Dan A4-sfx vs Ncase M1 vs Reality

[Spaziba Njet]

Hi there

Short version: Really wanting to build a mini-ITX gaming pc, and unfortunately have fallen in love with the Dan A4-sfx and Ncase M1 case (both very hard to obtain, and ridiculously expensive (both in the 300 dollar / 260 euro ballpark due to import and such)
Anyways, I'm thinking of a 6700k (not overclocked to start with) and a Asus ROG STRIX 1080 as the main components, but I'm a bit worried whether it is feasible to use for main gaming rig and VR, or if it simply, more or less, melts.

What are your thoughts on this, will it be simply too much heat generation, or is it possible to make sufficient airflow in these tiny cases for longer periods of gaming/VR?

Due to the limited availability of at least the Dan case, I understand that there are not much “hard data” to go on, in case of existing builds. For the M1 there seems to be a difference of opinion, hence I turned to you competent forum-walkers of Tom’s Hardware

Best regards me

 

[g-unit1111]

I'm not familiar with any of those cases. Do you have manufacturer links?

 

[Spaziba Njet]

Sorry my mistake, here are the links for the cases
Dan A4-sfx and Ncase M1

 

[g-unit1111]

That first one looks incredibly tight to build in. The second one looks like it would be a bit better to work in. I'm a bit wary of start up projects that pop up in places like that because they haven't been established yet. I would think that they would have pretty limited tech support and RMA departments should something go wrong. Have you considered something like a Fractal Design Node 202?

 

[Spaziba Njet]

I believe the Ncase M1 have been around for some time, and several have made impressive builds with it - but yes, it is tight and frustrating, no doubt. And the two cases are definitely niche.
I have had an eye on the Fractal Design Node 2, but it does only support "slim" cooling for the CPU and some report fairly high temperatures.
To get all possibilities out of the way, the Cougar QBX could also be a possibility, although a good deal bigger than the 2 earlier mentioned cases.

 

[Ayzen]

Hi there
so lets talk about ncase first
its worth every penny, its beutifull case with PERFECT design, you can put ANYTHING inside, let say 1080 and 6700k, with watercooling loop, why not , just bear in mind max psu in that config gonna be 600w [cos sfx standard limitation], you always can use something bigger [atx] but you gonna eed every cm to put cooling system there [if u want OC], so yea you can build ANY SINGLE CARD GAMING SYSTEM there, with some extra wc loop, another thing, if you like fancy things, putting sleeving on psu cables in case like this is well extreme hard to optain with wc loop so bear that in mind too

dan in other hand is sweet little bastard, no gpu limitation here just cooler that can blow hot air OUTSIDE case gonna work much better, cpu in other hand is limited with cooler, so only low profile cooler gonna fit on your 6700k, and that is equal to NO OC in future

overal if you like OC/WC more stuff inside go NCASE, but if you want something EXTREME SMALL go Dan A4
simple as that

cheers

 

[James Mason]

Or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119286

 

[Starflare]

The M1 is more flexible with WC for both the CPU and GPU, the A4 is geared for minimal space.
My vote went to the Ncase M1. here is my build.

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/4vLD4D

 

[derekhale2629]

Linus did a build with the Dan Case A4-SFX and here's that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2W0Lsf7hec