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

WiSK said:
:D



PE240 probably too fat. I'm favouring the Alphacool ST30 because it's very slim, quiet, and good at low fan speeds. Plus it's all-copper. But I don't think it's the best performer at high fan speeds.

If you're not sure, go with H220, because at least we know it fits well and performs okay.
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Good points, yeah I wanted to use that full cover block so I would essentially be using the H220 for it's radiator which is a huge waste IMO. So I would rather just find a rad and pump that will work. I've seen some really small pumps it's just a matter of the tubing going to it that concerns me. I will check out that ST30 and see if it will work.
Thanks again for the insight Wisk, your always a huge help.
 
drklu said:
Thanks for the info once again wisk, any ideas for a radiator besides the h220's that will fit? Trying to decide to go with the h220 or a custom loop or would the EK pe240 you mentioned fit?

Edit: Is anyone planning on using that full cover block for the Asus Impact mobo? If so what pump are you planning on using ? Where are you going to put it?
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I'm a little new to the custom watercooling scene, but can anyone explain why you'd want a res to add to the H220? Are you going to need more coolant if you're going to make it cool a gpu/cpu?

Pardon my ignorance...
 
trick_m0nkey said:
I'm a little new to the custom watercooling scene, but can anyone explain why you'd want a res to add to the H220? Are you going to need more coolant if you're going to make it cool a gpu/cpu?

Pardon my ignorance...
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Your question is defiantly valid, my problem is I know the h220 rad will fit (not %100 on others) but want the external res because 1. it looks badass :). 2. It's easy to tell coolant levels 3. It's easy to fill being external. My problem is I have right now only one option for a rad that is %100 confirmed to work (one that has a internal res) but want to use a full cover block (not the h220's). I see your point in having redundant rads but until I see another rad I know will fit and figure out what pump to use I may just have to scrap the full cover block and just use the H220.
 
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Hello, guys. I'm planning a setup with i5 4670k, 16Gig low profile RAM, ASUS Impact MoBo, SSD and 2x 3.5" disks. Possibly R9 280x or GTX 760 or similar GC.

The plan is to delid the IHS/replace standard paste with Coollab Liquid Ultra and a mild overclock to 4.2GHz.

The question is about CPU cooler. What do you think will be quieter and/or better. Setup with Noctua NH-C12P or should I take some AiO WB like Antec Kuhler H2O 620 or Corsair H60?

I thought that H60 would be enough, but as I've now read reviews and Neceres thermal/noise tests, I'm starting to think that the Noctua will do better job...
 
I thought about the pump solution while using 2 normal 240er radiators and i did not find one. ... So i think i have to use h220 or apogee ... hm...
 
ipuoL said:
I thought about the pump solution while using 2 normal 240er radiators and i did not find one. ... So i think i have to use h220 or apogee ... hm...
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That would defiantly be tough with a single rad not to mention two rads. Anyone else want to chime in with pump and pump location ideas? Or should we chalk it up and use the h220/apogee?
 
Necere showed a short pump+res combo could just about fit on the bottom of the case below the PSU.

5fN1ia8.png
 
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what would fit is a 240 +120 on the bottom. In this constellation a Laing with phobya top (in the end 38mm high) would fit next to the 120 rad ... but i think the addional cooling performance of an 120 rad+12mm scythe fan would bot be that big^^
 
ipuoL said:
what would fit is a 240 +120 on the bottom. In this constellation a Laing with phobya top (in the end 38mm high) would fit next to the 120 rad ... but i think the addional cooling performance of an 120 rad+12mm scythe fan would bot be that big^^
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Yeah I think I'm just going to go with adamatiums's external res, this pump, full cover waterblock, and the h220's radiator or the Alphacool ST30 as wisk suggested.
 
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drklu said:
Yeah I think I'm just going to go with adamatiums's external res, this pump, full cover waterblock, and the h220's radiator (unless I can find another rad that will fit without a internal res).
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That pump is great! Runs really quiet for me. I use it in my current configuration running a thick ek 240 rad, the phobya 200x200 rad, a cpu-block of course and a full cover gpu-block. No trouble at all!
vattenloopen_liten_zps7d0b7e21.jpg

I've actually got some lian li in there too... That aluminium beauty next to the psu keeping my drives cooled lol. Love their build quality but their design apartment needed some input. Looking forward to seeing the result of that coop hands on!
 
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wihlke said:
That pump is great! Runs really quiet for me. I use it in my current configuration running a thick ek 240 rad, the phobya 200x200 rad, a cpu-block of course and a full cover gpu-block. No trouble at all!
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Sweet build wihlke! Glad to hear that pump worked well for you!
Here's to hoping all this stuff will fit in the M1! :)
 
drklu said:
Yeah I think I'm just going to go with adamatiums's external res, this pump, full cover waterblock, and the h220's radiator or the Alphacool ST30 as wisk suggested.
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I've been vacillating between going air and going water for the build; I had originally settled on the Apogee, an ST30, a FC block for the GFX, and adamantium's external res. Then I saw the bitspower FC block for the mobo, and its sheer awesome had me contemplating. But, what I couldn't figure out is where I would fit a pump if I wasn't using a combo CPU-block/pump.

If you're leaning toward the Phobya you linked, where were you planning on putting it? For reference, I'm trying to imagine based on the test setup Necere did using the H220. Maybe suspended somehow between the MB/CPU block and the rad (will there even be space left given all the tubing criss-crossing that area)? Maybe using a half-length GFX card and putting it in the bottom up-front below the PSU like WiSK was thinking?
 
Geoffrey4283 said:
But, what I couldn't figure out is where I would fit a pump if I wasn't using a combo CPU-block/pump.
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I am considering putting the pump on the radiator over the CPU. It is like having the H220 configuration but with the pump on the rad instead of on the water block. If you go with an MCP35X pump then it is similar to the depth of the H220, and I believe the same as the apogee drive II. Then you find the lowest profile pump top available (probably the stock swiftech top), and mount it on the radiator or fan using a Z2 fan mount bracket here. I think as long as your rad isn't too thick it fits with low profile 90 degree fittings, maybe even rotary 90s.
 
iirc you can fit a 92mm fan under a dual slot video card in the M1, I was thinking if the videocard is effectively 1 slot with a waterblock on it you could mount a stock ddc where the 92mm fan would go.
 
drklu said:
Sweet build wihlke! Glad to hear that pump worked well for you!
Here's to hoping all this stuff will fit in the M1! :)
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Thanks! Had to dremel a lot to fit that 200mm rad at the top and remove quite some rivets to fit the front rad, but I wouldn't want to do that to my M1!
There's almost always a way though. Careful planning is a good start and with an external res I'm sure you'll find room for the pump!
 
I'm trying to think the best way to setup cooling and storage in this computer.

Right now, I have 1 ssd and 2 hdds.

I just don't know how to fit 2 hdds without having crappy cooling. A silent/quite system is still important for me as well, and I really can't think of a way to do all of this.

I'm guessing I'll have to go down to 1 hdd?

Also, about PSUs, are there any quite ones that fit in this case?
 
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ipuoL said:
what would fit is a 240 +120 on the bottom. In this constellation a Laing with phobya top (in the end 38mm high) would fit next to the 120 rad ... but i think the addional cooling performance of an 120 rad+12mm scythe fan would bot be that big^^
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Cooling scales linearly. So... 3 x 120 mm rad space = 50% more than 2 x 120 mm rad space.

lettuceman44 said:
I'm trying to think the best way to setup cooling and storage in this computer.

Right now, I have 1 ssd and 2 hdds.

I just don't know how to fit 2 hdds without having crappy cooling. A silent/quite system is still important for me as well, and I really can't think of a way to do all of this.

I'm guessing I'll have to go down to 1 hdd?

Also, about PSUs, are there any quite ones that fit in this case?
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My suggestion and what I'll probably end up doing... stick only with SSD's or 2.5" drives in this case. I'm even trying to get an mSATA or MFG ssd (I don't have any mITX motherboard... which means I may or may not keep mi i5 2500k) so I can even forget about sata power and signal cables (I'm sure the case will be small enough as it is) and have a much cleaner build.

Anyway, I think Ill just keep my HDD's external with an e-sata/USB3 raid case and be done with it.
 
yeah, you are right, but there only is an opportunity for 12mm slim fans and to have them silent the air flow is not that great. Thats why i do not really know if the benefit would be that great.
 
what's going on with the shipping labels? the emails are really short notice, I just now (8am EST) picked up the messages from ncases. I immediately updated as requested but it's after your deadline. The original auto generated label field was a bit of a mess: street and area on the same line, no postal code, no county (state/province) either, and a random line of numbers and .'s. Also the drop down field for state/province doesn't appear to help anyone outside the USA?

It's possible that parcels shipped with labels like that would arrive, perhaps delayed dependent on the mood of customs and postal service agents, but based on my experience of posting stuff across Europe and to Asia, it best to get the address label written out in the correct format for the recipients country (even Paypal do some odd things with address label generation)
 
Will we get confirmation soon if everything seems to be in order for the shipment info ? I ask because there seems to be some confusion with some people having given their data twice with the website and issues surrounding it. It's just to ease everybody's minds and to be ahead of the problems that might happen.
 
wahaha360 said:
If the backer didn't update their 1) address and phone # or 2) shipping label and phone #, we didn't generate shipping label for them.
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I think it is better to get the address right rather than try to rush postage, so that's fine. However, I think it would be useful to clarify the plan:

have you got a backup idea for backers who don't pick up the emails anytime soon? e.g. write a corrected address manually and then ship? or hold the order until the backer gets in touch?

if priority shipping backers missed last weeks emails and only start updating next week or the week after, will they get bumped up the queue and get their order shipped a.s.a.p. or will those guys definitely be expecting delivery after Christmas?

For myself I'm not in a hurry, but I do think priority backers will feel hard done by if they now have to wait longer, and although it's unlikely given the low numbers of buyers here, anyone who doesn't see the email at all is going to be pretty peeved if shipping is really late.
 
IanM said:
I do think priority backers will feel hard done by if they now have to wait longer, and although it's unlikely given the low numbers of buyers here, anyone who doesn't see the email at all is going to be pretty peeved if shipping is really late.
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I don't know about "really late". Considering that until this week we all thought we would be getting the cases by January. That's still the plan, even for the last shipment.

If I recall correctly W360 mentioned a good while ago that the plan was to confirm shipping addresses, and that there would be a login on Ncases.com to do this. So there's been fair warning. Sure he didn't say explicitly "keep an eye on your email on this and this date", but seems to me like your inbox is something that's your responsibility and not W360's.

Remember there are up to 299 on the early shipping list, up to 200 on the secondary early shipping list. So it's not really a select few, likely over half of the eventual customers contributed to the prototype. So could be that people on the 2nd shipping list could still only receive their case as late as January just because of the way the numbers are, and the busy holiday season for package deliveries.
 
IanM said:
what's going on with the shipping labels? the emails are really short notice, I just now (8am EST) picked up the messages from ncases. I immediately updated as requested but it's after your deadline. The original auto generated label field was a bit of a mess: street and area on the same line, no postal code, no county (state/province) either, and a random line of numbers and .'s. Also the drop down field for state/province doesn't appear to help anyone outside the USA?

It's possible that parcels shipped with labels like that would arrive, perhaps delayed dependent on the mood of customs and postal service agents, but based on my experience of posting stuff across Europe and to Asia, it best to get the address label written out in the correct format for the recipients country (even Paypal do some odd things with address label generation)
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i'm still confused what exactly i should have changed or made sure was correct. b/c the original address format was really off. even in the second email they sent it was still off. like they had 2 commas separating city and state and i think a period before the zip code. i seem to remember state was spelled out instead of abbreviated. and the country 'us' was listed in the shipping label too but that didnt seem to make sense b/c shouldnt it have been usa instead?

so i changed the shipping label to the best of my knowledge but i had no idea where "us" was suppose to go, and if i should change it to "usa" or keep 'us' and put it somewhere else, or where the phone number should go, of if i even needed to include my phone number on the shipping label at all. this was all kind of vague and ambiguous and i could not find any answers on my own. and my one reply i got was also just vague and still left me confused. :(
 
I'm sure the mailman, even in Taiwan, doesn't mind if you put US or USA :)

As long as you filled in enough information to uniquely identify your house, it'll get there, extra commas and all. Even if you really messed up and put something vague like "Joe, NYC, US" on your address, then there is a tracking number and in worst case they will contact the sender. W360 has your email and number, and he could also ask Paypal to contact you, so the package will get to you somehow.
 
WiSK said:
I don't know about "really late". Considering that until this week we all thought we would be getting the cases by January. That's still the plan, even for the last shipment.

If I recall correctly W360 mentioned a good while ago that the plan was to confirm shipping addresses, and that there would be a login on Ncases.com to do this. So there's been fair warning. Sure he didn't say explicitly "keep an eye on your email on this and this date", but seems to me like your inbox is something that's your responsibility and not W360's.

Remember there are up to 299 on the early shipping list, up to 200 on the secondary early shipping list. So it's not really a select few, likely over half of the eventual customers contributed to the prototype. So could be that people on the 2nd shipping list could still only receive their case as late as January just because of the way the numbers are, and the busy holiday season for package deliveries.
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Well, I think more than half. I contributed to the prototype yet I'm on early shipping list 2. The first few hundreds just went away really really quick. By the time I realised it... they were gone XD
 
WiSK said:
I don't know about "really late"
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the thought I had for that half of the question was what if someone is away or not seing emails at all, and come January wahaha is still holding onto a handful of orders because of being unsure where to ship

WiSK said:
As long as you filled in enough information to uniquely identify your house, it'll get there, extra commas and all
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I'm reasonably sure everything will be just fine, but I guess it's a case of hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

I'd love to give every postal service and courier the benefit of the doubt, I know my local mailmen are really good, but the local couriers are less so and they don't make any extra effort. This is a factor since high volumes of shipping over the holiday sometimes mean the postal service hires 3rd party couriers to clear the backlog.

I also know that some postal services are notoriously bad, I am an eBayer who is willing to ship most places in the EU, Italy however is on my permanent block list, and it may be surprising given their reputation for efficiency, but posting to Germany is considered high risk (I will do it after vetting the buyer and if they are happy with tracked, signature on delivery services.)

Don't forget Paypal who can be extremely stubborn and difficult over shipping issues if the address isn't exactly what they have on their system.
 
IanM said:
For myself I'm not in a hurry, but I do think priority backers will feel hard done by if they now have to wait longer, and although it's unlikely given the low numbers of buyers here, anyone who doesn't see the email at all is going to be pretty peeved if shipping is really late.
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WiSK said:
Sure he didn't say explicitly "keep an eye on your email on this and this date", but seems to me like your inbox is something that's your responsibility and not W360's.
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This. I may have missed the prototype backing phase, but as soon as I found out about the M1, I made sure to religiously check here for updates. And during the 1st hour of production availability, I got in immediately, and likewise, have been checking my email constantly for any updates (which I normally ignore for weeks on end).

So while I totally appreciate and envy the proto backers, I personally don't give a shit about anyone's priority status if they're not enthused enough to regularly follow updates until the day their case is in hand. What good is priority status is you're only going to slow down the entire process for everyone else?
 
Tankerton said:
Here for anyone in the US having trouble in the free form address box or if you not sent / received international mail.
https://www.usps.com/send/international-addressing-tips.htm
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Just not sure where the proper place to put a telephone number on the label would be. USPS guidelines allow for non-data above the person's name, and UPS seems to place telephone under name, but before street address. I can't find one example of a label where the phone is below everything (not sure how that would mess w/US OCR sorting).

Anyway, isn't it too late to change info at Ncases now?

inf_lab_smart_l.jpg


Also, this page has proper int'l shipping formats for most countries..

http://www.bitboost.com/ref/international-address-formats.html
 
Necere, ive started stocking up on parts for my build.

Will be using the same version of ECS H61 that you got for testing the M1 and I noticed that it got a BIOS overclocking menu.
Im curious if you tried to overclock using this motherboard and how it performed?

Im still on a 775-system and havent bought a CPU yet for the ECS board so im not too clued up on newer systems and how they handle overclocking.
Will I be able to overclock a 3570K slighly with the ECS H61?
 
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No as the h61 chipset does not support overclocking however, you will find that the 3770k is much faster than your cpu anyway.
 
Reckie said:
Im curious if you tried to overclock using this motherboard and how it performed?
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I did not. I didn't investigate the board's OC options.

One downside of that board is you won't be able to use the front USB ports with it, due to its lack of USB 3.0 header. Even the socket 1150 H81 version of the board that supports USB 3.0 lacks the internal header.
 
Necere said:
One downside of that board is you won't be able to use the front USB ports with it, due to its lack of USB 3.0 header. Even the socket 1150 H81 version of the board that supports USB 3.0 lacks the internal header.
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Since that ECS board has 2x USB 2.0 internal headers, couldn't he just use this instead..

SilverStone G11303050-RT internal 19pin USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 adapter cable
For users with internal USB 3.0 connectors on their case but utilizes USB 2.0 motherboards, this adapter cable converts internal 19pin USB 3.0 to USB 2.0. This is a great item to get for those who are not yet ready to upgrade to USB 3.0.
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http://silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=388&area=en

12-162-025-TS


Pretty neat idea, if it works for his application. Only $10 shipped from Amazon or Newegg.
 
Already shipping o.0?

I receive an emails asking to update label again;
Dear Backer,

I need you to log into www.ncases.com (use the latest log-in info from [email protected]) and update both/either Shipping Label or Phone Number.

We need both piece of information for Customs and Postal Office.

Until we have this information, your package will be on hold.

Get it done today, and let's get your M1 shipped!
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heading to Taiwan this weekend to ship.

I can't hold everyone up for the few that didn't complete their info.
 
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