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

cowsgomoo said:
There's really no need for saving that space for a home server though, not to mention that ITX boards have less sata ports and expansion slots. If anything, it's still for the purpose of decor and looks.
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most ITX boards have 6 sata and one PCI-E x16 is all you need for an eight port SAS2 HBA, which you can also use an expander with.

If you had a standard size 9x5.25" bay mid tower case with 3x4in3 or 5in3 bays plus fill the bottom of the case with internal drive mount you would have much higher disk density in the same size case or be able to cram 12 drives in a much smaller case. You don't NEED a home server to be tiny, but you also don't NEED to have a SFF desktop either.

DarkStryke said:
Silverstone had an 8bay steel / alu front ITX case at Computex this year, DS380. Looked like a pretty cheap product, plastic hotswaps and unpainted interior.
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What a fat looking POS :(
 
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Its too bad the M1 doesn't support mATX too. Think of the additional impact this picture could have had if you said the small one supports overclocked 6 core LGA2011, 32GB quad channel memory, 16TB storage, and 184mm x 45mm push/pull water cooling. And before everyone jumps all over me about how dual long GPUs, dual 240mm radiators, ATX PSU, and 24TB storage don't all fit at the same time, think about what you are saying. The M1 doesn't support the maximum number of everything either, but it does allow a variety of configurations depending on your needs. I think it would be nice if we had just a few more options on the computing side in addition to the gaming side. The M1 isn't a case just dedicated to Titan based gaming right?! Reread what I wrote. The fact is that without the GPU (which many configurations don't need), some very useful additional configurations would be possible. All for a measly 20mm height increase and insignificant length increase. With some overlap (moving the SFX PSU to the other side) you could probably eliminate the need for the length increase or shrink its length by more than 2 inches, and still support a mATX motherboard, a mini GTX670 and 2TB SSD storage if size reduction was the only objective. But that is not the objective. What a great thing the M2 can be, if only... :)
 
Phuncz said:
Damn Necere, nice modelling work.
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The Prodigy model isn't mine, it's a user-made model from the 3D Warehouse (this one, specifically). Same with some of the other components I've used in renders. I could credit the creators, I suppose - just didn't seem necessary. I've contributed models, and so long as people aren't passing them off as their own I don't particularly care what they do with them. People can and do use them to illustrate their own ideas, in the same way I am.

It can also be kind of a pain to track down the original file to find the creator, so I suppose laziness plays into it as well :p
 
If anyone wants an mATX version, please feel free to pony up $4,000 to allow NCASE to develop the prototype or STFU already.

It's an ITX case, deal with it.
 
adamantium said:
Think of the additional impact this picture could have had if you said the small one supports overclocked 6 core LGA2011, 32GB quad channel memory, 16TB storage, and 184mm x 45mm push/pull water cooling.
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184mm? As in, dual 92mm? The only one that exists AFAIK is the Black Ice GTX M184, which is 54mm thick. Which isn't going to fit on the side mount. The modifications you've proposed to fit mATX would limit you to a single 120mm slim rad. That's it.

To get close to the same level of component support with mATX as the current design has with MITX would require a much more substantial size increase.

adamantium said:
With some overlap (moving the SFX PSU to the other side) you could probably eliminate the need for the length increase or shrink its length by more than 2 inches, and still support a mATX motherboard, a mini GTX670 and 2TB SSD storage if size reduction was the only objective.
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Well, you're talking about putting the PSU over the motherboard then, which would greatly limit support for air coolers. And yeah, I guess if you're prioritizing size over everything else, then that might be an option. But then, why would I go with mATX in that case?

adamantium said:
Who's talking about the M1 and mATX?
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You have a split personality or something?
adamantium said:
Its too bad the M1 doesn't support mATX too
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Look, I appreciate the input. I recognize that there are people out there that want something like a Mac Pro alternative - a portable workstation, and ITX can't really deliver that. I get it. And, you know, if we're successful here, maybe we'll explore that down the line. Probably not for the next thing (if there is one), but maybe eventually.
 
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There are plenty of good mATX cases, there are just a few good mITX cases. Necere made the right choices concerning minimal and maximum hardware supported and as he stated, just fitting an mATX motherboard won't actually make it a better case. mATX would allow for LGA2011 and dual-GPU, but both require a much more powerful PSU that just won't fit in the case without enlarging it considerably. And even then, it would be a bad idea just because you'd run into temperature problems with that kind of hardware. And then you'd most likely need to trim the PSU cables just to fit everything.
 
Dephcon said:
most ITX boards have 6 sata and one PCI-E x16 is all you need for an eight port SAS2 HBA, which you can also use an expander with.

If you had a standard size 9x5.25" bay mid tower case with 3x4in3 or 5in3 bays plus fill the bottom of the case with internal drive mount you would have much higher disk density in the same size case or be able to cram 12 drives in a much smaller case. You don't NEED a home server to be tiny, but you also don't NEED to have a SFF desktop either.
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But only select ivy bridge motherboards and the haswell boards come with 6 sata ports, and I question the cost of the eight port SAS2 HBA you're talking about.
SFF desktops become convenient when there's a need to move it around, but home servers are not going anywhere.
 
IBM M1015 is one of the more popular 8-port SAS HBA's: http://www.amazon.com/Serveraid-M10...?ie=UTF8&qid=1372789396&sr=8-1&keywords=m1015

Ivy Bridge isn't relevant anymore now that the H87 and Z87 chipsets are released with six SATA-600 ports supplied by chipset. Not that HDD's need those 6Gbps ports but you atleast don't have to worry about 3rd party chipsets ruining your party. The Asrock Z87E-ITX has six SATA-600 ports, along with an Intel Gbit NIC (hardware assisted), so pretty interesting for a home server build. Or wait until Supermicro releases an mITX board. They already have an extremely sexy mATX board just out:
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/C220/X10SL7-F.cfm

14 SATA ports on the board and PCI-e 8x slot for an extra 8 ports without any expanders. Yum. Also, dual Intel Gbit NIC's, management NIC. Not cheap but tasty nonetheless.
 
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I think a lot of the mATX talk is from people who have never sat down to model this stuff. There are numerous space requirements that people dont know about because they've never read the ATX specifications, or the PCIe specifications. This case would have to be a LOT bigger to fit mATX. And we already have a mass produced, PSU in front, SFF mATX case, its called the SG9 and SG10.
 
Screes said:
I think a lot of the mATX talk is from people who have never sat down to model this stuff. There are numerous space requirements that people dont know about because they've never read the ATX specifications, or the PCIe specifications. This case would have to be a LOT bigger to fit mATX. And we already have a mass produced, PSU in front, SFF mATX case, its called the SG9 and SG10.
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Give me a break. I have built many machines in the last few years including rack mounted servers with riser cards, custom motherboards, and high-speed interconnects. I have built video servers, water cooled desktops, RAID servers, little shuttles, and Linux HPC clusters up to 1200+ nodes. I know the specifications, and I can do the math. I think some of you just don't know how to read, or you assume that I am suggesting that all parts can be added simultaneously.

Show me how the M1 supports an ATX PSU with 240mm radiator and double-wide video card. Show me how the M1 supports 3 HDDs and a 240mm radiator. Show me how the M1 supports an optical drive and two SSDs in the front panel. Show me how the M1 supports 5 HDD and any water cooling at all. It doesn't, but various combinations of those features are possible.

I have stated each time in various ways that I am not suggesting that the M1 plans be changed. Several of you seem to have ignored that fact. I want the M1 as much or more than the rest of you. Get it done. Unless there is a new rule now that prohibits purchase by those who have a different opinion or needs than you, I plan to purchase at least two of them as designed -- got that -- as designed. Do I have to show my receipt for my full-length Titan GPU and Silverstone 450W Gold SFX PSU to order?

I get it, you think you have designed the perfect form factor, and there is absolutely no room for improvement, or that no other configuration could ever possibly have value. Pretty narrow minded. No other case that has been suggested does what the M1 will, and is as small and portable. With 8% more height in an M2 model (got that M2) you could do all of that and more. That is my point, plain and simple. Don't feel threatened, it doesn't change your plans for the M1, it only enhances the M1 further. What is this thread for if not that? You don't know your friends from your enemies. Now come get some.
 
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Long time lurker here. Just wanted to offer my compliments on how amazing the case looks. I've been looking for a good ITX case for a long time, but couldn't find anything good, so I was going to buy an SG10 and go mATX, but now I think I've found my perfect case. Looking forward to the production campaign.

I do have some questions though. I intend to splash and go all out on this ITX build with the following:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K
Motherboard: Asus ROG Impact Z87
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN Hydro Copper Signature (Or maybe the classified 780 hydro copper if it comes out)
Cooler: Swiftech H220
RAM: CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB)DDR3-2400
PSU: Silverstone ST45SF-G 450W
HDD: SanDisk Extreme II 480GB

Given that I'm using the swiftech H220 to cool both the cpu and gpu, I was wondering if it were possible to fit another swiftech dual 120mm rad internally. If so, would it fit on top of the case or at the bottom? If it's not possible, how about a single 120mm rad? Just going through my options on how to maximize water cooling in this set-up.

Also, do you think September is a feasible timeframe for when this case will reach us? I won't be able to build a new PC until the start of September anyway, but it'll be nice to have it around that time frame. Thanks!
 
Phuncz said:
:rolleyes: Now I'm just going to ignore you.
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you can add people to your ignore list in "user cp". it still shows they posted, but you dont have to see the text. i find it handy with quite a few of the posters on this forum.

adamantium: this design is FINAL. they have lliterally design it, run a crowdfunding campaign, had a few of them made, evaluated them for changes, and resubmitted the design for FINAL evaluation all before you even got here. if you want something that isnt what this case is in it's current configuration, then make your own thread, start your own crowdfunding campaign, and get your own design made because it IS NOT going to happen here. you may have an idea for a way better case, and thats fine. go build it. stop wasting everyones time in this thread. a lot of people are subscribed for updates and such and its incredibly tiring hearing another newbie come up every 20 posts saying they know how to do it better. think youre the first to suggest making it matx instead? it was suggested at least in post 200, maybe earlier. thats out of 3700 posts now.

youve been on this forum 24 days. necere has been posting his designs on this forum for a decade. show some freaking respect.
 
adamantium said:
Give me a break. I have built many machines in the last few years including rack mounted servers with riser cards, custom motherboards, and high-speed interconnects. I have built video servers, water cooled desktops, RAID servers, little shuttles, and Linux HPC clusters up to 1200+ nodes. I know the specifications, and I can do the math. I think some of you just don't know how to read, or you assume that I am suggesting that all parts can be added simultaneously.

Show me how the M1 supports an ATX PSU with 240mm radiator and double-wide video card. Show me how the M1 supports 3 HDDs and a 240mm radiator. Show me how the M1 supports an optical drive and two SSDs in the front panel. Show me how the M1 supports 5 HDD and any water cooling at all. It doesn't, but various combinations of those features are possible.

I have stated each time in various ways that I am not suggesting that the M1 plans be changed. Several of you seem to have ignored that fact. I want the M1 as much or more than the rest of you. Get it done. Unless there is a new rule now that prohibits purchase by those who have a different opinion or needs than you, I plan to purchase at least two of them as designed -- got that -- as designed. Do I have to show my receipt for my full-length Titan GPU and Silverstone 450W Gold SFX PSU to order?

I get it, you think you have designed the perfect form factor, and there is absolutely no room for improvement, or that no other configuration could ever possibly have value. Pretty narrow minded. No other case that has been suggested does what the M1 will, and is as small and portable. With 8% more height in an M2 model (got that M2) you could do all of that and more. That is my point, plain and simple. Don't feel threatened, it doesn't change your plans for the M1, it only enhances the M1 further. What is this thread for if not that? You don't know your friends from your enemies. Now come get some.
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Mate, you quoted the wrong user or got confused since Screes isn't part of the NCASE team.

Still, the NCASE guys never said anything about releasing other versions, but it would be a stupid idea to talk about other ideas when doing so would:

a) Confuse users as to WTH are we doing here.
b) Rest interest in this very model.

So, first things first. I'm sure that should this model succeed, the NCASE guys have a plethora of ideas they want to release to the market, but lets focus on getting this one, call it a day, and then argue about other things, shall we?
 
Well, I now have the money to buy as many of these NCASE M1 models as I want/need. Happily waiting to put my order in whenever that time comes. :)
 
If there is going to be an M2, it needs to be smaller than the M1, not bigger. Put the expansion card on a riser and you could get this thing under 10 liters.

If you want a SFF mATX, get the SG10. It's about as small as mATX is going to get.
 
adamantium said:
blah blah blah
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Why don't you go make your own case then instead of shitting up this thread with passive-aggressive retorts? No one here cares that you're a server wizard, we care that the guys are making a mITX case.

Either that or go back to the Anand forums.
 
Man I walk away from this thread for a week and it starts going south. I live in Florida and you can't get much more south than here, so I'll go up and intercept it.

Let's stop talking about massive changes to the design of the M1 and focus on what actually can be changed at this point in the game, or what already has been tweaked due to Nec's testing. Or talk about your parts list or whatever else you guys can think of. Anything but the words "mATX", thanks.

Much love, Mark.
 
ekuest said:
you can add people to your ignore list in "user cp". it still shows they posted, but you dont have to see the text. i find it handy with quite a few of the posters on this forum.
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Thx good idea !
 
Dephcon said:
I know a few people that got the Prodigy for home servers.

Someone needs to make an ITX case that's geared towards the home server market. Just big enough to hold the mobo with stock cooling, full size HBA, ATX PSU and 8-16 3.5in HDDs.
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Someone does, but not quite that number of drives. Lian-Li q25B. I have a silverstone ST50F-P in it, 7 3.5" drives, a 2.5" boot drive, and I've got two eSata with port multiplier support for expansion cases if I need/want it. As my desktop no longer has 3.5" drives, I wanted a desktop that was smaller than my server. That's why I like the M1 :3
 
Lunaray said:
Long time lurker here. Just wanted to offer my compliments on how amazing the case looks. I've been looking for a good ITX case for a long time, but couldn't find anything good, so I was going to buy an SG10 and go mATX, but now I think I've found my perfect case. Looking forward to the production campaign.

I do have some questions though. I intend to splash and go all out on this ITX build with the following:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K
Motherboard: Asus ROG Impact Z87
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN Hydro Copper Signature (Or maybe the classified 780 hydro copper if it comes out)
Cooler: Swiftech H220
RAM: CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB)DDR3-2400
PSU: Silverstone ST45SF-G 450W
HDD: SanDisk Extreme II 480GB

Given that I'm using the swiftech H220 to cool both the cpu and gpu, I was wondering if it were possible to fit another swiftech dual 120mm rad internally. If so, would it fit on top of the case or at the bottom? If it's not possible, how about a single 120mm rad? Just going through my options on how to maximize water cooling in this set-up.

Also, do you think September is a feasible timeframe for when this case will reach us? I won't be able to build a new PC until the start of September anyway, but it'll be nice to have it around that time frame. Thanks!
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Hello, been following this case for some time + first post here.

Anyway, regarding your question: if you look at some of the pictures you can see a 240mm rad wont fit on the top vet due to the PSU, side radiator and, in your case, the ROG VI Impact MB.
See this pic;
K6HS0FOl.jpg


On the bottom of the case it may be possible, but the graphics card cooler may get in the way; this pic has a 120mm rad with a fan that just fits under the GPU heatsink:
uVfegkDl.jpg


but a 240mm might not work due to the tube points.
 
In a month while on vacation I'll be near a Microcenter store. I suppose I should stop in and pick up some things. :D
 
Phuncz said:
Thx good idea !
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Not to defend adamantium, but if he can reapply his whining... I mean... dream to another way, it could probably prove productive. I too would like to see a small mATX case too. But this is not the thread to be talking about it. This thread is for the mITX NCase M1. He could start a "dream design" small mATX thread.
 
CHANG3D said:
Not to defend adamantium, but if he can reapply his whining... I mean... dream to another way, it could probably prove productive. I too would like to see a small mATX case too. But this is not the thread to be talking about it. This thread is for the mITX NCase M1. He could start a "dream design" small mATX thread.
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The whole point of the M1 was to create something because it didn't exist yet. A small mATX case already exists in mass production, so whats the point in making a clone of it? Why not just buy an SG10? If you don't like the panels on it, maybe make a post about a group buy for new panels. It's pretty cheap to get Silverstone to just make a small cosmetic alteration to an existing product since they wouldn't need new tooling or process to make it.
 
Screes said:
The whole point of the M1 was to create something because it didn't exist yet. A small mATX case already exists in mass production, so whats the point in making a clone of it? Why not just buy an SG10? If you don't like the panels on it, maybe make a post about a group buy for new panels. It's pretty cheap to get Silverstone to just make a small cosmetic alteration to an existing product since they wouldn't need new tooling or process to make it.
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Again, not defending him, but SG10 can be clearly made smaller. And, once again, that should be another thread. Not here. All I'm saying is let the man/boy/child dream. Push him to start a thread for some productive discussion. If not for the dreams of many, the NCase would not exist either.
 
CHANG3D said:
Again, not defending him, but SG10 can be clearly made smaller. And, once again, that should be another thread. Not here. All I'm saying is let the man/boy/child dream. Push him to start a thread for some productive discussion. If not for the dreams of many, the NCase would not exist either.
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But the best way is to draw out the specifics of the new case and suggest real placement of components, not harp on the drawbacks of M1 and then just throw in imaginary suggestions of what can fit and not fit in the new case.
 
Have a couple questions regarding some dimensions. Not sure if they have been answered yet.

1. Whats the max height gpu?

2. How much space between the sfx psu and radiator?

3. How much space between sfx psu and the floor?

FsSiVda.jpg



and last not really about the case but does anyone with Silverstone ST45SF-G know these dimensions? From the blue plug to the sides.

jjPC9BQ.png
 
1 is 140mm i believe, he talked about it a few pages back.

2 is around 25-30mm, he said a 25mm thick fan bolted to the outside of the PSU barely fit.
 
Lunaray said:
Given that I'm using the swiftech H220 to cool both the cpu and gpu, I was wondering if it were possible to fit another swiftech dual 120mm rad internally. If so, would it fit on top of the case or at the bottom? If it's not possible, how about a single 120mm rad? Just going through my options on how to maximize water cooling in this set-up.
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Fitting anything more than a single rad (120 or 240) in the case is more than it was designed for. So "officially" the answer is no. But as you can see, the possibility does exist to put a rad on the bottom (there is far too little space at the top). This has been talked about a number of times. Bottom line, to have any chance of fitting it needs to be a slim rad (<=30mm) and slim fan. A 240mm rad will have a lot more trouble fitting than a 120mm rad.

Lunaray said:
Also, do you think September is a feasible timeframe for when this case will reach us?
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I hope so, but I don't know for sure at this point.

Whitill said:
Have a couple questions regarding some dimensions. Not sure if they have been answered yet.

1. Whats the max height gpu?
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~140mm

Whitill said:
2. How much space between the sfx psu and radiator?
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~33mm

Whitill said:
3. How much space between sfx psu and the floor?
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~115mm
 
Whitill said:
and last not really about the case but does anyone with Silverstone ST45SF-G know these dimensions? From the blue plug to the sides.

jjPC9BQ.png
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I don't mean to be rude, honestly, but just a tip: if you know the real dimensions of the psu, you can use a little simple math to calculate the two distances you want to know.

One way is to simply use a ruler and measure the dimensions of the psu and the distances you want to calculate on your screen, and then:

  1. Real distance from left side to plug = (measured distance / measured psu width) * real psu width (in inches or mm)
  2. Real distance from top side to plug = (measured distance / measured psu height) * real psu height (in inches or mm)
 
What do you guys think about throwing the silverstone td03 in this case. Seems like it would look good with the 780 HOF.
 
rumartinez89 said:
What do you guys think about throwing the silverstone td03 in this case. Seems like it would look good with the 780 HOF.
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I suppose it would fit and work fine but I'd want to see tests between it and the other more popular models on the market. Corsair, Antec, etc., before choosing it.
 
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