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DAN C4-SFX

Oggie

Average Stuffer
Apr 25, 2023
65
54
hi all, already received the case, now planning on the components.
I intend to use the following parts, any issue I should worry about?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D12L 60.09 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock B650E PG-ITX WIFI Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce GTX 1080 8 GB Video Card (I'm planning on keeping my existing card for the short term)
Power Supply: Corsair SF750 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply
Case Fan: Noctua A14 PWM x3
Looks good to me
 
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Albatross1486

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 9, 2023
100
76
From pictures in this build with 4090 FE, which has dimensions 304 x 137 x61 it seem to have room for 138 width, or am i missing someething?
Maybe I'm missing something, I'd want to check with someone who has a GPU that large. If you have the ability to return the GPU easily, sure, be a guinea pig for the rest of us!
 

m4nii

Trash Compacter
Feb 22, 2022
45
53
It's done (almost) - at least everythings inside, every cable connected, pressure test done. I now need to fill the loop, then i wanna let it sit for a while before POSTing first time.

Building the dual-rad setup is not easy. I'm glad that i ordered the enterprise quick connects, the allow me to take out everything without needing to drain the loop (again). But putting it all together was quite a hassle. Figuring out how to route, where to put a tube, which way i wanna go with which adapter etc. That's why I did order (a bit...) too much stuff from alphacool, cause i just could not plan it. Also the tubes are neccessary if you wanna take of the side rad to get into the case - which is quite easy now. It's also mixed with 13/10 and 16/10, cause in some areas there just was no place to put a 16/10, but otherwise in some areas i needed a tight bend which is impossible with the 13/10 (some bends look on the pics tighter than they really are :-)).

Now i'm trying to fill it (not yet 100% sure how) - then comes some testing and if it works some more details about the build :-)

 

Antioch

Trash Compacter
Oct 15, 2019
51
17
It's done (almost) ...
Are you getting any turbulence noises from the fans being sandwiched between the radiator and the side/top panels?

Also, your loop looks overly complex. Was it not possible to, for example, connect the in/out tubes on the bottom of the top radiator rather than routing around to the top?

And yes, it does look like a tough job to get all that in there -- but you are packing in a LOT of radiators. 30mm on the top and 45mm on the side. I imagine life would be easier with a 20mm on top and a 30mm on the side?
 

Mitohondri

Caliper Novice
Dec 14, 2021
30
26
Maybe I'm missing something, I'd want to check with someone who has a GPU that large. If you have the ability to return the GPU easily, sure, be a guinea pig for the rest of us!
Well I found this post below, so if this card fits with 336 x 142 x 78 mm dimensions, then I guess mine will also fit with 320 x 138 x 74 mm :)

ComputerOrbit or OverclockersUK




Holy .... looks like the

MSI RTX 4090 Suprim fits. This will also meant the MSI RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio fits.


 

Wolfe1

Trash Compacter
Dec 12, 2019
41
58
Well I found this post below, so if this card fits with 336 x 142 x 78 mm dimensions, then I guess mine will also fit with 320 x 138 x 74 mm :)
FYI I believe the Suprim fit because the shroud dips on the sides a bit so it doesn't make contact with whatever it would hit near the end. If the 7900XT you are looking at does something similar then it could fit as well.
 

m4nii

Trash Compacter
Feb 22, 2022
45
53
Are you getting any turbulence noises from the fans being sandwiched between the radiator and the side/top panels?

Also, your loop looks overly complex. Was it not possible to, for example, connect the in/out tubes on the bottom of the top radiator rather than routing around to the top?

And yes, it does look like a tough job to get all that in there -- but you are packing in a LOT of radiators. 30mm on the top and 45mm on the side. I imagine life would be easier with a 20mm on top and a 30mm on the side?
I need that extra bit of flexibility of the tubes and the moveable 90° fittings so i can for example take of the side panel - see following pic - would not be possible if i would have connected it to the bottom side of the radiator:



That pic was taken with loop already filled an pumping (using external PSU, not risking grilling the internal one cause of some leakage... :))

But I'm pretty sure that there'll always be some improvements - and i'm not yet (finally) done. I already spent hours on that build - was by far the best solution i could at the moment come up with.

[Edit] already found first improvement, gonna rebuild tonight, also glad i did use the external psu - one of the connections above the psu was leaking, onto the psu. Thats in fact something i'm not happy about, having those water connections directly above the psu connectors. Maybe I'm trying to front-mount the psu...
 
Last edited:
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Albatross1486

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 9, 2023
100
76
My C4 is in the USA!
Browsing my local MC, they have the Asus B650E-I open box, and not the Giga. It's frankly tempting, since it's cheaper and if there's any issue, I can return it and they'll have gotten some Giga stock.
 
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Antioch

Trash Compacter
Oct 15, 2019
51
17
I need that extra bit of flexibility of the tubes and the moveable 90° fittings so i can for example take of the side panel - see following pic - would not be possible if i would have connected it to the bottom side of the radiator:


Hmm, I also assumed that the connections to the side-radiator would be on the inside face of the radiator as opposed to the outside/panel facing side as is typical in dual rad loops in these size cases. Why are the side-radiator connections not on the inside? No space (because of thick radiator)?

Am asking because I intend to do a similar dual-rad custom loop, though I'll be going with a 20mm on the top and a 30mm on the side.

Let us know how the front mount goes (pics, please!).
 

Antioch

Trash Compacter
Oct 15, 2019
51
17
@m4nii By the way, could you measure this distance? I wonder if it is even possible to fit a 4080/4090 waterblock with the connectors on the "top" side (the traditional location) in this case?
 

m4nii

Trash Compacter
Feb 22, 2022
45
53
@m4nii By the way, could you measure this distance? I wonder if it is even possible to fit a 4080/4090 waterblock with the connectors on the "top" side (the traditional location) in this case?
No, i would say its not possible with top mounted ports, its 10mm.

On the side radiator i have the inlet (coming from cpu) mounted at the bottom inside, the outlet on the top outside. The two reasons as stated before: Quick Connects and Tube to move the radiator around a bit.

I'm already waiting to see how others solve the dual rad setup. There are compromises to make.

Now i think i'm gonna fire it up using my alternate psu - powered from the outside - i want to let the other one dry till tomorrow :-)
 

grum

Efficiency Noob
May 29, 2023
7
10
I'm planning on using this MB as well, did you build with it in the C4? Any issue to highlight?
No issues so far, make sure to plug in the top intakes before the GPU though and I personally have the m.2 heatsink fan unplugged since #1 I need the fan header #2 it's supposedly annoying/loud #3 screwing it back in after installing the ssd is pretty hard.
 

JoeG

Efficiency Noob
May 16, 2023
5
2
Hey everyone, finally managed to finish building (first motherboard had a bent pin 😞), but since I'm a novice to this I'm not sure if I'm doing everything right. I have a 4090FE, 2 slim fans above, D12L and side exhaust if that helps with the below.

I've got Windows installed successfully, and I've tried setting up something called "FanControl" that everyone seems to recommend even though I've no idea what I'm doing with it. I've set it up like this:


Is this a normal CPU temp for just desktop/browser use? I took some photos when I was building so could share them if they're useful at all.

Thanks for reading everyone!
 

Oggie

Average Stuffer
Apr 25, 2023
65
54
Hey everyone, finally managed to finish building (first motherboard had a bent pin 😞), but since I'm a novice to this I'm not sure if I'm doing everything right. I have a 4090FE, 2 slim fans above, D12L and side exhaust if that helps with the below.

I've got Windows installed successfully, and I've tried setting up something called "FanControl" that everyone seems to recommend even though I've no idea what I'm doing with it. I've set it up like this:


Is this a normal CPU temp for just desktop/browser use? I took some photos when I was building so could share them if they're useful at all.

Thanks for reading everyone!
Great software that, here is little guide that I've found useful.
 
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Flash

Cable Smoosher
May 18, 2023
12
8
This was the first PC I've fully built, so I made a short video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/B_C3SHStCEg - with Dan's recommended airflow setup.
Components: Asus Z790-I, i5 13600KF, 4080FE, Corsair 32gb @6000mhz, NH-D12L, Samsung 990 Pro 1tb/2tb, Corsair SF750, NF-A14 industrial-2000 PWM, 2x NF-A12x15 and 2x NA-SYC1.
Mistakes (lessons learned):
  • Bought the wrong fans. I've wanted to build this PC for so long that some of the specs have been lost on the way, one of them was the GPU overall max height (3.9slots ~ 79mm), so I bought 3x NF-A14 industrial-2000 PWM. Obviously I couldn't fit the 2 fans above the GPU since with a 4080FE the max clearance is about 19-20mm and the fans were 25mm. Ali does say in his video "slim 120mm fans", however what led me through the wrong rabbit hole is the description where it said "Noctua Slim 140mm" (which don't exist).
  • Used the wrong screws. The front panel snaps in over the right side fan bracket and on the left side over the PSU bracket. If you use thicker screws to mount them (by accident) the front panel won't naturally fit. I forced it in and made some tiny scratches, luckily they are on the inside. Lesson learned: "if it doesn't fit, it's probably your fault"
  • Misplaced fan connector. I plugged in the exhaust fan in the AIO pump header. Not sure if this should have worked, but with my motherboard (Asus Z790-I) I only got a black screen when booting up the PC - had no video output. There was a recent post with a black screen when booting up. I'm not sure what the issue was there, but maybe it was similar. (I hope you fixed it, guy!)
  • Did not realize I needed fan splitters (NA-SYC1). Only when I finished assembling the PC I realized I don't have enough headers to plug in all my fans. Luckily they ship fast.
Thoughts: When you open the case for the first time, the quality feels (and is) amazing! The build can be challenging at times, but since this was my first build, I'd say it is pretty straightforward and intuitive. I've followed the case manual for the most part. The only unanswered questions I had were related to other components, and with a few Google searches, you do find every answer.

Thank you, Dan, and everyone who was involved in creating the case and the community, for your quick feedback. <3
 

Albatross1486

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 9, 2023
100
76
A note for those, like myself, who were considering Gigabyte boards: https://www.wired.com/story/gigabyte-motherboard-firmware-backdoor/
Actual security link: https://eclypsium.com/blog/supply-chain-risk-from-gigabyte-app-center-backdoor/

To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't have a lot of options in ITX; Asus is putting the sus into their name with the AMD burning up issue, and I am using AMD. Plus their Armory Crate software feels similar to the Gigabyte issue in terms of security holes. Asrock has a decent board but the use of USB 2.0 is frustrating (I mean, really, it's 2023 how do you justify putting 4 USB 2.0 ports on the back), MSI is...OK? Both MSI and Asrock feel too expensive for the features though? I'm still so torn.
 

Oggie

Average Stuffer
Apr 25, 2023
65
54
A note for those, like myself, who were considering Gigabyte boards: https://www.wired.com/story/gigabyte-motherboard-firmware-backdoor/
Actual security link: https://eclypsium.com/blog/supply-chain-risk-from-gigabyte-app-center-backdoor/

To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't have a lot of options in ITX; Asus is putting the sus into their name with the AMD burning up issue, and I am using AMD. Plus their Armory Crate software feels similar to the Gigabyte issue in terms of security holes. Asrock has a decent board but the use of USB 2.0 is frustrating (I mean, really, it's 2023 how do you justify putting 4 USB 2.0 ports on the back), MSI is...OK? Both MSI and Asrock feel too expensive for the features though? I'm still so torn.
Seen that this morning, crazy. Regarding Asus board I was also concerned but to be fair it's really good board so far, updated to latest bios and SOC voltage doesn't go above 1.24 so they have fixed that. Also when you first install windows on first home screen it asks you if you want to install armour crate and I chose no. Not a beep about it since then.