DAN A4-SFX v4.1

prayogahs

Airflow Optimizer
Apr 21, 2019
236
343
confirming the Inno3D 3070 Ti/ 3080 Ti X3 fits (same cooler for either card, I have the 3070 Ti), see picture of my setup here:



additional pics of it in operation with fans spinning and no issue, still a 1-2mm gap remains after squeezing in all that GPU. other side of the rig too to complete it.



nice! btw, might be better to have the case fans as exhaust instead of intake, should help with GPU and CPU temps
 

dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
Original poster
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,977
8,378
Wow this is genius that Inno3d designed it that way you can flip the fans.
 

nightshift

Airflow Optimizer
Jul 23, 2020
268
168
Holy hell this Inno3d card seem like it's been made exactly for this case. 2 slot and with the longest possible heatsink that can fit and 3 fans. And it look so gorgeous, with that smooth metal surface (instead of plastic) it even shares the same aesthetic as the case. Seems more matured as well without the usual embossed shroud that's all unnecessarily flashy with sharp edges and RGB that we are accustomed to see everywhere else. Obviously there's not much of a performance increase here compared to their regular counterpart as we would expect from a gpu with "Ti" in it's name, but this is exactly what I was waiting for given it's very favorable slender design. Finding one (at a good price) is another topic though.

Btw, the fan under the psu is usually on exhaust (especially with gpu's having vented backplates towards their third fan), but are we absolutely sure that this should be the case with the one under the mobo as well? I did not try it yet, I just don't know how much air can it withdraw from there and even the M.2's are way higher. While having the fan blowing air onto the mobo and it's backside sounds more beneficial. Are we sure that it's supposed to be on exhaust as well?
 
Last edited:

mangusid

Cable Smoosher
Jul 1, 2020
10
4
confirming the Inno3D 3070 Ti/ 3080 Ti X3 fits (same cooler for either card, I have the 3070 Ti), see picture of my setup here:



additional pics of it in operation with fans spinning and no issue, still a 1-2mm gap remains after squeezing in all that GPU. other side of the rig too to complete it.



Thank you for claryfying the possibility of screwing in such a long stuff!
Did you manage to remove GPU-backplate?
 

nightshift

Airflow Optimizer
Jul 23, 2020
268
168
I don't think that there's a need to remove the backplate if the card is only 40mm thick.
However, aside from it venting up-; and downwards based on the fins, the backplate is opened behind the third fan. So question is how are the temps and if there is any improvement to be had with an inverted psu? Also, what psu are you using? I heard that this card draw somewhat less power than others of it's kind, can an SF600 be enough for this? If not, the Lian Li SN750 seems very fitting due to it's similar brushed aluminium front panel (and the fact that Dancases are also made by LL).
 

hengster

Caliper Novice
Jan 4, 2020
27
37
nice! btw, might be better to have the case fans as exhaust instead of intake, should help with GPU and CPU temps
yup i wanted to do exhaust for both the bottom fans, but the one below motherboard is interfered just very slightly by the 8-pin CPU power connector due to layout of my motherboard. so had to flip it around, and wanted other side to match. so far so good and gaming at 1080p 240Hz fine with CPU and GPU temps always below 70 and 80 degC respectively. if it gets out of control some day i will flip the fans again to see the difference.

Holy hell this Inno3d card seem like it's been made exactly for this case. 2 slot and with the longest possible heatsink that can fit and 3 fans. And it look so gorgeous, with that smooth metal surface (instead of plastic) it even shares the same aesthetic as the case. Seems more matured as well without the usual embossed shroud that's all unnecessarily flashy with sharp edges and RGB that we are accustomed to see everywhere else. Obviously there's not much of a performance increase here compared to their regular counterpart as we would expect from a gpu with "Ti" in it's name, but this is exactly what I was waiting for given it's very favorable slender design. Finding one (at a good price) is another topic though.

Btw, the fan under the psu is usually on exhaust (especially with gpu's having vented backplates towards their third fan), but are we absolutely sure that this should be the case with the one under the mobo as well? I did not try it yet, I just don't know how much air can it withdraw from there and even the M.2's are way higher. While having the fan blowing air onto the mobo and it's backside sounds more beneficial. Are we sure that it's supposed to be on exhaust as well?
so far so good for me with the fans intaking from the bottom and blowing upwards, guess the convection from hot air rising up kinda helps in a way? the top of the case feels hotter than any other builds i had in the A4 previously, but components are all cool, so i suppose we are all good.

Thank you for claryfying the possibility of screwing in such a long stuff!
Did you manage to remove GPU-backplate?
didn't have to remove the backplate, it fits nicely without, unlike EVGA 30xx XC3 Ultra (not Black) cards where the backplate interferes because they are really thicker than 40mm overall. i had to loosen the frame screws at the back of the GPU in order to fit it is, exactly as dan mentioned for GPUs longer than 293mm.

I don't think that there's a need to remove the backplate if the card is only 40mm thick.
However, aside from it venting up-; and downwards based on the fins, the backplate is opened behind the third fan. So question is how are the temps and if there is any improvement to be had with an inverted psu? Also, what psu are you using? I heard that this card draw somewhat less power than others of it's kind, can an SF600 be enough for this? If not, the Lian Li SN750 seems very fitting due to it's similar brushed aluminium front panel (and the fact that Dancases are also made by LL).
Corsair SF750 Platinum, actually i heard 3070 Ti draws way more than 3070 for the performance gap it has compared to 3080, due to the use of GDDR6X and the fully activated GA104 chip with 3072 cores and 6144 shaders.

Wow this is genius that Inno3d designed it that way you can flip the fans.
thanks more to the genius who came up with this case and leading the movement towards sandwich layout.
 

mobie1211

Chassis Packer
Mar 29, 2019
17
13
yup i wanted to do exhaust for both the bottom fans, but the one below motherboard is interfered just very slightly by the 8-pin CPU power connector due to layout of my motherboard. so had to flip it around, and wanted other side to match. so far so good and gaming at 1080p 240Hz fine with CPU and GPU temps always below 70 and 80 degC respectively. if it gets out of control some day i will flip the fans again to see the difference.


so far so good for me with the fans intaking from the bottom and blowing upwards, guess the convection from hot air rising up kinda helps in a way? the top of the case feels hotter than any other builds i had in the A4 previously, but components are all cool, so i suppose we are all good.


didn't have to remove the backplate, it fits nicely without, unlike EVGA 30xx XC3 Ultra (not Black) cards where the backplate interferes because they are really thicker than 40mm overall. i had to loosen the frame screws at the back of the GPU in order to fit it is, exactly as dan mentioned for GPUs longer than 293mm.


Corsair SF750 Platinum, actually i heard 3070 Ti draws way more than 3070 for the performance gap it has compared to 3080, due to the use of GDDR6X and the fully activated GA104 chip with 3072 cores and 6144 shaders.


thanks more to the genius who came up with this case and leading the movement towards sandwich layout.
Hi do bios come with fan stop while idle?
 

nightshift

Airflow Optimizer
Jul 23, 2020
268
168
yes it does, if you are referring to the Inno3D 3070/3080 Ti.
I would set up a slow rotation for 30% just to get some airflow going. Oh, also I noticed that you seemingly have a single pcie cable in that gpu (that branches into two connectors). It might just be better to use another one instead, so one cable in each port, so the 300w power draw will not stress a single cable.
 

hengster

Caliper Novice
Jan 4, 2020
27
37
I would set up a slow rotation for 30% just to get some airflow going. Oh, also I noticed that you seemingly have a single pcie cable in that gpu (that branches into two connectors). It might just be better to use another one instead, so one cable in each port, so the 300w power draw will not stress a single cable.
SF750’s included braided daisy chained 6+2 pin PCIe cables are 16AWG gauged. i used one of those in my build containing a 3070 Ti.

3070 Ti founders edition cards are designed for 290W power draw, and the Inno3D one has a 3% overclocked boost clock, so let’s say it draws 300W for simplicity sake.

GPUs can draw 75W from the PCIe slot and 150W from each 6+2 pin cable. So, it should draw less than 300W from the daisy-chained cable.

finally, I got to know that 16AWG gauge copper wires are rated for 3.7A or 444W, so there is plenty of safety buffer in the math above.

noted your preference to set GPU fans to minimum 30%. i do not, as I have two more silent Noctua case fans moving air at the bottom of my case.
 

Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
SF750’s included braided daisy chained 6+2 pin PCIe cables are 16AWG gauged. i used one of those in my build containing a 3070 Ti.

3070 Ti founders edition cards are designed for 290W power draw, and the Inno3D one has a 3% overclocked boost clock, so let’s say it draws 300W for simplicity sake.

GPUs can draw 75W from the PCIe slot and 150W from each 6+2 pin cable. So, it should draw less than 300W from the daisy-chained cable.

finally, I got to know that 16AWG gauge copper wires are rated for 3.7A or 444W, so there is plenty of safety buffer in the math above.

noted your preference to set GPU fans to minimum 30%. i do not, as I have two more silent Noctua case fans moving air at the bottom of my case.
3.7A or 444W? That doesn't add up at 12V. Amperage ratings are per wire pair (voltage + ground, only one of those delivers current to the card after all), and a PCIe 8-pin cable (for some incredibly dumb reason) has three wire pairs plus two extra grounds. 3.7A*12V*3=133.2W. Given that PCIe 8-pin wires are rated for 150W, that 3.7A number seems wrong. How much resistive losses there will be in a cable of a given gauge depends on the voltage, amperage and its length, but three pairs of 16AWG cabling of a short length can probably handle 300W without significant losses. However, that also depends on the quality of crimps and connectors. A significant issue with daisy chained connectors even with good wire gauge is the layout and per-pin power draw. As the second connector is in series with the first and electricity will travel the path of least resistance, the vast majority of power will go through the first connector all else being equal. Only if that connector heats up and its resistance increases to match the extra in-line crimp and cabling of the second one will they be balanced - but at that point you might already have a problem.

The highest quality crimps for mini-fit Jr. connectors that I've seen are rated for 9A. That's just enough for 300W across three pins - but that's their peak rating, typically at room temperature. Going that high would likely cause significant thermal losses and increased resistance, leading to trouble. Using a daisy-chained extra connector could theoretically lower the load on that first connector, but... yeah, not ideal.

So while the wires themselves might not have a problem delivering 300W, the connectors likely do. You might never see anything more than the first connector warming up a bit, but you might also see it deform or even melt. YMMV.
 

mobie1211

Chassis Packer
Mar 29, 2019
17
13
Here is a preview of the A4-SFX gpu_bracket to install bigger GPUs without the side panel. I do not have a 3D printer so maybe someone can test it?

-Just clip in the Slot distance part
-Remove the riser stand offs
- Screw in the right side riser holder with one of the old riser screws
- shift the left side riser holder on the riser itself
- move the riser inside the right holder
- Screw in the left side riser holder with one of the old riser screws
- Use the GPU slot cover to press in the GPU.


Download: https://dan-cases.com/downloads/gpu_bracket.STL

Hi can this mod fit 6800XT Ref card?
 

swooby

Caliper Novice
Mar 2, 2021
23
10
Dual [nearly] Identical v4.1 A4-SFX builds
* Ryzen 9 5900 (non-X "OEM") 3.0/4.7GHz 65W
* Alpenföhn BLACK RIDGE 47.1 CFM CPU Cooler
* Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
* 2x16GB ECC DR X8 VLP CL22 DDR4 UDIMM 3200MHZ
* Western Digital Black SN850 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
* NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB Founders Edition Video Card
* DAN Cases A4 SFX v4.1 Mini ITX Desktop Case
* Corsair SF 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply
* 2xNoctua A9x14 29.72 CFM 92 mm Fan
* Noctua A12x15 PWM 55.44 CFM 120 mm Fan
* PingPing USB Front Panel Adapter,Vertical USB 3.1 Front Panel Socket Key-A Type-E to USB 3.0 20Pin Header Adapter

Thanks to everyone, especially on the VLP memory thread, that helped me to source 4x 16GB 3200 MHz VLP DDR4 UDIMMs from Taobao (via SuperBuy), and to @dondan for such a wonderful case!
 
Last edited:

nightshift

Airflow Optimizer
Jul 23, 2020
268
168
Upon re-assembling my build, a small part fell out of the case from near the front usb-c header. It is shaped like the number 6 but in a more rectangular fashion (center seems like a screwhole). I cannot seem to find where it's supposed to go back and it seems like it's not even needed as the port stays sturdy once it's screwed back on. But it surely have a purpose and I would prefer it back where it belongs. Based on it's shape I have an idea, yet it doesn't seem to fit anywhere. Does anybody know exactly where it's supposed to go near that front port area?
 

D90

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 9, 2017
97
69
Upon re-assembling my build, a small part fell out of the case from near the front usb-c header. It is shaped like the number 6 but in a more rectangular fashion (center seems like a screwhole). I cannot seem to find where it's supposed to go back and it seems like it's not even needed as the port stays sturdy once it's screwed back on. But it surely have a purpose and I would prefer it back where it belongs. Based on it's shape I have an idea, yet it doesn't seem to fit anywhere. Does anybody know exactly where it's supposed to go near that front port area?
Not sure but make sure to check that the riser cable is still fastened securely. They damage easily