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

It will not fit if you have the SFX to the right of the mobo.

You'll need to use the ATX power supply bracket and a adapter for SFX https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-...keywords=silverstone+sfx+power+supply+bracket

Then you can move the PSU, only then will if fit in that orientation.

View attachment 46783
Thank you for the info. Glad to hear it clears the VRM heatsink.

PSU is not the problem for me. I am using ATX PSU so I have enough room in that area.

Only concern for me is that VRM heatsink, because it is much larger in ASUS Z370i than in my current ASUS Z170i Pro Gaming.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Did you guys make any official instructions manual for the ncase yet? Even a group created one would be nice? It should have a part what the screws go to and some simple building tips and anything else you can think of and offer a pdf
 
I grabbed a set of needle nosed pliers and gave the female ATX conectors a slight squeeze to ensure they were a tighter fit. As my cables are twisted into a loose bunch, I pulled them out and re-twisted to put less pressure on the connectors also.



28400749783_b9bd1edcd7_c.jpg


This was with a NZXT Kraken and G10 bracket. I didn't get quite as nice temperatures, but still way way below what you can achieve on air. I think somewhere around 60 degrees was the norm when maxed out.

Thanks for the pic. Unfortunately with my Noctua C12P heatsink I don't think I'm going to have room for a 120 AIO there although I am able to fit a 120mm fan in that spot, hmmm
 
Did you guys make any official instructions manual for the ncase yet? Even a group created one would be nice? It should have a part what the screws go to and some simple building tips and anything else you can think of and offer a pdf

There have been a few outlines posted here of how to proceed and there are some videos on YouTube that are helpful. Given there wide range of builds (air vs. liquid cooling, 3.5-inch drive cage or not, optical drive or not, etc.) it may be impossible for one guide to cover everything or even your specific build needs.

Attached to this message is a Guide I wrote over a year ago. It's just text, but I hope it helps.
 

Attachments

  • Ncase M1 Build Guide.pdf
    77.2 KB · Views: 28
Missing the screw and part list that users made so still very lacking that's why I asked I would like to have official done stuff or good user made manual
 
Looks like the compatibility spreadsheet isn't working so I can't look up 1080ti's that fit and this thread is massive to search through. Currently have a 1070 FE in my M1 so I know a 1080ti FE or other blower styles will fit but they are few and far between right now. What 1080ti's will fit that are not blower style? I'm not running anything on the case bottom i.e. HDD cage or anything so I'm hoping temps will be ok. Will ti versions of the 1080's compatibility list from the OP all fit?
 
Looks like the compatibility spreadsheet isn't working so I can't look up 1080ti's that fit and this thread is massive to search through. Currently have a 1070 FE in my M1 so I know a 1080ti FE or other blower styles will fit but they are few and far between right now. What 1080ti's will fit that are not blower style? I'm not running anything on the case bottom i.e. HDD cage or anything so I'm hoping temps will be ok. Will ti versions of the 1080's compatibility list from the OP all fit?

Best thing is to use this image as a guide.

5fktEW1.png


Just check the size for specific cards. Cards like EVGA FTW won't fit but the SC will. If you have questions about particular cards just ask.
 
Best thing is to use this image as a guide.

Just check the size for specific cards. Cards like EVGA FTW won't fit but the SC will. If you have questions about particular cards just ask.
The FTW's seem to be the only ones in stock anywhere. Can't find a SC2 in stock so I may have to wait a while. Only other option would be the Asus Turbo but I'd rather not go with a blower if possible.
 
Honestly what a let down...I thought Ensourced was like S-tier cables.
I live in a third world country where Im not even sure where I can get this fixed, an annoyance to say the least.
W11ER55.jpg

IMG_20171218_203707.jpg
 
today I re-did my cooling configuration.

I originally was using a Noctua NH-C14S with 2 slim fans for intake on the side and one slim fan for exhaust on the back with no fan on the underside of the NH-C14S . Its seemed to work well but I really didn't like the way the NH-C14S cramps the space inside. the Motherboard was a pain to get to and the power cable on top hits the fins.

HiQppvl.jpg


so today I tried one of the older methods of cooling using a NH-U9S. But I routed my air flow a a bit differently. from the past posts I saw, people are doing intake from the side and exhaust out the back. I reversed that with intake from the back with a 92mmx25mm fan and exhaust out the side with a 120mmx25mm fan. to me it seeed to make more sense with cool air from the back hitting directly onto the heat sink and the larger exhaust could help dissipate more heat from the video card below as heat rises.

83Js54K.jpg


These are my cpu stress test results overlaid on top of each other. The NH-C14S is the green temp line, the NH-U9S is the purple temp line as they both hover around the 55c line. as you can see they are very similar which is great because NH-C14 was notorious for being excellent and I was worried the NH-U9S might fall behind a few degrees. this doesnt seem to be the case. The big bonus that you dont see here was my video card temp from my 1080 Ti SC2. they dropped 5 degrees. from the usual 77 degrees to a steady 72. so all in all it worked out great. I am still very curious how the cpu temp would be if I reversed the air flow like past builders but since its equal to what it was getting before, im not gonna worry about it.

fY972y4.jpg


just for reference the cpu is a i7 8700 stock, non-K.
 
Last edited:
today I re-did my cooling configuration.

I originally was using a Noctua NH-C14S with 2 slim fans for intake on the side and one slim fan for exhaust on the back. Its seemed to work well but I really didn't like the way the NH-C14S cramps the space inside. the Motherboard was a pain to get to and the power cable on top hits the fins.

HiQppvl.jpg


so today I tried one of the older methods of cooling using a NH-U9S. But I routed my air flow a a bit differently. from the past posts I saw, people are doing intake from the side and exhaust out the back. I reversed that with intake from the back and exhaust out the side. to me it seeed to make more sense with cool air from the back hitting directly on the heat sink and the larger exhaust could help dissipate more heat from the video card below as heat rises.

83Js54K.jpg


These are my cpu stress test results overlaid on top of each other. The NH-C14S is the green temp line, the NH-U9S is the purple temp line as they both avatar around the 55c line. as you can see they are very similar which is great because NH-C14 was notorious for being excellent and I was worried the NH-U9S might fall behind a few degrees. this doesnt seem to be the case. The big bonus that you dont see here was my video card temp from my 1080 Ti SC2. they dropped 5 degrees. from the usual 77 degrees to a steady 72. so all in all it worked out great. I am still very curious how the cpu temp would be if I reversed the air flow but since its equal to what it was before, im not gonna worry about it.

fY972y4.jpg


just for reference the cpu is a i7 8700 stock, non-K.

Thanks for posting this. I had wondered about this exact setup for the NH-U9S. Is the rear 92 mm intake a thin fan or a standard 25 mm one?
 
Hey,

at one point i remember that we were speaking about an Apple kind of aluminum finish.
will this happen? would love to be able to order this.
 
Thanks for posting this. I had wondered about this exact setup for the NH-U9S. Is the rear 92 mm intake a thin fan or a standard 25 mm one?

Standard 25mm. Same with the 120mm exhaust. Ill update and mention I went from thin fans to standard fans in the 2nd setup.
 
today I re-did my cooling configuration.

I originally was using a Noctua NH-C14S with 2 slim fans for intake on the side and one slim fan for exhaust on the back with no fan on the underside of the NH-C14S . Its seemed to work well but I really didn't like the way the NH-C14S cramps the space inside. the Motherboard was a pain to get to and the power cable on top hits the fins.

HiQppvl.jpg


so today I tried one of the older methods of cooling using a NH-U9S. But I routed my air flow a a bit differently. from the past posts I saw, people are doing intake from the side and exhaust out the back. I reversed that with intake from the back with a 92mmx25mm fan and exhaust out the side with a 120mmx25mm fan. to me it seeed to make more sense with cool air from the back hitting directly onto the heat sink and the larger exhaust could help dissipate more heat from the video card below as heat rises.

83Js54K.jpg


These are my cpu stress test results overlaid on top of each other. The NH-C14S is the green temp line, the NH-U9S is the purple temp line as they both hover around the 55c line. as you can see they are very similar which is great because NH-C14 was notorious for being excellent and I was worried the NH-U9S might fall behind a few degrees. this doesnt seem to be the case. The big bonus that you dont see here was my video card temp from my 1080 Ti SC2. they dropped 5 degrees. from the usual 77 degrees to a steady 72. so all in all it worked out great. I am still very curious how the cpu temp would be if I reversed the air flow like past builders but since its equal to what it was getting before, im not gonna worry about it.

fY972y4.jpg


just for reference the cpu is a i7 8700 stock, non-K.

Great post, I've slowly learned with the M1 Ncase that Motherboard access is a top feature to have if you like to mess around inside after the initial build. The D9L and U9S are just great coolers that I prefer them over the C-14.
 
Hey,

at one point i remember that we were speaking about an Apple kind of aluminum finish.
will this happen? would love to be able to order this.

The company that was doing the panels wasn't interested in a low volume order unfortunately. I don't think there was been any progress since..
 
Hey,

at one point i remember that we were speaking about an Apple kind of aluminum finish.
will this happen? would love to be able to order this.

You mean a smooth aluminum finish instead of brushed?

You'd have to take matters into your own hands and look into metallic spray paints.
 
today I re-did my cooling configuration.

I originally was using a Noctua NH-C14S with 2 slim fans for intake on the side and one slim fan for exhaust on the back with no fan on the underside of the NH-C14S . Its seemed to work well but I really didn't like the way the NH-C14S cramps the space inside. the Motherboard was a pain to get to and the power cable on top hits the fins.

HiQppvl.jpg


so today I tried one of the older methods of cooling using a NH-U9S. But I routed my air flow a a bit differently. from the past posts I saw, people are doing intake from the side and exhaust out the back. I reversed that with intake from the back with a 92mmx25mm fan and exhaust out the side with a 120mmx25mm fan. to me it seeed to make more sense with cool air from the back hitting directly onto the heat sink and the larger exhaust could help dissipate more heat from the video card below as heat rises.

83Js54K.jpg


These are my cpu stress test results overlaid on top of each other. The NH-C14S is the green temp line, the NH-U9S is the purple temp line as they both hover around the 55c line. as you can see they are very similar which is great because NH-C14 was notorious for being excellent and I was worried the NH-U9S might fall behind a few degrees. this doesnt seem to be the case. The big bonus that you dont see here was my video card temp from my 1080 Ti SC2. they dropped 5 degrees. from the usual 77 degrees to a steady 72. so all in all it worked out great. I am still very curious how the cpu temp would be if I reversed the air flow like past builders but since its equal to what it was getting before, im not gonna worry about it.

fY972y4.jpg


just for reference the cpu is a i7 8700 stock, non-K.

Hey, thanks for posting this. That's a neat variation on the usual cooling setup. I take it your GPU fans are exhausts?

I'd be really interested to see how temperatures compare with the "standard" set up (i.e. side intake and rear exhaust): there are obviously pros and cons of both methods. I'd be especially keen to see how your motherboard temperatures vary - for me, having the side fan as an intake made a significant difference to the motherboard temperature and a lesser impact on the CPU, so I do wonder how effectively your set up would cool the motherboard. If I get the chance over the Christmas period I may experiment myself (and I've been meaning to tidy up the cabling in my M1 too).

Also, just wanted to say what a great cooler the U9S is. Such a great choice for the M1.
 
Is there anything that would prevent me from removing the shroud of my Vega56, removing the blower fan, and installing a pair of 120mm case fans on the bottom of the M1 instead? Is this likely to provide better cooling performance with less noise than the default blower setup?

I understand this works fine on aftermarket open air style coolers, but I'm wondering if it would work on blower style coolers.
 
Is there anything that would prevent me from removing the shroud of my Vega56, removing the blower fan, and installing a pair of 120mm case fans on the bottom of the M1 instead? Is this likely to provide better cooling performance with less noise than the default blower setup?

I understand this works fine on aftermarket open air style coolers, but I'm wondering if it would work on blower style coolers.
there's not as much surface area on the heatsink of blower style coolers, so it may suffer more than an axial fan cooler would. If you keep it supplied with fresh air and remove the hot air you should be able to get close to the same performance (maybe within 5-10°C)
 
there's not as much surface area on the heatsink of blower style coolers, so it may suffer more than an axial fan cooler would. If you keep it supplied with fresh air and remove the hot air you should be able to get close to the same performance (maybe within 5-10°C)

Can 25mm thick fans fit with a standard double slot cooler, or only 15mm fans?

Recommendations for fans? Recommendation for a y-cable with the right connector? First gen M1 if it matters.
 
Can 25mm thick fans fit with a standard double slot cooler, or only 15mm fans?

Recommendations for fans? Recommendation for a y-cable with the right connector? First gen M1 if it matters.

If the CPU cooler is exactly 2 slots wide (~ 41 mm) then 25 mm thick fans will just fit.
 
Hey, thanks for posting this. That's a neat variation on the usual cooling setup. I take it your GPU fans are exhausts?

GPU fans are intake. I thought it might cause in issue for the onboard video card fan if those 2 bottom chassis fans were exhaust, essentially suffocating the onboard fans of air.

I would expect reversing the air flow like yours would improve motherboard temps. I wouldn't mind so much reversing the fans to experiment with but I was worried about tearing those rubber nobs that hold the fans in place. I just bought a 8 pack of them so when I have the in hand, I revers the air flow and post my results.
 
Last edited:
My current build, everything internal.

Two 240mm radiators (Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis GTS 240)
16/10 tubing + fittings
DDC pump + reservior top (Alphacool Laing DDC310 + Bitspower DDC Mini Tank)
GPU and CPU block are from Watercool (both Heatkiller IV)

Clipboard01.png


Few more pics:

Clipboard03.png Clipboard02.pngClipboard04.png


It was a nightmare I can't recommend to try this build, it was insanly hard to finish it, I just want to share what is possible with this case.
 
My current build, everything internal.

Two 240mm radiators (Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis GTS 240)
16/10 tubing + fittings
DDC pump + reservior top (Alphacool Laing DDC310 + Bitspower DDC Mini Tank)
GPU and CPU block are from Watercool (both Heatkiller IV)

View attachment 47182

Few more pics:

View attachment 47183 View attachment 47184View attachment 47185


It was a nightmare I can't recommend to try this build, it was insanly hard to finish it, I just want to share what is possible with this case.

Yeah that looks like a real nightmare to route tubing, nice job getting it done.
 
My current build, everything internal.

Two 240mm radiators (Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis GTS 240)
16/10 tubing + fittings
DDC pump + reservior top (Alphacool Laing DDC310 + Bitspower DDC Mini Tank)
GPU and CPU block are from Watercool (both Heatkiller IV)

View attachment 47182

Few more pics:

View attachment 47183 View attachment 47184View attachment 47185


It was a nightmare I can't recommend to try this build, it was insanly hard to finish it, I just want to share what is possible with this case.
Nice job getting everything to fit!
 
My current build, everything internal.

Two 240mm radiators (Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis GTS 240)
16/10 tubing + fittings
DDC pump + reservior top (Alphacool Laing DDC310 + Bitspower DDC Mini Tank)
GPU and CPU block are from Watercool (both Heatkiller IV)

View attachment 47182

Few more pics:

View attachment 47183 View attachment 47184View attachment 47185


It was a nightmare I can't recommend to try this build, it was insanly hard to finish it, I just want to share what is possible with this case.

Monkas.

Looking forward to your temp and fan rpms. A quick rundown on your opinions on your parts and install would be cool!
 
Anyone with 8700K and NH-U9S? I'm looking for some comparison numbers. What speed your CPU (all cores?) and what temps when you run the CPU stress in CPU-Z for 2 minutes for example?
 
Last edited:
It was a nightmare I can't recommend to try this build, it was insanly hard to finish it, I just want to share what is possible with this case.

I love it, your ratio of function to form is clearly higher than mine. I'd like to know what I'm missing: what are the CPU and GPU in there and what kind of temps are you seeing?
 
I just went over the discussion on the new EK MLC Phoenix modules from a few pages ago. So the 240mm has the same dimensions as the old Predator, so it doesn't fit. However, this time around they have 120mm AIOs:

mlc_radiator_120_noshadow_2.png


I wonder if these would clash with the GPU if installed with the pump/res pointed down. It's actually not a bad option if you're looking to go dual AIO in the M1. I have a 120mm AIO for my CPU and I've been exploring options for my GPU. For liquid cooling, your options are either the G12 or the EVGA Hybrid Kit. I'd settled on the latter because I can use it with an EVGA midplate, foregoing the need for active VRM cooling (though I'll still have a bottom fan). and you don't need a bracket so it's a bit more space-efficient. Well, the EK 120mm option seems to be even better -- even more space saving as you only have a plate and it looks and cools better. It does cost $150 more, but still much cheaper than a full custom loop. I just wish EK used better-looking metal QDCs, like the Koolance ones, rather than those grey plastic ones. It's honestly the worst-looking thing in their AIO line-up.

Any thoughts? Can anyone confirm that the 120mm unit will fit with pump/res facing down?
 
Last edited:
I just wish EK used better-looking metal QDCs, like the Koolance ones, rather than those grey plastic ones. It's honestly the worst-looking thing in their AIO line-up.

I prefer high quality QDCs (these are CPC) over koolance every day. Koolance have corrosion problems and tend to lock up after some time. There are a lot of posts regarding problems with decoupling them after a year just to realize they do not close any longer and people got their PCs flooded. The CPC QDCs are very reliable. I have used them for around 4 years and couldn't be more happy. Especially in such a product line reliability should be the most important aspect, not looks
 
today I re-did my cooling configuration.

I originally was using a Noctua NH-C14S with 2 slim fans for intake on the side and one slim fan for exhaust on the back with no fan on the underside of the NH-C14S . Its seemed to work well but I really didn't like the way the NH-C14S cramps the space inside. the Motherboard was a pain to get to and the power cable on top hits the fins.



so today I tried one of the older methods of cooling using a NH-U9S. But I routed my air flow a a bit differently. from the past posts I saw, people are doing intake from the side and exhaust out the back. I reversed that with intake from the back with a 92mmx25mm fan and exhaust out the side with a 120mmx25mm fan. to me it seeed to make more sense with cool air from the back hitting directly onto the heat sink and the larger exhaust could help dissipate more heat from the video card below as heat rises.



These are my cpu stress test results overlaid on top of each other. The NH-C14S is the green temp line, the NH-U9S is the purple temp line as they both hover around the 55c line. as you can see they are very similar which is great because NH-C14 was notorious for being excellent and I was worried the NH-U9S might fall behind a few degrees. this doesnt seem to be the case. The big bonus that you dont see here was my video card temp from my 1080 Ti SC2. they dropped 5 degrees. from the usual 77 degrees to a steady 72. so all in all it worked out great. I am still very curious how the cpu temp would be if I reversed the air flow like past builders but since its equal to what it was getting before, im not gonna worry about it.


just for reference the cpu is a i7 8700 stock, non-K.


Interesting post. To give you some more inspiriation, I'd like to share my build again, which I already posted here about half a year ago. On the side, you can use a Noctua A15 PWM, the 140 mm fan with 120 mm mounting holes. It fits next to the U9S, and can spin at a bit lower rpm. In my build, I have a front-to-back airflow, with the 140 mm fan on the side as intake, and an additional Noctua A9 PWM 92 mm fan on the front as intake. As you can see in the pictures, it channels air over and under the GPU, driving the hot air out the back. I guess the reverse, back-to-front, would also work, but I think sucking in the air via the cutout in the front panel is more efficient than blowing hot air against the front panel. I think this might be the most efficient way to cool both a non-exhausting GPU and a CPU, but of course you lose the front panel I/O.
 
Ncase M1 website sort of just disappeared.
They went to SFFLAB & the cost went up by $10.
The hell.
 
I prefer high quality QDCs (these are CPC) over koolance every day. Koolance have corrosion problems and tend to lock up after some time. There are a lot of posts regarding problems with decoupling them after a year just to realize they do not close any longer and people got their PCs flooded. The CPC QDCs are very reliable. I have used them for around 4 years and couldn't be more happy. Especially in such a product line reliability should be the most important aspect, not looks

I didn't know this. Well, I hope they can still improve the look.
 
Ncase M1 website sort of just disappeared.
They went to SFFLAB & the cost went up by $10.
The hell.
The old NCASE site wasn't flexible in the way it was coded and needs to be rebuilt, so for the time being sales have moved over to SFFLab (which is also run by wahaha360).

As for the $10 increase, we've lowered the shipping cost by the same amount, so the end price is the same.
 
neat. I finally have my M1 setup, and it's already quieter and cooler than my FT03mini rig. It also has a proper double bay for 3.5" HDDs, so I think I will eventually gut my FT03 fullsize rig (different from the FT03 mini) and finally unify 3 different computers. Since the FAQ implied there was no airflow difference between the ODD version and the regular version, I chose the ODD version.

The only downside is the FT03mini still takes slightly less footprint, but the M1 doesn't seem to take up that much more space than my various SG05 cases.

I quite like it and am happy to have found this case. It isn't my ideal layout (I personally like aspects of the SG05's horizontal mobo placement and the FT03's vertical layout), but it solves practically all of the physical access problems I had with all of my previous cases (access to the backside of the MB being a key one, among others).
 
After some more thinking I thought of another good use case for this new EK Phoenix 120mm combo unit in the M1. You could put it in either bottom slot, take off the included tubing and just build a regular custom loop system with it, with a 240mm rad on the side bracket and regular CPU and GPU blocks. The advantage is that you get a very compact res+pump unit and you don't have to use the Apogee Drive 2 + external Res or the internal res+pump, but no side radiator; you can use a regular CPU waterblock and no need for a separate res. Being on the bottom, it would also be easier to drain. And you can put a slim 120mm fan on the small radiator.
mlc_radiator_120_noshadow_2.png
 
Last edited:
And you can put a slim 120mm fan on the small radiator.
mlc_radiator_120_noshadow_2.png

Note where the tubing goes into the unit, and the thickness of the pump / reservoir section of same...

The unit would have to be mounted with the fan facing down, due to the thickness of the pump / reservoir section, using a slim fan would only result in a gap between the fan & the chassis floor...

Best to stick with the included fan...

EDIT - I just remembered, EK recommends against mounting their AIOs in that particular orientation, check the install PDF...
 
Last edited:
Back
Top