Dan A4 Ultimate Cooling Setup: i7-9700k @ 5.2GHz!!! Kits available for preorder!

LoserCard

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 22, 2019
12
20
ALL PREORDER SLOTS CURRENTLY FULL! Preorders will resume once all current orders have been fulfilled.

Hi All,

Prefix: I'm new here and I mostly post in the subreddit r/sffpc. I wanted to share my build on this forum because I feel that anyone that wants uncompromised performance from the Dan A4 might want to follow the same upgrade route as me. Please note that this build is highly customized and requires both custom wiring and 3D printed parts. I will be selling upgrade "kits" that include everything to complete this mod including custom wires (information found below). Also the best part of this mod is it requires no permanent changes to the case. Anyways... enjoy!

Summary: I have always wanted a powerful PC that is easy to transport but I was always unsatisfied because I had to make the compromise of either: A. Not enough cooling potential or B. Being too large/heavy to easily transport. After countless hours of researching all of my possible case options, I came to the conclusion that the Dan A4 V4 with a 645LT was the best route to check all my boxes however I was still not satisfied with the level of performance that all users reported using the commonly known NF-A9x14 mounted to the radiator. I started looking at options of high power Delta fans in the same form factor. This improved thermals at the cost of loud operation. I began looking for alternatives to this which turned out to be a giant rabbit hole that took hours of research, designing, prototyping, and money. Now after about a month and half of work I can now reveal the final product... I present to you:

Dan A4 Ultimate Cooling:


Specs:
  • i7-9700k 5.2GHz @1.380v (4.7GHz downclock for sustained stress test with TJ max set to 80C)
  • ASRock Phantom Gaming ITX Z390
  • Asetek 645LT w/ Cooler Master Blade Master 92 (92x25mm)
  • 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200 CL16
  • Intel 660p 1TB M.2 SSD
  • Corsair SF750 Platinum w/ Custom Ultra Low Profile Unsleeved Cables
  • EVGA RTX 2080 XC Black 8GB
  • Noctua NF-A9x14 (under motherboard set as intake)
Overview of the mod: Basically what this mod does is it allows a 25mm high static pressure fan to be used in a Dan A4. You may ask, how can you fit a 25mm fan when normal users can hardly fit a slim NF-A9x14 fan? The key is custom ultra low profile PSU cables in conjunction with inverting the fan position (mounted under the radiator) and raising the PSU by 6mm. You can follow the progress of this mod from my Reddit posts:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Now there are some pros and cons to this mod which I will list out below:
  • PRO: This mod obviously allows a much larger cooling headroom than the NF-A9x14.
  • PRO: This mod makes installation and disassembly MUCH easier than the normal fan and radiator orientation (full case can be disassembled and reassembled in about 10 minutes).
  • PRO: This mod provides much more room to route the radiator hoses which have a dual effect: Able to use any height RAM (that is normally compatible with the Dan A4) and the hoses have very minimal pressure against the side panels which stops that annoying gap that is caused normally.
  • PRO: This mod allows you to use ALL 8 pin clips. Normally you must remove the front most bottom pin clips to make room for the radiator and thus exacerbating the panel gap.
  • CON: This mod reduces the maximum height of GPUs compatible to 130MM (as opposed to normal 144MM max height). Please note, this should only affect really tall GPUs such as the EVGA FTW3 and some other really tall cards.
  • CON: Due to the raised height of the GPU, the top most port is blocked off. If this connector is important to you, you will want to avoid this mod.
  • CON: GPUs that have any raised sections on the PCI bracket need to be replaced with flat PCI brackets. (These can be found on eBay or other online sites).
==================================================================

Moderators, please let me know if this is appropriate to post the information below in this forum or if you can direct me to remove the below section and list in a different selling subforum.

As for the mod kit, I will be selling the kit for about $170-$200. This may provide sticker shock for some but keep in mind, the largest chunk of the mod is the custom wiring kit and should be inline with other custom wiring kits. Here is the breakdown:
  • Ultra Low Profile PSU Cables
    • $50 - Motherboard Cable
    • $20 - 4+4 EPS Cable
    • $20 - 6+2 PCI-E Cable (price per cable)
    • $10 - SATA Cable
  • $14 - Cooler Master Blade Master 92
  • $1 - 92MM Black Metal Fan Grill
  • $15 - Custom PSU Bracket
    • (4) Brass Threaded Inserts M3
  • $15 - Custom Radiator Fan Spacer
    • (2) #6-32 x 1 3/8" Screw
    • (2) #6-32 x 1 1/4" Screw
    • (2) #6-32 x 1/4" Screw
    • (2) #6-32 Threaded Insert
  • $5 - Custom Retention Backet
  • $10 - Custom GPU Riser Bracket
    • (6) M3x0.5x5 Screw
    • (2) Brass Threaded Inserts M3
  • $5 - Custom GPU PCI Clip
  • $5 - Custom GPU PCI Spacer
    • (2) M3x0.5x16 Screw
  • $10 - Shipping/packaging
$200 total (w/ 2 x PCI-E and 1 x SATA)
$190 total (w/ 2 x PCI-E and no SATA)
$170 total (w/ 1x PCI-E and no SATA)

First 4 preorders receive a 10% discount!


I am looking to only take on 4 preorders at the moment due to custom cabling being made to order. Preorders will be handled in the order in which they are placed and I will work with each customer personally throughout the process to ensure that everything is made to the customer specification. Expect 2-3 week turnaround time for each customer in the order in which they preordered. This post will be cross posted to Reddit r/sffpc so please message me on either location to get your preorder in.

After I have completed the 4 preorders I will take on additional orders with existing stock so turnaround can be quicker.

Also, here are two additional kits outside of the preorder timeline above for those who just want the PSU bracket to allow for better airflow and cable management or for those who want to build your own wiring kits:

$20 - PSU Bracket Alone (Shipped price)
$80 - Full kit minus custom wiring (you build your own wiring - Shipped price)
 
Last edited:

thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
i want to liquid cool the a4-sfx build. is this still needed with v4.1?

you can use the Asetek 645LT + a 92mm fan that is 14/15mm thick without this mod. This mod is specifically to use that AIO with a 92mm fan that is 25mm thick. So no this is not needed.
 
Last edited:

jaeparku

Cable-Tie Ninja
Oct 19, 2018
230
116
just go for 1 L more and settle for Ghost which would allow you to fit L12 to sufficiently cool this thing.
 

jaeparku

Cable-Tie Ninja
Oct 19, 2018
230
116
I just went with a Formula X1 - 0.3L more for L12/BR 2 fans config :)

hey bro! I've been looking into this case. WOW. It's amazing.

Quick question. How many case fans can you fit in there without a tophat, and, it says 65mm cpu cooler height. Would my 66mm L12 fit in there?
 

thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
hey bro! I've been looking into this case. WOW. It's amazing.

Quick question. How many case fans can you fit in there without a tophat, and, it says 65mm cpu cooler height. Would my 66mm L12 fit in there?
you can check my signature for the builds :)
  • I imagine it would fit or worst case you bend the pipe (only 1mm) like how people bending L12S to fit in the Ghost S1 haha. Personally I'm waiting for the L12 Ghost edition to launch and replace the BR with it.
  • Without the tophat, you can fit up to 2 fans at the same time in the PSU area - 1 above and 1 below. This is because (1) the PSU bracket is mounted on strip, allowing height adjustment, and (2) the internal power cable has a low profile plug. Specifically:
    • The fan above the PSU has to be slim - Noctua NF-A12x15 works, but slimmer fans such as Scythe Slip stream are easier to install and is recommended by the official spec/listing.
    • The fan below the PSU can be up to the normal thickness (25mm) - I have the Corsair ML120 Pro Red LED in there right now, but custom slim cables (with low profile connectors) are life-saver, otherwise you'll have to spend hours like I did bending and routing the stock cables. If you go with slim fans then stock cables work just fine because you have an extra 10mm to work with
 
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jaeparku

Cable-Tie Ninja
Oct 19, 2018
230
116
you can check my signature for the builds :)
  • I imagine it would fit or worst case you bend the pipe (only 1mm) like how people bending L12S to fit in the Ghost S1 haha. Personally I'm waiting for the L12 Ghost edition to launch and replace the BR with it.
  • Without the tophat, you can fit up to 2 fans at the same time in the PSU area - 1 above and 1 below. This is because (1) the PSU bracket is mounted on strip, allowing height adjustment, and (2) the internal power cable has a low profile plug. Specifically:
    • The fan above the PSU has to be slim - Noctua NF-A12x15 works, but slimmer fans such as Scythe Slip stream are easier to install and is recommended by the official spec/listing.
    • The fan below the PSU can be up to the normal thickness (25mm) - I have the Corsair ML120 Pro Red LED in there right now, but custom slim cables (with low profile connectors) are life-saver, otherwise you'll have to spend hours like I did bending and routing the stock cables. If you go with slim fans then stock cables work just fine because you have an extra 10mm to work with

I'm definitely tempted. I currently have a Ghost S1, but I really love that power button and the ability to put 2 fans without a tophat.
 
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thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
I'm definitely tempted. I currently have a Ghost S1, but I really love that power button and the ability to put 2 fans without a tophat.
the Ghost has great designs, but I feel the Formula case has a few things that improve upon it and not just a straight up clones, that's why I pulled the trigger for it. And I'm pretty confident saying I would still take the X1 over the S1 MK3 from what I've seen thus far :)
 

jaeparku

Cable-Tie Ninja
Oct 19, 2018
230
116
the Ghost has great designs, but I feel the Formula case has a few things that improve upon it and not just a straight up clones, that's why I pulled the trigger for it. And I'm pretty confident saying I would still take the X1 over the S1 MK3 from what I've seen thus far :)

Did you have it shipped to US? It's already almost same price as Ghost, but shipping to US from China will make me pay $60 more....
 

thelaughingman

SFF Guru
Jul 14, 2018
1,413
1,566
Did you have it shipped to US? It's already almost same price as Ghost, but shipping to US from China will make me pay $60 more....
I'm next door to CN so total cost to me was only $224 :) Imagine shipping the Ghost to where I am would easily push the total cost to $350 so the saving is just fantastic.
 

Sencha

Case Bender
New User
Sep 15, 2021
2
0
Hey there!

I successfully print the parts based on the STL files.

Since I'm living in the EU, I could not find any US screws as required, since the #6-32 screw are highly uncommon here.

  • (2) #6-32 x 1 3/8" Screw
  • (2) #6-32 x 1 1/4" Screw
  • (2) #6-32 x 1/4" Screw

Could someone know where can I find them? I already looked at ebay, amazon or alibaba. On top, the mm of the screw head are unknown to me.

Thanks in advance.
 

LoserCard

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Mar 22, 2019
12
20
You can use coarse thread M3.5 screws but keep in mind that you will be cross threading (42 TPI vs 32 TPI) in the radiator.

The most important screws are for fastening the radiator which is what uses 6-32 1-1/4” and 1-3/8” screws. The 1/4” screws can be replaced with M3 or M3.5 since these are just screwing in to plastic or brass threaded insert.
 
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robbee

King of Cable Management
n3rdware
Bronze Supporter
Sep 24, 2016
855
1,335
Since I'm living in the EU, I could not find any US screws as required, since the #6-32 screw are highly uncommon here.

#6-32 is common in computer hardware (PSU's and 3.5 inch HDD's) so most (online) pc hardware stores stock them. Take a look at shops like Highflow, Conrad and the likes.