Sam Thwaytes

Dec 26 min read

Lian Li/Dan Cases A3 Wood Edition

Lian Li Dan Cases A3 Wood mATX ProArt RTX 4060 4070 Super 4080 Super i5 14400F i5 14600K i7 14700K

Small form factor, how we’ve missed you, and all your quirks. The build process is always more difficult than a mid tower, space to work with is tight, but the end result is so very worth it! This time we’re back with the Lian Li/Dan Cases A3. It’s one of our favourite mATX cases! So far we’ve built a budget version with a ASUS Dual 4060Ti, and a mid-range build with a TUF gaming 4070Ti. So….. hardware support is scaleable, which gave us an idea.

The ProArt RTX 40 series cards all share the same dimensions, and we know they fit in this case, so we could create something that could be adjusted to fit different budget ranges. Though we’ll be building a high end system, with an i7 14700K and an RTX 4080 Super you could just as easily build an i5 14400F or similar with an RTX 4060 and have it look identical. We created an amazon.com shopping list, and our i7 14700K/RTX 4080 Super build comes in at around $2,250. If you switch out to a ProArt 4070 Super and an Intel i5 14600K it would come in around $1,600. Finally, let's switch out for the i5 14400F, RTX 4060 and down tier the power supply to 750w and the build comes in at around $1,240! In our humble opinion, the mid range (4070 Super) option would suit most gamers - it would be a 2K beast with very manageable thermals and save a huge amount of money! There are of course further savings you could have buying used or finding discounts with other retailers.

Case Overview

We didn’t expect to be doing a revisit of the A3 so soon, but as it happens, the case got a new version. It’s a brand new aesthetic idea, one that hasn’t been seen before! They added a new front panel, featuring wooden slats!..... I joke of course, airflow focused wooden front panels for the A3 have been offered by third parties for a while now. There were some good designs, but also some more questionable ones. Lian Li has decided to take a route of simplicity when designing their own. The wooden slats, in a dark brown stain/finish run vertically, we think it adds an extra touch of class to an already stylish case! As an added bonus to this revision the front panel is now vented, so you can now front mount the power supply with the fan facing towards fresh air instead of either suffocating it or having it draw air from inside the case. Of course in the previous iteration you could mount the PSU facing the side to eliminate the issue (something which can still be done), but it left something to be desired aesthetically and also made fitting the graphics card challenging.

The rest of the chassis seems entirely unchanged. This is no bad thing, the A3 is a very well built case for the price, with a high level of configuration options for its size. Let’s get into the specifics:

Dimensions: (h)306 x (w)194 x (d)443mm

Motherboard: mATX/mini ITX

Graphics Card: max length 415mm

Air Cooler: max height 165mm

Radiator Support: up to 2 x 360mm

Power Supply: ATX/SFX-L/SFX

As with all things small form factor, choose your parts wisely, for example the A3 technically supports graphics cards up to 415mm, you’d really want an SFX power supply to allow for the space. Also some mATX motherboards have the PCiE slot for the graphics card a slot lower than the one we’re using, which could reduce the effectiveness of the bottom fans, as could thicker graphics cards.

How Was The Build?

The case strips down in the usual way, pop off the panels to be left with the almost empty chassis. The power supply computing bracket is still in situ, which will require removing 2 tiny screws to remove. You could remove the side bracket designed to hold storage drives, but it came in really useful for cable management!

Building the motherboard was pretty standard and straightforward, if you’ve seen our content previously then you’re very accustomed to the process. When attaching the cooler I must admit I did question whether it would actually fit in the case, but it all worked out fine! Then we added 3 intake fans to the bottom of the case and then 2 as exhaust, one behind the air cooler and one at the top rear of the chassis.

When choosing the parts for the build I was a little taken aback when Matt suggested using the TUF Gaming 850w power supply in this build. The TUF PSU’s are our go-to because the cables are super flexible and pliable. My reaction was not based on the quality provided, but combining a 3 fan graphics card and an ATX power supply seemed a little too much for the A3 to handle. In addition we needed to consider how difficult the cable management would be when having to deal with the extra length afforded by an ATX PSU compared to SFX cables. We ploughed on with the idea, and it turns out, I was quite glad we did. ATX power supplies are typically cheaper than SFX, but also managing the cables - which took close to an hour - was an enjoyable experience. We managed to tidy more of the CPU and 24 pin overhang between the side of the PSU and the storage mounting plate. It’s not ideal if you’re wanting to attached storage drives, but it worked well. The 12v power cable for the graphics card had to be routed around the intake fans, the cable length was almost perfect! After all was said and done I was very proud of how this turned out! Though the use of velcro was very very liberal.

Airflow

The only reservation about airflow going into the testing was that the case is small and bottom intake only. Though we’ve done this twice before so we kinda knew how it was going to go. The unknown for me was the fans. Matt has used the Scythe Kaze Flex II fans before, but it was the first time I’ve seen them in use. I knew they enjoy a good reputation and so I had high hopes. We ramped them up to max speed and it felt like a hurricane blew through the studio. These things are powerful, though at max RPM they’re also fairly loud. So with that all in mind the airflow visualisation went exactly as expected.

We did add a few extra wrinkles to testing this time. We’ve only ever tested using the mesh side panel - it’s how the case comes as standard. This time we also have a glass panel, which runs the risk of not allowing the air cooler to draw its own air. Luckily this didn’t appear to be an issue, air intake was sufficient and passed it to the air cooler without issue. The second new test we ran was airflow testing the power supply. It’s something we’ve never really been sure of how to do before, but a front mounted power supply combined with the new front panel - which this time allows airflow - allowed the perfect opportunity. It was interesting to see the power supply suck in and eject the smoke!

All things considered we were very happy with the results from the airflow testing, which should result in the build performing well thermally!

Performance

Ambient temp 18.0°C

Spider-Man Remastered

3840x2160

Very High

123-154fps

88°C CPU

68°C GPU

Forza Horizon 5

3840x2160

Extreme

112 - 131fps

86°C CPU

68°C GPU

CPU-Z

Max Temp 88°C

Fan Speed ~1500 rpm

CPUPower Draw 226w

Furmark2

3840x2160

Avg fps 135

Max temp 68°C

Hotspot 80°C

Roundup

We’re very pleased with this wood cladded version of the Dan Cases A3. There has been a gap in the market for a little while for an mATX case which follows the recent wood trend. The A3 launched earlier this year as an already outstanding value considering the excellent build quality, and none of that has changed here. There is a slight bump in the price to account for the redesigned front panel, but if you ask us it’s worth paying the extra for the premium aesthetic.

The build itself was simple enough, and the point was for it to be replicable in a fashion that suits many budgets. I hope this is something we’ve nailed, and perhaps something to be mindful of going forward. No matter whether you choose the entry level, mid tier or high performance spec of this build, we’re very confident that anyone could build it and it will be a solid performer for years to come!

Full Video Below.

Blog post written by Sam Thwaytes

Affiliate Links

If you are interested in any of the products used and wish to support the channel feel free to use the affiliate links below. We get a small kickback if you buy the product without it costing you anything!

US Links

Case: https://amzn.to/3Z5kdbe

CPU (i7 14700K): https://amzn.to/4i2MVSP

CPU (i5 14600K): https://amzn.to/3CNWMvF

CPU (i5 14400F): https://amzn.to/3BaYMxr

GPU (RTX 4080 Super): https://amzn.to/3ZmIACt

GPU (RTX 4070 Super): https://amzn.to/3VdeX4b

GPU (RTX 4060): https://amzn.to/3AYeQCJ

RAM: https://amzn.to/3ZnfKC7

MOBO: https://amzn.to/3V61lYs

PSU (850w): https://amzn.to/3ZrPs1O

PSU (750w): https://amzn.to/4fGj80H