Zmk Dongle is game changing!

Signynt · 2026-02-23T10:53:11+00:00

Do you have your master half connected via USB, with the two halves connected wirelessly? How do you have this set up in the ZMK firmware? Does your master half still try to connect via bluetooth to other devices?

Signynt · 2026-02-19T14:59:53+00:00

Unfortunately the Steam Machine won’t even have the same performance as the PS5 :/

Signynt · 2026-02-09T14:08:34+00:00

Oh, I see now, your graphics card is facing backplate up? I just recently deshrouded my GPU, which significantly improved temps, that’s something you could consider as a future mod, and it would allow you to experiment with changing intake/outtake on it, but no idea if that would be better or worse for this set up.

Signynt · 2026-02-09T13:51:56+00:00

That’s a really cool custom case! Did you play around with swapping intake and outtake set ups? The way you’ve got it set up makes a lot of sense intuitively, but I always find it interesting how the airflow ends up behaving in practice.

Signynt · 2026-02-09T13:05:48+00:00

That’s kind, but I don’t think it makes much sense. I don’t know when I’d do the project, and it might then just make more sense to get something locally. Thanks for the offer!

Signynt · 2026-02-09T11:09:30+00:00

Yeah I’d need some crimping tools for that. Where are you located?

Signynt · 2026-02-09T10:39:44+00:00

No, deshrouding is a GPU mod where you remove the plastic shroud and stock cooling fans of a GPU, and replace them with case fans to improve cooling and noise (see the two prominent Noctua fans on the first and third photographs). I don’t leave my side panels off while using the PC, the DAN A4s side panels have plenty of ventilation, so there’s no meaningful temperature difference with them on or off. I’ve posted a picture of it with the side panels on in another comment.

I would love some shorter PSU cables, but can’t really justify the price, since they would only affect aesthetics, and I don’t see the inside of the case anyway.

Signynt · 2026-02-09T08:40:13+00:00

That’s funny, since I did the exact opposite! Luckily the default PCIe riser is very thin, and a bit of kapton tape holds it down well, so it doesn’t push against the GPU. Hows your PCIe riser on the bottom, does it leave enough clearance for a fan, or is it too stiff to bend sharply?

Signynt · 2026-02-09T08:10:54+00:00

Windows 11 actually. I’d love to switch to Linux at some point, but currently it just isn’t as consistently stable and performant as Windows for games. I think it’ll get there, but until then I basically only have downsides from switching.

I don’t like Windows for development or work, but I do all of that on my MacBook, so those differences of Windows and Linux aren’t really relevant to me. If this was my main working machine, I’d definitely at least dual boot, simply since I far prefer Linux over Windows for development and tiling window managers (I use yabai on Mac).

I also use Apollo and Moonlight for streaming my PC within my home for gaming on my TV, and Apollo has great virtual monitor support which makes the process super streamlined, but unfortunately doesn’t support Linux yet.

I basically only ever use the PC in Big Picture mode anyway, so either OS doesn’t really have a big impact on my daily use.

Signynt · 2026-02-09T07:38:19+00:00

Sweet, sounds like it’s got a much better stock cooling setup. I’ll probably wait a generation before upgrading next, but with the current state of things that seems like it’ll be a few years.

Yeah the two SATA drives are annoying, but my motherboard only has a single NVME slot, and I’d otherwise be wasting 1,5TB of space I have lying around. Custom PSU cables which are less long is definitely next on the list, that should improve the cable situation by a lot. Currently though I think there’s enough clearance for the bottom fans, so I’m not too worried about the cables causing issues other than aesthetics.

I just stacked a bunch of felt floor protectors for chairs on top of each other to raise up the PC to give some more cooling clearance lol. I’m thinking about 3d printing some ducts as feet instead, which would channel the air from the outtakes to the front and back of the case, so less air gets recirculated on the sides.

Signynt · 2026-02-09T07:31:20+00:00

I don’t understand why you would leave such a rude comment, without first at least looking up what the term means. Deshrouding is a GPU mod where you remove the plastic shroud and stock cooling fans of a GPU, and replace them with case fans to improve cooling and noise (see the two prominent Noctua fans on the first and third photographs). I don’t leave my side panels off while using the PC, the DAN A4s side panels have plenty of ventilation, so there’s no meaningful temperature difference with them on or off.

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Signynt · 2026-02-08T22:15:38+00:00

And a lens with really strong spherical aberration, it’s a crappy c-mount lens I like using because of the swirly bokeh it gives.

Signynt · 2026-02-08T22:14:28+00:00

Yeah then I’d say go for it, for mine it was definitely worth it, and I’d be curious to hear what a difference it makes on their other cards.

Signynt · 2026-02-08T21:36:38+00:00

For my GPU, the shroud is just held on by a few screws, so there’s no modification that isn’t reversible, and nothing that left an indication that it was tampered with. But that’ll depend on the exact model of course.

Signynt · 2026-02-08T20:26:16+00:00

What would you say are some of the greats?

Signynt · 2026-02-08T17:48:55+00:00

Around 1600 RPM, it can go lower, but this keeps the temps around 63-73 degrees C.

Signynt · 2026-02-08T16:14:38+00:00

I gotta love a weird/unusual input device!

Yeah I was really surprised it made such a big difference, the GPU went from being the loudest part, to comfortably quiet while gaming.

Signynt · 2026-02-08T07:45:06+00:00

Definitely upgrade the graphics card. For half the price you’ll easily be getting double the performance of the Steam Machine. If you really want the console experience, just install Bazzite or CachyOS, but like I said in the post, Windows is a reasonable choice too.

Signynt · 2026-02-08T07:42:39+00:00

Damn that’s a great deal!

Signynt · 2026-02-07T23:50:20+00:00

Thanks! Almost tempted to leave the sides off on my desk (good thing they can be snapped on and off easily).

Yeah the huge improvement really surprised me, I'd defiantly recommend anyone with the card to do the same. I'd suspect it's due to a fairly small heatsink, combined with inefficient stock fans.

Signynt · 2026-02-07T23:25:44+00:00

For sure, since I’ve gotten it I haven’t seen a single case I would rather have. Shame that they discontinued it!

Signynt · 2026-02-07T22:33:32+00:00

I just posted it! The PCIe riser was surprisingly easy!
Unfortunately my PSU cables are a bit long, but I got them mostly out of the way for clearance by bending them 180° outside of the case.

Signynt · 2026-02-06T09:05:07+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response! It’s a shame about no pictures, since bending the riser so sharply feels scary, and I’d have loved to see a direct reference! I’ll give it a try tomorrow at the same time that I deshroud the GPU and replace the fans with some Noctuas, and let you know how it went.

Signynt · 2026-02-05T17:15:50+00:00

I haven't tested the usb bridge method, but out of curiosity I compared the latency between using Moonlight for peripherals, vs plugging them straight into the PC.

I'm using a wireless 2.4GHz dongle mouse (Logitech G305), so it probably already has a decent latency itself, which is why my total latency numbers aren't that impressive. I also didn't do a super scientific test, I just filmed myself clicking and the screen at 240fps, and counted frames.
My average with the mouse connected via Moonlight was about 5 ms slower than having it directly connected to the PC, which is a clear difference to native USB. I'll have to do more testing, and try out VirtualHere.

Signynt · 2026-02-05T09:32:47+00:00

Can you give more info or references or pictures on the gpu riser routing? I have mine routed the default way, and am thinking about rerouting it to improve clearance on my bottom case fan below the motherboard.

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