main source of noise. I wonder if theres a way to get it back to 45% without the noise etc.
• Adjusting undervolt more.

On the last note:
Is there some sort of repository for undervolts that I can look at as a guide? I know that silicon is all different but I'd like to understand how I can undervolt and remain at stock core clock. From what I understand and have scraped together, the 3060 ti FE undervolted somewhere in the high 1900's is around stock performance. I've looked at many guides but none of them spell out "This is the core clock you want for stock performance"

@dondan:
Page 2 of this guide looks like it suggests bending the plastic between the gpu and the mobo. Is that correct or should we remove it.? It does not appear to be on page 3


Thanks a bunch again

 

[Bonusround]

1. https://dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html
2. look at the picture
3. I add the specs of the stand-off to the manual M3 5mm. Or remove the old ones and add M3 10mm.

Cool. Wow, I didn’t know that 10mm standoffs would work. The card‘s ports still reach the bracket opening?

 

[nightshift]

Installing those little spacers that came with the mobo to further raise the riser from the metal plate on the gpu side is something I wanted to try out too. And having a 2 slot card (gigabyte's 2060 mini) I thought I can totally do it if it works with the two slot FE cards right? I mean this picture is literally about a my gpu:

That's 2 slot. However, what I found out is, that with the riser being that much away, I was not able to properly connect my gpu to the riser slot anymore due to the card's backplate which now cannot go through the hole in the back of the Dan A4 (where I should hold it with 2 screws and a small metal) from it's now position. Because the hole is not wide enough, it's only as wide as the part I want to get through it and I can only do that from the original placement without the spacers installed.
Did anyone really tried this out and managed to actually do this successfully with their 2 slot gpu?

 

[Misjn]

Thanks @dondan for a very painless warranty experience. 10/10.

 

[peacecraft_M]

The latest update for @nhatminh2h:

10mm spacers for GPU came in and I am at 71c max GPU temp now(apex legends on pretty high graphic settings 1440p). Getting the full size 92mm Noctua under the PSU(exhaust) and the spacers have had the biggest impact. My undervolt is a little better too 1950 @ 925 still from when I started this mini-saga

I can live with this. Very satisfied. I appreciate everyone on this thread for helping out

 

[Bonusround]

The latest update for @nhatminh2h:

10mm spacers for GPU came in and I am at 71c max GPU temp now(apex legends on pretty high graphic settings 1440p). Getting the full size 92mm Noctua under the PSU(exhaust) and the spacers have had the biggest impact. My undervolt is a little better too 1950 @ 925 still from when I started this mini-saga

I can live with this. Very satisfied. I appreciate everyone on this thread for helping out

Can you post pics of the fit and look of this, please?

 

[yjuyjuy]

Just want to report my experience with 30 series cards so far. I have the v3 version case. I do have 2 Noctua F12 fans just sitting on top of the case exhausting hot air. I have got my hands on 2 3070 cards.

1. Asus TUF RTX 3070 can be installed with side panel off.
a. I had to unscrew a couple of those screws at the front and top to loosen the structure of the case in order to get the card inside.
b. I was not able to line up the PCIE bracket with the screw holes though I didn't spend much time investigate the reason, so maybe you can make it work
c. I did not test the thermals

2. I'm currently running a 3070 FE, it can be installed with no issue at all
a. The fan gets annoyingly loud above 2000rpm or 56% fan speed so I set a custom fan curve
B. But undervolting the card drops the temp a lot with little to no performance lost.
c. I switch between 2 profiles in afterburner with custom frequency-voltage curve
i. gaming profile 1740MHz 850mV +1100MHz memory, GPU power in HWInfo is 140W
ii. mining profile 1320MHz 750mV +1100MHz memory, 120W
( my gpu is running 24/7 either gaming or mining so I'm always talking about the sustained temps )
d. With the plastic cover on and PSU in normal orientation, when mining I was getting 58-60C with the fan running at 2000-2200 rpm
e. With the plastic cover removed and PSU flipped, the back side open area of the card barely aligns with the SF600 PSU fan ( the card is slightly too short ), when gaming I'm getting 55-56C with fans running at 1800rpm, when mining I'm getting 52-53C with fans running at 1700rpm

Conclusion
1. My case is on the right side of the desk so I have my CPU side panel off as I can't see it anyway, and I'm using a Noctua D15 cooler. So if your case is on your left side, maybe you can live with the gpu side panel off to fit a TUF card, I would assume better temps than my FE card
2. 3070 card temp can be kept below 60C with some undervolting. Removing the plastic cover and flip the PSU will help a lot.

Thanks for the amazing case Dan, still loving it after 2 years

 

[aporias]

Just want to report my experience with 30 series cards so far. I have the v3 version case. I do have 2 Noctua F12 fans just sitting on top of the case exhausting hot air. I have got my hands on 2 3070 cards.

1. Asus TUF RTX 3070 can be installed with side panel off.
a. I had to unscrew a couple of those screws at the front and top to loosen the structure of the case in order to get the card inside.
b. I was not able to line up the PCIE bracket with the screw holes though I didn't spend much time investigate the reason, so maybe you can make it work
c. I did not test the thermals

2. I'm currently running a 3070 FE, it can be installed with no issue at all
a. The fan gets annoyingly loud above 2000rpm or 56% fan speed so I set a custom fan curve
B. But undervolting the card drops the temp a lot with little to no performance lost.
c. I switch between 2 profiles in afterburner with custom frequency-voltage curve
i. gaming profile 1740MHz 850mV +1100MHz memory, GPU power in HWInfo is 140W
ii. mining profile 1320MHz 750mV +1100MHz memory, 120W
( my gpu is running 24/7 either gaming or mining so I'm always talking about the sustained temps )
d. With the plastic cover on and PSU in normal orientation, when mining I was getting 58-60C with the fan running at 2000-2200 rpm
e. With the plastic cover removed and PSU flipped, the back side open area of the card barely aligns with the SF600 PSU fan ( the card is slightly too short ), when gaming I'm getting 55-56C with fans running at 1800rpm, when mining I'm getting 52-53C with fans running at 1700rpm

Conclusion
1. My case is on the right side of the desk so I have my CPU side panel off as I can't see it anyway, and I'm using a Noctua D15 cooler. So if your case is on your left side, maybe you can live with the gpu side panel off to fit a TUF card, I would assume better temps than my FE card
2. 3070 card temp can be kept below 60C with some undervolting. Removing the plastic cover and flip the PSU will help a lot.

Thanks for the amazing case Dan, still loving it after 2 years

Might as well go with an open case or another case altogether. What is the point of going outside of the limits of the case? I don't think this is very helpful for anyone looking to make the RTX 30xx Founders Editition work in the DAN A4.