Please, help with A4-SFX build...

Cheng

Caliper Novice
Sep 29, 2018
29
3
@ladyalchemist

I tried this. The four screw holes are 1.5mm away from the edge. The corner radius is 5. The thickness is 9mm. In Aida64's CPU+FPU+Cache stress test, my CPU temp went from 84 ℃ without duct down to 81 ℃ with the duct. There is still room to increase the thickness by another 3mm. I think you will see more temperature reduction. Just tell those dimensions to your local supplier and they should be able to laser cut it for you real quick. (my mobo is b450i strix, ryzen 2600, Noctua L9a, just in case if yours are different)

P.S. You probably won't see any temperature differences when the fan is not running at full speed (thus, it won't improve the temperature when idle or when you are not doing any heavy workload)

 
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ladyalchemist

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Nov 29, 2018
10
1
Thank you very much, my dear Cheng :)

Intel - or better: Intel's motherboard chipsets - have never let me down. I can't forget my own personal 1st hand experience with "bad" AMD motherboards in the past. And yes, obviously I know very well that that's all in the past, and AMD has come a very long way, but that's just how my mind works.

I game at 3440x1440 100Hz, mostly FPS games...

same,
I have intel pcs going back to 97 that still work. . .not the same hard drives but . ..
my last amd failure was 2008, but I keep being reminded about it . . . .

I see that you are faithful and loyal to reliable brands ;P (I wonder if you are the same in relationships ;P :D ) I am also, usually, but I did not deal with amd before, now it seems to me that the quality and efficiency of their hardware is growing, so I think I will try.

I have few more questions. I found this build:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/Hh8Ycf#description

And I really like a combination with this GSkill Rgb RAMs and RGB Ryzen stock cooler Wraith Spire (which I probably get additionaly "for free" with Ryzen 2700). But this is bigger Kolink Rocket, not the A4-SFX.
I really like and prefer silver DAN A4-SFX, also because of weight - Kolink is heavier by 2,3 kg (and this is almost additional more 2x A4-SFX or 2x Samsung Odysseys, or simple almost 3xA4-SFX vs 1xA4-SFX in the luggage).

And Dan, the creator is also very helpful ;)

So my question is:
Would there be any possibility to fit the Wraith Spire cooler in A4-SFX?

I would like above all to preserve the lighting, so maybe for example I could switch the fans only?

I am also interested in making plexi panel for A4-SFX with custom cutting, so maybe I could make it somehow to widen this side of A4-SFX case with the cooler?

But I would like to make the window plexi panel mainly for graphics card side. In my opinion CPU's side with RAM and cooler lighting looks very good and I would not need a window on this side (but it could be). So maybe some mod with a rubber frame (or different material) to expand the side and make space for this cooler?

Or is there a halos rgb fan frame for 90mm Noctua L9a?
Phanteks is for 140mm and 120mm.

And, BTW, Does anyone know anything about the temperatures comparison between Wraith Spire vs Noctua L9a?

And I have a qustion about motherboards. At this moment I can choose Asus x470i, Asus B450-i or Gigabyte B450-i.

Maybe in the future I will need two graphics cards in SLI for the most advanced vr headsets with a huge field of view.

Asus on his website writes that x470-i supports SLI (so nvlink probably also?), while in B450-i description they do not mention anything about it.

According to this link:

https://www.anandtech.com/show/1309...ryzen-a-quick-look-at-all-the-motherboards/12


NVIDIA SLI multi-card setup aren't supported on any of GIGABYTE's B450.

So is the Asus X470i the only one of the three that supports SLI?

And is there no mistake in Asus x470i description, does it really support sli?

If so, I would probably pay more for Asus x470-i, because it would be more future-proof (also if I would like to overclock something in the future).
 
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Aux

Cable-Tie Ninja
Dec 5, 2018
179
155
You have several problems with that build you show

1 - Dans case takes 48mm cpu cooler height the wraith is 54 so will not fit
The kolink rocket takes 54 cpu cooler height so would just fit, but I wouldnt recommend such a tight fit . .

He says - "Now for the fun part, so the clearance for cpu cooler in this case (Kolink) is only 54mm and I just loved the wraith prism but it didn’t fit so I did some modification. I took apart the prism and added the fan to the heat sink of the Noctua NH-L9i with some smart “engineering” and together it measured 53mm a perfect fit" from pcpartpicker

Dans case would still not fit this at 53 mm, so you would have to use the original noctua fan or some other low profile fan
He quotes an LH9i but this is for intel chips . .. so I presume he means LH9a


2 - the wraith spire cooler is rated 95 W and the AMD Ryzen 2700x is rated 105W so you would have cooling issues anyway, the LH9 is also rated lower than the ryzen chip at 65W so even worse. He has fitted an extra fan in the bottom of the case so maybe that helps . . .
The kolink is also a bigger case than the Dan . . . You would probably have to down volt the cpu to achive a good temperature

3 - Dans case has press fit sides so I dont know how you could mod it to fit, Ive never worked on one . .

4 - VR and two cards in sli is a whole other pc, definitively not possible in Dans so which do you want to build?

5 - the mother board the guy chose for the Kolink case is fine . . . Asus ROG STRIX X470-I GAMING Mini ITX AM4

6 - yeah, sure no Nvidia sli on 450, nv link fabric is meant to be completely different and not dependent on the board, and is only (as far as I know) only on the 2080 and 2080ti

7 - the asus rog strix is x470i is mitx the chipset can sli but not the board, or did you mean one of the other 470 boards which are atx . .

You need to decide if you build mitx (dan A4 case) or ATX another bigger case

hope this helps . .

not sure that there is a relationship type thread discussion on this site . . . maybe in the lounge - off topic .. . :)
 
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ladyalchemist

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Nov 29, 2018
10
1
7 - the asus rog strix is x470i is mitx the chipset can sli but not the board, or did you mean one of the other 470 boards which are atx . .

OK, so all mini itx motherboards do not support SLI. None of them. Now I know it. To support SLI 2 x PCiE x16 are needed, and there is no such mitx mobo.

Micro ATX supports SLI, for example Asus X99-M WS/SE, but this is 244x244, so it will not fit in A4-SFX.

So if I ever need the sli in the future, I will have to build a bigger computer (not only the bigger case, the second card, but also the new motherboard. I thought the mobo would be able to stay, but well... Good to know.


4 - VR and two cards in sli is a whole other pc, definitively not possible in Dans so which do you want to build?

(...)

You need to decide if you build mitx (dan A4 case) or ATX another bigger case

Now I don't need SLI and I would like to build a small and lighweight computer ;) so I would like to stay with A4-SFX :)

You have several problems with that build you show

1 - Dans case takes 48mm cpu cooler height the wraith is 54 so will not fit
The kolink rocket takes 54 cpu cooler height so would just fit, but I wouldnt recommend such a tight fit . .

He says - "Now for the fun part, so the clearance for cpu cooler in this case (Kolink) is only 54mm and I just loved the wraith prism but it didn’t fit so I did some modification. I took apart the prism and added the fan to the heat sink of the Noctua NH-L9i with some smart “engineering” and together it measured 53mm a perfect fit" from pcpartpicker

Dans case would still not fit this at 53 mm, so you would have to use the original noctua fan or some other low profile fan
He quotes an LH9i but this is for intel chips . .. so I presume he means LH9a


2 - the wraith spire cooler is rated 95 W and the AMD Ryzen 2700x is rated 105W so you would have cooling issues anyway, the LH9 is also rated lower than the ryzen chip at 65W so even worse. He has fitted an extra fan in the bottom of the case so maybe that helps . . .
The kolink is also a bigger case than the Dan . . . You would probably have to down volt the cpu to achive a good temperature

3 - Dans case has press fit sides so I dont know how you could mod it to fit, Ive never worked on one . .

I do not know if you understood me well in the subject of Wraith Spire in A4-SFX.

First of all, I will buy Ryzen 2700 non X which is 65W TDP.

I know that Wraith Spire is too big for A4-SFX and I know that NORMALLY it will not fit, but I am asking, if it will fit with some modifications of the case (custom side panel, rubber frame to widen the side by 1 cm, etc.).

Could I extend the A4-SFX side by 1 cm (without custom plexi panel or with it) somehow?


And I wonder if there is a halos rgb fan frame for 90mm cooler.
 
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Aux

Cable-Tie Ninja
Dec 5, 2018
179
155
ok sorry missed that bit . . . 2700 65 w. the part picker selection showed 2700x
the side panel frame is a press fit so i dont know how you could mod it . . . maybe a hole in a plexi side panel would work. Maybe you could move the push fit mounts out by 1 cm by making new frame pieces..

if you fitted the nh9a cooler (95dia 23mm) and put the wraith fan (92 dia, 25mm deep) on it, you might get away with it and have the rgb as the guy in the part picker had but for the dan case its very tight . .. better would be to find a 15 mm low profile rgb fan to suit the nh9.
or you choose one of the cpu coolers from Dans web page.

RGB stuff isnt really something I use a lot . .. sorry
 
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Cheng

Caliper Novice
Sep 29, 2018
29
3
plex window on the graphics side but rgb on the other? you cannot see those rgbs, so why bother
 

ladyalchemist

Cable Smoosher
Original poster
Nov 29, 2018
10
1
plex window on the graphics side but rgb on the other? you cannot see those rgbs, so why bother

Lighting is still well visibile from this RAM and cooler side, even without window. You can see it on the pictures of this Kolink build.

This is because the "built-in" lighting underlines the whole shape of the RAM and the fan.

In the case of the other side, my graphics card does not have any "native" lighting (beyond the logotype). Even if I put LED strips, it will not be that the shape of the graphics card (and fans) will be highlighted. So with the window it will beter visibile.

The side to look at would be chosen according to the mood and place :p

ok sorry missed that bit . . . 2700 65 w. the part picker selection showed 2700x
the side panel frame is a press fit so i dont know how you could mod it . . . maybe a hole in a plexi side panel would work. Maybe you could move the push fit mounts out by 1 cm by making new frame pieces..

if you fitted the nh9a cooler ( 23mm) and put the wraith fan (92 dia, 25mm deep) on it, you might get away with it and have the rgb as the guy in the part picker had but for the dan case its very tight . .. better would be to find a 15 mm low profile rgb fan to suit the nh9.
or you choose one of the cpu coolers from Dans web page.

RGB stuff isnt really something I use a lot . .. sorry

Thanks :)

These fans on https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html are not RGB Led.

max. height with Window Kit: 54.5mm

https://www.dan-cases.com/dana4_spec.html

But unfortunately the Window Kit is not available.

But it shows that it is possible, maybe with a plexi panel.

Well, for now I will buy all pc components, the case and Noctua cooler and I will make it work. I will explore the topic of plexi later.

If someone did something like that, I would be grateful for the tips.

If anyone knows a matching RGB 92mm low profile fan for this heatsink, also please let me know.

And I found this thread:
https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/where-to-find-92mm-rgb-fan.9364/

But I don't know... Maybe it would be too difficult for me to do that...

It looks very similar to Wraith Spire in terms of lighting.
 
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Aux

Cable-Tie Ninja
Dec 5, 2018
179
155
you could always fit the noctua lh9 as is, and put the wraith rgb fan under the power supply on the mount there in place of the drive bay. You get your rgb lights under the case like fast and furious type cars . .