| DAN A4 H2O | SPECIFICATIONS |
| DIMENSIONS | 326 x 140 x 244mm (L x W x H) |
| VOLUME | 11.1 Litres |
| MATERIALS | Aluminium & Steel |
| I/O | 2x HD Audio USB 3.0 Type-A USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type-C |
| MOTHERBOARD COMPATIBILITY | Mini-ITX |
| MAX CPU COOLER HEIGHT | 55mm |
| EXPANSION SLOTS | 3 |
| MAX GPU LENGTH | 322mm |
| MAX GPU THICKNESS | 61mm (triple slot) |
| RADIATORS SUPPORTED | 240mm |
| RADIATOR COMPATIBILITY | 55mm thickness (radiator + fans) |
| POWER SUPPLY COMPATIBILITY | SFX / SFX-L |
| CASE FANS SUPPORTED | Top: 2x 120mm Bottom: 1x 92mm (fan mod / unofficial – replaces 2.5″ drive) |
| 2.5 / 3.5” DRIVES SUPPORTED | 1x 2.5″ |
DAN A4 H2O is 11L aluminium Mini-ITX case, created in collaboration with Lian-Li & DAN Cases. Prices start at US$129 for PCIe 3.0 and US$169.99 for PCIe 4.0 version. The A4 H2O is available via Newegg, CaseKing & Overclockers UK.
| DAN A4 H20 | BUILD |
| MOTHERBOARD | GIGABYTE B660I AORUS PRO DDR4 (paid link) |
| CPU | Intel 12700K (paid link) |
| CPU COOLER | EK AIO Basic 240 (paid link) |
| GPU | RTX 3070 Ti (paid link) |
| GPU RISER | 200mm PCIe 4.0 ITX Riser Cable (paid link) |
| PSU | Corsair SF 600 Platinum (paid link) |
| RAM | Crucial Ballistix, 16GB (2x8GB), 3600MHz, CL16 (paid link) |
| STORAGE | 1TB M.2 NVME (paid link) |
| CASE FANS | Top: 2x Noctua NF-A12x25 chromax.Black (paid link) Bottom: Noctua NF-A9x14 (paid link) |
We were able to install a 92x14mm Noctua fan in-place of the 2.5″ SSD using anti-vibration fan mounts. We set our 92mm fan to exhaust and AIO fans to intake. You can fit a 92x25mm fan if your using custom cables.
THERMAL TESTING
ISSUES
The DAN A4 H2O PCIe 3.0 case variant is using custom PCIe riser cable with custom mounting points. It does not follow the typical ITX riser cable form factor that the majority of 3rd party cables will use. If a replacement 3.0 riser cable is required, you will need to contact Lian-Li directly.
The included triple slot PCIe riser stand-offs in the PCIe 3.0 case variant have different tread size/style than intended. All PCIe stand-offs screws should use M3 (3mm thread) screws type.
This meant we were unable to install the dual slot GPU stand-offs in our PCIe 3.0 stand-off mounting points as the thread size/style were not compatible.
We have passed this information on to Lian-Li and currently awaiting an final outcome. Lian-Li have advised the wrong stand-offs were installed at the factory, but would not confirm how many units were affected. Lian-Li did send out M3 triple slot stand-offs and larger thread dual slot stand-offs so there’s that.
Our cases right side panel would not line up flush with the top panel. From inspection, looks like the panel is bowed in the centre.
The cases front panel was not able to sit completely flush in bottom left corner due to our GPU length: 320mm and/or that we were not using PCIe stand-offs due to issue with our case as detailed above.
CONCLUSION
The DAN A4 H2O is an excellent 11L case, but is not perfect.
With most PC cases, it has quality control issues. We do expect issue to be ironed out as more units come off the line and further revisions are made. Hopefully feedback gets addressed, rather than being swept under the carpet.
Lian-Li have opted to use custom ITX riser cable in 3.0 version, so if you need a replacement 3.0 cable for any reason, your at Lian-Li’s mercy.
Cooling performance is as expected for case of this size & hardware compatibility. Our build faired little better due to using unofficial 92mm bottom intake fan instead of 2.5″ SSD. One thing we noticed was having our GPU fans running increased CPU temperature in CPU only workloads.
But despite any issues, the A4 H2O is among the best SFFPC cases currently available.
| LIKED | DISLIKED |
| Design aesthetics | Case modularity (limited to GPU) |
| Case materials (aluminium vs SPCC) | Quality control (where to start) |
| 11 litre case size (can accommodate seriously powerful hardware in very small footprint) | Case flexibility (primarily designed for AIOs, not air cooling) |