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

[NorCalAthlete]

WTF? Anyone who's done watercooling, can you advise on the condition of this radiator? Brand new GTS 240, arrived today, factory seals on the box were intact, box itself was in perfect condition with no signs of moisture, but when I opened it up, this is what I saw - straight rust:

 

[Chapeau]

WTF? Anyone who's done watercooling, can you advise on the condition of this radiator? Brand new GTS 240, arrived today, factory seals on the box were intact, box itself was in perfect condition with no signs of moisture, but when I opened it up, this is what I saw - straight rust:

The ports should ideally look shiny like the threads are freshly cut. Minimal signs of rust should be visible.

This image above is a HWL radiator - Mine were similar from memory.

For the record, I'd had three HWL radiators in two different shipments and they were perfect. I'm sure someone else could chime in on their experiences also...

What you're probably seeing is a bunch of copper oxide on the threads. The inside of the radiator looks fine. It actually most likely to be fine, but I'd recommend returning yours for another for peace of mind. We don't get into water cooling purely for performance - it's an emotional purchase.

 

[rfarmer]

The ports should ideally look shiny like the threads are freshly cut. Minimal signs of rust should be visible.

This image above is a HWL radiator - Mine were similar from memory.

For the record, I'd had three HWL radiators in two different shipments and they were perfect. I'm sure someone else could chime in on their experiences also...

I'd recommend returning yours for another.

I got my HWLabs radiator from Performance PCs and it was in the same condition as you have pictured.

 

[Nanook]

WTF? Anyone who's done watercooling, can you advise on the condition of this radiator? Brand new GTS 240, arrived today, factory seals on the box were intact, box itself was in perfect condition with no signs of moisture, but when I opened it up, this is what I saw - straight rust:

Both my HWL 92mm and 240mm radiators (including EKWB PE 240, and Alphacool ) looked similar to yours.

 

[cjone2]

I've finally completed my build and have a few questions:

The screws/washers for the H75 I'm cooling with stick out miles from the bracket and prevent the side panel from fitting on, anything I can do here? - different screws/washers I can pick up, lose the washers (presumably not ideal) etc.

Anyone know any alternatives to this 90 degrees 8-8 pin PCIE adaptor? - the power cables are also preventing the side panel from fitting.

The front IO audio jack sounds staticy, but fine when coming from the back - going to try reseating the cable and running it through in a different position, anything in particular I should try and avoid it going by?

 

[rfarmer]

I've finally completed my build and have a few questions:

The screws/washers for the H75 I'm cooling with stick out miles from the bracket and prevent the side panel from fitting on, anything I can do here? - different screws/washers I can pick up, lose the washers (presumably not ideal) etc.

Anyone know any alternatives to this 90 degrees 8-8 pin PCIE adaptor? - the power cables are also preventing the side panel from fitting.

The front IO audio jack sounds staticy, but fine when coming from the back - going to try reseating the cable and running it through in a different position, anything in particular I should try and avoid it going by?

The Corsair radiator screws are just 6/32 machine screws, just find some in the length that works best. For the cables check out the Dan A4-SFX thread, post #11986 the guy there came up with a novel way to make low profile PCI power connectors.

 

[cjone2]

The Corsair radiator screws are just 6/32 machine screws, just find some in the length that works best. For the cables check out the Dan A4-SFX thread, post #11986 the guy there came up with a novel way to make low profile PCI power connectors.

Great thanks, probably being an idiot but I can't find the post you mention - any chance of a link?

Edit:

Immediately spot the post number on bottom right after posting this. Will give this method a go!

 

[Nanook]

Spoiler: Work in progress photographs

That's a very ugly red anti static mat from 20 years ago...

I received the 3D printed pedestal pieces and have started assembling them. I also waited for some additional fittings (rotary extensions tend to fail after awhile :/ ), and matchy-matchy black 92mm Coolermaster Blademaster, and black slim 120mm Coolermaster XtraFlo fans.

I went with the cheapest 3D print method and material available in black PLA. The finish is very rough. I might finish the surfaces later, but wanted to first test fitment. I had to make a few cuts here and there to route fan cables from the pedestal into the case. Overall the fitment is spot on, and mounting holes are lining up perfectly.

The fans inside the pedestal are 2x Corsair ML 140s from another build. They are set to blow downwards as pull exhaust. I did not think I needed the slim 120s to push, but the opening looked so bare from where I had cut the HWL 240 radiator.

I also made massive cut outs to the bottom of the NCase M1 for airflow.

 

[NorCalAthlete]

Well, wiped my finger along it and wiped an alcohol wipe across the threads and none of the rust came off. The wipe was only very slightly even discolored by it. I guess now I just need to figure out coolant...

 

[Nanook]

Well, wiped my finger along it and wiped an alcohol wipe across the threads and none of the rust came off. The wipe was only very slightly even discolored by it. I guess now I just need to figure out coolant...

I have to remind myself that wc components are really plumbing components. Unless it's medical grade plumbing, the insides will likely be function over form.

For coolant, I've tried premixed opaque / fancy UV / special effects stuff, but find that they require more frequent maintainence. They are cool, and very fun to look at.

Now I keep it simple and use distilled water + biocide.

 

[M1AF]

I finished the cable management.

 

[AG1M]

How are your CPU and GPU temps at real game load?

 

[NorCalAthlete]

What cables / lengths did you use? Looks like you have near-identical numbers of components...

1x SSD
1x Motherboard
2x Fans (PWM I assume?)
1x GPU

Only additional thing I'll be adding is a pump.

Incidentally, how are you guys wiring up your pumps and fans so that they're all on the PWM connections? I don't want any of my components just going full blast all the time cause a fair amount of my time will be spent just sitting there web browsing and coding.

 

[rfarmer]

Spoiler: Work in progress photographs

View attachment 30835 View attachment 30836
That's a very ugly red anti static mat from 20 years ago...

I received the 3D printed pedestal pieces and have started assembling them. I also waited for some additional fittings (rotary extensions tend to fail after awhile :/ ), and matchy-matchy black 92mm Coolermaster Blademaster, and black slim 120mm Coolermaster XtraFlo fans.

I went with the cheapest 3D print method and material available in black PLA. The finish is very rough. I might finish the surfaces later, but wanted to first test fitment. I had to make a few cuts here and there to route fan cables from the pedestal into the case. Overall the fitment is spot on, and mounting holes are lining up perfectly.

The fans inside the pedestal are 2x Corsair ML 140s from another build. They are set to blow downwards as pull exhaust. I did not think I needed the slim 120s to push, but the opening looked so bare from where I had cut the HWL 240 radiator.

I also made massive cut outs to the bottom of the NCase M1 for airflow.

Looks quite good, please keep us updated on cooling performance.

 

[Chapeau]

I have to remind myself that wc components are really plumbing components. Unless it's medical grade plumbing, the insides will likely be function over form.

For coolant, I've tried premixed opaque / fancy UV / special effects stuff, but find that they require more frequent maintainence. They are cool, and very fun to look at.

Now I keep it simple and use distilled water + biocide.

Totally agree - I was running EK Pastel for a long time but eventually the coolant starts to gum things up. Not terrible, but I noticed many areas where there was precipitation of the suspended particles. Particularly on the threads of the fittings were the flow is stagnant.

I'm still using EK coolant, but just the basic blue. If I wasn't so vain, I'd use distilled, a biocide and a corrosion inhibitor.

 

[Nanook]

I finished the cable management. View attachment 30922 View attachment 30923

Very clean

 

[linux.alucard]

NCase M1 with EK Fluid Gaming A240G

 

[eightfour7two]

I 3D printed some wedge style feet for the M1. The .stl file can be downloaded here. Used 12mm M3 flanged bolts and furniture skid protectors, Case now sits an extra 5mm higher compared to the stock feet: better for airflow, but not enough to ruin the appearance IMO

 

[Nanook]

Tempered glass & custom pedestal build complete!

Finally done. Overall, I am very happy with how the set up looks AND runs. I love how tightly packed the WC components are within the M1. Every single cubic inch is utilized - this thing is dense. I know I'm not the first to realize this - sacrificing one MAJOR functional element (the fan mount) of the NCase M1 for aesthetics (tempered glass) required jumping through countless hoops just to get thermals back to the original design WC thermals. In the end though, it's all worth it.

I did run Prim95 + Valley combined load for 2 hours, and I was very happy with the results. There was slight improvements to temperatures, but even more important was improvements to acoustics. After two hours, temperatures were: CPU: 68c, GPU: 55c, water temp: 45c. Fans were around 1000rpm (TBC).

Here are the components:
CPU: i7 6700k
MB: Asus Z270i
RAM: Corsair Vengence 32gb 3000hz
GPU: GTX 1080 Founders Edition
PSU: Silverstone 600w
Boot drive: Samsung 500GB M.2 NVME
Storage: Samsung 1TB 2.5" SSD, mounted in front
Radiator 1: Hardware Labs Nemesis 240GTS mounted on bottom
Radiator 2: Hardware Labs Nemesis 92 mounted on rear
Reservoir/Pump: EK-XTOP 100 Revo D5 PWM
Fittings
- multiple EKWB 45, 90, and 2x45 rotary extenders
- EKWB ball-valves for fill and drain
- XSPC 1/4ID 3/8OD compression fittings
- Bitspower temperature probe
- Primochill clear soft tubing

Coolant: distilled water + Primochill liquid Ultopia

Loop order:
Res / Pump > 240 rad > 92 rad (diverges) to both monoblock AND GPU (converges back to) Res / Pump

Fans:
1x Noctua NF-A12x15, top, intake
1x Cooler Master Blade Master 92mm mounted externally at rear, exhaust
2x Cooler Master XtraFlo Slim 120mm nested in 240mm radiator, push exhaust
2x Corsair ML 140mm, mounted below pedestal, pull exhaust

Overclocking and temperatures:
CPU slight overclock: ~4.4ghz
GPU slight overclock: ~2.1ghz

CPU idle: 30c
CPU Prime95 small FFT test: 85c spike, settles at 70c
CPU Keyshot 3D rendering load: 60c

GPU idle: 35c
GPU Valley load: 55c
GPU gaming load: 55c

Spoiler: Completed Build Photographs

Ombré theme.
...pretend you didn't see that NF-A12x15 up top.

Bottom cutouts. I'll get better with the rotary tool eventually.

Overexposed to show matte black pedestal. The case is sitting on a perforated monitor stand for additional bottom airflow.

Lightly smoked tempered glass

Surface finish of 3D printed black PLA is rough, but I'm ok with it for now. The scuff marks are where I sanded off burrs.

Final routing. Parallel loop allows a much cleaner aesthetic between the monoblock and GPU block. I believe the monoblock is less restrictive than the GPU block, and maybe less than ideal for parallel loop.

 

[Tephnos]

Hey guys,

Anyone got links to good replacements screws? Need to build soon and I'd rather not use the ones that come with it as I've heard too many dubious things about the quality. Wouldn't want any accidents.

 

[busterben]

Hay hay haayy

How do you guys mount the hdd cage together with a fan?
fan screws seem to be to big for the cage, and the screws accompanied with the cage fall through the fan holes..
should be possible as i did see pictures of it, like in attached

 

[Jonathan Urrutia]

I finished the cable management. View attachment 30922 View attachment 30923

Do you the lengths of your custom cables? I'm about to start my build and I'd like to get these on order.
Did you go through Ensourced?

 

[M1AF]

Do you the lengths of your custom cables? I'm about to start my build and I'd like to get these on order.
Did you go through Ensourced?

Yes, got them from ensourced.
Lengths will work for the z270i and the corsair sf600 with the fan facing outwards and the gtx 1080 ti black edition. It's super tight,so I wouldn't assume it will work for all configurations. Also, the 24 pin cable pushes down a bit on the gpu.

24 Pin Power - 30CM
8 Pin CPU/EPS - 40CM
8 pin PCIE - 20CM
6 pin PCIE - 20CM
4 pin SATA - 20CM

 

[Jonathan Urrutia]

....Also, the 24 pin cable pushes down a bit on the gpu.....

Do you think using the "shorty" adapter would eliminate the push on the GPU?

 

[Qrash]

Hay hay haayy

How do you guys mount the hdd cage together with a fan?
fan screws seem to be to big for the cage, and the screws accompanied with the cage fall through the fan holes..
should be possible as i did see pictures of it, like in attached

I don't use my 3.5-inch drive cage, but here's my guess.

The holes in the bottome of the drive cage are threaded, but they are too small for a standard coarse fan screw. Either enlarge the holes and use fan screws or use long bolts that sandwich the fan between the fan bracket and the drive cage. The M1 doesn't come with long bolts, but I know that liquid cooling kits aften include them, or you could just buy them.

BTW, I believe the fan cage in that (small) photo is from a Rev.1 case. Rev.2 and later have two rectangular slots on the sides of the drive cage and a second set of 4 threaded holes on the bottom to permit a small shift of the cage with respect to the fan bracket, as seen on the Accesories page of the M1.

 

[M1AF]

Do you think using the "shorty" adapter would eliminate the push on the GPU?

It's possible but I wouldn't be able to give a difinitve answer since I haven't tried using it.

 

[Jonathan Urrutia]

...Maybe I can bend some 120mm clips a bit to get a 120mm fan firmly in place (before rotating the PSU, I had a loose 120mm fan in there, but it really needs something holding it in place to stop vibration noise)...

Did you ever solve the 120mm clip problem on the C14s? I am trying to put a NF-F12 under the C14s and could use some help.

 

[Necere]

Hay hay haayy

How do you guys mount the hdd cage together with a fan?
fan screws seem to be to big for the cage, and the screws accompanied with the cage fall through the fan holes..
should be possible as i did see pictures of it, like in attached

Hm... well I can tell you the way I did it was to use the included drive cage screws to attach it the cage (only works with open corner fans), and the fan screws to attach the fan to the bracket. If the screw heads are too small for the holes on the fan, they must be larger than mine were. My immediate suggestion would be to get some washers of the right size to make up the difference. That, or some longer screws.

 

[gsilver]

Did you ever solve the 120mm clip problem on the C14s? I am trying to put a NF-F12 under the C14s and could use some help.

Not really. I'm still running it with the rotated PSU.

I worry about the PSU in that configuration, especially since I swapped the default fan. It's probably better to use a different heat sink. Changing anything in the case is a royal pain.

 

[darxider]

if i get a Corsair 450W or 600W SFX PSU, can i use, say, the slimline SATA power cable that comes with the Silverstone 450W SFX PSU instead of the one that comes with the Corsair? is the pin layout of the power cable (the part that connects to the PSU) the same between the Corsair and Silverstone PSUs?
i'm asking because i have a SSD and a Blu-ray writer with slimline SATA power plugs and if i get the Corsair PSU, i can't use them anymore in my M1!

 

[Qrash]

if i get a Corsair 450W or 600W SFX PSU, can i use, say, the slimline SATA power cable that comes with the Silverstone 450W SFX PSU instead of the one that comes with the Corsair? is the pin layout of the power cable (the part that connects to the PSU) the same between the Corsair and Silverstone PSUs?
i'm asking because i have a SSD and a Blu-ray writer with slimline SATA power plugs and if i get the Corsair PSU, i can't use them anymore in my M1!

I cut the Slimline SATA power connector from my Silverstone SATA power cable and soldered it onto the Corsair SATA power cable. You just need to get the wires matched correctly.

 

[darxider]

I cut the Slimline SATA power connector from my Silverstone SATA power cable and soldered it onto the Corsair SATA power cable. You just need to get the wires matched correctly.

so, basically, i can't use the Silverstone cable out of the box, correct? i don't have any soldering equipment; does Corsair sell any slimline SATA power cable that could be used with their SFX PSUs?

 

[Chapeau]

so, basically, i can't use the Silverstone cable out of the box, correct? i don't have any soldering equipment; does Corsair sell any slimline SATA power cable that could be used with their SFX PSUs?

Short story: No.

More detail: Actually, maybe you can. What you need to do is google the pinout for the Silverstone powersupply that you're using. Compare it to the Corsair unit. If they match then you're good to go.
However there are some risks - if the pinout is wrong then you cna blow up your PSU and maybe your SSD + bluray drive. So be sure to get the correct pinout for the exact model.

 

[Qrash]

Short story: No.

More detail: Actually, maybe you can. What you need to do is google the pinout for the Silverstone powersupply that you're using. Compare it to the Corsair unit. If they match then you're good to go.
However there are some risks - if the pinout is wrong then you cna blow up your PSU and maybe your SSD + bluray drive. So be sure to get the correct pinout for the exact model.

I believe that if you search Small Form Factor Network for their review of these two power supplies you will find the pinouts you need. It may be necessary to go to their forums for the discussion thread for the reviews. There will be a link to the discussion thread at the end of the reviews.

 

[Watermelon-]

Does anyone know a heatsink (removed fans) for the cpu that is tall enough to touch thick fans like the Corsair ML120? I'm thinking of using the left front fan to cool the cpu directly with the heatsink rather than it be as an intake for the whole case.

 

[Necere]

Does anyone know a heatsink (removed fans) for the cpu that is tall enough to touch thick fans like the Corsair ML120? I'm thinking of using the left front fan to cool the cpu directly with the heatsink rather than it be as an intake for the whole case.

Dark Rock TF, Scythe Kabuto II, NH-C14.

 

[Watermelon-]

Dark Rock TF, Scythe Kabuto II, NH-C14.

Thanks, which would would be the best? C14?

 

[Necere]

Thanks, which would would be the best? C14?

Well, the NH-C14 is discontinued and difficult to find. The replacement - the NH-C14S - is taller, and will only fit with slim fans. Offhand, I'm not sure it's better than the Dark Rock TF in terms of performance, but the latter has more compatibility issues with different boards and RAM. Note that neither one will allow you to use the 3.5" HDD cage on the side bracket, since they extend too far forward.

The Kabuto II is the smallest of the three, I believe, but that should also make it the most compatible, and it should let you use the HDD cage if you want.

 

[Watermelon-]

Well, the NH-C14 is discontinued and difficult to find. The replacement - the NH-C14S - is taller, and will only fit with slim fans. Offhand, I'm not sure it's better than the Dark Rock TF in terms of performance, but the latter has more compatibility issues with different boards and RAM. Note that neither one will allow you to use the 3.5" HDD cage on the side bracket, since they extend too far forward.

The Kabuto II is the smallest of the three, I believe, but that should also be make it the most compatible, and it should let you use the HDD cage if you want.

Alright, wanted to go ahead and order the Dark Rock, but saw the Kabuto being a 1/3 of the price it, so I'll go ahead and order that one. A few degrees worse shouldn't make difference. Just hope its not too far away from the front fan so it doesn't affect performance.

 

[Necere]

Alright, wanted to go ahead and order the Dark Rock, but saw the Kabuto being a 1/3 of the price it, so I'll go ahead and order that one. A few degrees worse shouldn't make difference. Just hope its not too far away from the front fan so it doesn't affect performance.

All three coolers are about 130mm tall with a fan, which is almost exactly how much CPU height clearance there is. They'll be pretty much as close as you can get.