If you’re at all interested in making seriously tiny, full-powered PCs, you’ve probably heard of DAN Cases. The boutique manufacturer designs mini-ITX cases that can hold full-power components. The designs are highly sought-after in the home build community, not least because the small company can never make enough cases to meet demand, even with its relatively high prices. A partnership with Taiwanese case maker Lian-Li fixes both of those problems.

The new A4-H20 cases are variants of the original DAN A4-SFX design. While these versions are slightly larger — 11 liters of internal volume versus just 7.2 liters — they’re also more capable, stretching to accommodate graphics cards up to triple-slot size and 322mm in length. On top of that, the top chamber can handle an all-in-one liquid CPU cooler (something the original design struggled with) at up to 240mm long. It all fits into an itty-bitty box 140mm wide by 244mm tall by 326mm long (5.5 x 9.6 x 12.8 inches — approximately the size of a sneaker box).

The only real compromise in terms of hardware, aside from a mini-ITX motherboard’s usual lack of extra expansion options, is the reliance on a SFX or SFX-L power supply. Depending on which CPU and GPU you put into your build, you might run into some power issues with more bombastic pairings. But at least it’ll be easy to assemble; removable panels on all sides make the sandwich-style frame more accessible for tricky cable routing. On the side-mounted front panel you’ll find a standard USB 3.0 port, USB Type-C, and audio input and output jacks.

Lian-Li

Lian-Li

Lian-Li

The A4-H20 is also considerably cheaper than previous DAN Case designs, starting at just $120 for the PCIe 3.0 version. The PCIe 4.0 version is $155 (distinctions necessary for the side-mounted GPU riser), and shipping to the US adds an extra $10 to both versions. The case comes in black or silver color options.

Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer

Michael is a former graphic designer who’s been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.

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