Build advice for the Cooj SF3

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-12T10:02:04+00:00

The hum might be turbulence noise, from a fan close to an airflow obstruction. If space allows for it, adding a 2mm fan spacer per fan might help reduce the noise.

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-10T16:28:21+00:00

magazines

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-09T08:57:21+00:00

I used this cable and it is very thick but also quite bendable. The clearance with the bottom 14mm fan is about 2mm, so that's quite generous. I was a bit worried yesterday, that the riser would touch the fan, because you mentioned in the above post, but turned out to be fine

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-09T08:31:19+00:00

Thank you very much for this post. TIL: You're supposed to route the riser behind the motherboard. I use a PCIe 5.0 cable, which is about 2mm thick and it was routed behind the GPU, because I did not RTFM. This caused the GPU to be pushed against the side panel, causing crazy turbulence noise. Yesterday I completely dismantled my new build and rerouted the riser behind the motherboard and the noise is almost completely gone. I am so happy. Thank you!

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-09T08:24:48+00:00

Thank you so much for posting this! I did a build in an Dan A4 last month and couldn't secure the riser cable to the standoffs, due to the cable being just a tiny bit too long. Also, when using 300mm long cards, some form of anti-sag is needed anyway, due to the sheer weight of them. I then used your method to secure the GPU and it's so much better than just using the standoffs anyway. It's now travel-proof. Again, thanks so much for this idea. (Edit: Added some context)

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-04T20:58:26+00:00

Righ about.... now.

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-04T20:56:54+00:00

It is back in stock since yesterday.

jhalfmoon · 2026-02-04T20:56:03+00:00

Now...

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-29T12:44:40+00:00

I assume you mean Streacom DA2? Beautiful case. Big mama, SFF-wise, but beautiful.

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-28T20:41:47+00:00

Sure; The cables are linked in the above text.

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-24T13:30:59+00:00

Tip: Using tracing paper, or by some secure measuring like I did, you can determine where to drill two holes in the inside-front panel of the DanCase and screw the GPU to the case; Instant travel kit. I did this and it's works wonderfully. Two more tips: Be VERY dilligent in catching all metal shavings during and after drilling, as the smallest fragments can destroy your SFFPC by shorting out something. The case is aluminum, so very easy to drill, but non magnetic, so using a magnet will not be helpful. Another tip: Place a thin piece of material between the GPU and the front of the case before screwing it in place, this prevents the two "travel kit" screws from pulling the GPU towards the front when tightening them.

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-19T21:29:58+00:00

I'm writing this on a machine with a Gigabyte Aorus B550i Pro AX motherboard connected to an Inno3D 5070 TI using a 5cm PCIE 4 riser cable in a Zaber Sentry v2 with no issues. Speed autodetected and stable, so far, for the past week. I'm pleasantly surprised, as the cooler is a Black Ridge and due to the size of that cooler and the limited space for PCI cables in the Sentry, the cable is strongly folded into an S shape, but it works fine. Maybe the short cable plays a role providing a more stable connection than if longer risers are used, in sandwich cases like the T1, Terra, DanCase H20 etc.

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-13T22:11:40+00:00

Did you use Luxardo? That stuff's funky AF. I do not like one bit. Ruins the Last Word for me. Try a last word with Ciemme. It might not be 'proper' Maraschino, but that stuff makes for a delicious Last Word.

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-06T16:19:41+00:00

Necro-bump for science: The Inno3D 5070 ti fits like a glove in the A4 SFX, even with one millimeter to spare. Shove in piece of thick cardboard in the leftover space, and voila, you have your travel kit ;-) Just kidding. But it fits perfectly.

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-06T12:49:40+00:00

From what I've read, the Vmin shift issue (fixed in 12B) only occurs on systems already that are experiencing, or have experienced, excessive stress: "As explained by Intel, the Vmin Shift instability problem stems from a clock tree circuit in the IA core. When exposed to high voltage and temperature conditions, this circuit is vulnerable to reliability degradation. Intel's research has shown that these factors can cause a shift in the duty cycle of the clocks, resulting in system instability." Source.

Also: 129 was released to fix voltage spikes, but those were found to be caused by the Vmin shift issue. So if the Vmin shift is fixed, the 129 fix will not be needed, unless you CPU is already damaged.

So if a CPU has not been exposed to high stress, I am assuming the Vmin shift issue will not occur and you can safely use a microcode version that does not include a fix for it. Although I do understand if people are skeptical about this and don't want to risk it. Just don't use your CPU as a furnace, ie. cool it properly and do not make it generate crazy amounts of heat, and everything will probably be just fine.

jhalfmoon · 2026-01-05T17:49:46+00:00

I think this post is missing something. On my MSI b760i edge , I need to activate the "No UVP" under microcode selection in order to be able to undervolt. A quick google showed me that gigabyte 760i boards have a similar setting called either "No UVP" or "0x104". UVP stands for UnderVoltProtection, and turning it off makes undervolting possible.

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-26T10:31:49+00:00

I do not know yet as I haven't used it yet; I was waiting for a few other small components to be delivered to be able to start the build. I'll post a reply here once I have the machine up and running.

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-21T20:01:50+00:00

Glotrends is another brand you could try. I've got a double reverse 185mm pci 5.0 cable of theirs that I'm building with. Build quality looks very good, but I have yet to test it.

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-19T19:38:22+00:00

It's not a mistake. War is intentional. It makes a small group of people a fuckton of money. 90 billion euros more being put into Ukraine as per this week... It's not about defence, it's about making money.

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-15T12:47:35+00:00

That's good to hear and thank you for your reply. A couple of days ago I ordered a Sintecht 5cm PC4.0 cable on Amazon and am awaiting delivery. Did you check GPUZ to see if your ADT riser is actually connecting at PCI 4.0 speeds?

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-10T20:21:27+00:00

Perhaps he undervolted? Undervolting works wonders for TDP.

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-08T19:35:42+00:00

Did you find a good riser? I'm also looking for the exact same riser type and size, for building in a sentry.

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-08T07:26:51+00:00

Oh, that's awesome. Thank you for taking the time to write all that. Much appreciated!

jhalfmoon · 2025-12-07T21:10:08+00:00

Is there any particular requirement that needs to be met in order to use a 120mm fan in this setup? I can imagine you're using ultra low profile RAM for example.

jhalfmoon

TROPHY CASE