DAN A4-SFX v4.1

SoulTribunal

Caliper Novice
May 19, 2019
27
9
@dondan I am using the V4 case, and am having some weird behavior with the type c port on the front.

I have a usb type c hub. It works perfectly with my Chromebook. It works perfectly with my motherboard plugged directly into the back.

I have a type c port on the front of the case (as I'm sure you know). This works perfectly with my USB key that I use for random file transfers. This USB key also works through the hub on my motherboard and my Chromebook.

Somehow, though, I cannot use things through the hub with the front panel connector. Each individual part works, but somehow combined they're not working. The light on the usb lights up briefly as I plug the hub in, but does not come back on.

Any idea what is going on with that?
@dondan I'm interested in knowing as well, my rear I/O usb C ports work fine but I've yet to get the front port on the Dan A4 to work. Not sure if it's the port itself or the motherboard's internal header is at fault.
 

mfgillia

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Mar 1, 2019
3
1
This video was so joyful to watch. 12 core cpu in Dan case is like a dream. Thanks AMD!

Looks like Optimum Tech removed the video. Guessing he's going to update it with some new info soon. Was pretty cool demonstration though showing how to run a 3900x in small cases like the Dan A4.
 

Ranker

Average Stuffer
Dec 20, 2018
85
18
Is normal for temps to be around 71C at idle for my Samsung 970 Pro NVME M.2 drive on my Asus Strix z370-i gaming motherboard? It's in the front slot.
 

ondert

Airflow Optimizer
Apr 16, 2017
340
161
Looks like Optimum Tech removed the video. Guessing he's going to update it with some new info soon. Was pretty cool demonstration though showing how to run a 3900x in small cases like the Dan A4.

Yes and the reason unfortunately is here;

"I have removed the recent video on undervolting the 3900X to 1.00V. Although the CPU was not crashing, was showing full boost speeds and 100% utilization across all 24 threads, there is in fact a performance hit as there seems to be some internal throttling happening. Follow up video to come today including performance benchmarks."
 

mfgillia

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Mar 1, 2019
3
1
Yes and the reason unfortunately is here;

"I have removed the recent video on undervolting the 3900X to 1.00V. Although the CPU was not crashing, was showing full boost speeds and 100% utilization across all 24 threads, there is in fact a performance hit as there seems to be some internal throttling happening. Follow up video to come today including performance benchmarks."

Yep, that sucks. Saw earlier on the AMD Reddit his video became quite controversial and key conclusions weren't holding up unfortunately for those of us contemplating cramming the 3900x in Dan A4 or similar sized cases.
 

PeGys

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jan 13, 2019
111
72
@dondan I am using the V4 case, and am having some weird behavior with the type c port on the front.

I have a usb type c hub. It works perfectly with my Chromebook. It works perfectly with my motherboard plugged directly into the back.

I have a type c port on the front of the case (as I'm sure you know). This works perfectly with my USB key that I use for random file transfers. This USB key also works through the hub on my motherboard and my Chromebook.

Somehow, though, I cannot use things through the hub with the front panel connector. Each individual part works, but somehow combined they're not working. The light on the usb lights up briefly as I plug the hub in, but does not come back on.

Any idea what is going on with that?

If I had to guess, the frond USB-C headers can't deliver enough power. Might be the mobo header causing this.
As it uses the basic USB 3.0 header on the motherboard, this might occur with the normal USB port on the v3 etc too.
 

friendscatdied

Trash Compacter
Jan 4, 2017
36
15
After I've presented you the previous king in the 47mm height range, I couldn't resist and had to get my hands on the new Cryorig C7G which is a better revision of the C7CU. Completly made out off copper and coated in graphite. In this video I've done just a quick comparison with my results of the Thermalright AXP-100 Copper, but I promise the overview withAsetek 645LT and Alpenföhn Black Ridge will follow soon to find out who can cool down 140W TDP inside this small formfactor most efficiently! :) Enjoy!
Eagerly awaiting your results. I had to unbox and install the only C7G I was able to find recently as my 645LT was giving me strange pump noise issues (air bubbles) even at low pump header RPM. The C7G was a bit of a surprise coming from the Black Ridge before.

 
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GucksTV

Airflow Optimizer
Mar 13, 2018
241
495
www.youtube.com
Was putting my hardware inside the V4 today...and that MSI B450i and RX 5700 XT turned out to be the perfect match!
Just amazing to see that Hardware all together inside the DAN A4-SFX! Thought I spoiler my upcomming build-log...I try to upload as fast as possible! :)








(I normaly don't upload to imigur...:D )
 

JustinDulay

Caliper Novice
May 3, 2019
29
23
The C7G was a bit of a surprise coming from the Black Ridge before.
Good or bad surprise? :D How do temps compare with the Black Ridge using the same Noctua fan?

Was putting my hardware inside the V4 today...and that MSI B450i and RX 5700 XT turned out to be the perfect match!
Looking good! Which is it, though? 3600 or 3900X?

I'm soon gonna build in the V4 with a Black Ridge, so that leaves me with space for a 92mm fan that's 25mm thick under the PSU. Is it better as intake or exhaust, given that it's most likely going to be right along the exhaust of an open-air GPU?
 

PeGys

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jan 13, 2019
111
72
How noisy is the blower 5700xt on the A4 SFX? Is it worst to wait for axial blade cards?

Blowers tend to be louder as they use a single higher rpm fan and build up pressure. Though, in a small case like the dan, they do have the advantage of pulling air through the side panel and exhausting through the back of the case. This prevents exhausted hot air to be pulled back into the case.

Was looking for a 1080ti blower card in the past but ended up with my 1080ti ftw3 as blower cards weren't that easy to find (that periode the rtx series launched so 1080's were not that easy to find).

I'd still go for a blower style card if they were up-spec with other cards and weren't so noisy... Most blower cards aren't as high-speced as cards with custom cooler.
 

dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
Original poster
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,977
8,378
Today I got my 3700X, Gigabyte X570 ITX and RX 5700. I plan to test PCIe 4.0 compatibility with all Risers of all A4-SFX generation (3M Riser, Lian Li Riser & ADT Riser). Furthermore I will validate the cooling performance of the Noctua L9a on the 3700X .

Yesterday I installed Windows Updates, Bios Updates and drivers to have a good base line for further testing. I also did some quick Prime95 tests.

Here are some first results

  • In default configuration the L9a is able to handle the 3700x in Prime95 v29. We have a all core boost of 4Ghz and temperatures are 80-85°C
  • With the yesterday released Gigabyte Bios update you are able setup fan profiles for the chipset fan. In silent mode the board is very silent.
  • I recommend to customize the fan curve in UEFI for the CPU, because in default configuration the fan act too aggressive. I recommend to setup: < 50°C = 30%, < 60°C = 50%, < 70°C = 70% and >80°C = 100%.

Today I will test PCIe 4.0 and will do more detailed temp testing.
 

JustinDulay

Caliper Novice
May 3, 2019
29
23
In default configuration the L9a is able to handle the 3700x in Prime95 v29. We have a all core boost of 4Ghz and temperatures are 80-85°C

Thank you for testing this! Is this with fan duct or without it? 80-85 in Prime is actually good for the L9a, given that the system won't be stressed that much in normal use cases.
 

Pouascail

Efficiency Noob
Jul 18, 2019
5
5
If I had to guess, the frond USB-C headers can't deliver enough power. Might be the mobo header causing this.
As it uses the basic USB 3.0 header on the motherboard, this might occur with the normal USB port on the v3 etc too.
Hello All
I'am an Happy user of a V4 from France,

Regarding Usb-C front port I experience problems too, in fact it doesn't work, what I plug into no Windows ding-dong or life sign

The cable I use works well with another computer, phone... ,

The internal port seems not to be the culprit (mobo Asus Strix B450i) because it works good if I use the usb 3 bracket from my previous node 304 front panel.

Sorry for my bad english ;)

Have a nice day.
 

AlexTSG

Master of Cramming
Jun 17, 2018
599
590
www.youtube.com
Today I got my 3700X, Gigabyte X570 ITX and RX 5700. I plan to test PCIe 4.0 compatibility with all Risers of all A4-SFX generation (3M Riser, Lian Li Riser & ADT Riser). Furthermore I will validate the cooling performance of the Noctua L9a on the 3700X .

Yesterday I installed Windows Updates, Bios Updates and drivers to have a good base line for further testing. I also did some quick Prime95 tests.

Here are some first results


  • In default configuration the L9a is able to handle the 3700x in Prime95 v29. We have a all core boost of 4Ghz and temperatures are 80-85°C
  • With the yesterday released Gigabyte Bios update you are able setup fan profiles for the chipset fan. In silent mode the board is very silent.
  • I recommend to customize the fan curve in UEFI for the CPU, because in default configuration the fan act too aggressive. I recommend to setup: < 50°C = 30%, < 60°C = 50%, < 70°C = 70% and >80°C = 100%.

Today I will test PCIe 4.0 and will do more detailed temp testing.

This looks very promising. I've always loved the look of the A4 and it's compact size, but I was considering waiting for the C4 because I doubted a processor this powerful would run well in the A4, especially with an air cooler.

PCIe 4.0 compatibility would be nice to have over the riser, but I don't think there will be any real performance difference from PCIe 3.0 until we have much more powerful graphics cards, at least not for gaming.

Thanks for the continuous improvements and testing you put into this case @dondan
 

dondan

Shrink Ray Wielder
Original poster
DAN Cases
Feb 23, 2015
1,977
8,378
@Pouascail @tarfeef101 @SoulTribunal

Every device that like to handle the connection by itself will not work. The reason is that you use a USB-C port on an USB3.0 internal controller that was designed for USB-A.

A USB-C mouse, keyboard, flashdrives and many smartphones will work. But some hubs with advanced features and also some smart phones does not work. For example my Galaxy S9 does not work because there is media controller hub in it that like to handle the connection. On the other side the Huawei P20 Mate Pro works without a problem. On some android devices it help to activate USB debugging. For the S9 there is also a trick. Use the included USB-C to A cable and connect it to the included A-to-C adapter.

In the first step I thought it was a problem of my cable but I ordered different USB-C to internal 20pin cables from different vendors and all of them work the same.

I can say that the next v4 batch that is in production will not have the internal 20pin cable it will have the new USB3.1 key-A connector this will solve these "problems" but will create a new one: The number of boards featuring a key-a header is very low.
 

GucksTV

Airflow Optimizer
Mar 13, 2018
241
495
www.youtube.com
My little buildlog inside the DAN A4-SFX V4 is online...:)
RYZEN 3600 + Asetek 645LT on a MSI B450I and to complete the 7nm goodness a RX 5700 XT!
By the way: the 3600 runs with 1.35v LCC4 SOC 1.1v @4.1GHz all-core Prime stable!
After the manual OC the TDP goes from 65W up to the 90s while the temps are under control!

 

jrkd

Minimal Tinkerer
Jul 16, 2019
4
0
To get a real thermal improvement with the black ridge you need VLP ram and a 120mm fan under it. So the easy way would be the Noctua L9i or LP53 with fan duct.
Ive seen people mention this in a few places, but everyone generally mentions it without specifics. Has anyone done a vid or benchmarks on sff for it?
@dondan, do you know of the best 120mm fan that would fit in the A4 SFX with the black ridge?
 

kanth

Trash Compacter
Feb 20, 2019
52
13
Heya guys , may I ask , I got custom cables , the 24pin is about 150mm long , I guess the Asetek 645 won't fit with those huh ?