DAN C4-SFX - old

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Geedub

Cable Smoosher
Jul 23, 2017
9
14
I really do wonder how some people here buy 3 slot cards, 3.5" drives, multiple 2.5 SSD's, and come to a SFF forum to the one thread where the creator wants to make it as small and cool looking as possible and start to request space for their hardware...

At this point, it's best to just say nothing and wait for whatever dan decides before investing yourself more into the project.

I feel you, makes me laugh at the idea that some people look at a lunch box and want to stuff a 3 course meal in it when it's only meant to hold a couple sandwiches and a drink. They can't grasp the concept of having a computer case that is minimal and meant to only contain a barebone amount of hardware to complete the desired tasks the system was built for. I own 3 sff cases, the Louqe Ghost S1, the Dan A4-SFX and a NCase M1. The Ghost S1 is my AMD Vega 64/Ryzen 2700X game machine and the M1 has a i7 9900k cooled by a Corsair H100i V2. Both systems have Samsung 970 Pro 512gb M.2's as their boot drives and Samsung 970 Evo 2tb's for games and storage. During gaming the M.2 on the Ghost S1 gets hot and hits temps over 100 degrees celsius. The max temp for the card is rated at 85 degrees celsius. I think it may be due to the fact that by being on the bottom of the motherboard, it's sandwiched between the motherboard and the video card. During gaming, it's giving off heat as data is accessed off of it and gets exposed to heat from the cpu and the video card. Now with the M1, the 2tb card faces the right side of the case and is able to be cooled by air drawn in from that side of the case so it doesn't suffer from operating temps going over it's max rating. With the A4-SFX I only used a M.2 as the boot coupled with an external ssd so I never experienced the issues I've come across with M.2 temps in the Ghost S1. I made the mistake of purchasing an Asus Strix Vega 64 and it is too big to fit in any of the 3 cases I have. So the point I want to convey to all the people who are clamoring to want to be able to stuff dozens on 3.5/2.5's into cases of the size of these cards need to go ATX or get a NAS if their needs are so demanding.
 

loader963

King of Cable Management
Jan 21, 2017
660
568
For all those who are sick of waiting as we seem to be going in loops.
The slinger SM570 or SM580 should meet everyone's needs. https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...ts-with-air-and-liquid-cooling-variants.6789/

Odds are, if peeps are here reading this, they are probably informed of competitors that are also primarily on this site as well. While I’ve owned other cases from both of these guys, there are fundamental differences in aesthetics and design. And that may be why some people prefer to wait.

Reading the last few pages, I have noticed something. If I was designing a case, I couldn’t be as open in my design phases as they are. Not just Dan but the rest of them. God bless the guys who pour their heart into their craft and actually open these threads where fans can interact with them while they work on designs. I know they have to appeal to as many as possible to make sales, but you can’t please everyone.

And frankly there are some guys here that expect a bit much out of sff case designers. Even if you could cram 4 3.5 drives, a 240mm aio, and two triple slot GPUs in a 10L case, I don’t think anyone would actually like the end results, specifically temps and ease of installation.
 
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schn1tt3r

Cable-Tie Ninja
Sep 24, 2018
151
247
I agree with those above me. Some cases can compete with the size and maybe layout, but no case comes close to how nice C4 looks.
 
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dapperlilsailor

Caliper Novice
Sep 9, 2018
25
28
I agree with those above me. Some cases can compete with the size and maybe layout, but no case comes close to how nice C4 looks.

XD I agree with you, but at the same time I'm like "what C4?"
It's still just an idea.
There was a prototype.
But that was a loooot of pages and potential design changes ago.
Good things come to those who wait I guess.
 

micken

Case Bender
Nov 7, 2017
2
0
Just make this case ready for kickstarter with a resonable ready-date and im ready! Whats causing this delay? :p!
 

Alarik

What's an ITX?
Mar 27, 2019
1
0
Hi everyone, first time posting here though I’ve been lurking for a while.

I think that future-proofing the C4-SFX is the right idea.

So far, the core war between AMD and Intel has led to great multi-core CPUs, but at the expense of increased TDPs. This trend is not going to end anytime soon, with 16-Core Zen 2 and 10-Core Comet Lake rumored to be released this year.

Just like it happened with the A4-SFX, we can expect people will work hard to optimize the air-cooled thermals on this case, so I think that it is very important to make sure the best solution works from the get-go without issues.

In the current flexible layout, it may not be possible to accommodate a Noctua NH-C14S without also moving the PSU towards the front panel (just like it happens with the Ncase M1).

But that is not the critical part. The NH-C14S’ successor is.

So far, Noctua is calling it “Next-generation 140mm C-type cooler” and it looks like in this layout it will be extremely close to the PSU if it even fits. From what I understand, it has 50mm RAM clearance, but the PSU must also fit below it.

For reference, the current NH-C14S has 65mm of clearance and, in the Ncase M1, the PSU sits about 15mm below it.

I think it would be wise to contact Noctua and ask about the final dimensions - and make sure it would fit in the C4-SFX.
 

chinyang

Trash Compacter
Oct 17, 2018
45
79
Hi everyone, first time posting here though I’ve been lurking for a while.

I think that future-proofing the C4-SFX is the right idea.

So far, the core war between AMD and Intel has led to great multi-core CPUs, but at the expense of increased TDPs. This trend is not going to end anytime soon, with 16-Core Zen 2 and 10-Core Comet Lake rumored to be released this year.

Just like it happened with the A4-SFX, we can expect people will work hard to optimize the air-cooled thermals on this case, so I think that it is very important to make sure the best solution works from the get-go without issues.

In the current flexible layout, it may not be possible to accommodate a Noctua NH-C14S without also moving the PSU towards the front panel (just like it happens with the Ncase M1).

But that is not the critical part. The NH-C14S’ successor is.

So far, Noctua is calling it “Next-generation 140mm C-type cooler” and it looks like in this layout it will be extremely close to the PSU if it even fits. From what I understand, it has 50mm RAM clearance, but the PSU must also fit below it.

For reference, the current NH-C14S has 65mm of clearance and, in the Ncase M1, the PSU sits about 15mm below it.

I think it would be wise to contact Noctua and ask about the final dimensions - and make sure it would fit in the C4-SFX.

As far as I understand following this thread for so long, it is design with aio water cooling with either single/dual 120mm or single 240mm for cpu cooling with a air cooled gpu

2 fans either top/bottom mounted depending on the orientation u want is needed to get proper airflow through the case, esp motherboard for vrm, m.2 ssd

Not sure how much will Dondan optimises this case for cpu air cooling
 

schn1tt3r

Cable-Tie Ninja
Sep 24, 2018
151
247
I‘ve now the Ghost S1 mk2..,

Couldn‘t wait any longer to a may be sometime Dan C4....


The cpu (i7-8700K) is now cold as ice... 50degrees in Gaming with the 240 AIO. Awaiting now my pimax VR...

That looks great, I was looking into getting it too, but "top hat" on the top looks ugly. Having it on the bottom makes it look good though, but I thought cooling would suffer. A youtube reviewer tested top vs bottom hat and the difference was considerable if I remember right.

Way things are going, I probably will go your route too.
 
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rindo

Efficiency Noob
Mar 22, 2019
7
5
That looks great, I was looking into getting it too, but "top hat" on the top looks ugly. Having it on the bottom makes it look good though, but I thought cooling would suffer. A youtube reviewer tested top vs bottom hat and the difference was considerable if I remember right.

Way things are going, I probably will go your route too.
I understand both of you, as for me, I really hate those "top hats" will be waiting a bit for any news with the C4 (hopefully the so awaited renderings)
but right now I also have my eyes on the SideArmD case
 

schn1tt3r

Cable-Tie Ninja
Sep 24, 2018
151
247
I understand both of you, as for me, I really hate those "top hats" will be waiting a bit for any news with the C4 (hopefully the so awaited renderings)
but right now I also have my eyes on the SideArmD case

thanks for the heads up, I didnt know that case existed. Will track that one too.
 
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sentimental

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Mar 31, 2019
4
0
Made an account just to post this

I really thought the non flexible C4 design (with side IO) would have been the perfect case for me, and I was a bit sad to see it get shelved.

I understand Dan want to be innovative with his designs, but I feel like he is trying to do too much with one case. I firmly believe if he focused on one layout it would have much better compatibility and performance than what i think is a swiss army knife case.

I think like the closest alternative is the Sunmilo T03. It looks decent and all but I would much rather own a Dan Case instead ;)
 

prefinem

Trash Compacter
Apr 12, 2018
43
38
I think like the closest alternative is the Sunmilo T03. It looks decent and all but I would much rather own a Dan Case instead ;)

I purchased the Sunmilo T03 while waiting for this case. It's not a bad case at all, and you can get custom cut outs for your panels.

Here is my build:
 
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