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

That is a really cool picture. Do you have bottom intake fans? I wonder how much of the air for the C14S and the PSU comes from the top and backside. Have you noticed increased dust? Would love to see an album of pictures as a teaser before the video if you have them.

I have a 92mm rear intake as well as the 140mm on the c14s. The 140mm pulls in air from the holes in the top panel. I have an accelero with two bottom exhaust fans to get the heat out. My dust situation is as good as it can get. I have every intake covered with filters. Top and back side are demcifilters. Rear is a filter I got off moddiy. It helps a ton.

I posted some pictures a while back. They can be seen here https://hardforum.com/threads/ncase...n-first-post.1717132/page-671#post-1043715361
 
I have a 92mm rear intake as well as the 140mm on the c14s. The 140mm pulls in air from the holes in the top panel. I have an accelero with two bottom exhaust fans to get the heat out. My dust situation is as good as it can get. I have every intake covered with filters. Top and back side are demcifilters. Rear is a filter I got off moddiy. It helps a ton.

I posted some pictures a while back. They can be seen here https://hardforum.com/threads/ncase...x-case-updates-in-first-post.1717132/page-671
ditch the filters and clean more often and your temps will go down.
 
I have a 92mm rear intake as well as the 140mm on the c14s. The 140mm pulls in air from the holes in the top panel. I have an accelero with two bottom exhaust fans to get the heat out. My dust situation is as good as it can get. I have every intake covered with filters. Top and back side are demcifilters. Rear is a filter I got off moddiy. It helps a ton.

I posted some pictures a while back. They can be seen here https://hardforum.com/threads/ncase...n-first-post.1717132/page-671#post-1043715361

Oh nice. That is a badass look, tiny case with a window with nothing but 2 giant heatsinks visible. Laymen probably wonder what the thing even is, a heatsink box with a window haha.

I have a Demciflex on the top and rear too (they offer a 92mm filter for the rear, but the Moody's one probably looks better). How did you filter the backside with a Demciflex? Do they also make one with a long magnetic strip to cover the whole backside? I must have missed that, though I don't need a filter there.

And just curious, where do you see the most dust buildup with your setup?

By the way, Demciflex filters are totally worth it. After 2 years, my components look as good as new. The only dust that gets through is extremely fine and light dust. I have a CompuCleaner dust blower that cleans it off completely once a year, literally not a particle left. Unfiltered dust is very different, it's much heavier, stickier and disgusting and accumulates quickly without filters. To me, keeping your components pristine is definitely worth a few degrees, especially if you have a window.

BTW, Silverstone makes a very similar filter to Demciflex that is available on Amazon, it's a more affordable option, $10 for the 120mm.
 
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hey my psu and custom cables came in, just missing fans. bottom fans are no biggie, but are the 92mm fans harder to put in after a cpu cooler is alrdy on? (u9s)

pretty tempted to put everything in the case now instead of waiting the couple of weeks till i get my fans
 
For my 6700K, I use a C14 with the A12x25 “underneath” blowing towards the glass side. Temps are great so far for gaming. 50c. CPU intensive tasks are about 70c.

In anticipation for the incoming 8 core Z chip, I also recently purchased a C14S, and will try the 140mm fan, and the ATX bracket with SFX adapter. Will test later.

I think temps will likely drop by 5c for the 6700K?
 
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hey my psu and custom cables came in, just missing fans. bottom fans are no biggie, but are the 92mm fans harder to put in after a cpu cooler is alrdy on? (u9s)

pretty tempted to put everything in the case now instead of waiting the couple of weeks till i get my fans

Attaching 92 mm fans onto the NH-U9S or even the rear panel is not hard, but plugging them into motherboard headers may be a bit tricky. This will vary with the layout of each motherboard. Removing the graphics card may be necessary to have enough space to accomplish these tasks easily.
 
not sure if theyre clear enough but i feel like i put this on wrong. the spring is suppose to be completely depressed right?
7YvFdAv.jpg

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ULPPwBq.jpg
 

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that and the extra screws in the intel nh-u9s bag threw me off. glad all is well


my paste exploded through the lid when opening the package, there goes half a brand new mx-4. other than going good so far
jVfi7nw.jpg





what i got so far, well finish the rest tomorrow my room light isnt that bright

dXnZqyi.jpg
 
Looking great so far. The NT-H1 that comes with the cooler will be fine. I'd use that over mx-4 anyway.
 
i've used mx-4 in all my builds, so just went with that,

the ram/fan was a tight fit, glad i didnt go with the dominator

i like how Necere includes the side fan even on order that have the window, in case i decide to switch later.

quick question for people with side oriented nh-u9s that use two 92mm fans, does the gap between the case's exhuast and the the fan cause any problems?

referencing this person's build https://i.imgur.com/oxQY0zH.jpg



sneak peak at the cables https://i.imgur.com/QfIcRgb.png
pic of the cables before shipped out to me https://i.imgur.com/8kMfEph.jpg
backplate im waiting to order https://i.imgur.com/hTGkrd1.jpg
 
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yeah i've had that problem on hardforum before, they said something about http vs https on imgurs side, was trying to not spam with pics but guess this is best way to post them


i've used mx-4 in all my builds, so just went with that,

the ram/fan was a tight fit, glad i didnt go with the dominator

i like how Necere includes the side fan even on order that have the window, in case i decide to switch later.

quick question for people with side oriented nh-u9s that use two 92mm fans, does the gap between the case's exhuast and the the fan cause any problems?

referencing this person's build
oxQY0zH.jpg



sneak peak at the cables
QfIcRgb.jpg




pic of the cables before shipped out to me
8kMfEph.jpg



backplate im waiting to order
hTGkrd1.jpg
 
Does he use the 3d printed cable combs? Because those are brittle AF and is the only reason I went with cablemob, because you can get aluminum combs.
 
yes theyre 3d printed. are they really that bad?

i went with him over ensources because he worked with me (16AWG wire paracord, with colors ensourced wasnt offering) and he deals with ncases/dan case alot so he has the exact measurements already


i just saw a 20% coupon in my mobo box for cablemod lol
 
Yeah, those 3d printed combs will snap if you look at them funny. Sucks to say, but they are going to break and there's literally nothing you can do to prevent it. They're just too brittle.
 
Yeah, those 3d printed combs will snap if you look at them funny. Sucks to say, but they are going to break and there's literally nothing you can do to prevent it. They're just too brittle.

I had a set of the Ensourced cables and like you said the combs are incredibly brittle.
 
im only seeing 17 of the countersunk screw , but im suppose to have 19. what part of the chassis is it for? (i dont have any 2.5 drives)


mkacybC.jpg
 
im only seeing 17 of the countersunk screw , but im suppose to have 19. what part of the chassis is it for? (i dont have any 2.5 drives)


View attachment 100494

You are referring to the H screws, right? Those are used for attaching the stacking brackets to the sides of 2.5 inch drives (one on top of the other). This way you can get two drives in the mounting space of one drive, such as either side of the front panel or on the bottom of the case. Note that there is only room for two drives underneath the front cover if they are both 7 mm thick. The H screws are also used to attach the power supply and side fan brackets to the M1 chassis.
 
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yes the H scews, since i dnt use 2.5 drives i should have enough for the psu



I cant get the bottom left of the io shield to stay in no matter what. Any tips?

edit just left the IO shield out



anybody have a picture of the optical drive holder? i see something in front but it looks like a hdd folder instead
 

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I have a M1 build thats been solid for ~3 years now, but now I want to add a GPU for faster rendering.

I have a ASUS 1080ti strix in my gaming rig and I could use this as an excuse to upgrade that soon, but looking in the M1 it doenst look like any card would fit?

When I installed the DarkRock TF cooler I knew it was massive, it was listed as compatible (but "touching" the back plate) on most GPUs I saw. I would have gone with an AIO single fan cooler but this thing outperformed all of the AIO's I saw. Its hard to remember, but I believe this is the only orientation the cooler fit on this motherboard when I installed it.

Is my motherboard the problem (Asus Z87I-Deluxe Z87 Mini ITX)? I tried test fitting an older GPU and there was just no way it was going to happen.

IFf7mqq.jpg
 
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I have a M1 build thats been solid for ~3 years now, but now I want to add a GPU for faster rendering.

I have a ASUS 1080ti strix in my gaming rig and I could use this as an excuse to upgrade that soon, but looking in the M1 it doenst look like any card would fit?

When I installed the DarkRock TF cooler I knew it was massive, it was listed as compatible (but "touching" the back plate) on most GPUs I saw. I would have gone with an AIO single fan cooler but this thing outperformed all of the AIO's I saw. Its hard to remember, but I believe this is the only orientation the cooler fit on this motherboard when I installed it.

Is my motherboard the problem (Asus Z87I-Deluxe Z87 Mini ITX)? I tried test fitting an older GPU and there was just no way it was going to happen.

View attachment 100886

I used the Dark Rock TF on 2 different boards in the M1. I remember my Gigabyte z170 had almost this same problem with the cooler oriented like you have yours, If I removed the backplate I could mount a GPU but not with the backplate in place. Fortunately I was able to mount it 90 degrees and was able to fit the GPU. Are you sure that is the only orientation it will fit?
 
Is the socket location standardized? I can try to remount it, I'm almost sure this was the only way to clear other obstructions (ram, PSU or case, cant remember).

I use the PC daily for work and I'd like to minimize downtime... if it doesn't fit is there a smaller AIO cooler these days that can give me similar cooling performance and not take up so much space?
 
Is the socket location standardized? I can try to remount it, I'm almost sure this was the only way to clear other obstructions (ram, PSU or case, cant remember).

I use the PC daily for work and I'd like to minimize downtime... if it doesn't fit is there a smaller AIO cooler these days that can give me similar cooling performance and not take up so much space?

Here are the 2 boards mounted side by side. Layout looks almost identical.

33de216313.jpg


I had my TF mounted like this.

49cf529042.jpg


The heat pipes pushed on the inside ram a bit, but I never had any problem with that slot not working.
 
I have a M1 build thats been solid for ~3 years now, but now I want to add a GPU for faster rendering.

I have a ASUS 1080ti strix in my gaming rig and I could use this as an excuse to upgrade that soon, but looking in the M1 it doenst look like any card would fit?

When I installed the DarkRock TF cooler I knew it was massive, it was listed as compatible (but "touching" the back plate) on most GPUs I saw. I would have gone with an AIO single fan cooler but this thing outperformed all of the AIO's I saw. Its hard to remember, but I believe this is the only orientation the cooler fit on this motherboard when I installed it.

Is my motherboard the problem (Asus Z87I-Deluxe Z87 Mini ITX)? I tried test fitting an older GPU and there was just no way it was going to happen.

View attachment 100886

I use the Dark Rock TF with the Asus z87i deluxe motherboard. If you face the ends of the heat pipes toward the back of the case, it comes extremely close but isn’t actually touching other than where the rubber pass-through grommets are. This way there is room for using a graphics card and also a 120mm fan in the front side slot. You have to move the power plug and have it unscrewed while installing the TF, but it fits and works extremely well. I’m pretty sure I have posted pictures before, but here are a couple pictures

8zag3QL.jpg

E4eSE8X.jpg

yV6DPLc.jpg


You have to do this with the power plug while installing, but then you can screw it back in when you are done.
b3KspKp.jpg


I have one of the first versions of the case and my RAM is very low profile.
 
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Like several of you, I've been curious about the new 2.75 slot EVGA cards and doing an accelero type mod for cooling just by removing the fans. I found this picture on the EVGA website and the circled areas might cause issues. But one thing is for sure, the sink is taller on the outsides than the middle where it is sunk in. I still believe there's a lot more sink surface area vs an accellero since it goes all the way from the cold plate down to almost two full slots. But I am worried about the brackets that the fan assembly screws into. Looks like it would have to be cut off in order to fit flush against two bottom fans.


2.75 2080ti.png 2.75.2 2080ti.png

Edit: This other picture shows that it might be a seperate piece completely, which would be super cool.

2.75.3 2080ti.png
 
Like several of you, I've been curious about the new 2.75 slot EVGA cards and doing an accelero type mod for cooling just by removing the fans. I found this picture on the EVGA website and the circled areas might cause issues. But one thing is for sure, the sink is taller on the outsides than the middle where it is sunk in. I still believe there's a lot more sink surface area vs an accellero since it goes all the way from the cold plate down to almost two full slots. But I am worried about the brackets that the fan assembly screws into. Looks like it would have to be cut off in order to fit flush against two bottom fans.


View attachment 101358 View attachment 101359

Edit: This other picture shows that it might be a seperate piece completely, which would be super cool.

View attachment 101362
Yeah, you can see some countersunk screws around the part that goes under the fan hub, and what looks like a button head screw. One of those probably hold it onto the fin array.
 
Asus has a really nice looking option for their 2080ti 2.7 slot card. I would be more inclined to go this route as an accelero alternative vs the evga heatsink.

Asus 2080ti.png
 
Here is a concept riser I'm drawing up at the moment... it adds up to 50mm height. once I'm happy with the design, I'm thinking to 3D print these 4 parts (2x risers, and 2x struts). I wanted to make sure that the risers are strong enough by adding those three vertical ribs.

Got these designs in any place that someone could use? I just got my 3D printer and am really intrigued by what you have designed.
 
Got these designs in any place that someone could use? I just got my 3D printer and am really intrigued by what you have designed.
I’ll have to hunt down those files. Not sure if I would want to share them, as they’re very rough. I remember having to do a whole bunch more hand work to get everything to fit. I meant to refine the CAD file, but something shinier came along...

I’ve gone back to a much simpler build now:
qeRUAI6.jpg


vs back in the day...
JQLd8Wy.jpg
 
I’ll have to hunt down those files. Not sure if I would want to share them, as they’re very rough. I remember having to do a whole bunch more hand work to get everything to fit. I meant to refine the CAD file, but something shinier came along...

I’ve gone back to a much simpler build now:
View attachment 102645
How are your temps with the C14s and Accelero?
 
How are your temps with the C14s and Accelero?

Temperatures are great. Neither my CPU or GPU are overclocked for my current needs. My chips are not great at overclocking. If I OC by about 10%, you’d add another 10c to the temps below.

Gaming temperature:
6700K: 50-59c
GTX1080: 60-69c

Stress test temperatures:
6700K: 70c
GTX1080: 73c

Can’t wait to upgrade with the new cpu/gpu later this year :)
 
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