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

As I am pretty much "upgrading" my parts in my ncase, I'm trying to figure out wether or not to go custom WC loop or "upgrade" to air

I have never done a custom loop but how is the cost justified when I can get a decent air cooler for $60 when a custom loop would be around $300?

Edit:

The parts I have are in my sig, however I currently own the Gigabyte H77N-Wifi and the GTX 560ti

I am going to get the Asrock Z77E-ITX and the HIS Radeon 7950 installed later this week *crossing fingers that the 7950 fits*

If I don't go custom WC, I would be sticking with the Kuhler 620 as I am quite happy with the noise and have no issues with any temps on my 3770k
 
Phuncz said:
My H220 came defective out of the box, also the pump. I connected it to a SATA power supply (with the H220-included SATA to Fan splitter) I use to connect hard drives through eSATA. Probably also not Swiftech approved :rolleyes:

The pump is the general issue with the H220 and it seems Swiftech is blaming it on the good nature of proper tech support instead of bad engineering.

Oh well, let me list the alternatives, if you know of one that fits, let me know and I'll add it to the post !

Confirmed fitment:
(confirmed by M1 owners to fit and work properly)​
- Corsair Hydro H100i (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk)
- Cooler Master Seidon 240M (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk)

Within specifications:
(so should fit but not confirmed yet)​
- Corsair Hydro H105 (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk)
- Enermax LiqTech 240 (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk)
- Fractal Design Kelvin S24 (just announced, marketed as expandable)

Might fit or tight fit:
(not sure or dependant on size of other hardware)​
Silverstone Tundra TD02 - (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, confirmation)
Click to expand...

H105 fits.
 
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AFD said:
Wow, that is definitely some fast shipping, even locally.. very nice!


Interesting to see the power outlet is back to ground downward again.

Any pictures from an upper-front angle? Iirc, there was a revision with the top panel to help with panel gap.. just wondering if it looks any different.
Click to expand...

Not sure if this is what you want to see:


NCASE M1 V2 by imnogard, on Flickr

The first problem I noticed is that the feet are not on the same surface so there's always one of them hanging in the air, resulting in a wiggling case. And it looks like I could not adjust the height of the feet. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Edit: Bigger picture
 
When you only cool the CPU with it and don't want to overclock to the utter max, a good air cooler will be just as fine and a lot less stuff to worry about, like pump noise, more involved install and a lot of space taken up by the radiator.

I recommend going air-cooling for CPU and GPU when you don't have the wailing R9 290-series, otherwise I recommend liquid-cooling both. Just liquid-cooling the CPU is of much less importance with the good air-coolers nowadays and the lower heat generation of the modern CPU's.

Hanakuso said:
H105 fits.
Click to expand...
Thx, I'll add it to the list ! Any pictures perhaps ?
 
Tschus said:
The first problem I noticed is that the feet are not on the same surface so there's always one of them hanging in the air, resulting in a wiggling case. And it looks like I could not adjust the height of the feet. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

One of the feet isn't vertically aligned with the others? Would like to see a picture of what you mean about this.

They are removable of course, you could add a washer...
 
Thx Hanakuso !

Anyone who has a 240mm closed loop cooling system not on the list, please let us know and I'll add it to the list.

Swiftech screws over anyone with H220 issues using high-end hardware on an SFX PSU, because their tech support is clueless about loosely recommended GPU specs and blaming their high failure rate pumps on the PSU.
 
Still no mail from NCASE or update from PayPal (i.e. shipping info) :(

- checked spam/junk folder
- shall not panic
- shall not panic :)
- I hope I'm not alone without updates ...
- contacted NCASE ...
- need to be patient ...
 
I'm in the same boat here. I sent a couple PMs and an email. I don't want to bug them any more than that since I assume they have their hands full at the moment. Just want to make sure my address correction went through. Trying to be patient too.
 
djskinnyb said:
I assume they have their hands full at the moment
Click to expand...

Correct assumption, don't worry :)

It's just Dan (W360) shipping 500 cases. I'm sure all will arrive, and last time he posted multiple times in here when he couldn't contact someone, and when the delivery was not accepted.
 
Tschus said:
Not sure if this is what you want to see:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3863/14849799534_4e8d09acb7_z.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I wanted to see, thanks! I was thinking the top lid would overhang the front and side panels, but it doesn't really look that much different, whatever the change was.


Also, before adding a washer to your short foot, be sure to check that the others are actually screwed down snugly (and that it's just not sitting on an uneven counter surface, of course).
 
irek83 said:
Hi guys,
Photos of my new side panel :D
Click to expand...
That looks really well done ! It seems the window (glass or acrylic ?) "sticks out" on the front, but it's attached to the back. Is it thinner on the edges you used to attach it to the aluminium ?
 
$80 for a Platinum 750W is a steal, even though it is non-modular but that's actually good for this case.
Who will be pairing this with a Radeon R9-295X2 ? :D
 
Phuncz said:
That looks really well done ! It seems the window (glass or acrylic ?) "sticks out" on the front, but it's attached to the back. Is it thinner on the edges you used to attach it to the aluminium ?
Click to expand...

I can't say too much because panel is modding by ELDER from Pclab forum. Hi is modding enthusiastic and have a huge experience. I don't have it yet, will be a post to me this week. Hi use a plexiglass and stick on double side tape.
 
I'd like to add my voice to list of slightly concerned people who haven't received any email (been checking spam folder too).

irek83: Looks good, but I feel it would look just a little better if the visible edges we champfered
 
dnoiz said:
Still no mail from NCASE or update from PayPal (i.e. shipping info) :(
Click to expand...

djskinnyb said:
I'm in the same boat here. I sent a couple PMs and an email. I don't want to bug them any more than that since I assume they have their hands full at the moment. Just want to make sure my address correction went through. Trying to be patient too.
Click to expand...

macmodder said:
I'd like to add my voice to list of slightly concerned people who haven't received any email (been checking spam folder too).
Click to expand...
Just to clarify, there were two times w360 sent out emails en-masse, AFAIK - on July 14th and August 4th.

The July 14th email was to confirm everyone's shipping information.

The August 4th email was an update on shipping ETAs.

If you ordered before these dates you should have received those emails. If you didn't, it could mean a few things, including that not all the emails went out.

W360 has been on a business trip for the last week+, but is on his way home and will see to emails when he gets in.


Tschus said:
The first problem I noticed is that the feet are not on the same surface so there's always one of them hanging in the air, resulting in a wiggling case. And it looks like I could not adjust the height of the feet.
Click to expand...
If it turns out that the chassis isn't straight (which is what it looks like), send w360 an email with pics and we should be able to get you a replacement chassis from LL. If you want, that is. If a washer fixes it and you're happy with that, that's cool too.
 
The earlier mail (14/6) I got and confirmed order+shipping details and added my mobile phone. The August 4th mail I didn't get (yet). I ordered May 27th (according to PayPal).

Necere said:
Just to clarify, there were two times w360 sent out emails en-masse, AFAIK - on July 14th and August 4th.
The July 14th email was to confirm everyone's shipping information.
The August 4th email was an update on shipping ETAs.
If you ordered before these dates you should have received those emails. If you didn't, it could mean a few things, including that not all the emails went out.
Click to expand...

I understand its busy times for them, but I opted for TW Air as I'm in EU, so don't think Dan needs to do anything for me :). Hence I expected also an update via PayPal regarding the tracking number (as communicated earlier). Just looking for the happy "things are ok" message :D.

WiSK said:
Correct assumption, don't worry :)

It's just Dan (W360) shipping 500 cases. I'm sure all will arrive, and last time he posted multiple times in here when he couldn't contact someone, and when the delivery was not accepted.
Click to expand...
 
Phuncz said:
$80 for a Platinum 750W is a steal, even though it is non-modular but that's actually good for this case.
Who will be pairing this with a Radeon R9-295X2 ? :D
Click to expand...
I'm strongly considering putting a 295X2 in mine, but that depends on if they bring the price down to reasonable levels and how fast the GTX 880 is if/when it gets released this month. It's unreasonable to pay the price equivalent of 3x 290X for the performance of 2 IMO. If I need that much horsepower I'd probably just get a uATX box for cost reasons. I wish NVIDIA would make a dual GPU card again in the reasonable price range. As I recall, my GTX 295 was only $600-650 and was the top end card at the time. Now the only dual GPU card they make is $3,000 :mad:

Another concern with the 295X2 is it means I wouldn't be able to bring my tower as a carry on if I fly. The M1 should almost perfectly fit in a Pelican 1510 carry on case, which is designed to be exactly as large as FAA maximums for carry on size. I'll probably pick one up once my M1 build is complete so I can fly with it.
 
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Yeah I didn't receive the August 4th e-mail either. Not worried about it, just letting you know that I didn't get it.
 
The 600 silverstone is now on pre-order at PCCG in Australia.

I haven't been reading much in this thread, but how is the PSU status going. (with regards to what people want to do with their PSU needs for this case)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28543

(just checked the PSU thread, and seems to be one of the earlier places to have this on a store ready to pre-order. Surely not cheap though!)
 
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okwchin said:
The 600 silverstone is now on pre-order at PCCG in Australia.

I haven't been reading much in this thread, but how is the PSU status going. (with regards to what people want to do with their PSU needs for this case)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=28543

(just checked the PSU thread, and seems to be one of the earlier places to have this on a store ready to pre-order. Surely not cheap though!)
Click to expand...

$179 is about the price i was expecting
 
Phuncz said:
$80 for a Platinum 750W is a steal, even though it is non-modular but that's actually good for this case.
Who will be pairing this with a Radeon R9-295X2 ? :D
Click to expand...

How can a 295x2 fit? Would there be enough side space for the tube? If you are using an ATX PSU the only slot for the radiator would be on the cpu side, but then what cooling would you use for the cpu? But yes, I'm getting an ATX psu for my future dual gpu card :D

Bobalias_LeShay said:
I'm strongly considering putting a 295X2 in mine, but that depends on if they bring the price down to reasonable levels... As I recall, my GTX 295 was only $600-650 and was the top end card at the time. Now the only dual GPU card [nvidia] make is $3,000 :mad:
Click to expand...

I did some price/performance analysis on dual gpu cards. I compared the price and how long it took before a single card of similar performance came out. Up until GTX 295 and 5970, getting a dual gpu was well worth the money. The prices are at most x2.25, sometimes even cheaper, than two single cards. Today it costs x2.5-3.

Just get a good feel of performance boost from each generation and get a dual card where there's a huge jump (at least for AMD, not sure about nvidia cards). 4870x2 and 5970 took 2 generations before a single card of same performance came out. 6990 only took one (7970 ghz). 7000 and 2xx series are too close on performance so I personally would wait and not get 295x2 (it might be like the 6990). 7990 go for $380-450 on ebay so that may be a good option (minus risk of getting overused miner card)?

Rorschach said:
Regarding PSUs, this is my back up ATX option if i can't get the SFX 600W (God forbid).
Click to expand...

I'm looking at the S12G series from Seasonic too, but will most likely end up getting the Antec 750w plat later. The SFX 600w is just too expensive :s
 
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