DAN C4-SFX

[TheClash]

Looking for some suggestions from people here. I'm in Australia and originally preordered the C4-SFX through PCCG. There was a whole issue around this as they really messed up and never put in orders or anything (you can search back through this thread for seeing details). Eventually they apparently got allocated the last of the black V1 cases so they could fulfil their orders, but their shipment date never changed from end of September.

I got contacted by them today to say that the date is being pushed again to January next year - but I'm pretty sure it was just a default "push a date back by a quarter and contact the customer" situation. They've offered a full refund on my order, or potentially a discount on a different case. The problem is that I bought my components around the C4-SFX and most ITX cases will not fit what I have. Most notably my Sapphire 7900XTX Nitro+.

I've been running my PC on top of the motherboard box for months now and I'm sick of dusting it so I'm looking to just get a different case and call it a day now - but I really can't seem to find much that can actually fit this 3.5 slot GPU without jumping up to like ~20L cases. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for what could fit? I'm willing to change my CPU cooler to accommodate, but buying a new GPU is not an option.

Hey mate, in the same boat as you now... PCCG are just the worst... I wonder where those black cases Case King sent them actually went...

I'm still in a bit of disbelief thay after saying they secured cases that they now don't have them. The email they sent seems way too generic and with no idea of the history of the situation.

Not a fun topic for @dondan but wonder if his case king contacts have any insight into those mystery cases.

 

[ReaperX22]

I joined purely to respond to the above re PCCG. I don't have a pre-order but asked about a potential ETA for restock and was functionally told 'go pick another case'... I was umming and ahhing about a new case (I have the original launch NCase M1, owned for a decade now, love it but wanted something new + will re-use my case for my partners PC). Settled finally on the C4 over the M1 Evo for a slightly cleaner? look IMO. Andddd yeah was told 'goodluck' ha.

I consider the A4 but costs more than the C4 and I'd need a new CPU cooler.. What a shame. Wish we had more companies who were able to obtain them in Aus!

 

[Covuk]

I consider the A4 but costs more than the C4 and I'd need a new CPU cooler.. What a shame. Wish we had more companies who were able to obtain them in Aus!

It wasn't just Aus - the USA didn't get any either from what I can tell. Basically only one container load was produced, which if full is around 1400 cases

 

[worky]

Update:

Timeline:
- The C4-SFX Batch1 production will be done on 22th march 2023
- container shipping to resellers will be 7 weeks
- local custom processing and shop arrival will be 1-2 weeks

The C4-SFX will be available mid may 2023 in the following shops:

EUROPE: Caseking and connected shops like (JIMMS.FI,GLOBALDATA.PT,Mindfactory s.o.
INTERNATIONAL: OverclockersUK and connected shops like (ComputerOrbit s.o,.)
JAPAN: Dirac
AUSTRALIA: PcCaseGear * should be available some weeks later

Direct US selling: I was not able to get a reseller in the US so I created myself a Newegg account today. I will test newegg with a smaller batches of cases in Q3 2023 on the offical DAN Cases newegg shop.

@dondan , is the planned Q3 Newegg release a go? will i be the C4-SFX v1 or another case? thanks!

 

[hrh_ginsterbusch]

The Meshroom S is in stock locally and seems like it would fit. I'm not sold on the aesthetic though.

The appearance in general or just the panels and stuff? Because the former issue could be fixed with custom 3d panels via Etsy or 3d printed at a local site. Other options include adding side / top / bottom extenders.

Personally I like the Meshi because its flexible AF (also see my build log, esp. the last few entries)

cu, w0lf.

 

[Covuk]

@dondan , is the planned Q3 Newegg release a go? will i be the C4-SFX v1 or another case? thanks!

v1 is sold out and Dan has already stated that no new v1 will be produced.

 

[jacobtc]

So, just got done installing a MSI RTX 4090 Trio X in the C4-SFX. It fits, but I had to remove the top bracket, which holds on the side and top panel on, this could then be installed afterwards by using a little violence. Also, there is absolutely no extra space in the front, the card pretty much touches the IO connectors

Pics:

 

[D90]

I am starting to see why Dan wanted to do a V2 . Unlikely any high end RTX5000 will fit in a V1 when they come out next year.

 

[ReaperX22]

It wasn't just Aus - the USA didn't get any either from what I can tell. Basically only one container load was produced, which if full is around 1400 cases

Ohhhh I see. Damn that's crap.. Optimum Tech's vid really sold me on this case.. Guess I'll wait for new orders of the M1 Evo to reopen. Just wanted something different! I'll deal with my 081 numbered OG Ncase M1! Hehe. (it's perhaps seen better days tho..)

 

[dondan]

Hello Decibel and SFF I made an account to post the same thing. I got my email today from PCCG. I'm very disappointed.

I feel sorry for you that you did not got an C4-SFX but I can only say it again and again - PCCG offered a product without having/ordering it (B2B point of view). Why is it my fault that PCCG placed no internal company order from Caseking? I pointed Caseking to this and forced them to send the last left black cases to them. This is all I can do on this. I do not have more insights!

I admit I'm new to ITX but it must be part of the scene that you get treated extremely badly by companies and then thank them for it.
Imagine any company building hype by working with consumers to design a wonderful product they all want, making sure that youtubers with enormous reach get review units, and then only selling a single container.
He let us down.
The C4 costs three times more than an n200

I drive DAN Cases next to my normal job so you can't compare me with companies like CoolerMaster with hundreds of employees. I try to make well thought and innovate products that does give a real benefit to the world of computer cases.
I need to build up a hype train to increase the chance to sell my self financed highly risky production runs. If I not sell out it could easily break the company.

I don’t think I do treat my customers bad because even today I do free RMAs for old A4-SFX cases that long left warranty and sold on ebay to new customers that are missing case parts. I help customers with build problems even if their are not case related. I offer up to date example hardware configurations on my website. I give insights in my product dev and give update on my progress.

You are right availability could be much improved but I have to balance order process, development and my free time to keep that all in balance and reduce my risk sitting on unsold cases. Also, I am not very good on holding timelines this is mostly caused because I do not do DAN Cases in fulltime.
While you praise products like the nr200 – keep in mind it only exists because these “bad” SFF companies created the market for it. The nr200 is based on the M1 idea and the Terra is based on the A4-SFX idea.

His excuses are so self serving it's embarrassing, there is zero benefit to us in flat packs, that benefits him only

Flat pack is only one of the "features" the v2 will have. The main advantage of flat pack is that you do not ship empty space around the world. This is very important for an economic pov and will also reduce shipping costs for customers and resellers. For me as a company flat pack is much more risky than a benefit. The cases will not be assembled in the factory so quality problems are much harder to notice.

 

[Rem Freeman]

Flat pack is only one of the "features" the v2 will have. The main advantage of flat pack is that you do not ship empty space around the world. This is very important for an economic pov and will also reduce shipping costs for customers and resellers. For me as a company flat pack is much more risky than a benefit. The cases will not be assembled in the factory so quality problems are much harder to notice.

Hey @dondan thanks for the large reply and clarification. As someone else who was late to the C4 buy, I'm very much looking forward to the v2 build and a lot of this information will be useful in helping to make sure I'm buying from a reputable source. In regards to the flat pack that is being raised, while I definitely see how it would result in cheaper shipping costs to customers, I wasn't aware that it increased the QA issues during production. Speaking as a buyer who would much prefer paying more for shipping to ensure there were no issues with my case, is this something you're already sold on or are you still toying with the idea? Thanks so much and I can't wait to see more v2 renders in the future!!

 

[TokyoTimmy]

I drive DAN Cases next to my normal job so you can't compare me with companies like CoolerMaster with hundreds of employees. I try to make well thought and innovate products that does give a real benefit to the world of computer cases.
I need to build up a hype train to increase the chance to sell my self financed highly risky production runs. If I not sell out it could easily break the company.

I think most of us recognize that this is a labor of love for you. Keep making great stuff and don't let the haters get you down.

 

[Sff-Bev]

I feel sorry for you that you did not got an C4-SFX but I can only say it again and again - PCCG offered a product without having/ordering it (B2B point of view). Why is it my fault that PCCG placed no internal company order from Caseking? I pointed Caseking to this and forced them to send the last left black cases to them. This is all I can do on this. I do not have more insights!



I drive DAN Cases next to my normal job so you can't compare me with companies like CoolerMaster with hundreds of employees. I try to make well thought and innovate products that does give a real benefit to the world of computer cases.
I need to build up a hype train to increase the chance to sell my self financed highly risky production runs. If I not sell out it could easily break the company.

I don’t think I do treat my customers bad because even today I do free RMAs for old A4-SFX cases that long left warranty and sold on ebay to new customers that are missing case parts. I help customers with build problems even if their are not case related. I offer up to date example hardware configurations on my website. I give insights in my product dev and give update on my progress.

You are right availability could be much improved but I have to balance order process, development and my free time to keep that all in balance and reduce my risk sitting on unsold cases. Also, I am not very good on holding timelines this is mostly caused because I do not do DAN Cases in fulltime.
While you praise products like the nr200 – keep in mind it only exists because these “bad” SFF companies created the market for it. The nr200 is based on the M1 idea and the Terra is based on the A4-SFX idea.



Flat pack is only one of the "features" the v2 will have. The main advantage of flat pack is that you do not ship empty space around the world. This is very important for an economic pov and will also reduce shipping costs for customers and resellers. For me as a company flat pack is much more risky than a benefit. The cases will not be assembled in the factory so quality problems are much harder to notice.

When will the case be available again and price?

Resellers i Sweden?

Or is it Caseking in Germany?

 

[Arboreal]

When will the case be available again and price?

Resellers i Sweden?

Or is it Caseking in Germany?

The C4 SFX (v1) won't be available again, as @dondan is redesigning it having made only one batch.
The v2 should be available next year maybe Q2, the v1 was about 200 EUR. Distribution should be through Caseking again.
If you have a moment to read the thread history, all the info and back story is in there.

 

[Acropastix]

Hi all,

Question for all readers : i had in my ncase M1 a place to put a slim blueray disc drive (like https://www.caseking.de/en/silverst...n-blu-ray-kombilaufwerk-schwarz-odsv-008.html ) and i use it.

Do you think that feature is something that is missing in recent SFF cases ?

 

[Rem Freeman]

Hi all,

Question for all readers : i had in my ncase M1 a place to put a slim blueray disc drive (like https://www.caseking.de/en/silverst...n-blu-ray-kombilaufwerk-schwarz-odsv-008.html ) and i use it.

Do you think that feature is something that is missing in recent SFF cases ?

Not particularly. Honestly, outside of game discs for my consoles, and even that is a rare situation these days, I can't remember the last time I used a CD/BD for computer storage. However, if I was going to need something like that, I'd imagine it would be a rare need, so I would probably look for a cheap external drive.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

While part of me would love to see 3.5 and 5.25 bays in a modern SFF chassis, unless it’s for NAS or a retro build I’m not sure there would be demand.

If you want a compact (MFFPC) modern case with 5.25 bays that is the best one with few compromises, the Fractal Pop Air Mini is ideal.

The Silverstone SG05 is also a great legacy option.

 

[Dampfbox]

If you have a moment to read the thread history, all the info and back story is in there.

That would be 190 pages up until now

But I think Daniel should at least update the starting post in this thread and his product website for the C4-SFX at some point...

@dondan is it worth doing my testing with my (still sealed) C4-SFX v1 to figure out my watercooling loop etc? Or will the results not be comparable to the v2? If so, I'd just sell my v1 and wait for v2 before I put any more effort into this project.

 

[zffx7310]

Hey Dan!

An updates on timeline as to when we could expect a C4 V2? Looking to build a PC in the next couple of months and am curious if I should hold out till early Q1 2024 or if it will be further down the road and should find a different case to build in. Really was looking forward to the V1 case but was holding out for it to hit newegg site or amazon (I thought the posting on amazon was a fake so I didn't order in time to get one ).

Thanks for all your hard work on these amazing cases.

 

[Dampfbox]

if I should hold out till early Q1 2024 or if it will be further down the road and should find a different case to build in

Considering how many years of delay we have seen with v1, you should absolutely not bet on a Q1 release of the v2.