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

Alright, more info.
The Ultra sleek vortex 14 fits in the front 120mm floor mount with no issues (I had to push and shove because psu wires) and I see no reason why it wouldn't fot fine in the rear floor 120mm mount.

You can also ( at least with soft mounts) mount it in between the 2 120mm mounts if you don't mind it sitting on top of the side panel clips.

Pictures

Adding the USV14 dropped my furmark temps from 85c on average to 57c average on the 1080p 15min test.
 
Curiositie said:
Alright, more info.
The Ultra sleek vortex 14 fits in the front 120mm floor mount with no issues (I had to push and shove because psu wires) and I see no reason why it wouldn't fot fine in the rear floor 120mm mount.

You can also ( at least with soft mounts) mount it in between the 2 120mm mounts if you don't mind it sitting on top of the side panel clips.

Pictures

Adding the USV14 dropped my furmark temps from 85c on average to 57c average on the 1080p 15min test.
Click to expand...

That's excellent and very similar to build I intend.

Difference being I want to exhaust out the bottom, which should help with the GPU not heating up the small volume of the case
 
When you remove the Fans of a Arctic Accelero Twin Turbo III there's just enough space for two
normal 120mm Fans. Mine exhaust at the bottom too.
 
SkorpioNElite said:
When you remove the Fans of a Arctic Accelero Twin Turbo III there's just enough space for two
normal 120mm Fans. Mine exhaust at the bottom too.
Click to expand...

So here's me carpet bombing you with questions:D

- So that actually fits the M1? I always just assumed it wouldn't due to width.
- What GPU are you using?
- What sort of temperatures are you getting?
- How long have you had it for? Any of the poor quality "mini-heatsink" thermo pad issues we've been hearing about with the accelero extreme III? EDIT: I see this has the big heatsink-backlate. really curious to how that fits with the M1.
- Pictures? Curious to see what it looks like installed.
- Have you tried the fans in reversed orientation as intakes to see what the penalty (if any) you get from having them as exhaust?

I am looking for a good aftermarket air cooler to go with whichever new GPU i get soon, and trying to weigh my options.
 
Thank you guys for the NCase project. It was hard but now I am finished with my:

dsc00234elr9x.jpg

dsc00232taqyw.jpg
 
cowsgomoo said:
Bottom exhaust master race.
Hot air rises is a fallacy.
Click to expand...

Well, actually... the heat convection created by small temperature differences is nothing compared to a fan.

So, regarding computer usage, you can disregard convection and use whatever side to exhaust :D
 
prava said:
Well, actually... the heat convection created by small temperature differences is nothing compared to a fan.

So, regarding computer usage, you can disregard convection and use whatever side to exhaust :D
Click to expand...

Especially in this case!

For mine though, I have the CPU blowing into the PSU, so to me it makes sense to blow the hot air up that way.
 
once again id just like to thank w360 and necere for this amazing case. My case got sent back to Taiwan because of an improper label and I am amazed how well they handled this. They sent me a new one without even receiving my case that was sent back because they didnt want me to have to wait any longer. true customer service. everyone in the business should be copying these guys customer care. outstanding.

my case just arrived into customs and absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on it
 
I can't wait to have this case! The spare clips came today in the mail before the case, it was a bitter sweet moment. I'm not sure how long it will take in customs but I have everything on my desk ready to build! I have been going back in forth in my mind about how I want the airflow, I'm just to excited!
 
@Urelure

- One can mount the Twin Turbo in two of the three "slots" (Different holes in the mounting plate) and it still fits into the M1 (Tested with GTX670 & GTX970 only). Of course you should choose the holes that
install the cooler closer to the motherboard try side
- I have a GTX970 installed
- With 2 exhausting 120mm fans on the bottom and a silent fan setting temperatures range from
55° to 65° depending on the game.
- I have the cooler as long as i have my M1 v2.
- I didn`t install the big backplate. My GTX 970 originally had no memory chip cooling, but a small
heatsink on the vrms.
- Every fan I have installed is exhausting. When i reverse the orientation i get slightly better gpu temps
and really bad temps on my HDD and CPU.

- Pictures
28012015035p3dkf.jpg

28012015036gliri.jpg

28012015038vufjv.jpg

28012015039o1ii7.jpg

28012015044sxe8w.jpg
 
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SkorpioNElite said:
@Urelure
Click to expand...

Tanks a lot:) This was really helpful. This cooler seems to make the build slightly less crowded than the Accelero Extreme and your GPU temps look really good. the 970 will most likely end up being the weapon of choice for me too so results should be pretty comparable. I have until now dismissed the idea of bottom exhaust, partly because of the misconseption that hot air rising actually matters, and partly due to apprehension to use warm air form the case to cool the GPU. But since the GPU is the main culprit of heating up the case in the first place i don't think it matters too much.

What kind of fans are you using? Are you controlling them from GPU fan header or MB?

On another note, it looks like you are using the PSU fan to cool the CPU. I am surprised that even works. Original;)
 
I use the GPU Fan header and a Y-Splitter for the bottom fans. I Also switched the PSU Fan und control it
trough the CPU Fan header. All Fans are Noiseblocker 120mm BlackSilent Pro PWM fans.
So the motherboard controls the Cpu fan and the corsair H55 pump and the GTX970 controls the bottom fans.
I flashed a modded BIOS with adapted fan speeds on the GTX970.
 
Seems like a good way of minimizing the number of fans in the system. I think this is a very intresting build. Thanks for answering my questions.
 
Finally! After a month of patiently waiting, I finally received the mystical NCASE M1. I must applaud Necere and W360 as well as the community for the contributions in making this project possible for many people. Thank you.

M9t4SBWl.jpg


Initially, I was quite humbled by the size of the M1. While I certainly did my research into the case, nothing could prepare me for its perceivable size in reality. When building the system, it felt as if everything came together to form one single unit of hardware unlike a traditional case. The M1 is efficient with its space and it’s absurd that a case like this has never been approached with such precision ever before.

I must note however, that I received the wrong order! When checking out, I chose to include the ODD slot incision in the top panel, but my case arrived without one. Was this a bad thing? No! I was thrilled because I was regretting my decision to include the ODD option since it shipped in the first place. So thank you NCASE for your mind-reading powers (as it is already evident by this case).

ucVZfkxl.jpg


Components:
+ i7-4790k
+ Reference GTX 970
+ Asus ROG Impact VII
+ 1TB Samsung EVO SSD
+ SX600 - G

Cooling:
+H100i (SP Fans in pull config)

TEMPERATURE:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ambient Room Temp: ~21C
CPU Idle Temp: 32.7C
CPU Load Temp: 60-70C
CPU Load Temp Torture Test: 60C - 70C --> 100C
GPU Load Temp Valley Benchmark: 78C - 80C
CPU Temp Valley Benchmark: 30C - 40C
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I was debating whether I should use Noctua’s NH-C14 or Corsair’s H100i, but since I had the AIO from a previous build, I went with the H100i. I’m still not sure if I would suggest the H100i however. The installation was easy enough; I oriented the water block to be upside down relative to the orientation of the board with the tubes pointed towards the rear I/O. I placed two static pressure fans pulling air through the radiator and at idle, the CPU remained at around 32.7 C (34, 35, 33, 29). Using Prime95’s torture test, the CPU remained at 60C - 75C for a few minutes. However, after maybe 5 – 10 minutes, the CPU reached 100C; at which point I decided to call it a night for my new i7-4790k.

I am using a reference GTX 970 card with a single (at the moment) Corsair AF fan pushing air into the GPU. Using the Unigine Valley Benchmark, the GPU reached a steady 80C while the CPU remained 30C – 40C. I suspect that with the size of my GPU relative to the case, the GPU essentially created a partition-like dual chamber within the case causing two areas to have unique heat dissipation. I found this tidbit most of all intriguing.

NCASE recommends a top-down blower configuration for the M1. I hypothesized, however, that the H100i would be better adequate since it would make better use of the size inside the case. When the computer makes a new request, the CPU sometimes spikes to 40C or even 50C! This concerns me since the H100i should prevent such dramatic temperature increases. Would C14 perform better inside the M1? By consulting the M1 user-spreadsheet, I found that the lowest idle temps were with the C14. What do you guys think?
 
Last edited:
Yambag said:
Using Prime95’s torture test, the CPU remained at 60C - 75C for a few minutes. However, after maybe 5 – 10 minutes, the CPU reached 100C; at which point I decided to call it a night for my new i7-4970k.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you had a bad or incorrect mount. Are you sure the screws were tightened all the way down for the h100i pump and backplate? Did you check the pump RPM to make sure its adequate?
 
Siba said:
It sounds like you had a bad or incorrect mount. Are you sure the screws were tightened all the way down for the h100i pump and backplate? Did you check the pump RPM to make sure its adequate?
Click to expand...

I can go back in and possibly screw down the block a bit more, but the contact across the CPU should be quite even already. I'm not sure how to check the block's RPM. I attempted to use Corsair Link, but it's a bit fickle.
 
40-50c under load is pretty normal, it takes time to dissipate heat. I'd be more concerned about the slow climb above 70c than anything else, it's normal for your loop to take some time to reach an equilibrium temp since water has a pretty high heat capacity - but for essentially a 240mm rad to not be able to keep up with only a cpu, something is wrong with your setup somehow.

You should check the simplest stuff first, ie the mount is good, fans are spinning etc. Also make sure your cpu didn't get set to crazy overclocking settings like 1.3v+ or a heavy overclock on the multiplier, see if turning off turbo boost helps any, or just check the bios settings in general. After that you can start looking at RPM sensors for the headers that the pump is plugged into, either in bios or through another utility like speedfan

edit: make sure you arent using too much thermal paste, you don't want it spilling all over; it's only meant to fill in microgaps, not form the full interface between the cpu IHS and your cooling
 
Yambag said:
However, after maybe 5 – 10 minutes, the CPU reached 100C; at which point I decided to call it a night for my new i7-4970k.
Click to expand...

When I was still using a H60 on my Asus board, the pump was a bit loose even with the screws completely tightened. I noticed from the thermal paste spread that it wasn't making good contact. I had to use the hard disk rubber grommets as washers at the back of the board for it to be tightened.
 
I went in and tightened the waterblock a bit more. I ran the blender torture test for about 15 minutes. There were periods where the CPU would sit at about 60 - 70C then jump up to the 80's and high 98's then back down. Now, after 10 min at idle, the CPU is sitting back at (34, 33, 34, 31)C

I would like to note that previously, I had a corsair 350D and the temps were about on par with the M1.

hpnkYpR.png
 
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Totally missed that there was going to be a V3 run - but I see they're still in stock! Can't wait to get one!
 
I finally got a satisfied configurations and build :). It's near silent.

CPU: i7-4970k
CPU cooler: noctua NH-C14
RAM: Hyperx fury 16GB (8x2)
MOBO: Asus maximus vii impact
PSU: Silverstone sfx 600w
GPU: Asus strix gtx 970

2x 120mm cpu header side fans at 200-700 rpm during normal use
1x 92x92x25mm between heatsink and CPU fan pulling air at 600-1000rpm
1x 92x92x14mm rear slim fan at 1000-1400 rpm
2x bottom fans not running unless gaming.

idle temp
CPU: 30~36
GPU: 30-35
vrm: 42~56

I haven't work out the full load temp.
 
Can anybody give me the size of the AC connector on the psu side that looks out of the psu? Means measurement from psu top plate to end of pluged in connector in mm.Totalsize should be 28mm?
 
Last edited:
Aibohphobia said:
Ok, here's what I've come up with for the SFX-L bracket so far:

M1-SFX-L-bracket-render-1.jpg


So with the PSU in the forward set of holes the connectors should clear 10.5" cards like the reference GTX 980.

But if you have a shorter video card you can use the rear set of mounting holes so the 2.5" mounts on the inside of the frame are useable.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I don't know how set in stone this is, but i have a suggestion for the SFX bracket you're thinking of making Aibohphobia.

How about making the bracket a bit more flexible, so that one can slide the PSU back and forth for cable management and such? Something like this:

oEMbVqX.png


Excuse my MS Paint skills.
I don't know if this is structurally viable, but it would make PSU mounting flexibility in the M1 outstanding. Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
dondan said:
Can anybody give me the size of the AC connector on the psu side that looks out of the psu? Means measurement from psu top plate to end of pluged in connector in mm.Totalsize should be 28mm?
Click to expand...

My V1 plug sticks out ~17mm past the metal casing of the PSU, overall size is ~27.5mm. I'm measuring with a digital caliper but a molded part like this has variations.


Urelure said:
I don't know how set in stone this is, but i have a suggestion for the SFX bracket you're thinking of making Aibohphobia.

How about making the bracket a bit more flexible, so that one can slide the PSU back and forth for cable management and such? Something like this: [...]
Click to expand...

Too late for the prototype but that's good idea and I'll look into it if it goes to production.
 
Kasul said:
I finally got a satisfied configurations and build :). It's near silent.

CPU: i7-4970k
CPU cooler: noctua NH-C14
RAM: Hyperx fury 16GB (8x2)
MOBO: Asus maximus vii impact
PSU: Silverstone sfx 600w
GPU: Asus strix gtx 970

2x 120mm cpu header side fans at 200-700 rpm during normal use
1x 92x92x25mm between heatsink and CPU fan pulling air at 600-1000rpm
1x 92x92x14mm rear slim fan at 1000-1400 rpm
2x bottom fans not running unless gaming.

idle temp
CPU: 30~36
GPU: 30-35
vrm: 42~56

I haven't work out the full load temp.
Click to expand...

Do you have pictures of your build? I was thinking of something similar.
 
Last edited:
Kasul said:
lol much edits... Anyone know how to show pictures here without the readers having to click the link?
Click to expand...

@ Imgur.com at the right of the image you want to post, there is a list of links to use. The one called "BBCode (message boards & forums)" can be copied directly into the message for picture to show.

Beware that most pictures are way too big an needs to be rezised. Here's how to fix that.

Oh, and btw, you can link to the actual post instead of the page by clicking the post number on the top right corner of it on the red line. In this post its: "#15410".
 
Last edited:
@Necere
I have to make my own fans bracket adjusted to me needs.
From what I see, original one is made of 1.5mm aluminium, right?
Any tip on what to use to get the same black color?
 
BaK2BaK said:
@Necere
I have to make my own fans bracket adjusted to me needs.
From what I see, original one is made of 1.5mm aluminium, right?
Any tip on what to use to get the same black color?
Click to expand...
Yes, 1.5mm aluminum is used throughout the case. Regarding the paint, I just told them to make it matte black - I don't know the specifics beyond that.
 
Necere said:
Yes, 1.5mm aluminum is used throughout the case. Regarding the paint, I just told them to make it matte black - I don't know the specifics beyond that.
Click to expand...

I don't think it matters too much. There are so many different shades of black in a PC build anyway, so it wouldn't look out of place if it was slightly off.
 
SkorpioNElite said:
@Urelure

- One can mount the Twin Turbo in two of the three "slots" (Different holes in the mounting plate) and it still fits into the M1 (Tested with GTX670 & GTX970 only). Of course you should choose the holes that
install the cooler closer to the motherboard try side
- I have a GTX970 installed
- With 2 exhausting 120mm fans on the bottom and a silent fan setting temperatures range from
55° to 65° depending on the game.
- I have the cooler as long as i have my M1 v2.
- I didn`t install the big backplate. My GTX 970 originally had no memory chip cooling, but a small
heatsink on the vrms.
- Every fan I have installed is exhausting. When i reverse the orientation i get slightly better gpu temps
and really bad temps on my HDD and CPU.

- Pictures
28012015038vufjv.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, those fans seem to align perfectly against the GPU heatsink. I am tempted to try this myself. Which GTX 970 is it?
 
It would even allow the use of the SX500-LG SFX-L PSU without issue due to it's short PCB, because the heatsink sits lower. Also, the effect of having the bottom fans right up towards the heatsink would allow optimal airflow through the heatsink. I like this setup (GTX 970 + Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo III + two 25mm case fans) because it will perform quietly but also efficiently dissipate heat.
 
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