DAN C4-SFX

amar92

Chassis Packer
Feb 20, 2024
13
24
More or less exactly this.

Just a premium looking NR200 style do-it-all type case that had improved GPU compatibility, offers an inverted layout for lower GPU temps and adds top 140mm fan support while maintaining side bracket 140mm fan / 280mm aio support and offering enough width for 155mm air coolers or AIO's with thicker combined rad / fan / pump height like the AF3 series.

Thicc AIO setup? No problem. Peerless Assassin? No problem. Want to install 4x A14x25 G2's because... Noctua? No problem.
Yes, yes and yes ! Exactly !

It wouldn't be THAT much bigger than it is. It would be the perfect small case. No restrictions basically while being half the litres of a normal Mid-Tower.
 

boundary-stone

Average Stuffer
Jan 25, 2023
79
54
Thoughts on C4-SFX v2 vs LOUQE Ghost R1? Preorders for the R1 just dropped and Machines & More indicated they had a full review coming soon.
 

hrh_ginsterbusch

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Nov 18, 2021
714
279
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Thoughts on C4-SFX v2 vs LOUQE Ghost R1? Preorders for the R1 just dropped and Machines & More indicated they had a full review coming soon.
I dont see the value of the R1 .. its 17.5L, but no mATX support. "bwat bwat quadruple shlot!21§" so what? get a Meshroom S or Meshi. Just 14L, weights 800 g less (or 500g in the case of the Meshi) and still costs less than the R1. Heck, with a bit of creative tinkering, you can even fit quadruple in an S400!

And if I wanted more, I'd just walk like 2 meters, pull that retired SAMA IM01 clone out of the shelf, and stuff everything in there. Solid build quality, allows for inverted build, 4.5 slot GPU, supports all the parts available for the NR200P, and even 280 mm AIO side-mounted. Oh, and just costs about 1/3 of the price of the R1. mATX + ATX PSU? I done it. Inverted build? I done it. Vertical tower? I done it. Custom modding it? I done it.

The only thing that the R1 might have been going for itself is the looks. But if I wanted to go purely by looks, I would head over to Thor Zone and help myself to a Nanoq R. Or .. buy the Hyte Revolt 3. Or similar vertical tower cases. L300 is also looking good. But then I could also go and try for a Velka 7.

cu, w0lf.
 

boundary-stone

Average Stuffer
Jan 25, 2023
79
54
I dont see the value of the R1 .. its 17.5L, but no mATX support. "bwat bwat quadruple shlot!21§" so what? get a Meshroom S or Meshi. Just 14L, weights 800 g less (or 500g in the case of the Meshi) and still costs less than the R1. Heck, with a bit of creative tinkering, you can even fit quadruple in an S400!

And if I wanted more, I'd just walk like 2 meters, pull that retired SAMA IM01 clone out of the shelf, and stuff everything in there. Solid build quality, allows for inverted build, 4.5 slot GPU, supports all the parts available for the NR200P, and even 280 mm AIO side-mounted. Oh, and just costs about 1/3 of the price of the R1. mATX + ATX PSU? I done it. Inverted build? I done it. Vertical tower? I done it. Custom modding it? I done it.

The only thing that the R1 might have been going for itself is the looks. But if I wanted to go purely by looks, I would head over to Thor Zone and help myself to a Nanoq R. Or .. buy the Hyte Revolt 3. Or similar vertical tower cases. L300 is also looking good. But then I could also go and try for a Velka 7.

cu, w0lf.
The R1 looks like an inverted NR200 upgraded with lots of 140mm fan support and a proper rear 120mm fan exhaust mount that lines up just right for tower air cooler exhaust (or intake). It checks the boxes for anyone who already has a beefy tower air cooler (PS120SE, U12A, D15 etc.) and would prefer to avoid having to drop $100+ on a new D12L or 240/280 AIO.

GPU width clearance is definitely also a plus.

The lack of matx isn't ideal.
 

Quigonjinn

Trash Compacter
May 8, 2023
43
29
I dont see the value of the R1 .. its 17.5L, but no mATX support. "bwat bwat quadruple shlot!21§" so what? get a Meshroom S or Meshi. Just 14L, weights 800 g less (or 500g in the case of the Meshi) and still costs less than the R1. Heck, with a bit of creative tinkering, you can even fit quadruple in an S400!

And if I wanted more, I'd just walk like 2 meters, pull that retired SAMA IM01 clone out of the shelf, and stuff everything in there. Solid build quality, allows for inverted build, 4.5 slot GPU, supports all the parts available for the NR200P, and even 280 mm AIO side-mounted. Oh, and just costs about 1/3 of the price of the R1. mATX + ATX PSU? I done it. Inverted build? I done it. Vertical tower? I done it. Custom modding it? I done it.

The only thing that the R1 might have been going for itself is the looks. But if I wanted to go purely by looks, I would head over to Thor Zone and help myself to a Nanoq R. Or .. buy the Hyte Revolt 3. Or similar vertical tower cases. L300 is also looking good. But then I could also go and try for a Velka 7.

cu, w0lf.
Don’t want riser so no meshy. Don’t want anemic 140mm gpu height only so no meshroom D either. Saving 2.5 liters isn’t that important to all of us.

I am not thrilled to buy a crappy Matx board for $30 cheaper than a much nicer itx board in our market either, the whole Matx shtick is silly.
 

elrd5150

Chassis Packer
Nov 26, 2022
19
19
The R1 looks like an inverted NR200 upgraded with
Exactly how I see it, it's NR200 with better compatibility. In NR200 I had to cut the bottom and front of the frame to fit 4090 without it being bent upwards, and I'm definitely not interested in wasting my time like that again. Also, I don't want to deal with risers and 12VHPWR adapters/sharp cable bends. I need a case that solves my problems, not adds others. R1 is basically that, good-looking, reasonable-sized case that I can build and don't stress about compatibility issues. That's the same thing I would want from C4V2.

Edit:
Back to the original question, we don't know what C4V2 will look like (I don't think Dan himself has finalized the design), so no point in speculating on comparison with R1. Maybe we will see more concrete C4V2 specs once 50xx GPUs are released, which can happen either Q4 this year or Q1 next year, then add time to incorporate that into design/production etc. So I don't think C4V2 will be released soon. While R1 is finalized and will go into production around August. So if you need a case now - get R1, if you can wait - wait.
 
Last edited:
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dusky

What's an ITX?
New User
Jul 10, 2024
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7
I am not thrilled to buy a crappy Matx board for $30 cheaper than a much nicer itx board in our market either, the whole Matx shtick is silly.

mATX is an objectively superior standard if size is no issue. Just because there are currently a lot of budget mATX boards compared to ITX doesn't change that, it just means you have more options. For instance a $170 MSI B650M Mortar runs circles around a $260+ MSI B650I Edge at being a PC motherboard: superior I/O, much better expandability and no annoying chipset fan for nearly $100 less.

In the case of the C4-SFX v2, 13.4 vs 15.4L barely even matters considering most of that volume difference is in height, meaning the desk footprint is almost identical, which is what people actually care about.

ITX is just an objectively limiting form factor:
- need more m.2 slots? though luck
- want to add a 10GbE network card? too bad
- need a PCIe capture card? never happening
- want an easy RAM upgrade? need to replace your current DIMMs entirely

Some try to frame this debate as "ITX vs mATX", when it's actually "mATX / ITX vs ITX-only".
You gain a lot of flexiblity by allowing mATX, and literally all it costs is 2cm less vertical space above your case. You can still use any of the great ITX boards if you prefer.

When you get close to 14L and above, ITX-only stops making sense very quickly.
 

Rem Freeman

Caliper Novice
Jul 8, 2023
23
15
Personally, I'm just excited to see what the V2 will look like, taking in mATX adoption into consideration. I know that the Ncase M2 has shares of the same features and that some will prefer it, but as someone who's not a fan of that company, I'm personally looking forward to see how the V2 responds, taking into consideration the overwhelming interest in mATX and the new competition.
 

hrh_ginsterbusch

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Nov 18, 2021
714
279
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Don’t want riser so no meshy. Don’t want anemic 140mm gpu height only so no meshroom D either. Saving 2.5 liters isn’t that important to all of us.

I am not thrilled to buy a crappy Matx board for $30 cheaper than a much nicer itx board in our market either, the whole Matx shtick is silly.
Its not really about a "crappy" mATX board. My MSI Z690 deffo is not a one of these (240 Euro disagree with you strongly). Yes, there is these folks who complain about, but really I'd rather have a good extendable in-between solution, and that is where mATX shines.

Not that B610 or A620 garbage, but the mid-to-upper tier.

cu, w0lf.
 

amar92

Chassis Packer
Feb 20, 2024
13
24
I guess from the whole talk lately we can conclude that it would be nice and practical to have the choice to use mATX. A lot of people would still use ITX but it would be nice to have the option to change the board if the user requirements change to the need of an expansion card without changing the case along with it.

As for the dimensions : most would be satisfied with a case that's max 17-18 L. Preferably Cca. 16 L.

I like the direction where the R1 is going in terms of size and compatibility but I also feel that if Dan decides to go that route his case will be better design wise. I'm certain of it.

It would be a bummer if the finalizing of the case would depend on the RTX 50 series, because those are still quite a few months away.

I truly hope Dan is well and he will give us his thoughts on the latest posts here and a presumable direction where is he going with the design before we all go on our summer vacations.

Wish you all a relaxing weekend. I'm leaving today for 3 weeks in Bosnia. Can't wait to fly my Mini 4 Pro there.

Cheers everyone :)
 
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Quigonjinn

Trash Compacter
May 8, 2023
43
29
mATX is an objectively superior standard if size is no issue. Just because there are currently a lot of budget mATX boards compared to ITX doesn't change that, it just means you have more options. For instance a $170 MSI B650M Mortar runs circles around a $260+ MSI B650I Edge at being a PC motherboard: superior I/O, much better expandability and no annoying chipset fan for nearly $100 less.

In the case of the C4-SFX v2, 13.4 vs 15.4L barely even matters considering most of that volume difference is in height, meaning the desk footprint is almost identical, which is what people actually care about.

ITX is just an objectively limiting form factor:
- need more m.2 slots? though luck
- want to add a 10GbE network card? too bad
- need a PCIe capture card? never happening
- want an easy RAM upgrade? need to replace your current DIMMs entirely

Some try to frame this debate as "ITX vs mATX", when it's actually "mATX / ITX vs ITX-only".
You gain a lot of flexiblity by allowing mATX, and literally all it costs is 2cm less vertical space above your case. You can still use any of the great ITX boards if you prefer.

When you get close to 14L and above, ITX-only stops making sense very quickly.
Msi b650m mortar is $270 CAD. Asrock b650i lightning (a very good itx board from experience) is $284. $14 LMFAO.

And now for this fallacy:

- need more m.2 slots? though luck

I use a single m.2 even though I have space for 2 m.2. There is the gigabyte b650i for $330 that has 3 m.2. Extremely overkill already. It’s 2024: I have a cheap NAS for my own storage fetish.

- want to add a 10GbE network card? too bad

yeah. May be in 2050 lol. Meh

- need a PCIe capture card? never happening

didn’t have one in a 60L big case ever, don’t need one now. Is a minority need anyways, not everyone has pci cards in their huge ATX builds, so meh.

- want an easy RAM upgrade? need to replace your current DIMMs entirely

yeah get back to me when 4 x ddr5 is viable and even needed for more than just 0.01% of the population.


case closed.
 

hrh_ginsterbusch

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Nov 18, 2021
714
279
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Msi b650m mortar is $270 CAD. Asrock b650i lightning (a very good itx board from experience) is $284. $14 LMFAO.
I feel this is slowly devolving into a "North Muricans vs Rest of the World" kindergarten battle. Or maybe just the usual 31337 gatekeeping BS. Expect if you forgot to add tone indicators, like /i (for irony).

I for one am happy IF there ever is a C4-SFX V2, and if it gives me mATX? Perfect.

If not? Well, I'm known to ignore "well-meant advice" from others, and just roll my own. IF there is enough viable space for mATX, albeit no official support, I still gonna give it a try. After all, a 280 AIO / radiator fits in the A4-H2O, although its officially only for 240s. 🤷‍♀️

cu, w0lf.
 
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D90

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 9, 2017
107
74
I feel this is slowly devolving into a "North Muricans vs Rest of the World" kindergarten battle. Or maybe just the usual 31337 gatekeeping BS. Expect if you forgot to add tone indicators, like /i (for irony).

I for one am happy IF there ever is a C4-SFX V2, and if it gives me mATX? Perfect.

If not? Well, I'm known to ignore "well-meant advice" from others, and just roll my own. IF there is enough viable space for mATX, albeit no official support, I still gonna give it a try. After all, a 280 AIO / radiator fits in the A4-H2O, although its officially only for 240s. 🤷‍♀️

cu, w0lf.
I stuffed a Noctua C14 into a Meshlicious :-). Never doubt the power of ingenuity
 
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D90

SFF Lingo Aficionado
May 9, 2017
107
74
Here you go :). Pics weren’t the best as I forgot to photo the back, but she is still running.
The GPU is only secured by zip ties/wire twist + the PCIe slot?

Any metal cutting / drilling / dremel required?
yes to all. Zip ties were only a short term solution but they have held so well I didn’t ever replace them. Figured I would when the 5080 comes out. I had to drill out the rivets on the bottom of the case in order to flip the back panel and I cut away so of the floor to feed the displayport cable through. Also drilled holes to add the case feet. A janky approach for sure but when I built it no one else offered a case design like this. Due to my limited space I needed a vertical case and I don’t like water cooling ;)
 

kcuestag

Cable Smoosher
Aug 14, 2023
10
7
@dondan Pictures on first page are all gone.

Seeing that the thread on this forum is dead/forgotten, where can we check for latest updates on the C4 SFX v2?
 

hrh_ginsterbusch

King of Cable Management
Silver Supporter
Nov 18, 2021
714
279
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@dondan Pictures on first page are all gone.

Seeing that the thread on this forum is dead/forgotten, where can we check for latest updates on the C4 SFX v2?
My guess is abload.de is down (thats where the images are stored).

Edit: No, abload.de has been taken offline. They couldnt afford the costs anymore.


@dondan You should move the images elsewhere. What about your own site?

cu, w0lf.
 

Nichronos

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jun 22, 2018
131
66

Hey @dondan , do i need to have an 18mm VLP memory to use a second fan on D12L or a normal 32mm RAM without the heatsink would work? Thanks!