The volume of the DA6 is slightly less than 20 liters, which is the upper limit of the SFF, but the legroom and handles are included in the metric, and the actual body volume is only 15.9 liters.
As the name suggests, the DA6 XL is larger with extra vertical space to accommodate larger GPUs up to 358mm in length while maintaining the same footprint.
If it’s not obvious, the center of the structure is tubular, with the main structure formed from a 19mm stainless steel tube forming a complete rounded frame that defines the body, legs and handle.
The use of tubes or rods continues in motherboard stands and extends to universal brackets, including cylindrical mounts and smaller rods that form the brackets. This creates a cohesive design that marks the first time we’ve used a material other than aluminum as the main body element, namely…stainless steel.
In addition to being a simple style choice, these tubes play an integral role not only structurally, but also functionally, and in combination with universal brackets, they serve as a support surface for mounting components. The versatility extends to the motherboard stand and also supports GPU risers. This focus on optimization reduces complexity and clutter, creating this minimalist design without sacrificing any functionality.
For an open frame, the choice of every component and material is critical as nothing is hidden. Nearly every component is custom built using 304 stainless steel or machined/anodized 6063 aluminum. The DA6 is a celebration of high quality materials and finishes, so we think it performs just as well as an open frame.
Unlimited Airflow What you can be sure of is cooling. The open frame design not only allows for unrestricted airflow, but combined with the 4-sided mounting option, provides unrivaled cooling potential.
Each side has a 150mm annulus (166 without brackets), perfect for 140mm fans (or smaller) installed between them.
While the DA6 is primarily designed for air cooling (even passive), it can also easily support water-cooled hardware to create truly impressive builds. We can only imagine what some creative custom hinge builds will look like in this… ..pipes in the DA6 will feel right at home.
The DA6 has enough room for a massive 105mm cooler with downward airflow all the way to the edge of the case, but there’s nothing stopping you from going all out with the tallest tower cooler you can get your hands on.
Again, the open frame chassis design removes many of the size limitations of traditional chassis, making component selection less dependent on size and more on performance requirements.
Want to do without a fan? We don’t actually make fanless CPU coolers because we believe a case is essential for proper fanless operation, but the DA6 could be the perfect companion for these fanless CPU coolers.
The Perfect Layout While the CPU may be the heart of every PC, the GPU has become the visual hub of any high performance system. Emphasizing this is one of the main motives behind the DA6′s open design. There’s no better way to fully appreciate your hardware without negatively impacting cooling performance (talk about your TG!) than opening the case.
In addition to being able to have an unrestricted view of the GPU, we also wanted it to be perfectly positioned regardless of the dimensions used, which is why we opted for an adjustable mounting solution. This allows the GPU’s x-axis movement to accurately align the card with the case’s centerline.
Staying within the scope of SSF while still including support for larger GPUs meant introducing compromises that we just didn’t want to admit, so we decided to release 2 versions of DA6, Standard (just named DA6) and DA6 XL.
The XL retains the same size, but the extra height allows for GPUs up to 358mm, room for even the largest cards, and some space for arguably larger next-gen cards.
Versatile Approach It would be hard to imagine a Streacom chassis without a unique way to mount hardware, and the DA6 is no exception as it uses more versatile universal brackets than ever before.
Freely movable along the entire length of the case and on all 4 sides, they provide very precise placement of components and allow you to install almost anything, as long as it physically fits (most likely, it will fit as an open case). world of possibilities.
The brackets are held in place with screws on each side, and when loosened they can be adjusted to slide over the pipe. The brackets can also be mounted in inboard or outboard orientations, allowing equipment to be positioned closer to or further from the edge.
Despite the trend towards M.2 storage, the DA6 still provides universal support for legacy 3.5″ and 2.5″ drives using a common bracket.
The flexible drive mounting method allows the DA6 to be used for large storage applications, as space normally taken up by bulky gaming GPUs can be reallocated to drives when used as a NAS device. It is difficult to give an exact number of drives that can be installed, as it depends on the other components used, but 5 to 9 3.5-inch drives can be installed.
In gaming builds, the ability to add a 3.5″ drive depends on the size of the GPU and PSU, but in most cases one drive should work.
Flexible PowerSFX and SFX-L power supplies are natural choices for small form factor builds, but with higher price and ever-increasing CPU and GPU power requirements, the argument for better ATX power supply support is becoming stronger.
The DA6 offers ATX power supply compatibility without sacrificing GPU size, so you don’t have to choose between power and performance or limit your power supply to SFX only.
Although the location of the power supply depends on the size of the GPU, the actual location is not fixed, all 4 sides are possible, so the placement can be optimized for cabling, cooling, and space.
Port Modularity A feature of all D-Series chassis is port modularity. This can improve case personalization and reduce obsolescence, providing an upgrade path for future standards.
The DA6 comes with a power button + type-c module which is on the bottom panel by default, but also has 2 extra module slots on the top panel. They can be used as an alternative to bottom placement or to add additional ports depending on your specific needs and motherboard port capabilities.
We’re looking to expand on this modular platform, and in addition to adding more ports, we’re introducing a new biometric power button module that makes it easy to use Windows Hello on your desktop PC. The module will be compatible with all “D” series cases and will replace the existing glass buttons with a touch sensor.
The transition to the open frame of the Case will be done (pun intended). Open frames are dust magnets or not suitable for children and pets. We can’t argue with the latter, but in our testing and experience, most side panels and dust filters are somewhat of a placebo, only catching larger particles. In fact, they often hide accumulated dust until it has a negative effect and continues at the cost of running the system hotter but harder to clean. This is one of the main reasons for not having a fan (and we know a little about it) because as long as you have a fan and forced airflow, dust buildup is inevitable.
We think the best strategy here is “don’t try to hide it, just make it easy to clean”… so being able to see dust buildup in the short term and cleaning more frequently can increase productivity and cut costs. in the long run It seems that reliability needs to be improved.
Pricing and availability varies by location, the DA6 is expected to be available in retail stores at the end of July 2022, the XL will retail for around €139 and €149.