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Scratch Build – In Progress DAN A4-SFX: The smallest gaming case in the world

Discussion in 'Project Logs' started by dondan, 12 Sep 2014.

  1. Piotrek_PL

    Piotrek_PL What's a Dremel?

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    This is the best case ever. I will not eat for a month to buy it. Seriously.

    Do you plan on selling some sort of bag (soft case) for this chassis? I think it would be really useful and I'd definitely buy it with the case.
     
  2. dondan

    dondan What's a Dremel?

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    Hold on you breath...
    the countdown has begun. Only 7 days until the Kickstarter campaign will start.
    The countdown will expire on the 29. May 18:00 German time and will unleash the link to the campaign.

    Some calculations for some time zones:

    29.05 24:00 Taiwan
    29.05 18:00 Germany
    29.05 17:00 UK
    29.05 12:00 New York (US)
    29.05 09:00 Los Angeles (US)
    30.05 01:00 Japan
    30.05 02:00 Australia


    See the current state of the countdown on www.dan-cases.com.


    [​IMG]
     
  3. Goatee

    Goatee Multimodder

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    Good luck DonDan, looks like a real labour of love.

    I'm sure it will be a success.
     
  4. dondan

    dondan What's a Dremel?

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  5. Arboreal

    Arboreal Keeper of the Electric Currants

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    A4 on Kickstarter and flying

    FTFY Dan.

    What an amazing performance on Kickstarter!

    250,000€ in less than a day!!! Shows that there's lots of pent up demand for a super small beautifully made sub 10L ITX case.

    Congrats Dan, I've been following A4 for a while and am delighted to see it fly :clap:

    I hope the success continues for you. A brilliant and inspired design, and a great choice in partnering with LianLi for that aluminium goodness.

    I was sorry that Aibophobia's 17L mATX Cerberus didn't get the traction that it deserves, and hope that he can bring it to market successfully.
     
  6. GoodBytes

    GoodBytes How many wifi's does it have?

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    Congratulation on your case design. I discovered your case by researching small form factor cases for a future build (possibly waiting Intel next CPU, and Nvidia Volta). So far I have my eyes on your case, Streacom, and NCASE M1.

    I do have 2 questions:
    -> Any plans to add or consider adding 1x USB Type-C connector considering that the connector is very small, and won't affect the look of the system too much?

    -> Any plans to do like the MacBook Pro and Surface line, with the USB 3.0 ports, where it looks embedded to the case, and doesn't stick like a soar thumb?

    To expand on what I am asking, under these system, the edge of the USB port casing rolling around is removed, finishing with a straight line, and the casing and plastic internal of the USB port is painted in similar case color (black in your case).

    If you look at the USB 3.0 port of this Surface Pro 2:
    [​IMG]
    You can see that you don't see the body of the USB port plug. It is like the case was precision cut to the USB size. Same applied for the newer models of the Surface line products, but it is in the system magnesium color. I have a Surface Pro 3, and I can confirm that the USB port is painted close to the case color (picture bellow).

    MacBook Pro USB port: https://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ascani_MacBook13-7.jpg

    Micro-shot of my Surface Pro 3 USB port: http://helpweaver.com/micrshot_USB.jpg
     
  7. theshadow2001

    theshadow2001 [DELETE] means [DELETE]

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    Did Linus do a video on this case?
     
  8. storm-83

    storm-83 Minimodder

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    Indeed, and build a crazy machine in it!
    Video is on the main chanel (tech tips)
     
  9. tuklap

    tuklap What's a Dremel?

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    Really looking forward for this case... :D wanting to have sa small case that is like a shoe box or that size but can fit full spec pc on it... too bad, no m-itx mobo handles dual m.2 pcie gen 3
     
  10. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    Bit of a thread revival but I believe the kickstarter will being to ship in the next week. Anyone else uber excited yet?
     
  11. JaPeMo

    JaPeMo What's a Dremel?

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    I want impressions and reviews from users for buy in future :rock:
     
  12. Arboreal

    Arboreal Keeper of the Electric Currants

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    I am! As a keen SFF fan, it heartens me to see all these small 'community' builds take off and go into production.

    It is quite a feat to have achieved this, huge props to Dondan and all the other guys working on designs and getting cases ready to produce.
    I have been watching all sorts on [H] and more recently on smallformfactor.net, which is a small but vibrant community with a lot of projects on the go.
    I have seen there's at least a couple of other BitTechers over there
     
  13. sldr

    sldr What's a Dremel?

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    Dondan, excellent work man! Yesterday I installed my components in my A4-SFX and I could be happier with it :)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    You can see all pictures here: https://imgur.com/a/iDZHa
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 10 Feb 2017
  14. GeorgeK

    GeorgeK Swinging the banhammer Super Moderator

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    ^For the future be sure to use the imgur direct links (the ones that end in .jpg) and also select the large thumbnail option as our forum doesn't resize pics for you :) I've edited the links this time.

    Nice little build btw :thumb:
     
  15. sldr

    sldr What's a Dremel?

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    Whoops, I blame my enthusiasm for the large pictures :). I'll be sure to use the correct ones in the Project log :)
     
  16. LennyRhys

    LennyRhys Fan Fan

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    Yeah that's a seriously nice build, and the case is amazing.
     
  17. nimbu

    nimbu Multimodder

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    Mine just arrived.

    Still need to order my missing parts!
     
  18. Lankius Maximus

    Lankius Maximus Minimodder

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    Really interested in a) how cool your GPUs are running and b) how noisy the case is as a complete unit?

    I found it necessary to go to a blower style card with the Ncase as my top down type was constantly throttling and dumping too much heat into the case. The downsidse is that although my temps are fine I find the card and hense the build too noisy for my liking.

    SLDR that is a really tidy build.
     
  19. sldr

    sldr What's a Dremel?

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    After a lengthy Doom session (SP and MP) the CPU temps never went over 72° and the GPU never over 70°. Obviously you can hear the CPU fan and the fans on the GPU, but it's not like a jet engine is trying to lift of your table - it's all very acceptable.

    (during the first test I saw CPU temperatures of 100°, but I forgot to disable the 40% lock on the CPU cooler, after I disabled it, it cooled down to a acceptabel 70° under full load.)

    These are the components: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YL2JRG
     
  20. TheMadDutchDude

    TheMadDutchDude The Flying Dutchman

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    I want one of these cases so badly! I can't justify spending close to $300 on a shoebox though, not to mention all of the other gear to make the swap. A new GPU, PSU, cooler... the list goes on. :D

    I'm really glad to see that this project has been such a success though. Congratulations!

    Are you intending to sell through a distribution center anywhere else in the world? It may be beneficial to your customers to ship them to the country on a pallet rather than each one of them paying import duties. Of course it'll affect pricing slightly as you'd have to declare them, but it would still work out cheaper, I'd imagine. I'm not entirely sure how it all works in all honesty.
     

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