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

Geoffrey4283 said:
There is nothing about the general M1 spec that resolves the issue with Corsair's power plug being right up against the edge, and the direction of the M1's internal power extension. An ATX power supply has to be mounted width-wise, so there's no option to flip it around and let the cable go off into the interior of the case; the problem the other user had with the 850 seems like it applies equally to your 860 (from what I can see of it).

The other alternatives discussed for resolving the problem include trying to source an angled low-profile power extension/plug going in one of the 3 other possible directions from the default to mod the one that came with the M1, or to crack open the PSU and flip the connector over.
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I neglected to mention the power cord orientation... doh! Good catch!
 
Geoffrey4283 said:
The other alternatives discussed for resolving the problem include trying to source an angled low-profile power extension/plug going in one of the 3 other possible directions from the default to mod the one that came with the M1, or to crack open the PSU and flip the connector over.
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Flipping the AC inlet on the Seasonic-based PSUs will be very difficult due to all the extra hardware attached to it.

The best alternative I've found is the Kingwin Lazer Platinum PSUs. They are very good quality and quiet units but they're only semi-modular.

Here's a pic of the 550W version in my M1 with a de-shrouded MSI R7 260X: http://i.imgur.com/92U6vnb.jpg
 
darxider said:
i'm assuming this question was directed at me (given that it was right under my post). i haven't yet received my video card. i'm not sure if i will put fans at the bottom of the case though; they might interfere with the intake airflow of the GPU fans.
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Actually it was directed towards the post by balance101 on the previous page, I failed at quoting things properly, but it kind of works as a reply to your post too :)

If you were to have bottom intake fans I think the thing to do would be to remove the gpu fans since the intake fans are right there anyway and probably provide more airflow at a lower sound level. I am planning to try this so I guess I will see how it works soon. Was curious if others had any success with this though.
 
IncubusBob said:
If you were to have bottom intake fans I think the thing to do would be to remove the gpu fans since the intake fans are right there anyway and probably provide more airflow at a lower sound level. I am planning to try this so I guess I will see how it works soon. Was curious if others had any success with this though.
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You can see my setup in the link above. I have a MSI R7 260X with the stock fan and shroud removed being cooled by a Noctua P12 PWM mounted to the bottom of the case.

There is a 7mm thick shroud between the fan and the bottom of the case but that still leaves a fairly large gap between the card and the fan because I underestimated how short the heatsink was.

The Noctua is plugged into the card's fan header using an adapter. Card idles at about 35°C and gets to 95°C under Furmark.

Reducing the gap with a thicker shroud may help with the load temps but I'm going to leave it as it is because now that it is built, I don't want to disassemble that mess unless I absolutely have to :D
 
^ thank you :)

can anybody recommend a 92mm fan? i'm leaning towards the Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fan since i can't find any Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 92mm PWM ones in canada.
 
Has anyone here tried 2 separate 120mm rad on side bracket? After saw the pictures posted by finus, it seems like there is another 75mm to spare from PSU and might be able to fit in another AIO 120mm rad (Corsair H75 or slimmer H60). The idea of cooling my proc with H80 and R290 with kraken G10 + H75 has always intrigue me.:D

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darxider said:
^ thank you :)

can anybody recommend a 92mm fan? i'm leaning towards the Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fan since i can't find any Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 92mm PWM ones in canada.
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I have some version of the 92 mm Noctuas in my ATX build. They are pretty quiet and run at about 700 rpm or so. How good they actually are, I have no idea but my computer hasn't melted yet if that is of any use...
 
totox7 said:
Has anyone here tried 2 separate 120mm rad on side bracket? After saw the pictures posted by finus, it seems like there is another 75mm to spare from PSU and might be able to fit in another AIO 120mm rad (Corsair H75 or slimmer H60). The idea of cooling my proc with H80 and R290 with kraken G10 + H75 has always intrigue me.:D

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That's the scenario I want to go with. With that said, I finished transferring my rig over to this case yesterday and let me say that it feels like there isn't any room to breathe. Hats off to you guys for designing the M1!! I love it!! I'm currently using the stock cooler on my cpu. I was originally thinking of doing a custom loop, but I think my big ass fingers wouldn't be able to handle it.:D

I have a waterblock and backplate for my GTX 770 already. I'm trying to decide between using a Swiftech H220 and expanding it to my graphics card or doing 2 x 120mm AIO liquid coolers and the Kraken G10 bracket. I would sell the backplate and waterblock if I do the latter.

Anybody done 2 x 120mm AIO liquid coolers yet?
 
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Any plans on making another batch of these? I have a bunch if ITX parts ready for a build and I was hoping this case would be available someday.
 
subspeed6 said:
Any plans on making another batch of these? I have a bunch if ITX parts ready for a build and I was hoping this case would be available someday.
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if there was you wouldn't see it in the next 6 months any ways so your parts would be old by then.
 
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PLHHSB said:
We've now finished both builds and had a chance to take some photos...

For all the other bits and pieces, I've put these in a table on my blog http://oliver.st/blog/ncase-m1/ with sources too.
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Wow, that's some really nice work you guys did.. really like the cable job.

Thanks for posting the new pics, and parts list!

That's weird that the blanking plug you used was 20mm (24.2 overall).. Necere told me the hole diameter was 25mm.
 
JoepieDeSnoepie! said:
I found some 12mm steel non black vandal switches, with blue led ring for just 3,50 USD incl. shipping on ebay so I'll be using that one for a while. Can be found with "12mm 12V Blue LED switch", had no luck with "12mm vandal switch".


http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxMDAw/z/da8AAOxyOlhSxOXk/$_57.JPG
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This is where we bought ours: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/100p...tch-Ring-LED-DHL-Free-Shipping/862820050.html

We requested samples of the black face 6V with white illumination.
 
JoepieDeSnoepie! said:
I found some 12mm steel non black vandal switches, with blue led ring for just 3,50 USD incl. shipping on ebay so I'll be using that one for a while. Can be found with "12mm 12V Blue LED switch", had no luck with "12mm vandal switch".


http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFgxMDAw/z/da8AAOxyOlhSxOXk/$_57.JPG
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I've seen Singularity Computers on YouTube mention that he's used vandal switches for quite some time. Performance-PCS.com has quite a few.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=vandal
 
I know, unfortunately the wrong diameter, you want one for a 12mm hole, 16mm, 22mm 25mm and the like are more common. Unless you want to drill a larger hole you want to stick with 12mm buttons which are quite rare. Know from experience as I've used many of these over the years in all sorts of ways. Got a catalogue with 100+ to choose from but 12mm...
 
PLHHSB said:
We've now finished both builds and had a chance to take some photos.
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dstart said:
Here are a couple more bad photo's from my build
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Nice clean builds ! I'm also pondering getting the cables cut at the perfect lengths but I'm still not sure how I'm going to. I'm looking for the cleanest look possible, still pondering how I'm going to manage that.
 
JoepieDeSnoepie! said:
I know, unfortunately the wrong diameter, you want one for a 12mm hole, 16mm, 22mm 25mm and the like are more common. Unless you want to drill a larger hole you want to stick with 12mm buttons which are quite rare. Know from experience as I've used many of these over the years in all sorts of ways. Got a catalogue with 100+ to choose from but 12mm...
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Ahh.... that makes sense. I didn't know it was a 12mm hole. Apologies.
 
PLHHSB said:
We've now finished both builds and had a chance to take some photos. We're both really happy with the build quality of the M1, though it's not a build for the faint hearted :). I made custom cable sets for them which was a bit of a pain - each cable has to be a different length according to how it will bend.

The vandal switch was from an aliexpress supplier and we paid for a sample - but I couldn't find any retailers selling this. Someone needs to start selling these! (retailers?- or a keen ebayer).

I've taken a better video of the hard drive light modification.
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Needs water I've also made my own cables like yours.
 
For folks looking for vandal momentary switches...MountainMods sells lots of them.
 
They're to large I'm afraid.
It's really to bad the company I worked before doesn't use anything smaller than 25mm, else I could probably get 50+ pieces and put them on ebay.
I've send a mail for 10+ though, I'm sure there are more people in Europe wanting these...
 
Phuncz said:
While the Asrock Z87E-ITX isn't centered, it's still not as bad as most Z77's are and some Z87's still are. Current Z87 motherboards: None are centered, just "more or less" or are towards the GPU which I do not prefer. The Gigabyte and MSI boards are towards the lower-right which is just asking for trouble. The EVGA has a large shroud close by, the Asus'es have daughterboards around the socket.

G8iYOEK.png

Asus Maximus VI Impact
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Thanks for those mini-ITX motherboard graphics. It will help in planning which air cooling solution I want to go for. I want to try my hand at a little CPU overclocking (Intel i4770K from 3.5Ghz to at least 4Ghz or so) but not anything crazy or record breaking. I'm not sure what is even possible with air cooling only.

I'm thinking about the Asus Maximus VI Impact and Corsair Obsidian 250D as my platform. I just have to watch out for those daughterboards, PCIe/RAM slots, and the optical drive bay. There is around 150mm vertical room between the motherboard and windowed roof panel.

[EDIT] Sorry, just noticed this was an Ncase discussion thread, my bad. Came to it indirectly via a Google Image search. If the mod wants to delete my post that's fine.

I like the Noctua stuff too. I'm looking at the NH-U9B SE2 at the moment (is it any good for OC?) because I think it will clear the RAM slots if sideways with airflow pointing out the side exhaust fan. Not sure if that's optimal for air intake, but if installed with airflow pointing out the back (adding 2 Noctua 80mm rear fans too) I'm hoping the cooler's front fan can be removed to access the RAM modules (Corsair w/low profile heat spreaders) if I need too.

milkcow said:
Noctua NH-U9B should work with almost all mITX Z77 / 87 boards ;)

noctua_nh_u9b_se2_1.jpg
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I just 'crammed' a 760 into mine with sfx

The HD at the bottom was giving me the most problems since I didn't have any straight angle connectors for the power cable
 
Thanks for bringing up this post...I was split between the Asus and the Asrock boards. I like having the extra fan headers on the Asus but those daughterboards for the VRM worry me (on the Z87i-deluxe). Both for heatsink clearance and for the fact that it stands directly in the way of the hot air coming out from under a C-type CPU cooler like the NH-L12 and from the rest of the case...




Steve N. Mavronis said:
Thanks for those mini-ITX motherboard graphics. It will help in planning which air cooling solution I want to go for. I want to try my hand at a little CPU overclocking (Intel i4770K from 3.5Ghz to at least 4Ghz or so) but not anything crazy or record breaking. I'm not sure what is even possible with air cooling only.

I'm thinking about the Asus Maximus VI Impact and Corsair Obsidian 250D as my platform. I just have to watch out for those daughterboards, PCIe/RAM slots, and the optical drive bay. There is around 150mm vertical room between the motherboard and windowed roof panel.

[EDIT] Sorry, just noticed this was an Ncase discussion thread, my bad. Came to it indirectly via a Google Image search. If the mod wants to delete my post that's fine.

I like the Noctua stuff too. I'm looking at the NH-U9B SE2 at the moment (is it any good for OC?) because I think it will clear the RAM slots if sideways with airflow pointing out the side exhaust fan. Not sure if that's optimal for air intake, but if installed with airflow pointing out the back (adding 2 Noctua 80mm rear fans too) I'm hoping the cooler's front fan can be removed to access the RAM modules (Corsair w/low profile heat spreaders) if I need too.
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If anyone is curious the Koolance waterblock for the R9 290x the black/silver will fit with about 1-2mm to spare.

I got scared....
 
dstart said:
I just wanted to add that I also chose to replace the feet which can be bought here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=291002008929

The Nitrile O Rings can be bought here: http://www.turbonoz.co.uk/metric/TNTORNIT12X1.html

Here are a couple more bad photo's from my build (Yes, baked bean cans are the standard height measurement in the UK)

edit: I also used 30cm SATA cables instead of 45 but I will be changing these when I replace the PSU fan.
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I really like how clean the build is and the conversion to hex hardware. I just don't particularly care for the feet. I think they look kind of cheap :/
 
harsaphes said:
Don't know what to do with myself now that my build is done.:(
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Def think planning & building my M1 will be more enjoyable than actually using it. We're here to support you in your withdrawal :D

@ Necere: Any word on the DEMCiflex filters yet?
 
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