NCASE M1 v2 Build Thread

I've been going back and forth on where to compromise for quite a while now. It just feels wrong to get less than ideal stuff. I've ended up trying to keep as much stuff as possible from my old build.

Black M1 w/odd + extra non-odd top panel

Motherboard: ASUS Z97I-Plus (Hate the gold, but red is getting old)
CPU: i5 4670K
Boot drive: Intel 530 SSD 180GB M.2
Game drive: OCZ Agility3 120GB (kept from old build, will replace with a 500GB EVO later)
PSU: Silverstone SFX 600W (i think)
GPU: MSI 580 Twin Frozr II (From old build. Will replace asap. Airflow is going to suck)
RAM: Corsair 8GB (From old build. Will replace, but not until it holds me back).
ODD: Cheapest slot-in i can find - i think i'll actually block it off with the no-odd top cover for cleaner aestetics, but we'll see once it's here. At least i have the option.

Cooling: This is harder. I have also considered the Fractal Design Kelvin 240, but i am still not entirely sure. Need to wait for reviews. I am wondering what the consequences of what seems like a smaller reservoir on the rad than the H220. THe idea is to go expandable 240 AIO now, and then include the GPU once i upgrade. Won't invest in a cooling block for a rusty old 580.

It's easy to get carried away once you start planning something like this, and I must saymdpc sleeving at some point is really tempting (How hard can it be? :p ). The one in the picture gallery with the tan sleeving looks amazing.
 
I've just realised one important componant that I will be missing, when I eventually downsize from my Fractal Design R2 to the NCASE M1 case.

I'm currently using a Compro VideoMate DVB-T100 PCI TV card and I really want another internal TV card solution.

What are my options on Mini ITX motherboards? Or am I better off watching TV via USB?
 
phillai said:
I've just realised one important componant that I will be missing, when I eventually downsize from my Fractal Design R2 to the NCASE M1 case.

I'm currently using a Compro VideoMate DVB-T100 PCI TV card and I really want another internal TV card solution.

What are my options on Mini ITX motherboards? Or am I better off watching TV via USB?
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Wow, PCI TV Tuners. I haven't bothered with those since I went to W7 x64 and all of the old cards stopped working...
Maybe you could get away with swapping the Wireless card on some boards but I don't think there are many Mini-ITX boards that have an extra pci-e slot.

tetrismaster said:
What options do we have for the ODD drive? Preferable blu-ray?
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As long as it is slot-loading it can be both DVD as well as Blu-Ray. Take a look at Silverstone's offerings. DVD can be had for $25 or so.
 
tetrismaster said:
What options do we have for the ODD drive? Preferable blu-ray?
Click to expand...

A dvd-rom is a must for me due to older titles pre-steam, but i can honestly not think of how i would put a bluray to use. I was considering i for the "premium stamp" until i gave it some thought. What uses do you see for the br-drive?
 
Urelure said:
What uses do you see for the br-drive?
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I have several titles on Blu-Ray, especially some more rare or 'arthouse' movies that I want to be able to use when I move. So either I buy a separate player or put it in my PC.
 
JaccoW said:
I have several titles on Blu-Ray, especially some more rare or 'arthouse' movies that I want to be able to use when I move. So either I buy a separate player or put it in my PC.
Click to expand...

I see. That makes sense. Wanted to see if you had thougt of something I hadn't before I regret saving just a couple of bucks on a cheap dvd-drive. I'm safe. I don't own a single physical dvd/blu ray movie:p On my current computer I thik I've used the dvd-rom 10 times in the 5 years I've owned it.
 
Then just get an external one on USB and put it in a drawer until the time comes that you may need it. I have yet to manage to need it 0 times in the last few years, up to a point I don't even remember what I used it for.
 
Well, the thing is: its more out of the way behind the front bezel than in any drawer. And as mentioned above, i am even considering blocking it off with a slot-less top cover. At least i know where it is, and i won't lose power cords etc. It won't ever be in the way there. They're pretty cheap too so that wo 't be an issue unless you go blue ray. If i needed the space for an ssd i would drop it immediately.
 
Some people back up their drives to disks, BLuRay would be good for that, if nothing else.
 
Backing up to optical disks is not where you want to waste money on these days, as they have limited life spans (much less than advertised) and they are much more prone to errors during write or read.

Backing up to an external mutli-disk system like a good NAS is still the best way to go for home use.
 
Phuncz said:
Backing up to optical disks is not where you want to waste money on these days, as they have limited life spans (much less than advertised) and they are much more prone to errors during write or read.

Backing up to an external mutli-disk system like a good NAS is still the best way to go for home use.
Click to expand...

Or both. Back-up to a NAS at home, and then also back-up to optical (or a portable drive) to store off-site.. or use "the cloud", if you're into that.

Heck, back-up to all 4 if possible. Redundancy is a good thing ;)
 
Teaser ;)
E9DNtRo.png


(Yes, I know it's flipped.)
 
Aight, after some planning out I think I've got a solid design.

BlackV2 with spare Silver panel kit, ODD slot on both:

Mobo: Asus Impact VII
CPU: Intel i7 4790k
RAM: G-Skill Ares 16gb 2400 11-13-13-31
Boot Drive: Samsung 840 evo 240gb (from current build)
2nd Drive: Samsung 840 Evo 500gb
PSU: Silverstone SFX 600W
GPU: R9 390x (if worth it, or I'll use my 7870 until 2015).

Cooling: Fractal Kelvin 240 or Swiftech H220, with both GPU & CPU on the loop. (Sounds like the Kelvin uses the Alphacool DC-LT pump?)

Keyboard: Deck Hassium or Corsair Rainbow K70.
Goodies: M1 Carry Bag, Oculus DK2.


The last time I built a rig was in 2008, and my 920 would easily last me a few more years if I wasn't just sick to death of the AHCI boot times and general senescence of 1366 as a platform. Planning for this little case to take me to the 5nm node before I have to upgrade again. :D
 
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Technically this build will go into my Rev 1 while the Rev 2 will get my current build. Any feedback is welcomed!

Mobo: ASRock Z97E-ITX
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 with 92mm Gentle Typhoons
RAM: G.Skill 2x4GB 1866 8-9-9
Hard Drive: Samsung 1TB 2.5"
PSU: Silverstone SFX ST30SF
GPU: EVGA GTX 750 Ti
 
Urelure said:
Motherboard: ASUS Z97I-Plus (Hate the gold, but red is getting old)
Boot drive: Intel 530 SSD 180GB M.2
Click to expand...

Apparently the M.2 socket on the Z97I-Plus is on the bottom of the board. If you're using the M.2 would you be worried about airflow / cooling, since it would be pressed up against the side of the case?

I'm looking at the same mobo so I was curious about that possibility.
 
Your SSD is not going to need cooling or they would have included a heatsink. They put heatsinks on RAM that also doesn't need it most of the time (except high voltage and high overclock modules).
 
Good to know; thanks!

Another quick noob question on that mobo; since it seems to require a wifi antenna, would there be enough space to put that inside the case (I'm assuming not) or would you have to stick it to the back (which would look ugly)?
 
Thanks for the info, Phuncz. I've not built a PC before but I've ordered a v2 and I'm slowly but surely piecing together a build :)
 
Phuncz said:
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1040727292&postcount=177

Most PC cases are metal boxes, which severely hinder WiFi signals going through or past.
The antenna needs to be external and if possible even placed away from the computer. My router is in the same room as the computer so I don't have an issue with reception with my antenna placed on the back.
Click to expand...

I think another member here placed his ASUS wi-fi antenna inside his M1 and it worked.. probably worse reception, but I don't recall him having any issues.

I used mine for almost a full day, a room away from my router, downloading MS updates and such, before I realized I forgot to put on any antennas! Signal strength was low, but it worked surprising well :eek:
 
There are always exceptions to the rule but they are rules nonetheless. I don't want to give advice that turns out to be very circumstantial. It is a fact that metal cases/cages severely impact wireless signal strength, but in some combinations of factors it will indeed not be a (large) issue.

I did notice a lower signal strength by just mounting my antenna on the back of the case instead of 2 feet or half a meter away.
 
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Phuncz said:
There are always exceptions to the rule but they are rules nonetheless. I don't want to give advice that turns out to be very circumstantial. It is a fact that metal cases/cages severely impact wireless signal strength, but in some combinations of factors it will indeed not be a (large) issue.

I did notice a lower signal strength by just mounting my antenna on the back of the case instead of 2 feet or half a meter away.
Click to expand...

Yeah, agreed.. i don't necessarily recommend running an internal antenna setup (or without any antenna), just that it's possible and may or may not work depending upon many other factors (particular antenna, placement inside the case, distance from router, signal strength, etc). The Dell XPS desktop I'm using right now gets 100% reception 1 floor away from the router, and works perfectly fine with whatever internal antenna setup they installed at the factory.

If I'm remembering correctly, the member that did the stealth ASUS antenna install placed his in the front of the M1 where the ODD would normally go.
 
Hi everybody. My apologies, another noob question here. I am moving my current Sandy Bridge Bitfenix Prodigy build into the M1 v2, and I need to cool it and add an sfx power supply. Would anyone have any suggestions? I would greatly appreciate any advice. Here are the components:

Intel Core i5 2500K
Asus P8Z77-I DELUXE
Corsair XMS3 8GB DDR3 1333MHz
Intel 120 GB SSD
Western Digital Black 2 TB
EVGA GTX 570

I currently just use the stock Intel fan on my CPU and the case fans on the Prodigy. I do game, but mostly stuff that’s a couple of years old, and don’t plan to overclock anytime soon. Silence is the most important thing to me. Any suggestions for cooling? Can I power this with a 450 W sfx supply, or should I wait for the 600 W coming later this year? I plan to replace the graphics card and the SSD sometime soon, and can live without the 2 TB drive if that will be a problem.
 
You can power it with the 450W, but the good reason to wait for the SX600-G is that it will be quieter.
 
I am currently using H100i but when I got this Ncase, what are best option to cpu cooler? Because I want to use one 3,5" hard drive. H80 or H60? I own few GentleTyphoon which I would like to use. I want to keep the system as quiet as can be and also keep Ncase bottom to clear for GPU.

My CPU (2600k) is running 4.5GHz.
 
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CyberShot said:
I am currently using H100i but when I got this Ncase, what are best option to cpu cooler? Because I want to use one 3,5" hard drive. H80 or H60? I own few GentleTyphoon which I would like to use. I want to keep the system as quiet as can be and also keep Ncase bottom to clear for GPU.

My CPU (2600k) is running 4.5GHz.
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Supposedly the H100i is superior to the H80 and the H80 is superior to the H60 in overall performance. Other choices would be traditional hsf like the Noctua C14 or C12P. The C14 seems to be pretty popular for the M1. Look at the spread sheet that lists what everyone is using. That should help you in making a decision.
 
CyberShot said:
I am currently using H100i but when I got this Ncase, what are best option to cpu cooler? Because I want to use one 3,5" hard drive. H80 or H60? I own few GentleTyphoon which I would like to use. I want to keep the system as quiet as can be and also keep Ncase bottom to clear for GPU.

My CPU (2600k) is running 4.5GHz.
Click to expand...

dont forget the H75 - very capable and easy to use. i plan on using a h80i in my NCASE V2 when it arrives and the dimensions are gunna be a sqeeze with full width fans in place. i have seen photos of people using 2x 15mm fans with the 38mm wide H80i and its sqeezy, so the likelyhood of being able to push pull a H80i is slim.

a 30mm or less width rad is the way to go i would say!
 
I have one 15mm fan and don't liked that all. Air flow was not so good as I imagined.
 
WiSK said:
You can power it with the 450W, but the good reason to wait for the SX600-G is that it will be quieter.
Click to expand...
@WiSK, thanks for the advice! I hadn't considered that the 600W would be quieter--another reason to wait for that one. As for cooling, maybe I'll go with one of these H100i's. It would be my first time with liquid cooling, but it seems like an easy, quiet solution, and it would leave me room to OC in the future.
 
inchikiboze said:
@WiSK, thanks for the advice! I hadn't considered that the 600W would be quieter--another reason to wait for that one. As for cooling, maybe I'll go with one of these H100i's. It would be my first time with liquid cooling, but it seems like an easy, quiet solution, and it would leave me room to OC in the future.
Click to expand...

Actually in my experience, the water cooling pump makes quite a bit of noise, and it's less of a woosh, more of a clacking sound. If you want to OC, then water cooling will probably end up being quieter, but if not then you may be better off with an air cooling solution for lower noise. People here seem to like the Noctua C14 or C12. There's also the Scythe Big Shuriken 2, Thermalright AXP-200, and Silverstone NT06-Pro for other low profile coolers that may or may not fit your mobo. But I think those should fit yours (ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe)
 
New bits:
M1v2 silver with no ODD slot
i5-4590
Gigtabyte B85N Phoenix-wifi
ST45SF 450w PSU (NoiseBlocker BSP fan on standby for swap if need be)
16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3 1600
Swiftech H220
Heatkiller GTX680 block
White tubing, black fittings.

Heat gun (no more borrowing the girlfriend's hairdryer!)

Old bits:
GTX 680
Crucial M500 SSD
a 4TB Hitachi
Various Nexus, Scythe fans
Orange (or white, haven't decided yet) Paracord for sleeving once I figure out the lengths I need to trim the PSU cables to. Not that anyone will really see the inside, it's just personal gratification. :p

Old machine will get a new Sapphire R9 270x and an older 256GB Crucial M4.
 
tetrismaster said:
Actually in my experience, the water cooling pump makes quite a bit of noise, and it's less of a woosh, more of a clacking sound. If you want to OC, then water cooling will probably end up being quieter, but if not then you may be better off with an air cooling solution for lower noise. People here seem to like the Noctua C14 or C12. There's also the Scythe Big Shuriken 2, Thermalright AXP-200, and Silverstone NT06-Pro for other low profile coolers that may or may not fit your mobo. But I think those should fit yours (ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe)
Click to expand...
@tetrismaster, many thanks for the advice. I had heard from a few people that the H100i could be noisy. Since low noise is more important to me than OC, maybe I'll try one of these air coolers. The only thing I was worried about with an air cooler was whether I needed any additional case fans to push the air out of the case. Since I have more experience with ATX, I'm inclined to think that I would, but the M1 is so small. Those with M1 experience: will I need additional fans, and if so, how many? Can I get by with just the one C14 on the CPU for the whole build? Again, no intention to OC anytime soon.
 
inchikiboze said:
Those with M1 experience: will I need additional fans, and if so, how many? Can I get by with just the one C14 on the CPU for the whole build? Again, no intention to OC anytime soon.
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I recommend at least 10 fans :D

Honestly, you should be just fine with no case fans and just the single 140mm on the C14 on your 2500k.

Earlier this week, I goofed around and checked my temps with every possible combination of my 4 fans (rear on, with CPU off, with bottom-rear on.. etc), and while the case fans did help in cooling both at idle and partial load, the difference was rather slight (~5C). I couldn't really gauge the difference under full-load, since AiSuite won't let me shut the fans down when the CPU hits 75C. And actually, during idle and low-usage, my smaller C12 can run passively (with all fans shut off) surprisingly well.. the temps are slightly higher, but appear to stay consistent.

Try with just the C14 fan, run AIDA64 and monitor your temps at idle, and then again doing the stress test.. then go back and add fans if you feel it's actually necessary.
 
AFD said:
I recommend at least 10 fans :D
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Someone should try that, for shits and giggles. Double fans on all the fan holes (inside and outside), 50mm feet, side panel duct-taped with the fan wedged between it and the fan bracket. Because more fan = cool ! And more cool = better !!

Maybe even triple radiator ? 2x 240mm and 1x 92mm. Because more radiator = awesome cool !

I'm curious how long it would take in the mess of "wow that's so awesome, I'm gonna do that now"-messages for one to ask "but does it really matter ?"
 
Phuncz said:
Someone should try that, for shits and giggles. Double fans on all the fan holes (inside and outside)..
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Screw that, I'm ditching my 120mm fans and using 9 of these cute 40mm ones, glued together for each location..

oVhFc62.jpg


;)
 
Progress !! That's like nine fans in one !
You can also fit these on top so you can have maybe 100 fans ! :O
This will probably lower the ambient temperature in the case below the ambient outside the case, so be careful !
 
AFD said:
Try with just the C14 fan, run AIDA64 and monitor your temps at idle, and then again doing the stress test.. then go back and add fans if you feel it's actually necessary.
Click to expand...

I've been considering trying a C12P SE14 or a C14 passively...do you do any gaming? Is this safe?
 
klatox said:
I've been considering trying a C12P SE14 or a C14 passively...do you do any gaming? Is this safe?
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I can run AIDA64 stress-test for about a minute with all fans off, until FanXpert forces the case fans to turn on, and then another minute until the CPU fan kicks on. Haven't tried any gaming (still only have iGPU), but I can surf [H] and watch videos without triggering any of the fans.. I'm guessing most games would be more demanding (but probably less so than the solid 100% CPU usage on stress tests).

Not sure if running passive is safe with those coolers. I'd probably recommend just a single PWM CPU fan set to "silent" (or a similar option in BIOS) or for near-passive, set the fan to RPM mode in FanXpert (or similar app) to stay off until 75C.. just seems safer, imo. My ASUS board usually keeps my 120mm F12 CPU fan at around 200RPM (~15%) most of the time. Running the same stress test will ramp it up to ~900RPM (~60%).

Even at full-blast, all 4 of my Noctua fans aren't anywhere near as annoying as my 450W Silverstone fan's noise at idle ;)
 
After finding this case I felt compelled to make something special with it. Beyond the normal boring gamer builds I normally end up with. It will probably be a learning experience and I don't expect it to be perfect, but I do think it will be fun.




Hardware
Asus Maximus VII Impact
Intel Core i5 4690K 3,5GHz Socket 1150
Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB 2400MHz
Crucial M500 SSD M.2 480GB
Silverstone SX600-G 600W
Asus CUII Nvidia GTX 760 (Waiting for new gen of cards before upgrading this.)

Bonus stuff
Swiftech Apogee Drive II Incl. MCP35X Pump
EK Waterblocks EK-CoolStream PE (240mm)
EK-Thermosphere universal GPU cooler
NOCTUA NF-P12-1300
M1 NCase Reservoir
Fittings, tubing, distilled water, kill coil
Mdpc sleeving + custom lenght cables.


Feedback appreciated.
 
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