NCASE M1: a crowdfunded Mini-ITX case (updates in first post)

xcharlesy said:
Some benchmarks show the D9L cooling better than the U9S. Both coolers are rather subjective and basically the same, 1 degree hardly seems like a come up if it ends up surpassing it at all. The D9L also fits the ram next to the heat sync instead of directly squishing next to the fan. It's also $5-6 cheaper, though that makes no difference to me. I am simply hunting for the best air cooler money can buy but I've had really poor luck with it. I'll probably just go D9L because I don't want to cram a massive corsair aio in this case.

If I could find a Noctua C14 I would go that route, but haven't had any luck. I'm using the Z270i Strix board if anyone has cooling suggestions besides custom loop.
Click to expand...


Memory Express in Edmonton Canada still shows 3 available; http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX34316 I live in the US and was able to get it shipped for about $89.00 US. It took about a week to arrive.
Try using the contact us link. I posted the contact info back in December for the gentleman who helped me at Memory Express back then, try searching. They do ship to the US.
 
HilbertSpace said:
Finally got my build back together with 2x 240 radiators. Difference is night and day with temperatures. Before the coolant would quickly go up to 50 C while gaming, now it stays around 5-10 C above ambient room temperature with RealBench running. The only problem is now reducing the noise at load. At idle/light load it is as quiet as my 2012 Mac mini, so that's a start.

On another note, I still have never noticed my PSU fan run, even with full load (~200 W)? Is that normal?

En48vYo.jpg
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I like your workstation!! + I still have CPU block envy.. :ROFLMAO:
It's normal for the PSU fan to not spin up. Even if it does, it should be going very fan or loud.

It's hard to make a double radiator build that is still clean unless you plan for it from the beginning. Maybe you could use the swiftech pump block or the EK integrated radiator unit?
Personally I like the look of the Alphacool Eiswolf - but I'm not aware of any builds that use it for a custom loop.
 
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Chapeau - The Alphacool Eiswolf is a neat idea, but I'm not sure if it would provide enough flow (70 l/hr vs the 1500 l/hr of the D5, and only 0.85 m pressure head vs 3.9 m). I thought about the Swifttech, but read that it was noisy, and the EK is unfortunately EOL.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to stick with the case or move up to something bigger. This plays into the MB choice too. I dislike the MSI Z270i Gaming Pro Carbon AC I have, as the fan control software isn't the greatest. It may eventually get sorted out with an updated BIOS, but I already have an Asus z270i strix on order... But if I move up to a bigger case then I can get a bigger MB too with so many more options available. Then I could build what I originally intended which was a complete white theme.

It has been a learning experience for sure. More research ahead of time probably wouldn't have helped though, as others seem to have fine temps with only one radiator.
 
HilbertSpace said:
Chapeau - The Alphacool Eiswolf is a neat idea, but I'm not sure if it would provide enough flow (70 l/hr vs the 1500 l/hr of the D5, and only 0.85 m pressure head vs 3.9 m). I thought about the Swifttech, but read that it was noisy, and the EK is unfortunately EOL.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to stick with the case or move up to something bigger. This plays into the MB choice too. I dislike the MSI Z270i Gaming Pro Carbon AC I have, as the fan control software isn't the greatest. It may eventually get sorted out with an updated BIOS, but I already have an Asus z270i strix on order... But if I move up to a bigger case then I can get a bigger MB too with so many more options available. Then I could build what I originally intended which was a complete white theme.

It has been a learning experience for sure. More research ahead of time probably wouldn't have helped though, as others seem to have fine temps with only one radiator.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately you're right about the pressure - definitely not enough. However, several people have had good experiences with the swiftech here!
I'd wager it would be a better bet than the EK with it being dampened somewhat by the other motherboard components.

The strix would be a great candidate for some modding though with the detachable heatsink bits. Don't give up!
 
HilbertSpace said:
Chapeau - The Alphacool Eiswolf is a neat idea, but I'm not sure if it would provide enough flow (70 l/hr vs the 1500 l/hr of the D5, and only 0.85 m pressure head vs 3.9 m). I thought about the Swifttech, but read that it was noisy, and the EK is unfortunately EOL.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to stick with the case or move up to something bigger. This plays into the MB choice too. I dislike the MSI Z270i Gaming Pro Carbon AC I have, as the fan control software isn't the greatest. It may eventually get sorted out with an updated BIOS, but I already have an Asus z270i strix on order... But if I move up to a bigger case then I can get a bigger MB too with so many more options available. Then I could build what I originally intended which was a complete white theme.

It has been a learning experience for sure. More research ahead of time probably wouldn't have helped though, as others seem to have fine temps with only one radiator.
Click to expand...

If you are talking about the Apogee Drive II I have one and it isn't noisy at all. I can't hear it over my fans and my fans aren't loud.
 
Got the Gigabyte 1070 Xtreme Gaming

At idle: DAMN QUIET. Fans are idle, as is the PSU. CPU/Exhaust fan running very low

Put a bit of load on it: Fans stuck at 100% and don't go down after returning to idle and completely ignores MSI Afterburner settings. Earbleed vacuum cleaner loud.

Trying to find a fix.

Edit:
Looked online. The answer seems to be: Card is defective. Return.
Checking with customer support.
 
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gsilver said:
Got the Gigabyte 1070 Xtreme Gaming

At idle: DAMN QUIET. Fans are idle, as is the PSU. CPU/Exhaust fan running very low

Put a bit of load on it: Fans stuck at 100% and don't go down after returning to idle and completely ignores MSI Afterburner settings. Earbleed vacuum cleaner loud.

Trying to find a fix.

Edit:
Looked online. The answer seems to be: Card is defective. Return.
Checking with customer support.
Click to expand...

Man that sucks, hope you get a good one.
 
brianj said:
I see Dan case basically accomplish the same thing in a much more compact enclosure!

difficult to fit both CPU and GPU AIO.. What's wrong with that?
Click to expand...

Comparing Dan and Ncase is like comparing apples and orange.
Dan is more compact, which is nice, but there's limited cooling option. You would not want to put in an overclocked GPU and overclockable CPU as both will probably throttle.

The hoses are the main concern with AIOs. They're too long and too stiff, and can push and strain other components.
I think another poster on here who did AIO for both GPU and CPU recommend not going down that path.

I'm considering:
  • GPU cooling (AIO): GTX 1070 (MSI Sea Hawk X), radiator mounted on the side, opposite to PSU, fan as outtake/exhaust.
  • CPU cooling (fan only) : I5-7600K, Noctua NH-U9S + addition NF-A9 for CPU HS + another NF-A9 on rear. All fans set to outtake/exhaust via rear.
  • PSU: Corsair SF600 PSU, not sure as yet if I want to point the fan side into the case, or face out.
Any case with so many vents (rear, top, bottom, side) will probably have airflow issue, where fans may not be effective enough to push or pull hot air out.
Hence my above design.

I'll report back with temps once I get my Ncase M1 build done.
 
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Actually, as you pointed out, I've seen posts in here(and other forums) that is difficult to install two AIOs in the Ncase.. But definitely not impossible! So for the sake of it I'm willing to give it a try and see how it goes:)

Interesting you mention the exhaust orientation for the fans. Linus and most of people I talked to the seem to believe that setting them up as intake yield to better temps.

I was more inclined to set them up as exaust but well..
 
brianj said:
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Actually, as you pointed out, I've seen posts in here(and other forums) that is difficult to install two AIOs in the Ncase.. But definitely not impossible! So for the sake of it I'm willing to give it a try and see how it goes:)

Interesting you mention the exhaust orientation for the fans. Linus and most of people I talked to the seem to believe that setting them up as intake yield to better temps.

I was more inclined to set them up as exaust but well..
Click to expand...

There is the problem of dust as well. If you set them up as exhaust they will be intaking the air from the top, back and other side. All of which are unfiltered.
 
Chapeau said:
Personally I like the look of the Alphacool Eiswolf - but I'm not aware of any builds that use it for a custom loop.
Click to expand...

i like mine :joyful:
 

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Hey guys! So I was lucky enough to find myself a good ole C14.

So what would do you think would have better results? I can imagine 3 options here:

Option 1: C14 - bottom fan (have to use LP ram) - no top - 2 mega fans on side panel as intake (GT's)

Option 2: C14 - bottom fan (have to use LP ram) - replacement mega top fan (Phanteks PH-F140HP) - (http://i.imgur.com/S0diM1X.jpg)

Option 3: C14 - no bottom fan (can use any ram) - 2 mega fans on side panel as intake (GT's)

Option 4: C14 - bottom fan (have to use LP ram) - replacement mega top fan (Phanteks PH-F140HP) - (http://i.imgur.com/S0diM1X.jpg)

I must admit Option 2 does interest me. Many have said that the bottom fan makes very little difference. From the previous C14 users how much of a difference did you feel it made? I wonder just how different Option 1 vs. 3 would be. I want to achieve lower temps to give some decent OC headroom and I want to make sure I get a decent gain on the D9L/U9S temps or this would all have been for nothing.
 
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Hi there,

I'm planning a M1 build for almost 6 months and bought the case in august, together with an NH-C14 cooler, DDR4 RAM, Storage etc.. I decided to wait for the 7700k and the Asus Strix Z270i to come out.
Now the money is burning in my pocket and I desperately want to build my gaming system and start gaming (It would be my first gaming system so you understand my impatience).
Now that Ryzen is around the corner more and more details are revealed about the specs and it does looks promising. It wouldn't be that long a wait for the AMD chips to come out, but what about the ITX boards? I haven't found anyone mentioning the X300 boards releasing at launch (could be few months later?)

So what are your thoughts on this?

- Should I just pull the trigger when the Strix board is out? It already takes forever to be in stores. Besides, the 7700k is probably more than capable for my gaming needs.

- Should I wait for Ryzen to come out later this month or begin March and hope for an ITX board to release in the near future?

- Or... just get a larger case and ditch the Ncase M1? (Not much of an option TBH, the M1 is amazing.)

Looking forward to your thoughts!
 
HPM said:
Hi there,

I'm planning a M1 build for almost 6 months and bought the case in august, together with an NH-C14 cooler, DDR4 RAM, Storage etc.. I decided to wait for the 7700k and the Asus Strix Z270i to come out.
Now the money is burning in my pocket and I desperately want to build my gaming system and start gaming (It would be my first gaming system so you understand my impatience).
Now that Ryzen is around the corner more and more details are revealed about the specs and it does looks promising. It wouldn't be that long a wait for the AMD chips to come out, but what about the ITX boards? I haven't found anyone mentioning the X300 boards releasing at launch (could be few months later?)

So what are your thoughts on this?

- Should I just pull the trigger when the Strix board is out? It already takes forever to be in stores. Besides, the 7700k is probably more than capable for my gaming needs.

- Should I wait for Ryzen to come out later this month or begin March and hope for an ITX board to release in the near future?

- Or... just get a larger case and ditch the Ncase M1? (Not much of an option TBH, the M1 is amazing.)

Looking forward to your thoughts!
Click to expand...


I mean you already have a full build basically.. (and mine is using basically the exact same components) what ram are you using?

The gaming gain you'd likely see from Ryzen would be minimal at best, and you're already working with a 5 month delay. 7700K and Z270i is a killer combo, I'm in the same boat and have 0 regret. I'm not looking to jump on the AMD hype just yet, but I am waiting for Skylake/Kaby Lake - X for a proper work station build come late Summer.
 
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I would go for a Kaby Lake build. It's here now and it's a well understood platform. Ryzen looks like it will be competitive, both in terms of performance and price. The performance will be close to Intel and the price might be a lot better, but then there are the unknowns, such as chipset drivers.

In late January, SFF (Small Form Factor) Network published some information about two mini-ITX AM4 board from Biostar, but images of the motherboards were missing. SFF is a good site to monitor for small build news and information. In early February, Tech Report published information (including a photo) about a min-ITX AM4 board from ASRock.
 
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xcharlesy said:
Hey guys! So I was lucky enough to find myself a good ole C14.

So what would do you think would have better results? I can imagine 3 options here:

Option 1: C14 - bottom fan (have to use LP ram) - no top - 2 mega fans on side panel as intake (GT's)

Option 2: C14 - bottom fan (have to use LP ram) - replacement mega top fan (Phanteks PH-F140HP) - (http://i.imgur.com/S0diM1X.jpg)

Option 3: C14 - no bottom fan (can use any ram) - 2 mega fans on side panel as intake (GT's)

Option 4: C14 - bottom fan (have to use LP ram) - replacement mega top fan (Phanteks PH-F140HP) - (http://i.imgur.com/S0diM1X.jpg)

I must admit Option 2 does interest me. Many have said that the bottom fan makes very little difference. From the previous C14 users how much of a difference did you feel it made? I wonder just how different Option 1 vs. 3 would be. I want to achieve lower temps to give some decent OC headroom and I want to make sure I get a decent gain on the D9L/U9S temps or this would all have been for nothing.
Click to expand...
what about this:
E17kxZ8.jpg
I will mount 6700k and impact viii with c14 and 5 corsair lm pro led with noctua slim rear fan
My friend is using 4690k with full vardars and push&pull c14 having awesome temps
 
brianj said:
difficult to install two AIOs in the Ncase.. But definitely not impossible! So for the sake of it I'm willing to give it a try and see how it goes:)
Click to expand...

I wish you all the luck in the world, and I hope you succeed, because I would prefer a 2 x AIO solution as well.
I think there may be AIOs with flexible hoses that might make things easy.

brianj said:
Linus and most of people I talked to the seem to believe that setting them up as intake yield to better temps.
Click to expand...
rfarmer said:
If you set them up as exhaust they will be intaking the air from the top, back and other side. All of which are unfiltered.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.
But I'd like to take the risk and experiment to cover all bases, in case there may be an optimal solution short of going full-blown water cooler setup.
 
Does anyone use this slim 92x15 fan from ID Cooling? It actually is a bit more appealing than the Noctua 14mm equivalent imo, and only $7. 1 shade of brown instead of 2 :)

A59T_1_20140724245305892.jpg
 
Chapeau said:
How are you finding the loop... enough pump pressure?
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Thx Chapeau ;).......

The pump runs on 900rpm, so pressure is for less. All fans are running around 600-800rpm so the system is absolutely quiet even under load. Also temperatures are really good, for that kind of build, CPU <50°C GPU maxed out to 68°C under heavy load.
 
looking to purchase this case. how long does it usually take for it to arrive usa? from research, it looks like the case is shipped out from taiwan? Is it made there?
 
StrawKite said:
Is it possible to run a custom loop for CPU and GPU, with no reservoir outside the case?
Click to expand...
Definitely - There are a whole bunch of builds that do this:

Options - DDC 5.25 pump/res on case floor build
- EK pump/radiator (discontinued but stock still available if you hunt around) on the side panel build
- D5 pump res build
- DDC no res build (I don't think this is effective however as I've tried a single bottom radiator only) and one on [H] as well

There are a whole bunch of options. I recommend checking out the build gallery linked on page 1 of this thread.
Considering the coolant is just a carrier for heat and there is minimal thermal expansion, it's entirely ok to run without a reservoir.

Finally, here is my own build with the parts list here and an extended gallery if you please....
 
gsilver said:
Got the Gigabyte 1070 Xtreme Gaming

At idle: DAMN QUIET. Fans are idle, as is the PSU. CPU/Exhaust fan running very low

Put a bit of load on it: Fans stuck at 100% and don't go down after returning to idle and completely ignores MSI Afterburner settings. Earbleed vacuum cleaner loud.

Trying to find a fix.
Click to expand...

Well, I got a replacement card... Exact same problem.
Thinking that it's unlikely that I'd get two cards in a row that were defective in the same way, I tried it in my other computer (my Fractal Design Core 500 desktop.
Two things:

1. It worked fine there. The fan ramps up and down exactly like it should.
2. Maybe I'm a bit too daring, but it looks like the Fractal Design Core can juuuust barely fit the GPU if I remove the silly cosmetic X-thing on the top of the card (either that, or it will prevent the fans from spinning...)

But at any rate, I'm going to try to get the replacement working in my NCase-powered PC. Maybe a Windows re-install is in order.
 
gsilver said:
Well, I got a replacement card... Exact same problem.
Thinking that it's unlikely that I'd get two cards in a row that were defective in the same way, I tried it in my other computer (my Fractal Design Core 500 desktop.
Two things:

1. It worked fine there. The fan ramps up and down exactly like it should.
2. Maybe I'm a bit too daring, but it looks like the Fractal Design Core can juuuust barely fit the GPU if I remove the silly cosmetic X-thing on the top of the card (either that, or it will prevent the fans from spinning...)

But at any rate, I'm going to try to get the replacement working in my NCase-powered PC. Maybe a Windows re-install is in order.
Click to expand...

yeah this looks like a software problem. make sure you have the newest AB installed and tick every box in the options except the top one(sync setting). also make sure the auto-fan button is lit-up. you don't have any other control or monitor software installed, OHM or speedfan basically anything else that can control fans?
 
Anyone know where I can find replacement side panel attachment clips? The plastic clips the side panels pins clip into.


rBevpv7.png
 
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Damn I still need to test my Xtreme Gaming card. I had a defect one at first too, could not even get it into the case. Hope the one I currently have is good one, if not I have to completely disassemble my rig...
 
Well, I'm an idiot. I got my Xtreme Gaming card to work. The problem was that the front panel cables were intervering with the front fan. Since that one was never able to spin up, the middle fan tried to compensate and never went down.
After fixing that cable, all is well and it is respecting my profile settings. Still need to try it out with actual games, though. I went and reinstalled Windows before I thought to shine a flashlight through the bottom of the case. The middle one (that I could see from above) was spinnging just fine...


And a part to add to the incompatible list:
Samsung Toshiba TS-LB23L BD/DVD writer
Problem: The drive cannot eject disks with enough force to lift them out of the drive when running vertically, so disks are effectively stuck until you remove it from the case.


Have any recommendations for a different one?
I'd like one that reads blurays and can write DVDs
 
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gsilver said:
Well, I'm an idiot. I got my Xtreme Gaming card to work. The problem was that the front panel cables were intervering with the front fan. Since that one was never able to spin up, the middle fan tried to compensate and never went down.
After fixing that cable, all is well and it is respecting my profile settings. Still need to try it out with actual games, though. I went and reinstalled Windows before I thought to shine a flashlight through the bottom of the case. The middle one (that I could see from above) was spinnging just fine...


And a part to add to the incompatible list:
Sumsung Toshiba TS-LB23L BD/DVD writer
Problem: The drive cannot eject disks with enough force to lift them out of the drive when running vertically, so disks are effectively stuck until you remove it from the case.


Have any recommendations for a different one?
I'd like one that reads blurays and can write DVDs
Click to expand...

I have Panasonic UJ-265 BD writer (6x) drives in both M1 builds. Some people says it is loud, but mine have been fine for me. Silverstone sells the SOB02 which is really a UJ-265.
 
Looks like the UJ-265/SOB02 is one of the very few options for a good Bluray drive.

Initial impressions of the Xtreme gaming are quite good. It didn't spin up too much during gameplay (The fan during Ultra Street Fighter 4 @ 4k stayed in the single digits) and while it has the all-too-common bug of not working properly with Displayport and the HTC Vive, I was able to use one of the two internal HDMI ports, route the cable out the back, and plug that into the Vive controller box.
Really, HTC needs to get their act together, since they put lots of Displayport connectors on video cards, and only one HDMI in the back (and for most cards, at all) and the one HDMI is taken up by my TV/receiver.

I think that I'll move my desktop over to an NCase setup. Especially useful because of the lack of desk space in my current setup.

The Xtreme Gaming is a heck of a lot nicer than the Seahawk in terms of idle noise (none vs constant buzzing pump noise) and load seems better, too.
 
Oh, one more thing:
Does anyone know where to find an internal power cable that's "flipped"?
The one that comes with the case is kind of tricky, since it routes towards where the optical drive is, with very little clearance. One that routed towards the back of the case would be preferred.

Also, are there short PSU -> SATA power cables available for the SF series (specifically, SF450)? I'll need one to two connectors.
I found short PSU -> PCI-E cables for the SF series at modDIY.

//Trying to minimize cable clutter
 
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