A Smaller Footprint for a Serious Upgrade

After more than a decade with the same case and a five-year gap between meaningful upgrades, the push to rebuild eventually wins out. The hardware landscape has shifted enough that the interesting work now isn't just about adding speed — it's about shrinking the whole system down. The target for this build was maximum power in minimum size, using a mini-ITX board, an SFX power supply, a full-sized GPU, and a reasonable CPU cooler.

Choosing the Right Small Case

Two cases stood out for this kind of build. The Dan A4 SFX is about as small as a standard mini-ITX system can go without custom parts. The Streacom DA2 is larger but offers substantially more room for CPU cooling and additional fans — a meaningful consideration when you're packing in top-end components. The volume difference is significant:

DAN A4-SFX
200mm × 115mm × 317mm = 7.3 liters

Silverstone RVZ02 / ML08
380mm × 87mm × 370mm = 12.2 liters

nCase M1
240mm × 160mm × 328 mm = 12.6 liters

Streacom DA2
180mm × 286mm × 340mm = 17.5 liters

For context, a PS4 Pro checks in at 5.3 liters and an Xbox One S at 4.3 liters. Roughly 50% more volume than a console for considerably more than twice the power is a reasonable trade.

The Streacom DA2 was the pick for this build. Experimenting with the Dan A4 made it clear that extremely powerful CPUs and GPUs need more breathing room than the smallest cases allow. The resulting system was built around serious hardware:

  • Intel i9-9900KS (8 core, 16 thread, 5.0 GHz) CPU
  • Samsung 970 PRO 1TB / Samsung 970 EVO 2TB / Samsung 860 QVO 4TB SATA
  • 64GB DDR4-3000
  • Cryorig H7 cooler (exact fit)
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPU

Compared to the previous system — a slightly overclocked i7-7700k — this delivers 2x the cores (with faster clock rates and IPC), 2x the memory, and 2x the M.2 slots.

Working with the DA2's Design

The DA2 has a hybrid open-air design on the top and bottom, paired with a highly flexible interior of horizontal and vertical brackets. The captured nut-and-bolt design makes repositioning those brackets straightforward, and the manual lays out mounting options for just about any configuration you'd want.

One important step early in the build: pop out the top and bottom acrylic pieces that hold the mesh dust net. Temperatures improved dramatically afterward, and the case can fully "breathe" through the top and bottom. That airflow matters because the front of the DA2 is completely solid with no air holes.

The case is clever but not without flaws:

  • The tool-free side panels are convenient, but the pressure fit makes them difficult to remove.
  • A full-sized ATX power supply is theoretically supported, but it makes the build far more difficult. Stick with an SFX unit, which you'd expect for mini-ITX anyway.
  • The main gripe: the power extension cable gets in the way. It had to be removed and re-attached during the build. Routing the power cable upward would clear more space.
  • With a powerful GPU and CPU, you'll want two case fans — a 92mm in the rear and a 140mm blowing inward, easily mounted via the bracket system. You will definitely need both.

The recommended configuration leaves the case open on both top and bottom for maximum airflow, with three fans total. Water cooling is an option for the 140mm space if that's your preference, but it's not required for this build.

Burn-In and Final Thoughts

The machine passed the usual burn-in testing without issue. That said, if you plan to run full CPU and GPU loads for extended periods, water cooling — or slightly less powerful components — may be necessary given the space constraints.

Building a PC is easier now than it's ever been. Once the M.2 drives, memory, CPU, and cooler are on the motherboard, most of the work is already done. The real innovation in PC building is now about packing all that power into less than 20 liters of space. For a system like this, that's the direction that makes the most sense.