I just looked at what Microcenter has for AM5 mATX boards and...the features are pretty underwhelming, to be honest. Yes, it's a bigger pool, and that often means cheaper, but that's about it. I couldn't find any B650 boards (in-stock, at least) that had 2x or more USB-C, they have more USB-A and more fan headers, but that's about it. 2x M.2 is pretty standard, and you have 4 RAM slots, but that's not really a huge deal for most people. I feel like ITX boards have to cater to people who are building really specific things, so they are feature packed. You might have to choose a different brand to get what you value, but all of the boards seem to offer something the others don't have. mATX is just...like cheap ATX boards, but smaller.
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DAN C4-SFX
- Thread starter dondan
- Start date
Not sure flat pack is of any real benefit to a system builder - who's going to pack it away again?
I get it as a strategy for a supplier to increase margins though - you save on assembly cost plus can cram a lot more units into a single container and bring down shipping costs significantly.
I do think the two cases are significantly different from what we know of - I don't see too much of a crossover and I certainly wouldn't be interested in a v2 unless it significantly cheaper enough to justify using one for a build for my son, for whom I tend to buy mATX
I get it as a strategy for a supplier to increase margins though - you save on assembly cost plus can cram a lot more units into a single container and bring down shipping costs significantly.
I do think the two cases are significantly different from what we know of - I don't see too much of a crossover and I certainly wouldn't be interested in a v2 unless it significantly cheaper enough to justify using one for a build for my son, for whom I tend to buy mATX
Before going itx, all my builds use to be matx. Always had enough features I needed and happy with it. Also none of those child boards that are becoming popular with modern itx boards....that trend will only increase. As I said more choice better imo.
Sorry guys, I am a bit late but between job and everything else I didn't have time to post.
So, here's my build:
- Ryzen 7900 (w/PBO enabled/tuned) // Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme thermal Paste
- Asus B650E-I Strix
- 32GB DDR5 G.Skill Flare X5 6000
- Samsung 980 Pro 2TB as main drive
- 4TB Kingston NV2 as secondary SSD drive
- 4TB Samsung 870 QVO SATA SSD drive
- AMD RX6800 Reference GPU
- Two Arctic P12s slim on top as intake for the GPU
- Corsair SF750
- Noctua A9x14 as exhaust/intake
- EK Nucleus 240 Dark AIO
Some pictures:
Some comments:
- The case build quality is awesome. Feels sturdy, push-pin panels are a breeze to work with. Internal layout makes working very easy.
Only advice, from a customer perspective I'd give to @dondan is to improve a bit the quality of screws. Nothing else to report.
- I was able to install the EK AIO with the two fans in push. Tubing a little bit tight but perfectly doable. There's enough space for a 92mm fan as you can see from the pictures.
- Cable management was definitely easy, although the size RX6800 helped on the GPU side.
- Funny thing, installing a splitter in the CPU_FAN header of the motherboard makes a strange thing with some electrical contacts I guess, and my primary Samsung 980 Pro disappears
from the bootable drives list
- Still running some tests, but the R9 7900 is a great CPU. With some tweaks on PBO ( I was not particularly lucky with the silicon lottery as I can only set a all cores value of -15 in the
curve optimizer, even if ryzen master says -20 should be doable), and a temp limit of 80 °C, I am easily at 29k in Cinebench R23. I'll test slightly lower temp limits. The EK AIO does a
great job, maybe with T30s or silent wings pro 4, some more improvements can be found. The CPU in stock conditions idles at 31 °C, with PBO enables it's at 50 °C.
- Adjusting the fan curve with FanControl makes the system almost inaudible in common operations. While gaming the P12fan on top are a little noisy, but since I am using headphones (audio tecnica M50X), nothing to worry about. In any case I will replace them in the future with some other models.
- My desk now is much cleaner than before
I also replaced the monitor arm with a Arctic X1 3D, although now the cables are completely hidden (differently from the picture)
All in all, this was my first mITX build. I will stay on this format for a very long time
PS: I am starting to have this crazy idea of delidding and goind direct die cooling. But for now, I'll just enjoy the system as it is
So, here's my build:
- Ryzen 7900 (w/PBO enabled/tuned) // Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme thermal Paste
- Asus B650E-I Strix
- 32GB DDR5 G.Skill Flare X5 6000
- Samsung 980 Pro 2TB as main drive
- 4TB Kingston NV2 as secondary SSD drive
- 4TB Samsung 870 QVO SATA SSD drive
- AMD RX6800 Reference GPU
- Two Arctic P12s slim on top as intake for the GPU
- Corsair SF750
- Noctua A9x14 as exhaust/intake
- EK Nucleus 240 Dark AIO
Some pictures:
Some comments:
- The case build quality is awesome. Feels sturdy, push-pin panels are a breeze to work with. Internal layout makes working very easy.
Only advice, from a customer perspective I'd give to @dondan is to improve a bit the quality of screws. Nothing else to report.
- I was able to install the EK AIO with the two fans in push. Tubing a little bit tight but perfectly doable. There's enough space for a 92mm fan as you can see from the pictures.
- Cable management was definitely easy, although the size RX6800 helped on the GPU side.
- Funny thing, installing a splitter in the CPU_FAN header of the motherboard makes a strange thing with some electrical contacts I guess, and my primary Samsung 980 Pro disappears
from the bootable drives list
- Still running some tests, but the R9 7900 is a great CPU. With some tweaks on PBO ( I was not particularly lucky with the silicon lottery as I can only set a all cores value of -15 in the
curve optimizer, even if ryzen master says -20 should be doable), and a temp limit of 80 °C, I am easily at 29k in Cinebench R23. I'll test slightly lower temp limits. The EK AIO does a
great job, maybe with T30s or silent wings pro 4, some more improvements can be found. The CPU in stock conditions idles at 31 °C, with PBO enables it's at 50 °C.
- Adjusting the fan curve with FanControl makes the system almost inaudible in common operations. While gaming the P12fan on top are a little noisy, but since I am using headphones (audio tecnica M50X), nothing to worry about. In any case I will replace them in the future with some other models.
- My desk now is much cleaner than before
I also replaced the monitor arm with a Arctic X1 3D, although now the cables are completely hidden (differently from the picture)All in all, this was my first mITX build. I will stay on this format for a very long time
PS: I am starting to have this crazy idea of delidding and goind direct die cooling. But for now, I'll just enjoy the system as it is
I have a 7900X that I'm running tweaked. Per my notes I set mine to -30, and cranked down the limits as well. Looks like R23 score last I looked was in the 26k range, just because I'm on air and wanted to keep things quieter. It does a great job though!
Are you using custom PSU cables? I had to install the PSU upside down because the mobo power cables were blocking it when trying the proper orientation so now the PSU is exhausting into the case:
Had the same conundrum. SF1000L stock cables were fine for everything except the 4090, the bend was going to be way too janky. Decided to go with the Loki but still feeling a little bit uncomfortable having a bend so close to the 12VHPWR connector. Cablemod sells a right angle 16pin to 16pin cable compatible with the Loki. Corsairs new micro connectors are great but are tough to find any custom cables (especially outside of the super expensive ones Corsair sells directly).
Any plans for a version that is wider? I think that a version that could accommodate Noctua d15 would be very popular among people who aircool their cpu.
Try mounting direct to the case instead of the PSU cage - using the SATA mount area?
1) Hello, the case is no longer in stock at Caseking. How do I get the case ? In germany austria
2) 240 AIO against Noctua NH-D12L. Can you say roughly how much cooler quieter the case by the AIO and whether it is worth it from the euro surcharge. Never had AIO and am afraid of things I do not know but I go the high temps of AMD in singlecore on the pooper. Would like to do my best possible against it. CPU will most likely be a 7800x3d
2) 240 AIO against Noctua NH-D12L. Can you say roughly how much cooler quieter the case by the AIO and whether it is worth it from the euro surcharge. Never had AIO and am afraid of things I do not know but I go the high temps of AMD in singlecore on the pooper. Would like to do my best possible against it. CPU will most likely be a 7800x3d
Since the V1 and V2 will have such different aesthetics and also slightly different capabilities, I don‘t think they would have cannibalized each other and shops wouldn‘t have been sitting on stockpiles of „old“ V1 cases if they were to exist simultaneously. I think it‘s too soon to judge about the look since it‘s just a preview, but I for one currently like the look of the V1 more. That alone would be reason enough for me personally to get the v1 instead of the 2.
Will the V2 have rounded/beveled edges on the front left and right like the v1 @dondan ? When packaging costs are reduced due to the flat packaging, will the 2 be a little cheaper than the 1?
Will the V2 have rounded/beveled edges on the front left and right like the v1 @dondan ? When packaging costs are reduced due to the flat packaging, will the 2 be a little cheaper than the 1?
Not sure if this is even a viable solution, but maybe we can find some middle ground for those who aren't partial to the V2's aesthetics by offering 2 different "shells." Similar to how Ncase is offering different panels for the M1EVO. 2 different external configs for V2, where the second replicates the appearance of V1. So all the internal improvements made for V2, but with the aesthetics of V1?
"v2.0" from the issued renders (squared edges, wrapover mesh, different base), looks completely different and unless that changes it's a new case not an improved version, no matter the claim.You order it sometime next year
With the best will in the world, why believe any timescales when its taken years to release the product then only to discontinue it immediately and not even send promised supply to a major market (USA)? Why would anyone believe they'd be any more successful in ordering the "better" one?
People seem to be tiptoeing around Dan on this, but sometimes you have to be straight with someone. IMO you made the wrong call and it's not acceptable from a premium/boutique supplier. You got brilliant media coverage from major tech YouTube channels and seem to be just flushing that good PR down the toilet.
I really feel for the people who've been waiting all this time and have missed out.
I thought the whole idea of being boutique is to be small and limited? I can only imagine if he did open up another V1 run, just to appease the masses, there would be so many angry purchases involved. Like screw this guy...but also, here's my money. That says something.
I do agree, comms could have been better about the exclusivity of it all but I'm just going to play devil's advocate here. Dan, if you want to be the Yeezy of dope ITX drops, you do you man and I'm all for it. I just got done with the Slate Case run and they only made around 200 units before going back to the drawing board for V2. That's boutique.
This MF'er produces and squeezes 1,500 - 2,000 units in a container for a first run and sells all of them. If you only want to do designs and improve upon them, keep designing. They have exclusive releases for keyboards so why not cases. V2 could be hideous and you know what, it'd probably sell out at this point especially if it outperforms or does more than v1. Keep at it you beautiful bastard.
There's a world of difference between "I'm only making x of these, you should pre-order here" and saying you're launching a case, making people wait years and then deciding and telling them after launch that you're only doing one small run, especially when your previous case is still being made and has had multiple iterations/runs with small revisions.
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